Jordan: thousands in candlelight procession for kidnapped bishops

Bishop Yazigi & Bishop Ibrahim

More than two thousand people walked through Amman yesterday evening to pray for the release of the bishops and priests kidnapped in Syria and for peace in the Middle East. The candle light prayer procession went from from the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple to the Syriac Orthodox Church of St Ephrem, passing by the Catholic church of St Mary of Nazareth, at the Latin Vicariate.

The gathering, which marked one month after the kidnapping of two bishops of Aleppo - Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and the Greek Orthodox Boulos al-Yazigi - was led by heads and representatives of Churches and ecclesial communities present in Jordan.

Upon arrival in the Syriac Orthodox Cathedral, Archbishop Maroun Laham - Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem - read a statement signed by all the bishops and heads of Churches and local ecclesial communities, condemning the kidnapping of "two of the most significant Arab Christian personalities of our time" and praying to "the Lord Almighty for tranquility and stability in beloved Syria."

In their appeal, the Christian leaders also called for "respect of the Holy Places in Palestine, especially in East Jerusalem" and invoked the Almighty to "bless the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and safeguard the gift of stability, security and the precious national unity under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein ".

"We prayed so that Jordan will not be plagued by conflicts that are causing so much suffering to the peoples of neighboring countries," Archbishop Maroun Lahham told Fides.

Source: Fides