According to Christian humanitarian charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar’s life was spared because he woke up from a nap to go to his bathroom on Monday.

He told ACN: “A shell fell on my bed… when I had retired for a little siesta, a few seconds at the sink saved my life!

“The bed was riddled with shrapnel.”

Staff at the church feared the explosive killed Bishop Samir.

Bishop Samir told the charity: “They cried with joy when they saw me coming out alive of the smoke and rubble.

“Providence watches over his little servant, but now I am exiled like 12 million Syrian refugees who have nothing left.”

It’s been reported ten shells fell in areas of Damascus. Bishop Samir explained that Maronite cathedral has suffered major damage.

“The doors of the cathedral and 43 windows and doors have to be replaced, holes need to be filled, fuel tanks and water tanks need repairing, as does the electricity network, a car was damaged,” he said.

“Violence is the only master, innocents are being sacrificed every day.”

ACN said the Melkite Patriarchate on Straight Street, the only road mentioned in the New Testament and the place where St Paul stayed, also suffered damage when a bomb fell on the courtyard.

Also, the neighbouring Sisters of Jesus and Mary convent was partially damaged. They have asked for prayers for seven people in hospital who were injured during the bombing.

Then five-year-old Ryland Ward was part of a Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in which a gunman stormed in and killed 26 people, including an unborn child.

Ryland, who was shot several times in November, received a special homecoming on Thursday when he rode around the rural town in fire truck.

6-year-old #RylandWard waves from the window of a firetruck escorting him home from the hospital, where he spent two months recovering from gunshot wounds sustained in church shooting in #SutherlandSprings, TX. pic.twitter.com/aSuruBDvFc @newnewspage

— Breaking News (@newnewspage) January 12, 2018

Volunteer firefighter Rusty Duncan was a first responder that day and told ABC News he was the one who found Ryland and pulled him to safety.

Duncan said when he responded to the scene, he went through the aisles and “started checking for people’s pulses”.

He added: “That’s where Ryland’s hand reached out from under his stepmom and grabbed my pant leg. I rolled her over and grabbed him and started running outside with him.”

Duncan said Ryland’s step-mother died in the attack. 

Ryland’s grandmother, Sandy Ward, told ABC News it was a “miracle” that Ryland survived and he is still recovering. She said he drags his left foot when he tries to walk, and also has limited use of his hip.

Amazing emotion in the crowd as Ryland passes through pic.twitter.com/v437daSc3x

— Garrett Brnger (@BrngerReports) January 11, 2018

Duncan paid…

The television presenter and novelist said singing as a chorister at All Saints Parish Church in Ilkley, Yorkshire from the age of eight instilled in him a deep knowledge and appreciation of The Book of Common Prayer.

Speaking to The Prayer Book Society (PBS), he listed some of his favourites words used during a Baptism service.

He quoted: “The Lord bless you, and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you.”

He added: “Also lovely are the words of the Nunc Dimittis sung at Evensong, ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace’.”

Dismissing criticisms that the key source for the Church of England’s doctrine contains old-fashioned language which is hard to understand, Titchmarsh said: “In our day-to- day conversations, words account for only ten per cent of the our communication; the rest is body language.

“Similarly, there is more to the Prayer Book than the words on the page. Much of its effect derives from its atmosphere, euphony, musicality, rhythm and pace.

“In my view it is vital that people are given the opportunity to hear the magical language of The Book of Common Prayer in church.

“It has a musicality not offered by modern liturgies, but it is important that clergy who use it are able to read it effectively, giving its words significant impact.”