Damascus, June 12th, 1991.

May the Lord keep you in His Bliss and Peace.

It is with joy for me to present your French readers, your book "SOUFANIEH". I, myself have read it in Arabic, both in hand-written and printed form. I have taken good note of what it contains as it relates to the facts and miraculous cures. I have appreciated your objectivity and serenity as well as the convincing manner in which you present those events that are far from being novelties in the history of Christianity. As a matter of fact, I have had the opportunity to see with my own eyes, in my office, the oozing of Holy Oil from a picture of Our Lady of Soufanieh, as well as from the hands of Myrna.

I thank the Lord for the marvellous gifts that He is bestowing upon us in these difficult times. Praised be He to have provided you, under the guidance of the Holy Virgin Mary, with laity who took care of the printing of your book in Arabic, so as to allow its free distribution in the pure tradition of Soufanieh. May the Lord reward him and provide us with his likes.

Dear Father Elias,

I have the firm conviction that this book will strengthen the faith of Christians, and will confirm to all that the Lord Jesus is ALIVE for ever and ever; that He can still perform miracles, today and everyday, the same as He has accomplished at the time in Palestine and as He is performing for the past 2000 years without interruption in His Church.

This book will also remind all of us that the Mother of Jesus, the Holy Virgin, has an important and unique role to play in the plan of Universal Redemption.

Dear Father Elias,

Signed:

Zakka Iwas I
Patriarch of Antioch and of all the Orient
Supreme Head of the Syrian Orthodox Universal Church

(TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH LETTER, COVER PAGE OF THE BOOK ENTITLED: 'SOUVENEZ-VOUS DE DIEU' )