Rev. Joseph Kassab, in a statement issued as the President of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, has condemned the terrorist bombing that targeted Mar Elias Church in Dweilaa district of Damascus on Sunday. Kassab shared the statement with partners, calling for solidarity and advocacy.
"With grieving hearts and steadfast faith in the resurrection of truth, we received the news of the heinous terrorist attack that targeted worshipers at St. Elias Church in Douweil’a – Damascus, where innocent lives were taken and pure blood was shed before the altar of the Lord, in a house of prayer and peace. In this painful moment, we lift our prayers for the martyrs who fell like lambs before wolves, who now rest in the hope of the resurrection. We beseech the Lord to grant healing to the wounded and comfort to the hearts of the bereaved.
What took place goes beyond an attack on a church or a particular community in the country; it is a crime against humanity, against the nation as a whole, and against God, who is the God of peace and life—not a god of death and destruction. We categorically reject this injustice and condemn it in the name of the Gospel, which calls for love, mercy, and justice—not hatred, violence, and bloodshed.
As we denounce this criminal terrorist act, we call upon the Syrian government to fully assume its responsibilities in protecting innocent citizens, safeguarding places of worship, and confronting the discourse of hatred, takfir (excommunication), and incitement that is undermining the foundations of social peace, threatening national unity, driving the displacement of its people, and unravelling the social fabric of the country.
We are children of this homeland, rooted in its soil, and we will remain witnesses of hope despite the wounds, and bearers of the message of love. Pain shall not silence the voice of truth, and the blood that has been shed shall not extinguish the light of Christ.
May the blood of the martyrs be the seed of a new Syria, more just and more peaceful."
Rev. Joseph Kassab, President
Supreme Council of Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon
Going Against Traffic on the Damascus Road
RCH visited the 2000-year-old Christian memorials of Syria’s capital, its Armenian and Arab-speaking Evangelical communities. A spiritual journey with Apostle Paul.
Rev. Kassab serves as the general secretary of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL), a close partner of RCH. The two churches signed a memorandum in 2019, stating that "as 'Ambassadors for Christ' in promoting peace and reconciliation, we strictly condemn and oppose any form of religious discrimination, oppression and persecution. In our cooperation, we, therefore, give special attention to helping Christian communities to remain and serve God in their homelands and be witnesses to the Good News of Christ".
In his response to the Kassab's letter, Bishop József Steinbach, ministerial president of the Synod of RCH assured the Supreme Council of the solidaity of the Hungarian reformed community. "Be assured that I not only share in your pain and sorrow, but also in your bold statement against the deadly consequences of human evil, both individually and socially, and also in your public witness to the Gospel of the God of peace and life and the hope that the blood of the martyrs will be seed of a new, just and peaceful Syria," reads in the Bishop's letter.
"We continue to pray, advocate and act for this, joining forces with NESSL and all the members of the Supreme Council. 'We pray for God’s special blessing and care for the churches and Christian communities of Syria and the whole Middle East, who live and witness in this land, the cradle of our shared faith'," referred the Bishop in his solidarity letter to the minute of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) central committee.