His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent condolences to the President of the Lebanese Republic, Mr. Michel Aoun, and to His Beatitude Patriarch John X of the Great Antioch and All the East over the death of people in the explosion at Beirut’s port.
His Excellency Mr. Michel AOUN
President
Lebanese Republic
Your Excellency, dear Mr. President,
It grieved me deeply to learn about the explosions that thundered on Tuesday at Beirut’s port, killing and injuring many people and causing considerable damage to the city’s buildings and infrastructure. Please accept my profound condolences.
I sincerely empathize with those who have lost their relatives and friends and ask to convey to them my words of consolation and support, and to the injured – my wishes of the soonest recovery.
At this time of hardships may the Merciful Lord grant strength to the doctors who are selflessly fighting to save the lives of the victims, to the staff of the rescue services and to all those who are working hard, striving to overcome the aftermaths of the tragedy, and may He grant peace, welfare and tranquillity to Lebanon.
With deep condolences,
+KIRILL
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
***
His Beatitude John X
Patriarch of the Great Antioch and All the East
Your Beatitude, Beloved Brother and Concelebrant at God’s Altar,
On behalf of the archpastors, clergy, monastics and laypeople of the Russian Orthodox Church I offer you my deep condolences over the tragedy that occurred in Beirut.
My heart grieved as I learned about the calamity which inflicted new wounds on your long-suffering Christ-loving flock. I am praying to our Lord Jesus Christ that He may grant recovery to the injured, repose to the souls of the victims, consolation to their relatives and friends in this sorrow, and peace, welfare and tranquillity to Lebanon.
With brotherly love in the Lord,
+KIRILL
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
A massive explosion ripped through central Beirut on Tuesday, killing dozens of people, injuring thousands and blowing out windows in buildings across the city.
The blast near Beirut’s port sent up a huge mushroom cloud-shaped shockwave, flipping cars and damaging distant buildings. It was felt as far as Cyprus, hundreds of miles away, and registered as a 3.3 magnitude earthquake in the Lebanese capital.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, said that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers and bombs, had been stored for six years at a port warehouse without safety measures, “endangering the safety of citizens,” according to a statement.
The Prime Minister called the storage of the material “unacceptable” and called for an investigation into the cause of the blast, with the results released within five days, the statement said.
