Photo credit: mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) will help deliver the Sputnik V vaccine to Lebanon, TASS reports. The Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate will assist in the charity event.
The vaccine will be sent to the victims of the explosion in the port of Beirut, explained the Archbishop of Vladikavkaz and Alan Leonid. This issue was discussed during the visit of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church to Lebanon, which took place two weeks ago.
The archbishop assured that the ROC plans to continue helping the victims, together with the Antiochian Orthodox Church, it is doing everything possible to restore the destroyed shrines and to improve the life of Christians in the region.
On August 4, 2020, about 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded near the seaport in Beirut. It was confiscated by customs a few years ago. The blast wave destroyed and damaged hundreds of buildings, cars, houses, infrastructure. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. The number of victims of the explosion reached almost 200, more than 6,000 residents of the city were injured. The capital of Lebanon was recognized as a disaster zone, a two-week state of emergency was declared.
Since the tragedy, the ROC has been taking part in the restoration of infrastructure and destroyed facilities. The Beirut Metropolitanate building, a temple, a school, and a kindergarten are already restored.
Russkiy Mir
