(CP) Leaders of churches and ecclesial communities in Syria met with representatives of the armed Islamic-led rebel groups that seized control of the country amid fears that Christians could face persecution or strict regulations that would disrupt their faith life.
Monday’s meeting in Aleppo followed the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime’s rule earlier this month after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group linked with Al-Qaeda, seized various cities. The rebels captured Damascus days after the takeover of Aleppo and Hama.
Religious leaders met with the Islamic-led forces on the Franciscan church and convent, which can also be the placement of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Catholics of the Latin Rite.
An apostolic vicariate is a type of territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in places where a diocese has not yet been established.
“We were all present: bishops, priests and spiritual,” Chaldean Jesuit Bishop Antoine Audo of Alep told Fides in an announcement. Reflecting on Monday’s summit, Audo described it as a “positive meeting.”
The Islamist forces reportedly assured Christian leaders through the meeting that they might not try to change or regulate ecclesiastical communities by, for instance, implementing rules against girls and boys studying together at college. According to Audo, the brand new forces claimed they desired to “construct trust by respecting [their] traditions and [their] prayers.”
“I told them that we, as Arab Christians, represent a novel reality in history and on this planet. I recalled some examples of the history of Muslim Arabs with Christians and the contribution of Christians to this history,” Audo said.
“I added that the status of the ‘dhimmi’ (non-Muslim members of a state guided by Islamic law, ed.) could be interpreted each negatively and positively, that Christians can’t be second-class residents and that we must work together,” the bishop continued. “They seemed very considering these considerations.”
Despite these assurances, nonetheless, watchdog groups have expressed concerns in regards to the potential dangers Christians within the region could now face.
David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief, shared that the group has maintained a network on the bottom in Syria for the last two years. In an interview with The Christian Post, Curry revealed that the Islamic rebel forces stole humanitarian aid that GCR had delivered to churches in the realm weeks before the takeover.
“We’ve constantly been delivering aid the last two years, however the stock that we’ve now, a few of it has been captured by these rebels,” the GCR CEO said. “There’s still some that is still; we’ll distribute that as cautiously as we possibly can to people who find themselves now on the run, but the fact is it is a very dangerous area at once for Christians.”
The advocate also highlighted Aleppo’s declining Christian population, the results of fewer believers feeling secure in a spot that historically has at all times been the “center for Christian faith in Syria.” Curry predicted that this trend would only proceed, especially now that HTS-led rebels have taken over.
“Considered a terrorist organization, they’ve, in lower than two weeks, ethnically cleansed the northwest of Syria — including Aleppo and beyond — of Kurds and Christians,” Curry said. “Despite public protestations on the contrary, we will expect them to increase their campaign to the remaining of the country.”
Curry said that when the civil war in Syria began greater than a decade ago, Christians constituted roughly 10% of the population, which was about 1.5 million people.
After years of constant fighting and persecution perpetuated by jihadist radicals, nonetheless, that number has dwindled to only 300,000.
In addition to the report of the rebels stealing food, other reports have emerged of bread shortages and an absence of drinking water following the seizing of Aleppo. While many Christians have fled, those that remain are actually subjected to curfews imposed by the rebel forces. These restrictions have left many Christians feeling vulnerable.
Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, told CP in an announcement earlier this month that the subsequent few days and weeks “can be crucial for the fate of [the] Christian community.”
© The Christian Post
