DECR Chairman visits Al-Hosn Patriarchal Hospital in Syria

DECR Communication service, 23.01.23

On the 23^rd of January, during his working visit to the Antiochian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, visited the Al-Hosn Patriarchal Hospital which is run by the Antiochian Patriarchate.

Metropolitan Anthony was accompanied by Colonel General A.N. Serdyukov, Commander of the Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic, Rear Admiral O.V. Kornienko, Defence Attaché of the Russian Embassy in Syria, E.I. Skopenko, Executive Director of the Christian Culture and Heritage Support Foundation, as well as members of the church delegation composed of Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Adviser to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Deputy Chairman of the DECR, and Priest Alexander Ershov, Assistant to the DECR Chairman.

At the entrance to the hospital, the guests were welcomed by the hospital director H. Yaziji, Bishop Arseniy of Ierapolis and the hospital staff.

Dr H. Yaziji expressed his joy at being able to host a high delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church at the hospital after welcoming a group of doctors from Al-Hosn Hospital in Russia in June 2022.

The head of the hospital gave Metropolitan Anthony and his entourage a tour of the various departments, including the diagnostic rooms and operating theatres, the equipment for which was supplied by Russia with the assistance of the Russian Orthodox Church. In particular, he was shown a CT scanner, which is currently the most modern in the country.

The DECR Chairman visited the hospital wards and talked to the patients. He was also briefed on the construction of the new hospital building with Russian support, as well as on the creation of classrooms for the medical institute to be established on its basis.

Al-Hosn Hospital, located west of Homs in the Valley of Christians, provides medical care to more than 400,000 people living there. It has a staff of more than 100 people, 40 of whom are doctors.

At the request of His Beatitude John, Patriarch of Antioch, the Russian Orthodox Church has supported the hospital for many years. In 2021, the hospital was equipped with the necessary equipment purchased by the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage and delivered and installed with the help of the Russian Ministry of Defence. Last year, a new batch of medical equipment for the Al-Hosn hospital was completed. Two new Russian ambulances were delivered to the hospital on the eve of the visit of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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DECR Chairman visits Al-Hosn Patriarchal Hospital in Syria

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons