Patriarch John X of Antioch and Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II issued a new joint appeal on Wednesday over the 2013 abduction of two Aleppo bishops, calling the unresolved case “an affront of deceit” and renewing a plea for truth and Christian solidarity in the Middle East.
The statement referred to the kidnapping of Metropolitan Paul Yazigi and Metropolitan Yohanna Ibrahim, who disappeared after returning from a humanitarian mission.
“To this day, their case has partly reflected the hideous humanitarian tragedy in the Levant. Their case remains an affront of deceit upon the brow of truth, a truth slaughtered on the thresholds of senseless wars and collapsing interests,” the patriarchs said.
They described the two hierarchs as enduring symbols of the Christian presence in the Middle East, lamenting that such presence is often invoked ceremonially “in words very far from reality.”
Call for Christian unity amid adversity
In the second part of the message, the two church leaders called for Christian unity amid ongoing trials.
“Today, as Christians, we call everyone to stand in unison despite every sectarian affiliation,” they wrote. “This abduction is proof that, as Christians, we share one destiny in this Levant.”
Addressing years of silence surrounding the case, they noted that the kidnappers’ identity and motives remain unknown and said Christians in the region remain “nailed to the cross of belonging to this land, rooted in it as long as blood flows in our veins.”
“We remain steadfast, relying on God alone and on our hope in the Lord of the Resurrection,” they added. “We remain steadfast, trusting in Him who has been with us for two thousand years, and believing that He is with us unto the ages of ages.”
The message concluded with the Paschal Troparion as a word of consolation amid the adversities faced by Christians worldwide, especially in the troubled Middle East.
Read more: New Metropolitan of Aleppo enthroned 8 years after abduction of former hierarch
Photo: OCP (Files)
