President Medvedev Visits the Patriarchate of Antioch
"....Contradictory interpretations of the situation continue to play havoc in international society. As the Russian Orthodox Church looks over the situation it does so with one eye on the Christian minority in the country and another on the long history of conflict on the region. The Patriarch of Antioch (which is based in Damascus, not Antioch, Turkey) is responsible for a large portion of the Christian minority who have benefited from participation in the minority rule in Syria. These Christians see their future as tied to the fortunes of the Alawite minority. Alawites and Christians are driven by fear of the return of Sunni majority rule in Syria, not seen since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Such a shift would necessarily lead to an erosion of the power of Christians in the state, and may lead to violent reprisals from the long oppressed majority.
The calculation of the Orthodox Church, then, is that the devil that they know is better than the one which would come if the current regime is toppled. There is much truth in their analysis. Choices within human politics are always choices between imperfect options. As Augustine reminds us, whoever imposes peace in the saeculum, it pales in comparison to the peace of God. This does not, however, alleviate our responsibility in choosing.
As I see things, the concerns of the Orthodox, and the Alawites need to be taken seriously by the international community as it moves forward. Promises of protection for minorities in Syria in any coming transition of power are necessary in order to sooth the fears that aggravate the conflict. Robust efforts to provide such protection are a requirement of justice.
Beyond this, however, I would call my Orthodox brethren to hope in what can happen when we leave the devil we know. “Hope” as Charles Mathewes writes, “is surprising – indeed it is the capacity to be joyfully surprised.” In politics, hope should not be deployed blindly. Given the moderate Islamist regime that has evolved in Turkey, and the shape of regimes that seem to be emerging in many other post-Arab Spring States, there is reason to think that it is possible to enter into a period where new relations might emerge between Islam and minorities across the Middle East. There is, however, no certainty that such relations will emerge, and even less reason to think that these new relations will be established and secured quickly or without intervening conflict.
Hope, even when it is not blind, is always a risk. Short of the eschaton, there are no guarantees. For this reason, I do not call for hope lightly. It is all too easy for one far away to call for such hope from those whose power and lives are more immediately on the line. But the devil we know appears to be getting worse by the minute, and opening ourselves to the possibilities of the unknown future is quickly becoming the only moral option."
Kevin Carnahan (Ph.D., Southern Methodist University) is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Central Methodist University, Fayette, Missouri.
http://www.politicaltheology.com/blog/?p=2218
Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim the head of Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East, with the Syrian President Bashar Alassad.
http://truthsyria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/this-is-their-freedom.html
Will Russia sit idly by while the West trash Syria when the Assad regime, which is part of Syria’s ruling Shia Muslim minority, are seen as allies of Syria’s Orthodox Christians by the embittered Syrian Sunni majority who have reprisal on their minds?
Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim the head of Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East, with the Syrian President Bashar Alassad. http://truthsyria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/this-is-their-freedom.html
Will Russia sit idly by while the West trash Syria when the Assad regime, which is part of Syria’s ruling Shia Muslim minority, are seen as allies of Syria’s Orthodox Christians by the embittered Syrian Sunni majority who have reprisal on their minds?
Here, the BBC’s is
being diplomatic with the truth stating that “..Russia's role is vital because it has influence in
Damascus which the other players don't - it supplies Syria with weapons, and
political support – .....“:
“weapons, and political support,”?
It is a bit more than that, surely, seeing as Russia and Eastern Europe
have had their religious base in Damascus since the days of St Peter and Paul http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochian_Orthodox_Church
Damascus, Syria ‘has influence’ on Russia too. But the religious aspect of
this conflict is not discussed much in the UK!
REBELS IN SYRIA PERSECUTE CHRISTIANS
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/03/syria-sunni-jihadists-expels-90-of-christians-from-homs.html
The church sources said that the armed men informed the owners of the homes before they departed that if they did not leave immediately they would be shot and pictures of their corpses would be sent to al-Jazeera with the message that the government had killed them. The source emphasized that all those who were expelled "were not allowed to take any of their possessions with them, not even extra clothes. Immediately after they left their homes, the buildings were occupied by armed men who considered it 'war-booty from the Christians!'"
It should be noted that the Faruq Brigade is operated by armed elements from al-Qaeda and various Wahhabi groups and it includes mercenaries from Libya and Iraq. Last month they destroyed two churches with rocket fire, burning one and severely damaging the other.
REBELS IN SYRIA PERSECUTE CHRISTIANS
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/03/syria-sunni-jihadists-expels-90-of-christians-from-homs.html
The church sources said that the armed men informed the owners of the homes before they departed that if they did not leave immediately they would be shot and pictures of their corpses would be sent to al-Jazeera with the message that the government had killed them. The source emphasized that all those who were expelled "were not allowed to take any of their possessions with them, not even extra clothes. Immediately after they left their homes, the buildings were occupied by armed men who considered it 'war-booty from the Christians!'"
It should be noted that the Faruq Brigade is operated by armed elements from al-Qaeda and various Wahhabi groups and it includes mercenaries from Libya and Iraq. Last month they destroyed two churches with rocket fire, burning one and severely damaging the other.