In the morning and afternoon of 02.06.2023, the devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 and 7.7 struck Turkey and Syria, respectively, buildings, family houses, shops, hospitals, schools, churches, mosques, facilities, but above all people they fell victim. Christians and Muslims, children and the elderly, men and women in the prime of life. The continuously flowing recordings give an image of heart-wrenching moments and situations. Christian and other religious communities also moved around the world. Roman Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Free Church and Charismatic communities, as well as governments and heads of state, including Viktor Orbán and Katalin Novák, are issuing their expressions of sympathy one after the other. It is encouraging that the prayer aid and support teams have also taken action. With prayers supporting the living. First of all, we now have a short prayer review and call review. The devastating earthquakes were accompanied by nearly a hundred earthquakes of lesser strength today, their magnitude usually did not exceed magnitude 5.5. Everything has consequences that are not harmless. In our individual silence, on our church occasions, let us join in the worldwide fraternal supplication.
Written by Dr. Lajos Békefy
Pope Francis and the Syrian Catholic Patriarch III. Younan Ignatius Efrem invited the world's Roman Catholic and local Syrian Christian communities to a prayer of compassion. In his prayer, Patriarch Younan asked the Lord to have mercy on the souls of the victims, to heal the spiritual wounds of the relatives, and to help fraternal and solidarity aid and helpers to reach those in need.
The British Methodist Church published an extraordinary prayer for this occasion and called for global prayer and fundraising. Their prayer reads:
Lord of time and space, God, our God, we cry to you for your children in southern Turkey and northern Syria, after the earthquake that destroyed hundreds of lives. Only you and they know what it feels like to experience such trauma in the middle of the night. To wake up to destruction. We thank you for the help already in progress and for the solidarity offers made by many nations. We pray for those trapped in the collapsed buildings; for those who have lost loved ones; for those who dig in the rubble to save others. Give them the gift of hope, our Risen Lord, who is victorious over destruction and death, so that those caught between life and death may feel: You are with them, and many are ready to support them, as they look for a future that will help them process today's poignant experiences. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask for them, our heavenly Father, for your human-loving Son, Who was able to endure everything out of love for us. Amen.
In addition to calls for prayer from world church organizations and national churches, Open Doors, which investigates the persecution of Christians worldwide and publishes annually, was one of the first to be invited to the compassionate prayer action.
The International Christian Aid Organization, the Church in Need international Catholic aid organization, the organizing committee of the International Day of Prayer, the Voice of the Martyrs Christian solidarity world organization, the Worldwide Service of the United Church of Christ. The Armenian Evangelical Church of Aleppo, hit by the earthquake, asks for the prayers of the Christian world for those involved in the rescue and consolation.
The Ghana Football Association's call for prayer for the Christian soccer star Atsu and other Ghanaian soccer players who play in various Turkish and Syrian clubs was a special statement on today's earthquake-stricken day. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ghana, asked for God's protection for the players and comfort and spiritual strength for the Turkish and Syrian people affected by the disaster.
