Russian Orthodox Bishop: Syrian Christians Facing ‘Extermination’

Acton Institute Blog ^ | 11/2/12 | John Couretas

[marshmallow]

In an interview for Acton’s Religion & Liberty quarterly, the Russian Orthodox bishop in charge of external affairs for the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, warned that that the situation for the Christian population of Syria has deteriorated to an alarming degree. Hilarion compared the situation today, after almost two years of fighting in Syria, as analogous to Iraq, which saw a virtual depopulation of Christians following the U.S. invasion in 2003.

The Russian Orthodox Church has been among the most active witnesses against Christian persecution around the world, particularly in the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East. In November 2011, Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, visited Syria and Lebanon. In a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Kirill said that he shared a concern with Assad about the “spread of religious radicalism that threatens the integrity of the Arab world.”

That sentiment has been expressed widely in Christian communities in Syria — some of them dating to apostolic times — as civil war has progressively taken a heavy toll. Now almost two years on, as many as 30,000 people may have perished. Despite having few illusions about the nature of Assad’s autocratic rule, many Christians feared that the Islamist groups, involved in what the West initially viewed as another “Arab Spring” uprising, would eventually turn on them. Indeed this is what has happened. Entire Christian villages have been depopulated, churches desecrated, and many brutal killings have taken place at the hands of the “Arab Spring” insurgents. Most recently, Fr. Fadi Haddad, an Orthodox priest, was found murdered with brutal marks of torture on his remains. Car bomb attacks are now being waged against Christian neighborhoods. (See these backgrounders on the Syrian crisis from the Congressional Research Service and the....

[no-to-illegals]

Guess it should be no surprise, though grief follows a lot these days. The attacks are more than likely coming from the people our people in d.c. are supporting or have supported. If support has been removed (read a report where it was removed for the syria council) am doubting it was or is for the reason of Christian suffering.

[The Sons of Liberty]

Christians are being systematically hunted down and murdered throughout the muslim world, but you wouldn’t know if the just follow the lapdog press. Certainly the muzzie regime in the white hut won’t criticize the ROP!

[captmar-vell]

Whenever this subject comes up here,

I keep repeating this message just to bring some awareness to what I think may be prophetically significant,

From a June 2012 news story: the Muslim Brotherhood’s Egyptian (then) presidential candidate, Mohammed Morsi stated that Christians will be forced to “convert, pay tribute, or leave.”

What this says to me is that in Egypt, Christians are essentially becoming ‘outcasts’ in their own country,

Isaiah Chapter 27:13
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Three things are mentioned here along with ‘in that day’ meaning the day of the Lord, yet future,

1. Believers are “ready to perish in the land of Assyria”
2. there are “outcasts” from the land of Egypt
3. The “great trumpet shall be blown”

The ‘great trumpet’ is (I believe) the Trump of God, the most important trumpet of all and the same one heard in Exodus 19 and last heard around 1500 BC at Mt Sinai,

Pray for those in harms way,

‘Arab spring’ = setting the stage for Israel’s enemies to surround and come against her in lockstep as prophesied at the time of the end.

“2008 Financial Crisis” = setting the stage for a new global economic model using numbers for buying and selling ala Revelation Chapter 13.