“For the first time after the overthrow of Assad, the Christians of Syria attended a service. Syrian Christians held the first Sunday services after the overthrow of the Assad regime. The new Islamist government has promised to protect the rights of religious minorities, although Christians are still worried.”, — write on: unn.ua
Details
It is noted that the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which came to power, promised that the rights of religious communities would be protected.
According to the publication, before the fall of Assad, historical groups of religious minorities, including Christians, freely practiced religious rites. But after he fled the country and the opposition came to power, Christians remain nervous about the prospect of an Islamist government, with some admitting they are afraid to take to the streets.
However, the representatives of the rebels assured the priests that the Christians were not in danger,
Before the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Christians made up about 10% of the country’s population, or about 1.8-2 million of its 22 million inhabitants. However, due to war, persecution and emigration, the number of Christians decreased significantly.
As of 2024, according to various estimates, there are approximately 500-700 thousand Christians left in Syria. They belong to different denominations and theological and liturgical traditions. The largest group is the Orthodox from the Antiochian Orthodox Church.
We will remind
Former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad secretly fled to Moscow after the overthrow of the regime by rebels: he took about $135 billion, but left a collection of luxury cars in Damascus.