Two Orthodox Metropolitans abducted in Syria by insurgents

Militants operating in Syria have kidnapped two Christian metropolitans, archpriest Nikolai Balashov, a deputy chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, said. He explained that the information on the abduction had been provided by his counterparts in Syria, TASS reports.

"Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo, who is a brother of the Patriarch John of Antioch, and the Syrian Jacobite Metropolitan of Aleppo & Environs, Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, were seized by militants on the road from Antioch to Aleppo Monday, April 22," the Right Reverend Balashov said.

"Sadly, this information has been completely confirmed," he said.

The Russian Orthodox Church urges all the Christians of the world to pray for the salvation of their brethren in Syria where the militants subject them to purges and persecution on the territories, which the government does not control.

Earlier, the Chairman of the department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hillarion said he was keeping close contact with the hierarchs of the Antioch Orthodox Church. "They tell me that Christianity is exterminated up to the last believer in the territories where rebel groupings come to power - the Christians are either expelled or simply killed."
There is an increasing incidence of abductions of Christians for ransom.

His Beatitude Hillarion underlined Syria’s centuries-old experience of tolerant co-existence of Muslims and Christians of various denominations: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Syriac Catholics, Maronite Christians, and Armenian Apostolic Christians.
"Syria has given shelter two more than 2 million Iraqi refugees and several thousand of them are Christians,” he said. “Now we can plainly state that external armed interference is going on in that country."