Syrian Christians are in shock following a devastating attack on a church.
With at least 22 people killed and over 50 wounded, 13 in critical condition, the Christian community in Syria suffered a hard blow on Sunday 22 June when a terrorist attacked Saint Elias Church in Dweilaa, Damascus.
The attack took place during the evening mass in Saint Elias church, situated less than a kilometre from one of the historical entrance gates to old-Damascus.
“I am paralyzed and speechless about what happened yesterday in Damascus,” says Mourad*, responsible for the work of Open Doors’ local partner in Syria. “This is the last thing that Christians and we hoped to experience. 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 him the Christians in Syria “are receiving daily threats by fundamentalists that they will be next. The current armed gangsters who are spread all over the country are thirsty to more killing.”
“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. 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 re-building the Syrian society.”
"Nothing can describe the fear."
Father Baselios is priest of nearby St Joseph’s Catholic church. He recounts the terrifying moments. “I was preaching when the shooting began. Then came the screams. Everyone instinctively dropped to the ground. The fear… it was unspeakable. We were all in shock, paralyzed by the horror.”
And he adds, “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.”
A young Christian woman from Damascus says, “I lost all hope that there is any life left here for us. Yesterday I heard the shooting and the explosion,” she adds, still terrified by what happened not far from her home.
“It’s just the start of the end,” says another Christian woman in her thirties. “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.”
At least 22 people were killed. This number might rise as more than 50 persons got injured, some badly and were rushed to hospitals.
According to the Syrian authorities, who strongly condemned the attack, the suicide attack was done by a person affiliated with the terror group Islamic State. It was the first big terror attack targeting Christians since the fall of the Al-Assad regime early December 2024. The attack was not claimed by any group.
All over Syria, churches will remember the victims of the terror attack and pray for those who lost loved ones or are in hospitals.
A funeral for the victims will be held on Tuesday.
