The genocide of Christians in the Middle East
It’s a pity there is virtually no meaningful or informative conversation taking place in the United States about the widespread persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East. Muslims in America scream and howl at the slightest provocations, yet in the face of the tragic genocide against Christians throughout the Islamic world and the ‘final solution’ for the Christians of the Middle East, we hear nothing. Prominent Muslim leaders in the United States and Western Europe remain silent, while Christian churches in the Middle East are attacked and burned, and Christians are murdered in the streets.
The Antiochian Patriarchate is in the most perilous situation, with the impending fall of the Assad regime and the ascendancy of ISIS in Syria, yet our American president continues to demand the overthrow of the one government that has historically protected it’s Christian population. Our American record for overthrowing dictators has time and again resulted in Moslem fanatics occupying the vacancies left by the ousted governments. We Christians in the West sit with their collective ‘heads in the sand’, while our Christian brothers and sisters suffer genocide.
Assyrian, Coptic, and Antiochian Christians are suffering some of the worst persecution in history. Christians are leaving the Middle East by the hundreds of thousands, and those who can not leave are facing a genocide that is without precedence, yet the West continues in a state of denial. Linked to the above is the growing problem of Muslim youth engaging in jihadist acts, while political correctness brushes off any discussion as being “Islamophobic “, all the while ignoring the fact that the root of the problem resides within Islam itself.
It is time we speak out in defense of our fellow Christians in the Middle East, as that which is happening in the Middle East will eventually happen in this country. The Boston Marathon bombing perpetrated by Chechnyan Jihadistsis was the beginning, and the recent murderous attack in San Bernardino, simply demonstrates good reason why we SHOULD fear Islam. As well, according to Syria’s Grand Mufti, the two Orthodox bishops who were kidnapped in Syria, were taken by Chechnya Jihadists, with no knowledge as to whether they are alive, or dead.
The Western world will not be a safer place simply because we refuse to keep our collective heads out of the sand. We must pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the Middle East, and we must speak out in truth, and with courage, lest we be responsible for a genocide that threatens the entire Christian populations in the lands that saw the rise of Christianity. We must not be like the silent German citizens, who refused to speak out when their Jewish neighbors were being rounded up, and sent to the death camps. If we remain silent, the Islamic world, together with all it’s peaceful Moslems, will be under the same fascist control that forced good Germans under submission to the Nazi Party.
The FBI has made it known that we now have “sleeper cells” of Jihadistsis, at a time our American secular mindset that has demanded total separation of Church and State, shoving aside our Christian values and ethics. Will our peace loving Moslem neighbors see us all surrender to a system of Sharia Law? Moslems in the West, like their German counterparts who became powerless against the Nazi Party, will likely submit to the Quranic teachings that Moslems can not subject themselves to non-Moslem rulers. It seems clear to me that the clock is ticking for Western Civilization.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Saturday December 26, 2015 / December 13, 2015
30th Week after Pentecost. Tone four.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Martyrs Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius, and Orestes at Sebaste (284).
Venerable Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska (1836) and Synaxis of the First Martyrs of the American land.
Virgin-martyr Lucy of Syracuse (304).
New Hieromartyr Alexander priest and Martyr John (1920).
New Hieromartyrs Vladimir, Alexander, Jacob priests (1937).
New Hieromartyr Nicholas priest (1938).
New Hieromartyra Emilian and Basil priests (1941).
Venerable Arcadius, monk of Novotorsk (11th c.).
Venerable Mardarius, recluse of the Kiev Caves (13th c.).
Venerable Arsenius of Latros (8-10th c.).
St. Dositheus metropolitan of Moldavia (1693) (Romania).
Venerable Nicodemus of Romania (Romania).
St. Gabriel, patriarch of Serbia (1659) (Serbia).
St. Odilia, virgin of Alsace (720) (France).
Venerable Innocent, bishop of Cherson (1857).
St. Gabriel, bishop of Imereti, (1896) (Georgia).
St. Columba of Terryglass (549) (Celtic & British).
St. Judoc, hermit of Ponthieu.
St. Ares, monk (Greek).
Scripture Readings
Ephesians 5:1-8
Walk in Love
5 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know,[a] that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Walk in Light
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Luke 13:18-29
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven
20 And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
The Narrow Way
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
Thank you Father for speaking out and speaking the truth into this sad sad situation. I am not living in America but have been following closely the lack of political and religious muscle in facing a reality that feels as real as pre Nazi Germany. I believe you a right that the clock is indeed ticking for Western civilisation and I do not think you are being alarmist in saying so.
I just pray that our political and church leaders, will take off their so called political correct blinkers and decry the genocide that is happening to our brothers and sisters in Christ while there is still time.
Sadly, the media is just as blinkered as the others.
Thank you father for reminding us that we must pray diligently and do whatever we can, while we can.
