Metropolitan Elias Aoude of Beirut and its suburbs for the Greek Orthodox Church presided over a Divine Liturgy at St. George Cathedral in Beirut, attended by a crowd of the faithful.
After the Holy Gospel, Aoude delivered a sermon in which he said: "What has happened in our country recently, and what is still happening, requires everyone to fast and pray, that the demons of ego, greed, domination, and self-interest may leave for good. We must cling to faith and repent to the Lord, so that He hears our cries. We must not worship idols represented by a person, a position, or materialism. No matter how loud our cries are, they will not find attentive ears if not directed to the Lord, for the idols of nations have ears but do not hear, and they have eyes but do not see, as we read in the Holy Scriptures. So, 'pray always and do not lose heart' (Luke 18: 1). Let our conduct all be a reflection of our deep faith. Our problem in Lebanon is that mouths speak what the heart does not believe. How many slogans we hear, and how sweet the promises seem. But the daily behavior of their proponents contradicts their words. Thus, we see the most corrupt lecturing on integrity and decency, condemning the corrupt, and those evading justice appointing themselves as judgmental judges, and those who violate the state, its constitution, its sovereignty, and its laws claiming false patriotism and mocking others for their affiliations."
He concluded: "We hope that the conscience of the people of Lebanon and its residents awakens, and that God guides the conduct of every official, leader, and chief to make their actions a mirror of their words, or their words to be accompanied by good deeds and their faith in God and love for their country, because 'faith without works is dead,' as James says in his epistle (2: 20), Amen."
