FEAR OR FORGIVENESS: The Church in Syria Responds

Written by Mike Burnard an Analytical Strategist at dia-LOGOS

Christians in Syria were in mourning after a suicide bombing struck a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus during a June 22 Divine Liturgy. At least 20 were killed and more than 60 injured after an attacker, reported to be armed and wearing an explosive vest, entered Mar Elias, a Greek Orthodox church in the city’s Dweila neighbourhood in Damascus.

Posting to its official Telegram channel, Syria’s Interior Ministry said the bomber was “affiliated with the terrorist organization ISIS,” and that he had opened fire prior to detonating his vest.

The Washington Post quoted Father Fadi Ghattas as saying there were “350 people praying at the church” when the attacker struck. Another priest, Fr. Meletius Shahati, reported a second gunman shooting at the church door prior to the explosion.

Churchgoer Issam Nasr said he had seen people “blown to bits,” adding,

“We have never held a knife in our lives. All we ever carried were our prayers.”

Photos of the church showed blood-spattered walls and mangled pews, with the altar heavily damaged.

The deadly aggression has drawn widespread domestic and international condemnation. Syria’s information minister Hamza al-Mustafa posted on X,

“This cowardly act contradicts the values of citizenship that unite us all. We, as Syrians, affirm the importance of national unity and civil peace, and call for boosting the bonds of brotherhood among all components of society.”

He added,

“We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship, which seeks to build a homeland of security and stability. We also stress the state’s pledge to exert all efforts to combat criminal organizations and ensure the protection of society from any attacks that threaten its safety.”

A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

The global Christian community responded to the tragic event with a range of emotions—grief, outrage, even a hatred towards Muslims. Headlines quickly surfaced, warning that the attack was the first of many and that the Church in Syria could vanish within five years.

But for believers in Syria, and all of the Middle East, persecution is neither a new theology nor an unfamiliar territory. There has always been a deep-rooted understanding that to follow Christ is to share in His suffering. Unlike the responses often seen in the West, this has never diminished their witness—it has only refined it.

I vividly remember a similar attack in Egypt on Palm Sunday 2017 when two bombs exploded in Tanta and Alexandria. Nearly 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured. ISIS officially declared war on the Church in Egypt and promised more attacks in number and more attacks in intensity.

When I heard the news, I realised that this was a tipping point in this strategic nation, not unlike what is happening in Syria today. I understood that the bomb explosions could result in two responses, and two responses only: either FEAR or FORGIVENESS. It could destroy the structures of courage that have marked the Church in Egypt for so many centuries, or it could destroy barriers of fear and result in boldness, courage, and forgiveness.

The next Sunday, on Easter Sunday, Churches were overflowing. We were in Egypt during this time and had the opportunity to meet one of the leaders of the biggest evangelical Church in the Middle East. He shared the following:

“The two bomb blasts were answers to our prayers. We’ve been seeking the Lord for 30 years, but the watch was not moving. We were waiting for a time such as this. This is a glorious time. It is a time for shaking, an awakening. The Spirit of fear has left us, and people are running to the Lord.” He concluded with the following words: “It is a wonderful thing when you find a key that unlocks a locked door. Forgiveness is that key.”

This, and only this, should be our prayers for the Church in Syria in this extraordinary time of shaking and awakening.

A SYRIAN RESPONSE

One of our partners and dear friends in Damascus offered a similar powerful reflection on Facebook—an authentic Syrian response to the unfolding pain.

“We don’t need to pray for the martyrs of the Syrian church. Because those who have passed on are now in the arms of the immortal. They became at the heart of the trinity, where there is no wound, no night. Now they are in the arms of the one who promised them: “And where I am, there also be my servant.”

“ We don’t pray for them because we believe that your love Lord, is faster than our prayers… More powerful than our tears can hold. They’ve become victorious… They’ve become with you…. They come on over to you

But we pray for the killer…

For the one who carries a gun and thinks he carries you.

We pray for his heart that has been closed without knowing you.

We pray because ignorance of you may wound, ignorance of you may kill, ignorance of you can pray against you, thinking it’s praying for you.

We are praying for the one sent… And who are planning… And who knew… And who falsified your image in people’s hearts?

We pray that the Holy Spirit, whose doors are not closed without, will come in.

To enlighten the closed eyes and cleanse the hearts that have been tainted with your name.

You are not a God who needs protection…

Because you are the keeper, not the guard.

Because you are the defender, not the one being defended.

Because you are a life that is given, not a life that is taken away.

The real war, oh Lord, is not against you…

But it’s against ignorance.

The real war is not on the Battle grounds… But in the yards of the heart.

For those who don’t know you… They kill in your name.

AND THOSE WHO KNOW YOU …. They die in your peace.

Lord, we pray … Eyes to be opened before souls get lost.

And your true colors would be known before the gun is lifted.

Because only you, oh Lord… win by love.”

As followers of Christ, we are faced with a choice: to react like the world in fear or respond like Christ with forgiveness. But, in truth, even though we have a choice, we don’t have an option. For those who follow the way of the cross, forgiveness is a non-optional choice.

A PRAYER FOR SYRIA

God of mercy and peace,

We lift up the people of Syria, broken and bruised by violence that defies understanding. Hold in your eternal embrace those who lost their lives in the bombing at Mar Elias. Bring healing to the wounded—of body, mind, and spirit—and comfort to the families whose hearts are shattered.

In the face of bloodshed, sow seeds of unity. In the shadow of destruction, raise hope from the rubble. Let the light of compassion guide leaders and citizens alike to reject hatred and embrace one another as neighbors, not enemies.

Protect the faithful who gather in prayer, and let places of worship become sanctuaries once again—not scenes of sorrow. And may peace—lasting, fearless peace—find its way back to Syria, one heart at a time.

Amen.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/suicide-bomb-attack-syrian-church-kills-least-20-injures-dozens