SYRIA: Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Yawsef III Younan celebrates Divine Liturgy in Hasakah city

HASAKAH/GOZARTO, North and East Syria – During the second day of his pastoral visit to North and East, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Yawsef III Younan visited Hasakah where he was received by Syriac Orthodox archbishop Maurice Amsih and the Syriac Catholic patriarchal vicar for Hasakah Msgr. Joseph Shimei. The Syriac diocese of Hasakah is a non-metropolitan archeparchy. On Sunday morning, Mor Yawsef III Younan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral of the Assumption of Mary.

Syriac satellite channel SuroyoTV covered the Divine Liturgy and interviewed the Patriarch. Mor Yawsef III Younan said to our news desk that he came to visit his faithful, see the conditions of the local parish, and visit the region that is his birthplace and whose churches he served as a monk for years – the Patriarch currently resides in Beirut. Mor Yawsef III Younan expressed his support to the people of the region and said he wanted to plant the will with the faithful to stay in their homeland.

Mor Yawsef III Younan added that the Syriacs are the descendants of the martyrs who perished during the Ottoman genocide of 1915, and the children of mothers who suffered many hardships to build righteous believing generations. He stressed the need of union among the faithful in a spirit of love, and the need to work to ensure Syriac civil rights in the homeland, in accordance with international laws and constitutions.

On the other hand, lawyer Bashour Fatouhi, who led the preparatory committee for the patriarch’s visit program, stated that the patriarch’s visit is an important and precious visit, especially in these difficult conditions experienced by the region. His visit comes as a message for the unity and solidarity of all the people of the region. He added that the coming days will include visits to the rest of the Christian and Syriac denominations, in addition to visits to political officials and active parties in the region.

The protection was in the hands of the Syriac internal security forces Sutoro.

While #Syriac Catholic Patriarch HB Youssef III Younan visiting NE Syria for the first time, our partner police force #Sutoro is providing security for HB. pic.twitter.com/q5SNeQzXp5

— SyriacMilitaryMFS (@SyriacMFS) December 12, 2021