On March 15, 2026 Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John X, emphasized the role of the Cross in the life of the Church, adding: “On the Feast of the Cross, we look out upon the whole world from this Eastern land, asking for peace and mercy.” His words came during the Divine Liturgy of the third Sunday of Lent (Commemoration of the Cross), which he celebrated at the Holy Cross Church in Qassaa, Damascus, with the concelebration of the clergy and in the presence of the Greek Ambassador Emmanuel Kakavilakis and the Lebanese Ambassador Henry Kastoun to Syria.
After the Liturgy, he inaugurated the Icon Exhibition in the halls of the Holy Cross. He then proceeded to the Saint Gregory Orthodox Association, which celebrates this feast together with the institutions of the Holy Cross Church. He praised the work of the Association along with the other bodies that celebrate the feast of the Holy Cross and unite under the name “Family of the Cross.”
