In the Old City district of Damascus, the Greek Orthodox Church of Syria held a funeral on Monday for Ignatius IV Hazim, patriarch of Antioch and All the East. The ceremony was attended by a large number of religious leaders of several faiths, including Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham, as well as government officials. Hazim was 92 when he died in Beirut on Wednesday following a stroke. His body was transferred to Damascus on Sunday.

 

A farewell mass was held at noon on Sunday at Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh district and attended by a number of politicians, including President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati. [Link]