Samir Al-Ghadban. Founder of the Spiritual Heritage Foundation of St. Paul, President of the Holy Land Foundation
Video newsreel from May 28, 2005 at Kaukab near Damascus
A Solemn divine service was held in memory of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are considered the founders of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. The divine service took place on St. Paul the Apostle monument’s opening day. The monument, a work by the Russian sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov, was erected near the chapel, at the expense of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy in the 1960s, in honor of the biblical event – a miraculous appearance of the Savior to the future Apostle Paul.
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A Sermon from Mount Cherubim
We are working on a documentary film project based on the real events of the civil war in Syria in 2013-2015. This story is about how, contrary to the logic of the military confrontation between the opposition and government forces, which, along with the suffering and death of thousands of people, led to a humanitarian disaster in the country, an unprecedented humanitarian action was carried out. In the degree of organizational and technical difficulty, and the risk to the lives of its participants it reminds us of a military operation.
So, the middle of October 2013. The heat of fighting between government forces and fighters of Jabhat al-Nusra (an organization banned in Russia) on the top of the holy mountain Al-Qalamoun ¹.
Here, at an altitude of 2,100 meters, a unique sculpture called “I Have Come to Save the World” was erected for three days and nights at the Cherubim Monastery (Deir Sherubim). The 11-meter sculpture of Christ in bronze, blessing the repentant Adam and Eve, represents the image of the Second Coming of the Savior. Together with a pedestal its height is 39 meters.
According to its creators’ idea, it is intended to bring peace, understanding and hope for common salvation to a region engulfed in flames of war.
It is a credible fact that during these three days the warring parties suspended war activities and watched the installation of the statue.
From eyewitness reports, the event on the mountain was closely followed by people from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel.
The installation of the sculpture “I have come to save the World” on the top of Mount Cherubim was a joint effort of representatives of Syrian, English, Russian and Armenian religious denominations.
The story is based on the story of a Muslim family from the village of Khafir, located at the foot of Mount Cherubim, as an example of the possible reconciliation of people involved in a religious extermination war, and their key role in the installation of the sculptural installation “I have come to save the World” on the top of Mount Cherubim.
¹ near the world-famous Convent of Our Lady of Sednaya
² It is notable that this event took place in the days when Muslims all over the world make the great stand on Mount Arafat, at the culmination of the Hajj, the holy pilgrimage to the Islamic shrines of Mecca and Medina. In Christian tradition, on October 14, 2013, the day of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary