Christians living here in Syria are an essential…

Joint Communique of

   23.04.2013

 

On Monday the 22.04.2013, we were surprised by the news that our brothers, Bishop

Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo and Alexandretta and Bishop John (Ibrahim) - Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo, had been kidnapped on their way back to Aleppo after accomplishing a humanitarian mission. We deeply regret what happened as we regret all similar acts targeting civilians, regardless of the communities to which they belong, and therefore we address to the local and international communities the following declaration:

 

   1- Christians living here in Syria are an essential part of this, their land. They suffer the pain every person suffers, working as messengers of peace to remove injustice from all the oppressed. They follow the teaching of the Gospel telling them that love is the basis of all human relations. The official positions issued by the spiritual leaders of the various churches are the best expression of this respect and the mission fulfilled by the two kidnapped bishops is yet further proof of this orientation. 

 

   2- Christians in this East are deeply sorrowful at what their countries are going through, namely the violence that is spreading and killing the sons of what is one country and exposing their lives to various dangers of which kidnapping, representing one of the most horrible expressions due to its absurdity, jeopardises the lives of peaceful and unarmed individuals. We call the kidnappers to respect the life of these two kidnapped brothers as well as everyone else to help put an end to acts that create confessional and sectarian schism among the sons of this one country.

 

   3- We understand the anxiety of Christians on account of what has happened and call them to patience, holding on to the teachings of their faith, and relying on God whose strength lies in our weakness.  Defending our land means first of all to hold on to it and to work on making it a land of love and coexistence. We are also aware that all citizens from all confessions suffer the same pain due to such acts, and we pray that the Lord may strengthen them in their difficulties. We support them in raising their voices on high in refusing all the sorts of violence that tears up our countries and makes our hearts bleed.

 

   4- In this painful situation, we can but call upon the whole world to try to put an end to the Syrian crisis so that Syria can become again a garden of love, security and coexistence.  Settling scores should not happen at the expense of the human beings who live here.

 

   5- We also call upon all the churches in the whole world to stand fast in the face of what is going on and witness to their faith in the power of love in this world. It is necessary to take steps that reflect this refusal of all kinds of violence impacting on human lives in the near East.

 

   6- We take this opportunity to call upon our partners in citizenship, from all Islamic confessions, to stand hand in hand with us and to work to repudiate the misuse of human beings by treating with them as instruments and shields in battles or as means of monetary or political bribery.

 

   7- Finally we address the kidnappers and tell them that those whom they kidnapped are messengers of peace in this world whose religious, social and national work witnesses on their behalf. We call upon them to deal with this painful accident away from any tension that serves only the enemies of this country.

 

   We pray the Lord in these blessed times that this crisis might quickly end and that the souls of all our brothers and sisters might regain their security and peace, so that our country may enjoy the prosperity and peace that it deserves.

 

Patriarch John X Yazigi               Patriarch  Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas