“Why Christians must remain in Syria” – message from Archbishop Jeanbart in Aleppo
The reason Christians are holding out despite everything is deeply rooted in the history of our Church. Christians have been here in Syria right from the earliest days and were baptised by the apostles themselves. St Paul was baptised, confirmed, and sent out to preach the good news to the world by our forefathers in Damascus. Today’s suffering Christians are the descendants of Christians who have remained faithful to Christ for two thousand years and who had the courage to pay with their lives for their unwavering faith.
Syria is the country we love and cherish. We lived here before happy and at peace, and we hope, after this unjust war that has been inflicted on us, that we will enjoy a new economic revival and a civil society still more open to individual liberty and social diversity. Our resistance is part of our struggle for the sake of a better tomorrow, where every man will have the right to choose his own faith and to live it without hindrance.
We, the Christians of Syria, need our brothers in the West- their prayers , their support and above all their constant and decisive advocacy with their governments, urging them to consider our terrible sufferings and to change their attitude towards us. We hope that they will understand that we are determined to remain in our own country. This is an inalienable human right; it means as much to us as our life itself.
