Those who stay: A story of faith among Syrian Christians

The following words belong to Father Bashar Laham.  They are a reflection of daily life in Syria, shaped by pressure, yet marked by perseverance.

He talks about the Church’s current situation in Syria, but how he also has hope for the Syrian Church.

The Syrian Church is smaller than it was. The congregations that once filled the country have thinned – but they have not disappeared.

The numbers tell their own story. An estimated 1.8 million Christians lived in Syria in 2011. Today, about 300 000 remain.

Father Bashar Lasham has watched this unfolding for over a decade. He remembers a time when Christian communities lived with a sense of safety and security. Then, 2011 brought challenges that shook that foundation.

“We were used to safety and security in Syria,” he reflects. “Some challenges that started in 2011 shook the Christian community, creating insecurity and instability.” Many began to think that leaving was the only way to find stability again. Many have left, while instability, he says, remains one of the central challenges for those who want to stay.

The future of the Church

The consequences of so many leaving reach into the future of the Church itself. “A Church deprived of its youth is a Church without a future,” Father Bashar says. “Conversely, youth without a Church have no future.”

He has observed how the Church has been losing its young people, with some moving abroad and those who wanted to stay no longer present. He says the loss of young people has weakened Christian culture and faith. Yet Bashar and others haven’t given up. “We are attempting to awaken this young generation to fulfil their responsibilities and ensure the permanence of the Christian Church in Syria.”

Ask whether the Church might disappear entirely, and Father Bashar answers with quiet conviction. “I have faith that the Church will remain,” he says. “Christianity worldwide originated in Syria. Faith was carried by Syrian Christians to all corners of the world.” When Pope John Paul II visited Syria in 2001, he affirmed that Syria is the birthplace of Christianity. For Father Bashar, this history is the foundation of his hope. “Syria will always remain the cradle of civilisation and Christianity,” he says.

But this doesn’t come without challenges. When a regime change in December 2024 introduced a new set of unknowns, it caused worry as every period of transition carries its own fears – anxiety about safety, about economic conditions, about what comes next. “Each phase has its own challenges and difficulties,” he says. “In every transition, individuals are afraid of change.” The question Syrian Christians are living with is whether the new order will move toward stability or away from it. “We require safety and confidence. Are these things provided by those who are in power today? We don’t know. That is why we are living with fear and anxiety towards the future.”

Then came June 25, 2025.

A bomb struck Saint Elias Church in Damascus. A place that was more than just a building, it was where they found safety, but suddenly it wasn’t safe anymore. Father Bashar recalls that as a child, his parents would find him in the church, the place to meet, to play, a place of safety in joy and in sorrow.

The bombing has shaken that sense of sanctuary. “We hear a lot of people saying that they feel frightened. They fear that if they attend the church, they might not survive it.”

And yet Father Bashar refuses to let fear be the final word…

“We still believe that the Lord is the one who builds the house – He is the protector of this city. Unless the Lord builds the house and protects the city, its builders labour in vain.”
His faith is that every period of trial will ultimately strengthen the Church. “Our faith is that each phase and each temptation and distress will make us stronger. If a grain of wheat doesn’t die, it won’t live and bear fruit.”

He points to history to show how trials have kept the Church: “The early church experienced wars, persecution and martyrdom; that’s why the Christian people, despite everything, are still resilient and steadfast.”

This is the faith of the remnant – not in the absence of fear, but amid fear with a refusal to give in to it. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who did not know if God would deliver them from the fire but stepped toward it anyway, those who remain in Syria are not staying because it’s safe, but because they believe in God’s power to deliver them, and even if He doesn’t, they choose to serve Him in this land.

“Regardless of the hostile parties and enemies we are facing, we remain steadfast in this land.”

Beyond the spiritual pressures

As these believers choose to remain in Syria despite the uncertainty, they also face daily economic strain beyond the spiritual pressures. Father Bashar shares how this weighs on Christian families, as safety, security, and livelihood are the greatest challenges Christians face today.

“The most significant obstacle we confront today is when a father is compelled to work more than one job and shift to provide for his family. When he is unable to pay for the house’s expenses, the mother must work two or three jobs. Their children and their future are the victims in this because the absence of the mother and father means the children must raise themselves. [In that situation], who is leading the home? We don’t know; maybe social media is filling that role. We are approaching a certain level of decline regarding the family. That is one of our most significant challenges.”

The Church is responding as best it can, partnering with charitable and international organisations to provide medical services, education and support for people to live with dignity. But Father Bashar is clear that the church cannot carry this alone.

When he looks to the future, he speaks of the Church not as a community in retreat, but as one with a continuing purpose. “We will remain the beacon of light, the salt and the leaven – shining a light on the darkened hearts of others.” His faith, grounded in the long history of Syrian Christianity and the witness of its martyrs, does not waver. “My faith is that the Church will remain.”

Stand with the Church in Syria

During a reflection on the Lord’s Prayer, Father Bashar found himself sitting with one phrase: Give us today our daily bread. Not excessive, not minimal – just enough. He offers that prayer now as an invitation to the worldwide Church.

“We ask everyone to join us in praying: ‘Give us our daily bread.’ Today in Syria, we need to be content with our livelihood. We ask you to pray for us to live in peace again, in security and fraternity – this fraternity that was mutilated by the war. We are calling on the Church to pray that Syria remains a cradle for Christianity and civilisation.”

If you would like to also give “daily bread” to our persecuted family, you can give below. Your gift today helps provide practical support to Christians in the Middle East – families facing impossible pressures, a Church determined to remain.