REDEDICATION OF ST. ANNA CHAPEL IN SYRIA DRAWS ARMENIAN PILGRIMS

After fourteen years of waiting, more thant 3,000 pilgrims and members of the Armenian community of Yacoubiyah, Syria, gathered on Sunday, August 31, for the rededication of the chapel of St. Anna. His Eminence Archbishop Magar Ashkarian, Prelate of Aleppo, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and led the consecration of the sanctuary. Clergy from both the Armenian and Latin churches, joined by scouts and bands, accompanied the procession as flowers were offered at the chapel’s entrance.

In his sermon, Archbishop Magar drew from Psalm 91, calling the faithful torely on God’s love, trust His promises, and hold fast to the hope of eternal life. He underlined that God’s love is unchanging and that faith in His word is the key to enduring hardship. His message came as many of the faithful recalled years of war, displacement, and the long absence from their pilgrimage site.

The chapel, damaged in the February 2023 earthquake, was rebuilt by Franciscan friars as a gesture of solidarity between the Latin and Armenian churches. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Magar and Father Louai Bsharat unveiled a commemorative plaque and blessed the traditional madagh. The Aleppo chapter of Homenetmen performed patriotic songs, while security forces ensured safety around the site.  

Alongside Archbishop Magar and Fr. Louai, there were Father Ghugas Mesrob, also from the Latin Church, as well as the Vicar General of Jazira, Very Rev. Fr. Levon Yeghiayan; the spiritual overseer of Kessab, Very Rev. Fr. Yesayi Eordekian; Rev. Fr. Armen Kalayjian; Archpriest Fr. Mashtots Arapatlian; Archpriest. Fr. Arshag Alajajian; Archpriest Fr. Vazken Keoshgerian, pastor of Latakia and the coastal region; and Rev. Fr. Grigor Yeghiayan, Pastor of Tripoli, Lebanon. Together with the Archbishop, they proceeded in procession toward the chapel of St. Anna, accompanied by the Aleppo chapter of Homenetmen’s band and scouts in traditional attire, along with scouts from the Latin community. They were greeted at the chapel with bouquets of flowers. The ceremony drew large numbers of Yagubiyah Armenians and pilgrims from across different regions of Syria.