Prayers Needed for Kidnapped Syrian Bishops
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) has released a letter making a plea for prayer and the safe release of two church officials who were kidnapped on April 22 by one of the warring factions in Syria.
The WCRC's letter comes amid conflicting reports as to the fate of Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo and Bishop Boulos Yazaji of the Greek Orthodox Church of Aleppo.
Regardless, the church has every reason to be concerned and to be in prayer.
“The news which we have received is that an armed group from Syria stopped the car and kidnapped the two bishops while the driver was killed,” says Rev. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the WCRC. The Christian Reformed Church is a founding member of the WCRC.
“We are working and doing our best for the release of the two bishops and return safely. So far we are unable to connect with them or with their kidnappers,” says Nyomi in a press release.
The bishops were stopped on Monday traveling back from negotiations to release captives taken by Syrian rebels.
Reports have surfaced from some news agencies saying the bishops have been released, but a news release from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America disputes those accounts.
“The release of these two hierarchs has not taken place. We ask you to continue to pray for their safety, and eventual release,” says the press release.
According to news reports, more than 75,000 people have been killed since the conflict in Syria began. Many of those killed have been civilians, while more than one million people have fled to neighboring countries. For more on the fate of the bishops, visit patheos.com.
The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon is a member of WCRC.
“Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, the World Communion of Reformed Churches has been very concerned about what the people of Syria have been going through,” says Nyomi.
“The loss of lives and the destruction have often brought us to tears. We continue to pray that God will lead the people of Syria to justice and peace with a government that will have the well-being of the people at heart.”
Nyomi says he has known Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim for about 30 years and so, he says, he feels “personally touched by this incident.”
The WCRC sprang to life at a meeting in the summer of 2010 on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. It resulted from a merger between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council.
The WCRC is a network of Protestant churches in 108 countries. Its member churches are Presbyterian, Congregational, Reformed, Waldensian, United, and Uniting with an estimated combined membership of 80 million people.
