Other posts show destruction to an Orthodox cathedral as well as to a monastery.
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The Saint George Roum Orthodox cathedral of Beirut this afternoon, after the huge explosions that hit the Lebanese capital.In this very place was the ancient Roman cathedral of Beirut, the Anastasis, one of the first churches bearing the name of the Anastasis of Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/fIZSvFinVn
— Ciarán Ó Murchadha ♰ (@DefenceOrthodox) August 4, 2020
Footage from our monastery in #Beirut, #Lebanon after the explosion occurred in that area.
No one of the #Franciscans living there were injured.
Let us pray for Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/GpFZgM5mUA
— Custodia Terrae Sanctae (@custodiaTS) August 4, 2020
The explosions could not have come at a worse time for Lebanon. The blasts damaged a port, which is important for getting goods into and out of the country, and have also destroyed the port’s grain silos. This leaves the nation with less than a month’s reserves of wheat, although the economy minister says there is enough to avoid a crisis.
A Lebanese Maronite priest serving in Rome has expressed his anxiety over what the destruction of the country’s wheat reserves will do to Lebanon. He observed that the blasts “happened at the biggest docks in Lebanon and they also have big reservoirs of wheat, the central reservoirs are there, and these have gone, have gone to ashes. That’s another tragedy in the making because they will have shortages.”
Said the priest, “The most important thing is for people to pray for everybody who has been hurt in Lebanon…It seems that this country is just trying to come out of the darkness and every time it does it receives another blow.”
Kassab criticized Lebanon’s leadership and explained that the country was going bankrupt before the explosions. “Inflation has risen 85 percent,” he said. “The government is running out of hard currency in the central bank. And ordinary citizens are denied access to the dollars they have in their personal accounts.” Many people had lost their jobs and even those who had jobs were not receiving their full salaries.
Kassab asked for aid from believers in the West, saying, “We want to raise the awareness of our brothers and sisters in the West and especially in the United States. We have a common history and a common mission…Do you still care? We are continuing what your ancestors started, and this is our shared spiritual heritage.”
