A monument to St.Paul Is Blessed in Syria

On 28 May 2005, a monument to St. Paul was opened on the site of his miraculous conversion. This place, which the whole Christian world has venerated since the ancient times, historically became a cradle of Christian homily preached to the world by the ‘Apostle of Gentiles’ as it was here that the St. Paul had been spiritually enlightened. In 1965 by the efforts of his Holiness Patriarch Alexy I a church was built here, which has become the center of the annual celebrations in honour of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, founders of the Antioch Orthodox Church.

 

With the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatios IV of Antioch and All The East and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, the Foundation of the Spiritual Heritage of St. Paul cast a monument to the holy apostle and made a reconstruction in the church. The author of the monument is sculptor A. Rukavishnikov. Archbishop German of Kursk and Rylsk, who came to Damascus as head of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, conducted an office of blessing of the monument in the presence of several thousands of the faithful of the Antioch Orthodox Church from Syria and Lebanon. Among those, who were present at the office of blessing were Vicars of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatios Bishop Moses of Daray and Bishop Gattaz of Karr, Bishop Vasily of Tartu, R. Markaryan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the Syrian Arabic Republic, representatives of other Christian confessions, Muslim clergy, and Archimandrite Alexander (Elisov), Representative of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia at the Patriarch of Antioch.

See also:

• The Days of Russian Religious Culture in Damascus
• Delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Arrives in Damascus