June 22, 2025 - To Kinima Tou Ethnous (KTE) unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms condemns today’s abhorrent terrorist attack on the Mar Elias Church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria. This cowardly act, perpetrated by a suicide bomber during Sunday Liturgy, has resulted in the tragic loss of many innocent lives and left many more wounded. Our hearts ache for the victims, their families, and the entire Christian community in Syria.
This barbaric act was an attack not only on a specific church building, but it was an attack on our entire Faith. The images of destroyed pews and blood-stained floors now serve as a reminder of what our Christian brethren across the world have to face on a daily basis. We are told that we are “privileged” as Christians, that we don’t know what persecution is like, and yet the reality for millions of Christians in the Middle East is daily attacks.
As a Greek diaspora organization, KTE stands in unwavering solidarity with our Orthodox brethren in Syria, who have for centuries been an integral, indigenous, part of the rich tapestry of the Middle East. We recall with deep sorrow the repeated targeting of Christian communities in the Middle East over the years, and we denounce every act of violence aimed at undermining the ancient Christian presence in the region.
We urge all international actors to recognize the gravity of this situation and to act decisively. We call upon leaders such as Donald Trump, who has historically voiced concerns about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, to use his considerable influence to champion the protection of religious minorities in Syria.
Furthermore, we implore the European Union to issue a robust and unequivocal condemnation of this attack and to take concrete steps to ensure the safety of all religious communities in Syria. The EU must leverage its diplomatic and humanitarian resources to press for accountability for these heinous crimes and to support initiatives that will ensure that attacks like this will never happen again.
Finally, we call upon Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Greek government to be a leading voice in condemning such atrocities and advocating for the protection of Christian heritage and communities in the Middle East. Greece, with its deep historical and religious ties to the region, has a moral imperative to lead international efforts in safeguarding the rights and security of Orthodox Christians in Syria. The Orthodox Christians in the Middle East are not only our brothers in Faith, which is a strong bond in and of itself, but many of them are our ethnic brothers, being of Rum (Eastern Roman) descent. This merely adds to why it is of such fundamental importance for the Greek government to take an active stand and protect these communities in the Middle East.
KTE reaffirms its commitment to advocating for peace, stability, and the protection of Human dignity, as well as the religious freedom of Christians to pray in the lands where their ancestors did. Those who were killed in this barbaric act are not simply victims. They are martyrs, they are our Orthodox brethren who were killed for their Faith. May we ask for their intercessions from Heaven that God may have mercy on all of us.
This tragedy serves as a painful reminder that the fight against anti-Christian extremism is a global one, and it requires unwavering commitment and cooperation to eradicate this scourge from our world. We stand ready to support all efforts that promote peace and the restoration of dignity and security for the long-suffering people of Syria.