As reported by the New York Times and numerous other media sources, a bomb tore through a subway train in St. Petersburg on Monday afternoon, April 3, 2017. Ten people died and 39 others, including children, were injured. A second bomb, discovered at a neighboring station, was disarmed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
In response to the tragedy, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, sent a letter of condolence to His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the text of which appears below. A PDF version is also available.
Metropolitan Tikhon’s Letter of Condolence to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
Marking the Bombing of the St. Petersburg SubwayApril 3, 2017
Your Holiness,
Dear brother and concelebrant in Christ,
With a great sadness which has become all too familiar, we express our condolences and prayers for everyone affected by today’s bombing in St Petersburg: those who lost their lives, those who were wounded and their families.
The experience of senseless violence, carried out without discrimination, has been known by too many across all geographic and cultural borders. The suffering, pain, fear and anxiety of these events are only bearable through the love offered within the community of faith as we “look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” [Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed].
Your Holiness, please be assured that the bishops, monastics, clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America are offering prayers for the souls of those departed and for all those affected by this tragedy.
On our journey to the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, may we find the healing and the hope to strengthen us as we seek to witness to faith and love in the midst of yet another tragedy.
With love in Christ,
+ Tikhon
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada
