Synod hears of threats to Christian survival in Middle East

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The survival of the Christian communities of the Middle East is threatened not only by violence and political repression, but also by the churches’ weakened sense of mission, failure to work ecumenically and loss of their traditional liturgical heritage, bishops told the special synod for the Middle East.

“The Palestinian events, the civil war in Lebanon, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the invasion of Iraq ... Christians of all churches without distinction are martyred, forced to emigrate, forced to leave,” Armenian Archbishop Boutros Marayati of Aleppo, Syria, told the synod Oct. 11.

“This is a real ecumenical concern,” the archbishop said. He urged synod members to find ways to strengthen the bonds among all Christians in the Middle East, “encouraging a spirit of fraternity, dialogue and communion among the churches.”  Read More.