Following the death of Christian leader pastor Myles Munroe, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas has mourned the loss of his "personal friend and spiritual mentor".
"It is utterly impossible to measure the magnitude of Dr Munroe's loss to The Bahamas and to the world," Perry Christie said in a statement.
"He was indisputably one of the most globally recognisable religious figures our nation has ever produced. His fame as an ambassador for the Christian ministry preceded him wherever in the world he travelled, whether in the Caribbean, North America, Asia, Europe or Africa."
Describing Munroe as a "towering force who earned the respect and admiration" of Christian and secular leaders, Christie added that he "leaned on his [Munroe's] counsel in a number of important matters."
"I regarded him as both a personal friend and spiritual mentor," he said.
Leader of the Opposition Dr Hubert Minnis also expressed his condolences. "Tonight my heart is heavy and like millions around the world we are deeply saddened by this tragic loss of one of the world's most noted spiritual leaders," he said in a statement on Sunday night.
"This tragedy is both difficult to comprehend and accept but we know that Pastor Myles and his colleagues and family all enjoyed a deep and personal relationship with God and as such are resting in his arms."
Minnis added that Munroe "often remarked that we should die empty having produced all that God has birthed in us."
"We deeply love Pastor Myles and will miss him but shall continue his work to empower others and share the Kingdom principles that undergirded everything he said and did...We wish to remind the public of one of his most powerful and timely quotes, 'The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without a purpose.'"
Pastor Munroe and his wife, Ruth, were killed in a tragic plane crash on Sunday evening. The jet they were travelling in reportedly hit a shipyard construction crane as it flew into Grand Bahama International Airport, killing all nine people on board.
Also on the plane were Munroe's deputy, Richard Pinder, and his family. The group were travelling to Freeport, where Munroe was to host a church conference, the Global Leadership Forum.
A full scale investigation into the accident began yesterday.