Bless Abba;
Is there a prayer that you can teach me that I can add to my daily rule that would allow me to properly pray for ALL these Christians in peril? I feel as though, while I pray for all Christian Brothers and Sisters, that i don’t remember the ones that I should put first. Thank you,
Just a reminder: The US seems to have been on the wrong side since before World War II. Until Pearl Harbor we supported the Nazi regime, and even after that attack, munitions manufacturers continued selling and shipping arms to the Axis. The greedy among us have continued that irresponsible behavior to this day despite the person in the White House. Greed morality and its fear of communism rules this country. Judaeo-Christian values began disappearing when we purchased Manhatton for a pittance.
Thank you Father. It is good to see someone in the clergy speak out against the lack of a firm stand against the Islamic invasion that is happening throughout the world. We in America have become too comfortable and complacent to think what took place in Nazi Germany could happen here. It has already begun. God have mercy on us and bring the Christians out of our stupor.
AMEN
Regarding Main stream Islam (so called), “Silence implies consent.”
I firmly believe that there is no such creature as “Mainstream” Islam.
There is only Islam, the meaning of which is “submit.”
Abbot Tryphon,
Where may one find trustworthy news regarding this topic? It is difficult to know what is overplayed and what is not.
By your prayers, Trudy
Abbot Tryphon,
Your church, allied with Assad, is guilty of aiding and abetting the Baathist Regime in the utter slaughter of a quarter of a million civilians.
And you dare cry “genocide”.
Shame on you. Shame on your Church.
Where were you Abbott, when your dear protector Assad arrested and tortured teenagers in Deraa?
Christian Syrians are not dying for their belief in Christ; they are dying because you allied them with a murderer. You are the terrorists. You crushed peaceful, pro democracy, civilian protests. Protests against your illegitimate regime. The country rose up against your crimes.
You are now allied with Nasrallah and Iran. You are calling for a holy war here; the United Stares against Muslim Americans. Do you really expect anyone to come to your defense when you ally yourselves with the likes of Putin and Assad and then call for a holy war here in the U.S?
William,
Christians in Syria support Assad overwhelmingly; not because they are ignorant of his evils, but because strong men in the region (like Assad and Hussein) have alone supported Christian minorities against Sunni majorities by force.So the support of Assad is existential, not based on him being an exemplary person. Things are very different in the Middle East – there is no functioning democracy with rights for religious minorities.
And to say that Christians are not being slaughtered for their belief is pure ignorance of reality. Why else are they being slaughtered?
I did not see anything in Abbot Tryphon’s piece that he was promoting holy war against American Muslims – this is obviously a “reading into” his blog by you. His point is that we need to be realistic about what is happening in the region and not hide our heads in the sand. Loving your enemies does NOT mean we are to allow or invite our enemies to martyr us.
Where were YOU when ISIS started beheading people just because they did not agree with them? You either follow their backward teachings or be killed. That Stone Age mentality that destroyed 3rd and 4th century churches, monasteries and historical sites like Tadmor (Palmyra)
Where were YOU when Christians houses were marked with “N” which stands for Nasrani (Christian) so they can be used as human shield when needed, once that’s done, they were killed. Is that what you call demonstration for democracy?
Where were YOU when these savages kidnapped nuns from Ma’aloula ? One of the oldest Monasteries that the Western Aramaic language of Jesus still being spoken.
Where were YOU when they burnt alive a Jordanian pilot? A Muslim fellow that didn’t believe in their savagery.
Where were YOU when they slaughtered 21 Coptics in Libya and tortured and buried many Yazidis alive? I can go on and on and on…
Yes, granted Hafez Al Assad and Saddam Hussein were both taught by the same teacher (Michel Aflaq). Neither one of them mistreated the Christians. That’s not to say they were good leaders but at least the Christians lived in harmony and un-threatened actually, they even held some senior positions in their governments. So they were not discriminated against.
Shame and big shame on you to ignore the facts. Why Christians are almost extinct in the land where Christ Himself came from? Maybe the initial demonstration in Deraa started peacefully; maybe they didn’t want it to end up like that. But it did facts are facts and the reality hurts ISIS took over.
The church never allied itself with anyone, they are peaceful people want to coexist and go about accomplishing their mission on this earth. Unfounded and unsubstantiated comments like that are simply straight out lie. The church kept on the side and wanted to survive and protect their houses of worship. Comments like that are inflammatory and serve no good purpose
It is hard to fathom what’s happening to the people in the Middle East, specifically the Christians.
In fact, Assad had Christians in his government.
He did NOT allow the murder of homosexuals by Sunni Muslim clerics in Syria. This which might be of interest to William since he favors all rights for homosexual persons in Canada.
Where were YOU when ISIS started beheading people just because they did not agree with them? You either follow their backward teachings or be killed. That Stone Age mentality that destroyed 3rd and 4th century churches, monasteries and historical sites like Tadmor (Palmyra)
Where were YOU when Christians houses were marked with “N” which stands for Nasrani (Christian) so they can be used as human shield when needed, once that’s done, they were killed. Is that what you call demonstration for democracy?
