Damascus - On Tuesday evening of 13 December, 2011, in the context of the session of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops in Syria, there took place in the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus, an ecumenical prayer vigil for peace in Syria, with the participation of representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches present in the country. The liturgical texts for this celebration, which was broadcast live on Syrian television, were taken from the seasonal cycle for the Nativity.

In his address, H. B. Patriarch Gregorios III, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, affirmed loyalty to the Syrian homeland from all Christian Churches, and their unanimous wish to work for national unity and Christian-Muslim living together, and their rejection of any foreign intervention to resolve the current crisis.