Prince Charles raises awareness about 'appaling suffering' of Syrian Christians

Jardine Malado Monday, November 28, 2016

Britain's Prince Charles greets people on the street after his visit to the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School for Adults in Washington on March 19, 2015. | REUTERS/Gary Cameron

The Prince of Wales has called attention to the suffering of Christians in Syria in his speech at the consecration of a Syriac Orthodox Church in London last Thursday.

The ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Thomas in Acton has been described by the prince as a "notable sign of hope for the future."

"It is surely deeply encouraging, at a time when the members of the Syriac Orthodox Church in their homelands of Syria and Iraq are undergoing such desperate trials and such appalling suffering, that in Britain the Syriac Church is able to expand and gain in strength," said Charles, as reported by Premier.

The ceremony was attended by more than 600 members of the Syriac community. The Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and worldwide head of the church, Ignatius Aphrem II Karim, was also present at the event, according to Christian Today.

"May the congregation of this Cathedral, and all the members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, wherever they may be, be blessed with the kind of courage and faith that can ultimately transcend the unbearable misery and anguish that have been so cruelly inflicted upon you, your loved ones and your brethren," he added.

He likened the ceremony to the consecration of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem as described in the book of 1 Kings.

The Prince later joined the members of the community in a traditional Syrian dance outside the cathedral. The congregation expressed their gratitude to Charles for boldly speaking out against the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

In 2013, he warned that Middle Eastern Christians are being deliberately targeted by fundamentalist Islamic militants. In December 2015, he stated that Christianity might be totally wiped out in the region within five years unless the international community takes action.

In the latest report from Aid to the Church in Need, Syria is listed as one of the top seven countries where persecution against Christians is severe. The other nations included in the list are North Korea, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.