Reverend Haroutian Selimian, Bishop Armash Nalbandian, and Bishop Georges Masri during the conference in Paris, April 7. (Photo by Julie Chevrel for La Croix)

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By Rémy Videau

April 10th, 2025 

Christian leaders from the Middle East voiced growing concerns over Syria’s new Islamist regime, underscoring the urgency of the situation while calling for concrete assurances of protection and recognition.

“A Syria without Christians is not Syria,” Pastor Haroutian Salim, president of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in Syria, said at a conference April 6 organized by the local government of the greater metropolitan area around Paris and CHREDO, the Coordination of Eastern Christians in Danger, an advocacy organization defending the rights and safety Middle Eastern Christian communities, especially those facing persecution in places such as Syria, Iraq, and Egypt.

During this conference, five senior Christian officials testified about conditions in Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December and the rise to power of Islamist leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa.

Nearly four months after the initial wave of optimism and promises of reform, many Christian communities face disappointment and fear. Ongoing instability has raised fresh concerns of a mass exodus.

“Seventy percent of the Christian population in the region has disappeared in just 14 years,” warned Vincent Gelot, director of L’Œuvre d’Orient, a French Catholic organization founded in 1856 to provide humanitarian, educational, and religious assistance to Christians in the Middle East, speaking via video from Lebanon and Syria. How can the outflow be stopped? “A strong Church is the only real safeguard for Christians in Syria,” insisted Bishop Armash Nalbandian, the Armenian Apostolic Bishop of Damascus.

Christian leaders lay out roadmap for Syria’s future

Pastor Salim outlined five core principles he said are critical for rebuilding the country: equal citizenship regardless of ethnic or religious identity, reconstruction of areas devastated by civil war, and the launch of a nationwide reconciliation initiative. “Syria cannot move forward without healing its wounds,” he said. “We need a national dialogue that includes Muslims, Christians and all ethnic groups.”

Speakers also emphasized the need to increase Christian visibility in Syrian society, especially in politics. Currently, Hind Kabawat, the minister of social affairs and labor, is the only Christian in the new government. She has advocated for civic unity beyond religious divisions and encouraged interfaith dialogue. Still, many worry she may be too isolated to make a lasting impact. “Imagine a Syria where Christian identity actually matters,” Pastor Salim said.

Security concerns escalate after Alawite massacres

Following the massacre of Alawite civilians between March 6 and 10, fears among Christians have intensified — particularly over security. Seven Christians were killed in the attacks, though speakers stressed they were targeted not for their faith but because they were present among Alawite groups.

No one knows when the next massacre will come — and whether it will be Christians this time,” said Bishop Georges Assadourian, Armenian Catholic bishop of Damascus. “I was personally threatened after I publicly called for international protection for Christians.”

“There are regular cases of humiliation, insults, arbitrary arrests and even summary executions — all unacceptable,” added Gelot.

Beyond violence, poverty is another pressing issue. Religious leaders described widespread desperation, with people routinely scavenging through trash to survive.