Beirut, on December 20, 2012

The Metropolitan of Beirut and its subordinations for the Greek Orthodox the Archbishop Elias Audi received his Eminence the Sheikh Akl of the Druze Unitarian Community the Sheikh Naim Hassan accompanied by the Sheikh Faysal Nasreddine, the Sheikh Farouk El Halabi, Abbas El Halabi and Nizar El Baradihi.
Following the visit, his Eminence declared: “we intend by our visit to the Patriarch the Archbishop Elias Audi to address our condolences at the death of his Holiness the Patriarch Hazim. The date was previously set for the election of his Holiness the Patriarch Yaziji. The Patriarch Hazim was a faithful, Eastern and Arab figure who has his own history and struggle. We wish the new Patriarch the best of success in his tasks. The discussions with the Patriarch have undoubtedly included a large number of interesting topics and we wish him all the luck and good health. As for the national concern, we hoped that an electoral law would be consensually adopted preserving the roots of the Lebanese entity”.
As a reply to the question:  serious challenges that are facing the Christians in the East, what do you intend to achieve with the new Patriarch? He said: “we have certified in many spiritual summits that the Christian presence in the East is deep-rooted. The celestial messages were brought to this region and by the will of God, we, together with his Holiness and their Eminence, are determined to the spiritual cooperation imposed to us in order to preserve the Islamo-Christian union”.