Grieving parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends – grieving Macedonia,
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric has received with deep sorrow and grief the tragic news of the immense disaster in Kočani, in which many of our young children lost their lives, and many others are fighting to survive.
Yet, even in these moments of unfathomable sorrow, let us not forget that God is the God of the living and that through Him, there are no dead. Therefore, although human words cannot provide true consolation, may our comfort—for the families, their loved ones, and for all of us—be our faith that the memory of the righteous is eternal and that they shall forever exist in the Ever-Living God.
We pray to the Triune God—the God of love—to receive the souls of His innocent children into the Garden of Eden and to grant their dearest ones comfort and strength, sending them His heavenly protection.
To the injured, may God—the Healer of all—grant swift recovery and healing.
President of the Holy Synod of Bishops
of the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric
S T E F A N
