Patriarch John X Congratulates General Joseph Aoun

 

Patriarch John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Orthodox, sent a congratulatory message to General Joseph Aoun, President-elect of the Lebanese Republic, in which he said:

"We received with joy the news of your election as President of the Lebanese Republic in a time where Lebanon lives in hope, a Lebanon that is always looking forward to stability and prosperity and always rising like the phoenix, no matter how many crises and severe hardships befall it.

Your election confirms, first and foremost, the confidence of the Lebanese in your person and qualities as the head of the military institution, which is the shield of the nation and the symbol of its strength. Your election also confirms the confidence of the Lebanese people in the Lebanese Army, an institution that emanates from and extends to the entire nation.

We express our heartfelt congratulations and convey the congratulations of the children of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, with all its dioceses in the homeland and abroad. We congratulate you and raise our prayers to the Almighty Lord, the God of all comfort and hope, to plant the seed of hope in your heart and guide you to what is best for this country.

We see in you the pride and strength of the cedars in these times when the East and the World are in turmoil and yearn for the peaceful heaven of the Father of lights and the God of all consolation.

God be with you.

Long live the President, and long live Lebanon.