Syriac Orthodox patriarch on first visit to Turkey, inspects earthquake devastation in Adıyaman
ADIYAMAN, Turkey – Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II has arrived in Turkey to inspect the devastation caused by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and to visit the victims in the various cities of southeast Turkey where Syriacs are present.
It is the church hierarch’s first visit to Turkey since assuming the highest church office in May 2014.
Patriarch Aphrem arrived in Istanbul yesterday where he was received by the bishop of Istanbul Mor Filoxenos Yawsef Çetin. He held a prayer for the earthquake victims at the Syriac Orthodox Mother of God Church in the city’s Beyoğlu district after which he made his way to the disaster area, to the city of Adıyaman.
On Saturday, the patriarch inspected the Saint Peter and Paul Church in Adıyaman which suffered irreparable damage, as previously commented by the bishop of Adıyaman Mor Melke Ürek.
His visit to the Turkish part of the earthquake zone comes after an earlier visit to Holob (Aleppo) in the Syrian part. In Aleppo, he visited shelters, hospitals and churches.
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