Tag: Greek Orthodox

Churches in Syria: ‘We live together or we die together’

September 26, 2018 Syria Aleppo, Armenians, Catholics, Churches, Greek Orthodox, Syria, Syriacs

The Syrian civil war seems finally to be drawing to a close, with Idlib province the last battlefield in a long and bloody conflict between government forces and rebel groups. Seven years of war has taken its toll, including the devastation of many Christian sites, which local communities are slowly . . . Read More

Syrian village bombed: five children under 15 – three from same family – among 12 killed

September 11, 2018 Syria Al-Qaeda, Children, Civil War, Free Syrian Army, Greek Orthodox, Homs, Idlib, Syria

The children were still playing in the streets on Friday night. Then the rebels bombed the village. On Saturday, they should have celebrated a wedding in Mhardeh, a Christian village in northwest Syria. Instead they had to carry ten of their own to the grave; two more later died in . . . Read More

Church council calls for release of Syrian bishops abducted five years ago

June 29, 2018 Syria Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox, Kidnapping, Middle East, Pope Francis, Syria, Yohanna Ibrahim

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has called for the release of two Syrian archbishops kidnapped five years ago. “The Central Committee recalls with heavy hearts the abduction five years ago of the archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi,” the WCC said in a statement following a six-day . . . Read More

Syria: Report highlights ‘brutality against Christian clerics’, with five still missing

June 26, 2018 Syria Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox, Homs, Kidnapping, Paolo Dall’Oglio, Qatana, Syria, Yohanna Ibrahim

Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Jesuit priest who was abducted in Syria in July 2013, is one of the clerics who disappeared and whose fate remains unknown. (Photo: veDro via Flickr / Creative Commons)

A report about violence against Syrian church leaders during the ongoing civil war shows that clerics have been beaten, abducted – five are still missing – and killed, and that 2013 was the worst year. In ‘The Good Shepherd: A Report on Brutality against Christian Clerics in Syria March 25, . . . Read More

Can the Scouts help safeguard the future of the Church in Syria?

May 17, 2018 Syria Children, Churches, Damascus, Greek Orthodox, Homs, IDPs, Refugees, Syria, Women, Youth

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 . . . Read More

Jerusalem Patriarch says settlers are pushing Christians out of Old City

May 4, 2018 Israel Arabs, Churches, Greek Orthodox, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Theophilos III

View of the city of Jerusalem where radical settlers are said to try to weaken the Christians' presence. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The most senior Christian leader in the Holy Land has accused hardline Jewish settlers of trying to intimidate clergy in Jerusalem’s Old City and acquire church-owned property in an attempt to weaken the Christians’ presence there. In an interview with the Guardian, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, . . . Read More

Five years on, hope remains for missing Syrian bishops

April 27, 2018 Syria Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox, Kidnapping, Qatar, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Yohanna Ibrahim

Syrian Bishop Boulos Yaziji, head of the Greek Orthodox church in Aleppo, together with his counterpart from the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo, has been missing since 22 April 2013. (Photo: LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)

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 . . . Read More

Palestinian father who lost daughter: ‘Don’t be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel, be pro-justice’

April 5, 2018 Palestinian Territories Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, Education, Egypt, Gaza, Greek Orthodox, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, Minorities, Palestinian Territories, Syria, West Bank, Youth

George Saadeh is headmaster of a school where children are taught to "have respect for those who think differently than you". (Photo: Open Doors International)

A Palestinian Christian father whose 12-year-old daughter was killed by Israeli soldiers has spoken about the ongoing conflict and his decision to forgive the soldiers who shot her, just over 15 years ago. Violence erupted once again at the weekend along the Israeli border with Gaza, leaving at least 16 . . . Read More

Israel: Christianity’s ‘holiest site’ re-opens after tax dispute

February 28, 2018 Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Churches, Greek Orthodox, Israel, Jerusalem

The doors to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem were re-opened this morning (28 February) after plans to tax church property in Jerusalem were suspended. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced yesterday (27 February) that a team would be formed to “formulate a solution” with the churches’ representatives, . . . Read More

Pope and Patriarch ‘feared nuclear war could erupt over Syria’

February 27, 2018 Cuba, Dagestan, Greek Orthodox, Jordan, King Abdullah II, Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis, Russia, Syria, Turkey, USA, Vladimir Putin

Flag of Syria is waving as sign of victory over the destroyed heavily damaged city of Aleppo. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The historic meeting between the heads of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches took place not only out of shared concern for Middle Eastern Christians, but to try to avert confrontation between nuclear powers in Syria, according to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch. When Patriarch Kirill met Pope Francis in 2016 it . . . Read More

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