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Anglican bishop views damage from earthquakes in Algiers
Episcopal News Service
Issue:
Section:
2003-122D
Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2003
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The Rt. Rev. Mouneer Anis, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Egypt and North Africa, paid a pastoral visit May 24 to the scene of the deadliest earthquake in Algiers since 1980.
The temblor, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, struck some 30 miles east of Algiers on May 21. The official toll stands at 2,251 dead and 10,243 injured, with hundreds still missing.
Anis was on his way to Algiers to discuss matters relating to the local Episcopal church, Holy Trinity, with the British Embassy and the British Community Association when the earthquake occurred. 'I tried to contact friends in Algiers to find out about the situation but I was unable to get through because all communications were down,' Anis wrote. 'Despite this, I decided to go so that I would at least be among the people there during this disaster.'
Anis surveyed the damage to the church. 'I was sorry to see that the earthquake caused some serious cracks in the tower such that it was necessary for them to remove it before it fell,' he reported. 'There were multiple cracks inside the church as well. As a result, there is a lot of repair work required to ensure the church is safe.'
He also toured the epicenter of the quake, Bomerdas, where a number of houses had collapsed, and visited with Algeria's Minister of Religious Affairs to convey condolences on behalf of the Episcopal Church in Egypt, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Interfaith Committee of Al-Azhar.
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