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Syrian Christians Taking up the Cross

Syrian Christians Taking up the Cross

Last updated on: March 25, 2016 at 5:12 pm by Father Pablo Migone

Syrian Christians Taking up the Cross 2016-03-25T17:12:38-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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Cross over Bethlehem, 2015

Several months ago, I preached about the ongoing suffering of Christians in the Middle East to a packed cathedral in Savannah. When Mass ended, an elderly man dressed in a roman collar approached me and began thanking me for the homily. I had not noticed him during Mass. He stretched out his hands, grabbed my forearms tightly, and with eyes that pierced my soul, told me he was a retired Syriac Orthodox Bishop. This confirmed for me the fact that this particular homily needed to be preached that morning.

Before starting the Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday three years ago, I decided to check the headlines on a Catholic news website. My heart sank as I read towards the bottom of the page, “Syrian priest kidnapped as war rages on.”

kayal2

Father Kayal on the right with me at the diaconate ordination of a classmate, 2007

During my time in seminary I became a good friend of two Armenian-Catholic seminarians from Aleppo, Antoine Tahan and Michel Kayal. Throughout the three years that we studied together in Rome I compared the conditions that awaited me in the United States and those that awaited them in Syria. Any personal challenge I foresaw was quickly crushed by considering the challenges they would face by returning to Aleppo. I admired their courage and bravery. I was returning to a sandbox, they were going to a war zone.

I hesitantly clicked on the headline and to my horror saw a picture of Father Michel Kayal in red vestments. I immediately emailed my other friend, Antoine, and he responded confirming the sad news. A few weeks prior, on February 9th, 2013, Father Kayal and a Greek Orthodox priest were taken off a bus by rebels near Damascus and they were never seen again.

On July 2013 I heard from Father Tahan again. Aleppo was under siege by rebels making it impossible to leave the city. Food was scarce and expensive. Factories lay in ruins. He described the situation as “truly difficult.” His greatest fear was that Christians in Syria would imitate Christians in Iraq and leave their homeland.

In mid-2014 while taking some time to rest in Rome, a missile hit his bishop’s residence in Aleppo. Part of the complex was destroyed, much of it damaged, including my friend’s bedroom. Father Tahan wrote to me, “for the moment there is no hope because the war is already so long.” [Note that two years ago there appeared to be no hope, now here we are in 2016].

In February of 2015 his church was bombed and it had to be closed. My friend now lives with his parents, and teaches at a school.

Father Antoine Tahan, standing to the left of the bishop, 2015. Picture courtesy of Father Antoine

In the midst of all this, Father Tahan continues to serve the many families entrusted to his care. He does so faithfully and courageously. Any money he receives he divides among his parishioners; there are now many orphans and widows. Fighting in Aleppo has intensified these past few days, and just today, thousands of refugees have fled into neighboring Turkey.

Someone recently asked me regarding my friend, “why doesn’t he stay away? He goes to Rome occasionally, he goes to Lebanon, why does he return to Aleppo?” The answer is found in the words of Jesus:

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

While Saint Paul traveled in Syria centuries ago, he heard the following words from Jesus himself: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” This led Paul to the realization that those he persecuted were part of the Body of Christ; the same body that was nailed to the cross.

The Body of Christ continues to be desecrated and profaned today as Christians are killed for their faith. Very recently the European Parliament recognized that the killing of religious minorities by ISIS is genocide. All Christians, as part of the same body, must feel the pain of those suffering tremendously. Their pain must be ours. Their sorrow must be ours. We cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ. They are not just a headline or a statistic; they are one with us in the communion of saints. We must stand in solidarity with the suffering Body of Christ. If we do not care about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ, then who will?

Persecution is not something new in the Church, but rather, something that has existed from the beginning. Christ did not present to us a nicely manicured Church, but rather a radical way of life that pricks the world’s conscience – something the world often dislikes.

Today we criticize those who remained silent during the Holocaust… will we be judged for not speaking against the systematic atrocities happening today in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the world? There are millions of refugees, even more millions of internally displaced people, and Christian minorities are quickly disappearing.

We must remain informed about the situation in Syria. We must not dismiss the suffering of these ancient Christian communities. We must share with others what is happening. We must pray for them to persevere in faith and not waiver. Make contributions to Catholic institutions that directly help the churches in Syria such as Aid to the Church in Need.

May Jesus Christ grant us the grace to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him, even if it means following the footsteps of the courageous Syrian Christians.

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