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Source: Pravoslavie.ru Moscow – Militants in Syria have destroyed over 60 Christian churches and monasteries, and more than 70 thousand Orthodox residents of Homs, and more than a half the Christians of Aleppo have left their homes, reports Interfax. These statistics was given by the ambassador of Syria to Russia Riad Haddad at the meeting of the inter-factional deputy group in defense of Christian values, held by the State Duma in Moscow. According to R. Haddad, in recent days the Damascus quarters of Kasaa and Bab Touma, both inhabited mainly, by Christians, have been subjected to regular bombardments by the terrorists:…

Christians feel they’re targets of extremists By Dusan Stojanovic Associated Press Source: The Augusta Chronicle DAMASCUS, Syria — Sami Amir is used to the deep, echoing rumble of Syr-ian army artillery pounding rebel positions on the outskirts of Damascus. It’s the thump of mortars launched from an Islamist-controlled neighborhood that scares him to death. Mortars have hit repeatedly in his mainly Christian district of Damascus, al-Qassaa, reportedly killing at least 32 people and injuring dozens of others the past two weeks. “You don’t know when and you don’t know where they hit,” says Amir, a 55-year-old Christian merchant. “Life here…

Source: Catholic Online By Deacon Keith Fournier Sadad is a small town of 15,000 people, mostly Syriac Orthodox Christians, located 160 km north of Damascus. It has 14 churches and a monastery with four priests. We have shouted to the world but no one has listened to us. Where is the Christian conscience? Where is human consciousness? Where are my brothers? I think of all those who are suffering today in mourning and discomfort: We ask everyone to pray for us. (Archbishop Selwanos Boutros Alnemeh) SADAD, Syria (Catholic Online) – We have regularly covered the plight of Christians in Syria and…

Source: Huffington Post DIAA HADID BEIRUT (AP) — In the midst of a conflict rife with sectarianism, a giant bronze statue of Jesus has gone up on a Syrian mountain, apparently under cover of a truce among three factions in the country’s civil war. Jesus stands, arms outstretched, on the Cherubim mountain, overlooking a route pilgrims took from Constantinople to Jerusalem in ancient times. The statue is 12.3 meters (40 feet) tall and stands on a base that brings its height to 32 meters (105 feet), organizers of the project estimate. That the statue made it to Syria and went…

Source: National Review Online By Nina Shea The Vatican news agency Fides reports today that two new mass graves containing a total of 30 bodies were found in Sadad, an ancient Christian town of some 15,000 people between Damascus and Homs, bringing to 45 the number of residents killed there by Islamist militias since October 21. Surviving relatives and friends uncovered the graves after government forces recently recaptured the town from rebels. Those killed were reported by the local Syriac Orthodox metropolitan, who presided over 30 of their funerals this week, to be Christian civilians, including women and children. A list of their…

Source: The Moscow Times A bronze statue of Jesus Christ, taller than the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, has appeared in war-torn Syria. The statue, titled “I Have Come to Save the World” was apparently the brainchild of Yury Gavrilov, a 49-year-old Muscovite who runs an organization in London called the St. Paul and St. George Foundation. The project was backed by both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian government, which takes an active interest in Syria, as seen in recent events. Russia also has a navy base on Syria’s Mediterranean sea coast. Despite the statue’s Russian connection, it was cast in Armenia and made by an Armenian…

Source: Patriarchate of Antioch Facebook Page Statement by the Secretariat of Holy Synod of Antioch Balamand, October 17, 2013 The Holy Synod of Antioch held its second session from October 15th through 17th, 2013. His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X presided over the meeting, with the participation of Their Eminences, the Metropolitans and Fathers of the Holy Synod of Antioch: Spiridon of Zahleh and its dependencies; Georges of Jbeil, Batroun and their dependencies; Yuhanna of Lattakia and its dependencies; Elias of Beirut and its dependencies; Iliya of Hama and its dependencies; Elias of Tyre, Sidon; and their dependencies, Damaskinos of Sao…

Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities October 4, 2013 (Baltimore, MD) – A generation of school children is at risk as the education of Syrian youth threatens to become another casualty of the prolonged conflict.  Over the past year, two million youngsters inside Syria were forced to drop out of school according to UNICEF.  Many schools inside Syria now serve as emergency shelters for displaced families and the one million child refugees who fled Syria empty-handed lack the uniforms and supplies required to attend class in host country schools.  International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), an ACT Alliance member, is helping to bridge…

Source: Kenneth E Hines Blog Rasha called her fiance Atef on his cell phone. A rebel answered and told her that they captured Atef and had given him the option of converting to Islam. He refused. So they slit his throat. Atef was engaged to be married to Rasha. They are Christians and they lived in the ancient Christian village of Maaloula in Syria where the residents still speak Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Earlier this month the village was attacked by rebels of the Free Syrian Army made up of Jihadist factions from all over the Middle East including…

Source: Here & Now Syrian military forces continue to battle Islamic rebels near the ancient Christian town of Maaloula, Syria, where some residents still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. Most Maaloula residents have fled, but nuns and orphans remain holed up in Mar Tekla, one of the town’s two early Christian monasteries. They are members of the eastern orthodox Church of Antioch. Its leader in the U.S., Metropolitan Philip Saliba, is concerned about their safety. Philip is a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He joined church leaders in calling for a special “Day of Solidarity” in…

by Alexandru Cautis Source: Drum european He is Syrian, he is Orthodox Christian and he just finished his studies in Romania. S.M. lives through the war in Syria as an eyewitness and views it completely differently than it is presented to us in Romania. (The Syrian asked me not to give his name; I guarantee that the following interview is an honest one, that S.M. is not forced by the Syrian authorities to talk nice about Bashar Al Assad) How does a Christian living in Syria view the current situation from Syria? I am a Syrian who studied in Romania.…

Source: Pravmir.com His Eminence Philip (Saliba), Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America, head of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, sent a message to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, which reads, in particular: “We monitor with gratitude your tireless efforts in support of the Christians, and all the God-fearing people of Syria.” His Eminence Metropolitan Philip expresses his conviction that the forces responsible for stirring up the conflict in the country “have ulterior motives in mind, not the least of which is to expunge the area of Christians who have been living…