Where were YOU when these savages kidnapped nuns from Ma’aloula ? One of the oldest Monasteries that the Western Aramaic language of Jesus still being spoken.
Where were YOU when they burnt alive a Jordanian pilot? A Muslim fellow that didn’t believe in their savagery.
Where were YOU when they slaughtered 21 Coptics in Libya and tortured and buried many Yazidis alive? I can go on and on and on…
Yes, granted Hafez Al Assad and Saddam Hussein were both taught by the same teacher (Michel Aflaq). Neither one of them mistreated the Christians. That’s not to say they were good leaders but at least the Christians lived in harmony and un-threatened actually, they even held some senior positions in their governments. So they were not discriminated against.
Shame and big shame on you to ignore the facts. Why Christians are almost extinct in the land where Christ Himself came from? Maybe the initial demonstration in Deraa started peacefully; maybe they didn’t want it to end up like that. But it did facts are facts and the reality hurts ISIS took over.
The church never allied itself with anyone, they are peaceful people want to coexist and go about accomplishing their mission on this earth. Unfounded and unsubstantiated comments like that are simply straight out lie. They kept on the side and wanted to survive and protect their houses of worship. Comments like that are inflammatory and serve no good purpose
It is hard to fathom what’s happening to the people in the Middle East, specifically the Christians.
William are you aligned with the OTHER Sunnis muslims in SAUDIA ARABIA who are sending money and supplies to ISIS????
Your concern for rebel/ISIS Sunni Syrians is odd since they are the ones killing Christians and Shiite muslims in Syria . And they sold Jazidi women and girls into sexual slavery in Iraq. They murdered Kurds and Jazidi men and boys too. They murdered 10s of homosexual men in cruel evil ways.
I think you need to stop accusing the Abbot of things he did not say or infer.
I will pray for you to stop bothering the good people who come here to read what the ABBOT SAYS and WRITES, not what your lack of belief in Christ causes you to write… it is rude how you treat the Abbot.
SHAME on you. You stand in need of much prayer.
As a cradle Antiochian Orthodox, I am nourished by your daily feedings and humbled that my true maturation of the faith has come somewhat late. Oneness is of course a lifelong process, for sure, and I am so thankful that exceptional and God-filled messengers much as yourself have become a part of my life… helping me to live Orthodoxy as Christ intended.
During this blessed Nativity season, may the unfathomable love of God and all His blessings surround you and your monastery and give you enduring joy and good health throughout the new year. And may the “peace that transcends all understanding” be yours each and every day! Indeed, I pray God’s prosperity in your lives and a grace-filled year ahead.
You are indefatigable, Abbot Tryphon. God has gifted you with much, and I pray your voice will continue to inspire many souls in the years and decades to come.
All God’s blessings on this season of His birth,
Father Abbot-With all respect some aspects of your post troubled me–all of the Muslims i know including my father -in-law, would no sooner harm someone than any of the rest of us.
It is undeniable that Christians are suffering great persecution in the Middle East, especially at the hands of Isis/Daesh and el Shabab in Africa but these 2 groups have also devastated 1000′ s of Muslims who don’t fit their extreme and evil views….Shias, Aziris and even many Sunnis have suffered along with Christians and have had their mosques and homes destroyed. While it is true Pres. Assad has protected Christians, and this is a good thing, he hardly has a good human rights record overall and the same can be said for Pres. Putin and for Russia’s 1990’s treatment of Chechnya which amounted to genocide. Politicians will be politicians everywhere and will manipulate groups to their perceived advantage.
As a new Christian how can i persuade my Mormon and Muslim and atheist family and neighbors by good example or by Orthodox teachings if perchance any of us start to lapse into blanket condemnations….begging your pardon and acknowledging your greater experience i just wanted to put in this note of caution.
It is worth remembering that in American history Irish, Italians, Germans, Japanese, Chinese and others were subject to persecution based on stereotypes and that most of these people, like most Muslims today, were entirely innocent and just looking for work, stability and family just like all of us….
God Bless You and thanks for your daily posts.
Mark,
Your reply IMO bespeaks of concern for political correctness. No one – including Abbot Tryphon – said that ALL Muslims are in league with ISIS-Daesh; but there are many (not all) Muslims according to recent polling who support them and their Salafist-Wahhabist teachings.
Abbot Tryphon did not lapse into blanket condemnations. He spoke the truth – Muslims of a particular sect and teaching are slaughtering moderate Muslims and Christians of all kinds. They must be condemned and destroyed. While i am sure that there are many Muslims who do not support Wahhabism-Salafist teachings, sadly few are speaking out publicly.
To speak the truth in love as Fr Tryphon did in this piece is not “hate speech”. As I responded to another person on this thread, we are called to love out enemies – but nowhere does scripture say we are to invite our enemies to martyr us, or not protect ourselves. in fact in Luke (22:36 Our Lord himself tells his disciples who are going out among “enemies” to sell their garment and buy a sword! “He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.”