Posted on 04/23/2013 5:51:18 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Two Syrian bishops abducted near the northern city of Aleppo on Monday have been freed, a regional Christian association said. Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Bishop Boulos Yaziji have reportedly arrived at Aleppo's Saint Elias cathedral.
An association of Middle Eastern Christians on Tuesday said that two Orthodox bishops reportedly kidnapped by rebels in northern Syria have been released, in a statement citing Syrian sources.
The French "Oeuvre d'Orient" association said that the two -- Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Bishop Boulos Yaziji, who were seized on Monday -- were already at Saint Elias cathedral in Aleppo.
The Paris-based association, which works to help Middle Eastern Christians, said it was "delighted by the rapid liberation of the two bishops".
But it said more should be done for the release of two priests -- a Greek Orthodox and an Armenian Catholic -- kidnapped for nearly three months.
Syrian state media reported that the two bishops were seized by rebels while they were on a humanitarian mission and their driver was killed.
But the opposition accused the regime of being behind the abduction, which was condemned by Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Kidnappings have become increasingly prevalent in Syria as law and order has broken down with the spread of the conflict between rebels and loyalist troops.
Activists and human rights groups say minority groups, including Christians, have been particularly vulnerable.
Christians account for about five percent of Syria's population, and they have remained largely neutral or supportive of the regime since the outbreak of the uprising against the government in early 2011.
But the Syrian opposition also includes prominent Christian members, including George Sabra, a long-time dissident who was named interim head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition on Monday.
Thank God.
Amen
Some of the Orthodox Christian websites that I’ve seen say that reports of the bishops’ release are premature and unsubstantiated. The Orthodox patriarch of Russia is intervening on their behalf. Continue to pray for their safety and for the Christians in Syria.
...the abduction, which was condemned by Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Ping.
Vatican City, Apr 23, 2013 / 05:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis is responding to the kidnapping of two Orthodox bishops in Syria with “intense prayer” for their health and release.
The Pope “was informed of this serious new act, which adds to the growing violence in recent days and a humanitarian emergency of vast proportions,” Vatican press office director Father Federico Lombardi said in an April 23 statement.
He is following the events “closely and with intense prayer for the health and the release of the two kidnapped bishops,” Fr. Lombardi reported.
Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syrian Orthodox Church and Archbishop Paul Yagizi of the Greek Orthodox Church were kidnapped April 22 near Aleppo, Syria by armed men, who killed their driver.
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported late Monday that the archbishops were engaged in humanitarian work just over the border in Turkey and were returning to Aleppo when they were attacked.
The opposition rebels and the Syrian government have both traded blame over who carried out the kidnapping, so it remains unclear who is responsible.
Fr. Lombardi said that the assault on the archbishops “and the killing of their driver, while carrying out a humanitarian mission, is a dramatic confirmation of the tragic situation faced by the people of Syria and its Christian communities.”
Pope Francis, he said, is praying that, “with the commitment of all, the Syrian people will finally discover effective answers to the humanitarian tragedy and see on the horizon real hopes for peace and reconciliation.”
At an April 17 press event in Rome, Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham, said that 2 million Syrians have been forced to leave their homes, over 1,000 Christians have been killed and 20 churches have been destroyed in Syria’s conflict.
Christians make up between five and 10 percent of Syria’s population, but large numbers of them have fled to neighboring countries like Lebanon and Jordan to escape the fighting.
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