Syria update, plus hope for kidnapped Archbishops  07/11/2013

Civil war has engulfed Syria for over two years, leaving more than 100,000 dead, over four million internally displaced, and causing a mass exodus of two million to other countries.Christians can be found on both sides of the civil war, but regardless of their allegiances, they have found themselves being targeted increasingly by Sunni jihadi groups, both from within Syria and abroad.

In April, Archbishop Boulos (Paul) Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church were abducted by gunmen, who murdered their driver, who was also a priest.  Recently, it was claimed by the Syrian Grand Mufti that the Archbishops were alive in Turkey.  However, the Turkish Government has denied this; consequently their whereabouts remain unknown.

Two Syrian Archbishops have been kidnapped by gunmen in a rebel-held area of northern Syria. Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim is the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo, and Archbishop Boulos (Paul) Yazigi leads the Greek Orthodox Church. CSW is calling for urgent prayer for their release.

The Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese has released this statement:

Dear friends in the world

I am sorry to inform you that Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo was kidnapped this afternoon on his way back to Aleppo from the Turkish border. He went there to bring back with him Bishop Paul Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church of Aleppo. The news which we have received is that an armed group of Chechens stopped the car and kidnapped the two bishops while the driver was killed. We are working and doing our best for the release of the two Bishops and their safe return. So far we have been unable to contact them or their kidnappers.

Please circulate this message as wide as you can. We need pressure from all churches and embassies around the world for their release. The Bishop was on a humanitarian mission to release two priests who were kidnapped months ago.

Please do your best in this critical issue. We need the prayers of all [the] faithful around the world for their safety.

Yours in Christ

Razek Siriani
Ecumenical Relations & Relief Officer
Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo

The Archbishops were returning to Aleppo after overseeing a humanitarian mission in Syria. The gunmen stopped the car at the village of Kafr Dael, killed the driver, who reportedly, was also a priest, and threw his body from the vehicle before seizing the two men.

The civil war continues to claim thousands of victims from all of Syria's ethnic and religious communities.  However, Syria's Christians have experienced increasing persecution in recent months, largely from foreign Islamist militants. 

Please pray:

• That God would comfort the family and friends of the driver
  
• That the two clergymen will not be harmed;
  
• That the key international actors, including the "Freinds of Syria" group and the EU, will make urgent and successful interventions with the Syrian National Councilto secure their release;
  
• That the bishops will be released quickly;
  
• That all parties would stop targeting civilians, regardless of their creed or ethnicity.
  

Share these prayer points on Facebook – we really need as much prayer as possible.

Thank you