On 17 January 2019, Hegumen Arseniy (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of the Great Antioch and All the East, took part in a meeting between the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a delegation of the Russian parliamentarians, public figures and entrepreneurs.
The delegation included Mr. Sergei Gavrilov, president of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy and deputy of the State Duma; Mr. Dmitry Sablin, deputy of the State Duma; and representatives of the Russian non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs.
Greeting the President of Syria on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Hegumen Arseniy said in particular, “Mr. President, all the power in the universe belongs to the Almighty, and He gives it to whomever He wishes. May the Almighty pour wisdom into your heart for leading the Syrian people at this difficult time! The future of the peoples of the Middle East, as well as of the entire humanity, including Russia, depends on what occurs in the Middle East. May the Almighty grant peace to the Syrian people and to the whole of mankind!”
The participants in the meeting exchanged opinions on a wide range of issues pertaining to the humanitarian situation, foreign policy and economy.
(DECR Communication Service)
