Metropolitan Herman calls for prayers in wake of Virginia Tech massacre

SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] — In a statement dated April 20, 2007, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, called upon the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America to pray for victims and their families of the massacre on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA, on Monday, April 16.

The text of Metropolitan Herman’s statement reads as follows.

“On Monday, April 16, in the midst of our ongoing celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord, we were shocked to learn of the senseless murders of thirty-two students and faculty members on the campus of Virginia Tech.

“Once again, we were reminded that we live in a fallen world, one in which evil is very much alive and over which Our Lord wept on the eve of His own death. Yet, it is at times like this that we are challenged to cling even more intensely to our only Hope, our only Joy—the risen Christ, by Whose Resurrection the promise of new life is freely offered to those who wish to partake thereof.

“It is difficult to imagine the shock experienced by the classmates of those who lost their lives. And the grief experienced by the students’ parents is beyond our imagination. Death, regardless of the circumstances, is always a tragedy, something that remains foreign to God’s creation. Finding comfort in the midst of such pain is not easy. Answering the ultimate question — “why?”—is even more difficult, given the impossibility of rationalizing that which is by nature irrational.

“Yet, our Savior so mercifully reaches out to us in the midst of this and every tragedy, lightening our burdens, removing our yokes, and weeping with us in our losses. At times like this, we are reminded to turn to Him, to seek for ourselves and for the families and friends of the victims that peace which passes all understanding.

“I invite all of you to join me in praying, above all, for those innocent students and faculty members whose lives ended so tragically and abruptly.

“May they be granted eternal rest where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing. Let us pray for the victims’ families, for whom we

express our deepest sympathy, as they struggle in the days and years ahead to cope with the painful loss of their sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters and spouses. Let us pray for their classmates—and the entire Virginia Tech community—and especially for those Virginia Tech students who are members of our Orthodox Church in America, whose grief we share in a special way. And let us pray for ourselves, that the Lord will help us,

each in our own way, to transform the growing violence and sense of fear

that has become so common in our society by living our own lives in faithfulness to the Gospel of our risen Lord.

“May He Who has power over both the living and the dead, our only Hope and Resurrection, transform our individual and collective grief into a faith

capable of enduring this mindless tragedy. And may He enable us to see beyond the evil of this world, to place our hope in the promises of the life of the world to come, and to embrace all the more intensely the comfort that He and He alone offers.”

A copy of the statement was sent to Dr. Charles W. Steger, president of Virginia Tech.