December 15, 2012
Statement from the Office of the First
Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, in connection with the Attack
on the Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut
Dear
brethren, sisters and children!
With horror I followed the tragedy that unfolded yesterday in a
school in the state of Connecticut, during which a murderer spared
neither children nor even his own mother; and I hasten to express
unto all my deepest sympathy amid your common sorrow. I am
praying for the repose of the children and those who suffered with
them, and for their bereaved parents, relatives, classmates,
teachers and friends. May the Lord give His people strength
and bless their hearts with His heavenly peace. May Jesus
Christ our God bless the self-sacrificing teachers who saved the
terrified children and showed them an example of Christian love.
With all my soul I desire that the consolation of Christ and help
from heaven be granted you!
With this statement, I call upon the rectors of our parishes and the
superiors of our monasteries to insert the following petition in the
Augmented Litany of the Divine Liturgy:
"To Thee, O Lord, Who art in heaven, we raise up the eyes of our
soul, and lift our hands, and sigh from the depths of our heart, and
praying with our speech we cry out: give rest to the blest infants
and to those who suffered with them in the present trouble and
sorrow: hearken to those who weep and are pained, and await Thy
consolation, asking Thy goodness; we ask Thy mercy and seek to
obtain grace before Thee, and we knock upon Thy doors: open to us
the doors of Thine abundant kindness, and abandon us not to the end,
for Thy name's sake. Let us say: Lord, hearken soon and have mercy
upon all."
Yesterday's tragedy again reminds us that we must cherish the sacred
gift of life and one another, following the commandments of God, and
thus bring forth the light of Christ in this fallen world, rendering
it less dark.
With love in the Lord and a request for your prayers,
+HILARION
Metropolitan of New York & Eastern America
First Hierarch of
the Russian Church Abroad
Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese
