A drone view shows the damaged of Greek Orthodox Church in Deir el-Zor, Syria June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

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By Georgio F. Comninos, Esq. 09.07.2025

As Greece confronts demographic decline and regional instability, it holds an underutilized opportunity with immense cultural and geopolitical implications across the Levant

In the wake of the terrorist attack that claimed 25 lives at the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, Greece faces a moment of profound moral and strategic clarity. It must act. The Hellenic Republic should extend residency and a path to citizenship to the Rum of the Levant—the Antiochian Orthodox Christians who trace their lineage directly to the Hellenic and Byzantine worlds. This is not only an act of humanitarian solidarity but a powerful statement of civilizational continuity and national purpose.

As Greece confronts demographic decline and regional instability, it holds an underutilized opportunity with immense cultural and geopolitical implications. Across the Levant, Orthodox Christian communities—heirs to the Hellenic spirit in the Middle East—are facing mounting persecution, political exclusion, displacement, and cultural erasure. In stepping forward to protect and integrate these communities, Greece can project both moral leadership and strategic foresight.

A Shared Faith and Civilizational Bond

The Antiochian Orthodox are the living remnants of Hellenism in the Middle East. In cities like Antioch and Damascus, they once formed the cultural and spiritual backbone of the Eastern Mediterranean. After the Arab conquests, they adopted the Arabic language and local customs, but their core identity endured through the Orthodox Church, Byzantine chant, and centuries-old traditions. Their very name—Rum—reflects their Roman and Byzantine heritage, the term long used by Arabs and Turks to refer to Greek-speaking Orthodox Christians.

Cultural ties remain vibrant. Greek Orthodox schools operate in Beirut and Damascus, as does a Greek community center in Beirut. Rum Christians commemorate Greek national holidays like Oxi Day; and famous Greek singers like George Dalaras have played in Beirut. Even during the 1821 Revolution, the Rum of the Levant rose alongside their mainland brethren. These are not distant foreigners—they are kin.

Much like the Anatolian Greeks of the early 20th century, Levantine Rum are urban, cosmopolitan, and steeped in mercantile tradition. They bring resilience, cultural depth, and alignment in faith and worldview. In today’s Greece—where rural churches close and youth emigrate—such communities offer not only demographic relief, but renewed vitality rooted in a shared Hellenic identity.

A Strategic Opening for Greece

With Russia retreating from Syria and Western disengagement deepening, Greece has a rare opportunity to assert itself as a guardian of Eastern Christianity and a stabilizing force in the region. By welcoming the Rum of the Levant, Greece can expand its soft power, deepen bonds with Eastern Christian populations, and reinforce its image as a vital pillar of Western civilization’s eastern flank.

This initiative would resonate far beyond the region. It would show that Greece is not merely reacting to global trends, but actively shaping them—defending its values, honoring its heritage, and countering regional forces of chaos and extremism.

A Precedent—and a Promise

Greece repatriated Pontic Greeks and Hellenes from the collapsing Soviet Union. Why not extend the same offer to the Rum of the Levant? They, too, are part of the same continuum of Hellenism. What was the point of the Hellenic Republic if not as a homeland for Hellenes?

Resettlement is never without difficulty. Greece still remembers the trauma of the Asia Minor Catastrophe. But the Anatolian Greeks, many of whom didn’t speak Greek when they arrived, transformed modern Greece. Their traditions, entrepreneurship and faith helped rebuild a shattered country. Let us not forget Saint Paisios was not born in mainland Greece, but in Cappadocia in central Anatolia – as were Saint Basil the Great and many other Saints. Were they not Hellenes?

Today, the Rum of the Levant face cultural extinction due to regional instability and Islamist and authoritarian regimes dominating the region. Greece can offer them sanctuary—not as strangers, but as fellow Hellenes. Welcoming them home is not only morally just, it is nationally wise.

At a time when so many countries close their doors, Greece must open its own—not just to save a people, but to reclaim a part of itself.

Georgio F. Comninos, Esq. serves as General Counsel to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey and is a Past Supreme Governor of the Order of AHEPA. A businessman and philanthropist, he holds degrees in Political Science and History from McGill University and earned his Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law. The views expressed are his own.