Christians in Syria mourn after 22 killed in church bomb attack

Your prayers are needed following a devastating attack on a church in Syria, which has killed at least 22 people, injured many more and intensified the fears of the country’s Christians.

Christians in Syria are reeling after a suicide bomb attack on a church in Damascus killed at least 22 people and injured 63, with 13 in critical condition.

Hundreds of believers had gathered on Sunday (22 June) for an evening service at the Greek Orthodox Saint Elias Church in Dweilaa, on the outskirts of the capital, when a man opened fire before detonating himself with a vest.

Unspeakable fear

“I was preaching when the shooting began,” recalled Father Baselios, priest of Saint Joseph Church, which is close to Saint Elias Church. “Then came the screams. Everyone instinctively dropped to the ground. The fear… it was unspeakable. We were all in shock, paralysed by the horror.

“The moment that truly rendered me helpless was when a child, one of those who’ve lost their family, rushed to me, saying, ‘Hide me, Father, I don’t want to die’. All the people in the area are tired, a lot of children in shock, some of them are unable to talk after this happened. They lost their voices; even the priest of the church said, ‘Even though I’m a priest with great hope, I’m incredibly tired and fighting for the parish.’”

“I lost all hope that there is any life left here for us,” said a young, terrified Christian woman who heard shots and the explosion. “It’s just the start of the end,” said another woman. “Nothing can describe the fear that we felt yesterday, the heartbreak over the people we knew. Innocent people who were killed only because they are different in their beliefs, because they love Jesus.”

Christians and Muslims unite

The funeral of the 22 Christians who lost their lives will take place on Tuesday (24 June). On Monday, Christians of all denominations gathered at Greek Orthodox churches across Syria to remember the victims and pray for those affected by this tragedy.

Hundreds gathered in the ruins of Saint Elias Church for a service led by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John X, and attended by the two other Syrian Patriarchs. He called for all Christians to unite in prayer for the martyrs and for peace, and stressed that Muslims and Christians in Syria ‘form a single social fabric that cannot be torn apart’.

“These acts will not undermine our unity,” he said. “The presence of everyone today in this prayer carries a message of support and consolation to the families of the victims and to all Syrians.” He called for steadfastness in faith and not fear.

With many churches packed, people also gathered outside – both Christians and Muslims – with many holding candles. Muslims, standing in solidarity with Christians, carried slogans like “We are united”, “They want to divide us but we are one” and “The blood of the martyrs is our blood”.

In Christian neighbourhoods in Damascus, hundreds of people from all religious backgrounds took to the streets in protest, condemning the attack and urging the government to arrest those responsible.

Daily death threats

“I am paralysed and speechless about what happened in Damascus,” said Mourad*, who is responsible for the work of Open Doors’ local partners in Syria. “Innocent people attending the Sunday prayers, and most probably praying for the country and their individual situation, getting confronted with death of their loved ones.

“Condemning what happened, which everybody is doing now, will not bring back the dead people to their families. The trauma of what happened hits us all hard. We have mixed feelings of anger and questioning why this had to happen again. We thought getting rid of the previous regime is going to give us some sense of freedom, yet it seems there are still people who only believe in killing.”

According to Mourad, Christians in Syria ‘are receiving daily threats by fundamentalists that they will be next’. He added, “The current armed gangsters who are spread all over the country are thirsty to more killing.

“The pressure of Islamisation is around every corner in Syria. This incident will make Christians and church leaders live on their tip toes waiting for the next attack. We pray that the international community and the blood of these martyrs will advocate for the rest of the Christians in Syria.”

Arrests and assurances

According to the Syrian authorities, the suicide bomber was affiliated with so-called Islamic State (IS). In an operation following the attack, six people with links to IS have been arrested, whilst two have been killed – one who helped the suicide bomber enter the church, and the other who was preparing for another attack in Damascus. Explosives and weapons were found.

But echoing the doubts of many in Syria, a Christian said, “Our former government always did this, saying they arrested someone after an incident, but often it was fake. So can we trust our new government?”

Since the fall of the Assad regime, there have been two major sectarian killings in Syria – in March, hundreds were killed in a wave violence in the mainly Alawite western region; and in April, more than a hundred died when the Druze in the south were targeted. Syrians have their doubts as to whether the government can control the country’s different extremist groups.

Following Sunday’s tragedy, President Al Sharaa of Syria sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. “We offer our deepest condolences and sincere sympathy for the families of victims who passed away in the criminal bombing that affected all the Syrian people, wishing a quick recovery for the wounded,” he is quoted as saying on SANA, a news agency.

“Today, we all stand united, rejecting injustice and crime in all its forms,” he continued. “We pledge to the victims that we will work day and night, mobilising all our specialised security services, to apprehend all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice to face their just punishment.

“We ask God to grant our people patience, to heal our wounded, and to protect beloved Syria from all harm.”

Responding to these words, Mourad said, “We hope that the government will act as genuine as they try to appear and that we will have a country that embraces the diversity of people.”

14 years of suffering

Mourad says local partners support the Greek Orthodox Church throughout the country. Until a few years ago, that included Saint Elias Church. “We are offering trauma counselling in case the church itself does not have enough capacity to provide deep care to the affected church and family members,” he said.

“In the meantime, we are encouraging and supporting church leaders in our network to come with a clear statement for protection from the government, so that the church can continue to play its role in rebuilding the Syrian society.”

After all that our Syrian brothers and sisters in Syria have gone through in the past 14 years of conflict and war, this tragedy has only added to their trauma and fear. Please continue to remember them in your prayers. Thank you.

*Name changed for security reasons