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.…
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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…
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America His Eminence Metropolitan Philip writes: Beloved Hierarchs, Clergy and Faithful of our God-Protected Archdiocese: Greetings to you and your families as we begin a new ecclesiastical year. I pray you had a pleasant summer. I write to you today as our president and United States Congress contemplate military action against Syria. As those of us with deep roots in that land already know, more bombs and destabilization of the country will only lead to further bloodshed and devastation. In my opinion, based on a lifetime of knowledge in that area of the…
Source: Examiner.com Members of the Syrian rebel movement have admitted that they were behind the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack near Damascus, Minnesota’s Mint Press News reported on Thursday. According to the report, the chemicals were provided by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who “has been at the very heart of the push for war by the U.S. against Assad.” The group Doctors Without Borders went to the town of Ghouta, where more than 350 people were killed as a result of the chemical attack. After interviewing “numerous…doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families,” the group obtained testimony that the attack was…
Source: ALMONITOR By: Jean Aziz for Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse Summary: The fate of the two bishops kidnapped in Syria on April 22 is still unknown, but they are feared to have been abducted and killed by Chechen jihadists, according to a Lebanese official. A multitude of grim indications have surfaced about the tragic kidnapping of two bishops at the hands of armed factions in Syria. This most heinous of kidnappings in the ongoing Syrian conflict began on April 22, when news spread that gunmen near Aleppo had abducted the city’s Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox bishop, who…
Source: San Francisco Chronicle By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up near the headquarters of Syria’s Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus’ Old City, killing at least four people Thursday, minutes after the patriarch had entered the cathedral, state-run TV and a church official said. The blast in the ancient quarter of narrow streets and historic buildings was the first reported suicide attack of the Syrian civil war inside the Old City, although other such bombs have struck the capital of Damascus during the conflict. The blast struck in the vicinity of the Virgin Mary Cathedral in the…
Source: Deseret News Compiled by Matthew Brown, Deseret News The uprising in Syria began as a peaceful protest for diversity and democracy during the Arab Spring of 2011. But it has turned into a holy war between Shiite and Sunni sects of Islam — with Christians and other minorities caught in the middle. The highest profile Christian victims of the civil war are two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in late April, and there is still no official word as to the whereabouts or fate of the two clerics, who were abducted as they returned from a humanitarian mission in Turkey. “We…
Source: The Daily Star – Lebanon ISTANBUL: Two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria last month are “in good health,” though there is no news on their whereabouts, an opposition official told reporters Saturday in Istanbul. “Two or three days ago, a doctor visited the two bishops. They are in good health,” said Abdul Ahad Steipho, member of the main opposition’s National Coalition and of its committee established to follow up on the kidnappings. Steipho added that his committee’s attempts to enter into direct telephone contact with the kidnappers or the bishops have so far failed. “We are receiving a lot…
And why supporting Syria’s rebels may extinguish Christianity in its oldest environs. By Andrew Doran The recent dedication of George W. Bush’s presidential library in Texas briefly rekindled debate about the defining event of his presidency, the Iraq War. The visceral hatred of many for the war and the man having substantially diminished, a more sober assessment of both seemed to prevail in the coverage. In the same news cycle there appeared a seemingly unrelated event, the abduction of two Orthodox bishops in Syria. In fact, the conflict in Syria and the American invasion of Iraq are linked by a…
Source: Order of St. Andrew the Apostle – Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate by Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou [Washington, D.C. – 5/5/2013] Today is Easter for the world’s 350 million Orthodox Christians, who just completed their Holy Week of prayer and fasting which culminated in today’s message of transcendent hope. But all last week and today, Orthodox Christians the world over have been reminded that politics trumps human rights. There’s a cruel irony in the fact that Orthodox Christians—whose belief that all persons are created equally and distinctly in the image and likeness of God is a perfect expression of…
Source: National Public Radio Click here to Listen to the Story – All Things Considered (3 min 50 sec) TRANSCRIPT ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: As Orthodox Christians around the world celebrated Easter this week, the Orthodox communities in Syria and neighboring Lebanon postponed festivities. Instead, they gathered in churches to pray for the safe return of two bishops kidnapped outside the Syrian city of Aleppo last month. While the Syrian opposition and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad continue to trade blame for the abduction, the bishop’s whereabouts remains a mystery. NPR’s Susannah George has our story from Beirut. SUSANNAH GEORGE, BYLINE: On the…
Source: Congressman Frank Wolf WOLF ISSUES REPORT FOLLOWING VISIT TO MIDDLE EAST DURING TUMULTUOUS TIME OF CHANGE IN THE REGION Renews Call for Special Envoy to Advocate for Beleaguered Minority Faith Communities, Which are Increasingly Under Assault Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2013) – Rep. Frank Wolf today made a series of policy recommendations – including his continued push for the creation of a Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia – following a recent trip to Lebanon and Egypt, where he met with high-ranking government officials, religious leaders, humanitarian aid organizations and refugees who…