Syria (MNN) — In Damascus, between airstrikes and geopolitical tensions, lives a group of people akin to “conies in the rocks.” These are Syria’s Christians, many of whom continue to mourn loved ones lost in June’s suicide bomber attack at the Mar Elias church, which claimed over two dozen lives and injured more than 60 people. 

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon has since visited the location of the attack, where she witnessed bullet holes in the walls, a collapsing ceiling, and the smell of chlorine masking the church’s stench of death. But her time in Syria was primarily spent in the presence of believers, including a family who lost seven family members in the explosion. 

“It was just a reconnecting time and also a comforting time for some people,” she says. “It was a difficult trip, I have to say.”

The southeastern part of Damascus is a predominantly Christian area. Nuna says a week prior to the attack, Christians in the vicinity of the Mar Elias Church were being pressured to convert to Islam or leave the country. 

Then, while Christians were attending a funeral service, a man entered their church building and opened fire. Moments before he detonated his suicide vests, Nuna says two parishioners were able to wrestle him towards the church’s exit, preventing a more centralized explosion. Since then, at the Mar Elias Church and in other parts of the country, she says, the government has established guards to protect church congregations. 

“At least visibly, they are showing that they are the ones protecting the church, but at the same time it’s a very Islamic government. The government is trying to protect but also Islamize, so it’s a challenge there for Christians.”

Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa has projected a moderate image since his assumption of power in January. He has called the attack a “heinous crime.”

Still, Nuna says the atmosphere in Syria is heavy. Christians are wary of attending university or going grocery shopping. They hear stories of people being kidnapped or killed for their faith. 

“All these things are happening, and the media is not talking about them. But people underground? They’re living them,” she says. 

The direction of Syria is difficult to make out. 

Al Sharaa’s administration, operating since the fall of Assad in December of last year, has reportedly coordinated with U.S. forces to locate and destroy terror cells. 

But set against a backdrop of terror targeted at minorities, such as violence against Syria’s Alawite and Druze communities, June’s attack on Christians becomes another data point in a frightening trend: one in which al-Sharaa’s administration leaves vulnerable groups unprotected. 

Furthermore, al-Sharaa’s affiliation with al-Qaeda and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the latter of which may have direct ties to the suicide bomber, undermine the leader’s efforts to present himself as a neutral party.

Thus, for Syrian minorities, questions linger. 

“Is it going to a better secure place, or is it a new battle that is coming and a radicalization – an Islamization – of the land?” Nuna asks. “Is it going towards that, or will there be a protection of minorities? I don’t know.” 

Many minorities have already fled their country. Prior to the Syrian Civil War, which broke out during the Arab Spring protests in 2011, Syria’s 2 million Christians made up about 10% of the country’s population. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 300,000 Christians remain in Syria – an 85% drop from 15 years ago. 

Please pray that Christians who stay in Syria will stand firm in the Lord. 

“I’m remembering Paul the apostle,” Nuna says. “The prayer was not, ‘Let me get out of prison.’ But he said, ‘Pray for me that I would have the words, and that I would be speaking boldly.’” 

Pray also that the international community would raise their voices in solidarity with Syria’s Christians. 

“We want the Middle East to keep being a lampstand,” Nuna says. “We don’t want this dimming of the light of Christians in the area.”

Map of Syria, Courtesy of onestopmap via Pixabay

Header image: Statue of Jesus in Damascus, courtesy of Noor Aldin Alwan via Pexels