Pope and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa offered prayers for Greece and those affected by the devastating wildfires during the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on August 6, 2026.
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Monastery of St. Savvas the Sanctified in Alexandria, Patriarch Theodore blessed grapes according to tradition and distributed them to the faithful.
The Patriarch then offered a special prayer for those suffering from the consequences of the wildfires in Greece, remembering the victims, the extensive material damage and the environmental destruction caused by the fires.
He prayed in particular for the repose of firefighter Panteleimon Diamantakis, his spiritual child, who lost his life while carrying out his duties.
Patriarch Theodore also conveyed his heartfelt solidarity and prayers to Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece, the Hierarchy, clergy and people of Greece, expressing hope for the swift containment of the fires and for beneficial rainfall in the affected regions.
The Patriarch additionally thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for expressing Egypt’s solidarity with Greece in confronting the wildfire crisis during a telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He praised the gesture as a tangible expression of friendship and said it reaffirmed the longstanding bonds of fraternity and strategic cooperation between Egypt and Greece.
During the Divine Liturgy, a special prayer for the cessation of the wildfires, composed by Metropolitan Chrysostomos III of Mani, was also read.
Patriarch Theodore concluded by praying that the Transfigured Lord grant consolation to those affected, strength to firefighters and rescuers, and a swift end to the devastating fires afflicting Greece.
