DWELA, Syria (AP) — A suicide attack on a Syrian church in June killed 25 people, as hundreds of worshipers gathered before Christmas to remember their lost relatives and reaffirm their faith.
On Tuesday night, members of the Mar Elias church, guarded by a small security force outside, celebrated Mass and lit an image of a Christmas tree made of neon lights on the wall of the courtyard outside. The tree is covered with photos of victims of the attack.
They included three men considered heroes by the congregation for fighting off a bomber, potentially averting a higher death toll from the June 22 attack.
A man opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in the Damascus suburb of Devera, which was packed with people attending Sunday prayers.
Congregants said brothers Boutros and Jergis Bechara and another congregant, Milad Haddad, overpowered the gunman and pushed him out of the center of the church before he detonated his vest.
Milad Haddad’s brother, Imad Haddad, who attended Tuesday’s tree lighting ceremony, said: “Without those three, maybe not one of the 400 people would have stayed.”
He hasn’t decorated his home for Christmas yet or put up a tree, but gathering at church is “a message of peace and love” and a message that “we are believers, we are strong, and we are steadfast no matter what happens,” he said.
Boutros Bechara’s widow, Tana Masoud, recalled that after the explosion, she frantically searched for her husband, but she could not find him, alive or dead. His body had been torn apart by the explosion.
“There’s no vacation, whether it’s this year, next year or the year after that,” she said.
She took comfort in the fact that her husband and the two other men who confronted the attackers were martyrs for their faith.
“Our Lord chose them to be saints and to spread His Word throughout the world,” she said. “But separation is difficult.”
Attacks spark fear among Christians
The attack on the church was the first of its kind in Syria in years and comes as the new Sunni Islamist-dominated government in Damascus tries to win the trust of religious minorities after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad.
Interim President Ahmed Sala has struggled to assert power across the country, even within coalition groups. The country has been hit by deadly sectarian violence in the past year.
While the new government has condemned attacks on ethnic minorities, many have accused it of failing to take action to control armed factions seeking to be co-opted into the new state’s army and security forces.
The June attack was blamed on an Islamic State group, which authorities said also planned an attack on a Shia holy site. Islamic State did not claim responsibility for the attack, while a little-known group called Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said one of its members carried out the attack. The government says the group is a front for Islamic State.
Christians account for about 10% of Syria’s 23 million population. Large-scale anti-government protests in 2011 were brutally suppressed by the government and evolved into a brutal 14-year civil war, with the rise of the Islamic State and other extremist groups.
Hundreds of thousands of Christians fled their homes during the war, during which Christians were subjected to sectarian attacks, including the kidnapping of nuns and priests and the destruction of churches. Now, many are seeking to leave again.
Strengthen faith and seek peace
Juliette Alcahy has felt numb since losing her husband in the church attack.
The couple remained a couple until she left Syria and immigrated to Venezuela with her mother and brother. In 2018, Alkash moved back to Syria when Emile Bechara proposed to her, even though the country was still in the midst of a civil war.
“Whatever happens happens, I’ve given in,” she said. “If a man goes to church and prays and dies – everything God writes will happen.”
Alkash said the only thing that matters now is that she and her 3-year-old son are still together.
Some congregants said the attack has only strengthened their faith.
“I saw a column of smoke rising from the ground to the ceiling, and I heard a voice saying, ‘I will not abandon you, I will not leave you,'” Hadi Kindarji described the intense spiritual experience at the moment of the explosion.
He believes today that even seemingly senseless violence is part of God’s plan.
“Our God exists and He exists in the church,” he said.
Johanna Shehad, pastor of the Mar Elias church, acknowledged that many in the congregation feared more deadly violence.
“Fear is a natural state. I’m not going to tell you there is no fear, and I’m not just talking about Christians but all Syrian people, from all sects,” Shehad said.
He said they are praying for peace as Christmas approaches.