Condolence for the commemoration of the New Damascene Antiochian Martyrs:

condolence for the commemoration of the New Damascene Antiochian Martyrs:

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping... Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.

My brothers and sisters, how heavy is this scene, how painful it is to the soul and the heart! The hearts are shattered, and spirits are bowed under the weight of loss. But do we die as the world dies? No—for we are not a people without hope. Our martyrs have not vanished into oblivion; they are planted in the memory of God, in the heart of the Church, and in the essence of our coming resurrection.

Yes, we weep... but our weeping is pure, without bitterness, for they did not die in vain—they died in the image of the Master. They offered themselves like wheat sown into the ground, and they have become the fruit of eternal life. From the early apostles, to Joseph of Damascus, to the new martyrs—an unbroken golden chain lifts us toward the heights.

Yet amid this light, another sorrow arises: a grief without comfort, a lament without hope... It is for the one who gave his soul to the deceit of the devil, lured by false promises. He thought that by choosing death he would find bliss, but was lost in a darkness without dawn. He is not among the martyrs but among the victims of destruction. We weep for him, for his heart did not know the truth, and his eyes did not see the light of Christ.

Beloved, may our tears today not only express parting, but loyalty to truth, longing for holiness, and a steadfast hold on hope. Let us seize this hour of sorrow to pray—not only for those who have departed—but for ourselves, we who remain on the path of struggle. May we live lives worthy of our calling and one day reach, with them, the city of the living.

Amen.