Tirana, December 5, 2024
orthodoxalbania.org The Orthodox Church of Albania has issued an urgent appeal calling for an end to the devastating attacks in Aleppo, Syria.
In a statement released on December 2, the Church expresses deep concern over the escalating violence that threatens thousands of Orthodox Christians in the region and the historic Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. It also highlights the broader implications of the ongoing conflict, pointing to the destruction of sacred sites and the existential threat faced by Christian communities across the Middle East.
The statement reads:
The recent devastating attacks in the city of Aleppo, Syria, and the surrounding areas, have directly endangered the lives of thousands of Orthodox Christians, threatening the historical existence of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and Middle Eastern Christians as a whole. Religious violence and the destruction of sacred places of worship are deep wounds for all of Orthodoxy and an offense against human culture.
Sharing in the deep and indescribable pain of our persecuted brothers, we join in prayers before the God of peace and call upon the international community to take immediate measures to stop the deadly attacks in this much-suffering region of the Middle East.
Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo vows to stay with flock as rebels take cityAleppo has the largest Christian population in Syria, though it the percentage has fallen dramatically since the war began in 2011.
“>Last week, His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim of Aleppo of the Antiochian Orthodox Church issued a statement amidst the current flare-up in the 13-year Syrian war, vowing to remain with his flock in prayer and hope.
Albanian Church calls for immediate ceasefire in GazaThe Albanian Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, issued a statement on the war in Gaza on Tuesday.
“>In October, the Albanian Church issued a similar statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 
Albanian Church calls for “abolition of absurd law” on the banning of Ukrainian Orthodox ChurchThe Albanian Orthodox Church has joined the chorus of voices standing up for the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine that is facing brutal persecution from its own state.”>In August, it released a statement calling for the “abolition of the absurd law” on banning the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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