Department for External Church Relations
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Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate visits church built in the Russian style in the city of Zahlé, Lebanon.
Communications Service of the DECR, 21.11.2022.
On 15th November, at the invitation of the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia the metropolitan of Philippopolis Niphon, archimandrite Philipp (Vasiltsev) visited the Church of Our Lady of Unexpected Joy, which is under construction in the city of Zahlé, Lebanon.
Together with metropolitan Niphon, the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow ad All Russia to the Patriarch of Antioch looked at the construction work, reports the site of the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Damascus.
On the same day metropolitan Niphon and archimandrite Philipp visited the metropolitan of Zahlé and Baalbek Antonios in his residence. At the end of October at the session of the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch metropolitan Antonios was appointed Patriarchal vicar with the title ‘of Heliopolis’ to be the temporary administrator of the parishes of the Antiochian Church in America and Canada. The guests wished metropolitan Antonios, who was about to depart for America, blessed success and God’s aid in his forthcoming labours.
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The foundation stone for the Church of Our Lady of Unexpected Joy was laid on 22nd September 2019 in the city of Zahlé. The office of blessing the foundation stone was performed by His Beatitude the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X together with the then chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate the metropolitan of Volokolamsk Hilarion and the metropolitan of Philippopolis Niphon.
On 8th November 2021 the construction site was visited by the head of the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchy for Foreign Institutions the metropolitan of Chersoneses and Western Europe Anthony, the present chairman of the Department of External Church Relations. During metropolitan Anthony’s visit a time capsule was placed in the church’s foundations.
The construction work for the Church of Our Lady of Unexpected Joy is financed by the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage in agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church.
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