In the midst of the civil war, churches and Christian-owned businesses have been targets of bombings by the Islamic State and other extremist groups, and there have been many reports of Christians being abducted, harmed and killed. Even so, many of Syria’s remaining Christians are committed to staying and rebuilding their country. Others are now returning home following IS’s military defeat.
Can the Scouts help safeguard the future of the Church in Syria?
As the war in Syria enters its eighth year, clergy who have watched their congregations dwindle fear that those who have left the country may not return. One priest expressed his fear that “Christianity will be erased” from certain areas of the country “because the Christians who left these places […]
Syria: more families return to Homs
Hundreds of people displaced from Syria’s third largest city of Homs because of years of violent conflict will soon be returning home, according to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Homs saw some of the first protests of the Syrian conflict back in 2011 and in the years that […]
‘Avoid persecution-of-Christians label,’ says Syria expert
As the conflict in Syria continues, freelance journalist Jayson Casper sat down with Miles Windsor, head of advocacy at Christian charity Middle East Concern, to discuss where Syrian Christians’ allegiance lies, whether those who fled the country may return, and how Christians in other countries can help. Jayson Casper: There […]
Five years on, hope remains for missing Syrian bishops
Five years since the disappearance of two Syrian bishops, the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut says “all available evidence and indications encourage continued optimism” that they may yet be alive and one day released. However, its statement added that “all the efforts that have been made to obtain even a […]
Bomb-damaged Syrian church holds first service in 6 years
A church in Syria held its first service in nearly six years on Saturday, 3 February. A group of Orthodox Christians and Muslim clerics met among the stones and remnants of rockets in the heavily damaged St Mary’s Church in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor city, reports Al Monitor. Deir Ezzor […]
Syria’s second city begins long road to recovery
Since the battle for Aleppo ended over a year ago, Syria’s historic second city has fallen out of the headlines. The rebuilding of shattered, impoverished lives is a slow process, but it has presented the churches there with opportunities, says one aid worker with the Christian charity Open Doors. On […]
Syria church leader condemns Turkey’s ‘unjustified aggression’
A senior church leader in Syria has condemned Turkey’s new military offensive as “unjustified aggression” and urged the international community to exert “maximum pressure” to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Rev. Abdalla Homsi, of the Evangelical Christian Alliance Church of Aleppo, issued a statement as an estimated 5,000 people were reported to […]
Syrian church in Turkish-hit enclave calls for aid
A church in a Syrian province under fire from Turkish troops has issued a plea for protection from the international community. Pastor Valentin Hanan of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Afrin, north-western Syria, wrote in an email to his supporters on Sunday (21 January): “We are at this […]
Syria: Damascus churches damaged as Christian neighbourhoods hit
Two churches have been damaged in a fresh escalation of fighting in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Dozens of shells were fired from the rebel-held enclave of Goutha East on Tuesday (9 January), in the space of just a few hours, “at random” and without a specific goal, witnesses told AsiaNews. […]
The Syrian refugee’s Christmas: free from danger but not from worry
How do Christians under pressure for their faith celebrate Christmas? In the sixth of our series we hear from a Syrian Catholic who has come to Britain as a refugee. “Back in Damascus we would have a big meal with our extended family on Christmas Eve – anything from three to […]