Pope’s condolence for the death of Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch

December 07, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday expressed his condolence for the death of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignace IV Hazim of Antioch and All the East. The 92-year head of the Eastern Orthodox Church base in Damascus, Syria, died on Wednesday in a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. In a message to Metropolitan Archbishop Spyridon of Heliopolis, the Pope noted that during this long life in the service of the Gospel, Patriarch Ignace gave a clear witness of faith and charity by working with dedication for the spiritual elevation the flock entrusted to him and for the great cause of reconciliation and peace among men. The Pope particularly recalled the late patriarch’s “positive and effective contribution” to relations between their Churches. “May his memory also invite us to pursue the path of dialogue and the search for full communion in Christ!” the Pope wished.
In 1997, Patriarch Ignace IV was elected Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, which is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. There are number of mostly autonomous Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Middle East and the surrounding region also has more than a half dozen patriarchs, including the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is regarded as the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians.