Friday, September 10, 2004

In response to the devastating terrorist siege at a Russian school which ended in the deaths of at least 335 people - most of them schoolchildren - Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold sent a letter to His Holiness Alexey II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, expressing his "heartfelt condolences and sympathy for the tragedy." The full text of the letter follows:

September 10, 2004

His Holiness Alexey II Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia 5 Tchisty Pereulok 119034 Moscow RUSSIA

Your Holiness,

As Primate of the Episcopal Church in the United States, which has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship in our Lord Jesus Christ with the Church in Holy Russia, let me extend my personal and heartfelt condolences and sympathy for the tragedy at Beslan. Please know of our prayers for you, for the deeply spiritual work of chaplains and Russian Orthodox priests who have been called upon to offer pastoral care, and - most of all - for the families of the killed and wounded, and for the souls of the faithful departed.

The message of our faith in Christ that the Almighty has created us for the sake of peace and love, not violence and hatred, can never be more important than in the wake of such devastating events. May we offer all these prayers to the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and to the ages of ages.

Your brother in Christ,

Frank T. Griswold Presiding Bishop and Primate

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, in an interview with BBC Radio 4's John Humphrys September 4, described the acts as "the most evil kinds that we can possibly imagine," adding that they "are to be condemned without reservation." An audio stream of the full interview can be found online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/interview.

Episcopal News Service