By Linda Taaffe

Parishioners from the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer say God left a message amid the ruins from the three-alarm fire that destroyed their Los Altos sanctuary April 7, telling them to peacefully move forward.

A Bible passage about tolerance lay unharmed under a pile of ashes on the scorched altar.

All of the pages up to that passage were destroyed, including the book’s metal cover, which melted in the 1,000-plus degrees emitted from the flames. The glass pedestal on which the book sat was also destroyed by the flames, said Father Samer Youssef, who sorted through the ruins with federal agents days after the fire, which investigators say someone purposely set.

Youssef said he discovered the Bible while sifting through layers of ruins. The book was black and covered in ash. Sameer said he saw something white under the burned pages. When he blew the ashes from the book, he uncovered a passage from the Gospel of Matthew about tolerance.

” … Whoever slaps you on your right cheek; turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

The first 25 pages were destroyed up until that passage. Those pages were white and unharmed, he said. The holy cross used in church processions was also unharmed, he said.

“‘My goodness,’ I thought. It was really touching,” Youssef said. “This is a Christian lesson to us. Christ is with us, even in the fire. I feel Christ is guiding us in a difficult situation … He is telling us to be courageous and continue our teaching.”

Youssef said he hopes God’s message will encourage the community “not to commit a crime for another crime.”

Parishioners held Palm Sunday celebrations under a tent in front of the church ruins last weekend.

“The arsonist did not realize that to destroy a church, you must destroy the people … we are doing all that we did before with even more intensity, more passion and more focus,” said church member Karim Azar in a letter to parishioners.

Investigators have not named any suspects in the fire. They were still searching for leads last week.

Anyone interested in making a contribution to the church may mail a check to the Orthodox Church of the Redeemer, 380 Magdalena Ave., Los Altos Hills, CA 94024.