Syria's Greek Orthodox Church enthroned a new patriarch during a ceremonial mass in Damascus yesterday amid civil war, the Huffington Post website reports today (February 11, 2013).
John Yazigi, 57, replaces Ignatius Hazim as the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. Hazim died in December.
There are a number of Eastern Orthodox churches in the Middle East and the region also has more than a half dozen patriarchs, including the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.
Christians represent about five percent of the population in Syria, where -- for nearly two years -- rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have been fighting a civil war the UN says has killed more than 60,000 people. During yesterday's enthronement ceremony in the Church of the Holy Cross in Damascus, Patriarch Yazigi said he will work for peace and pray for unity.
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