Sunday Smorgasbord (I)

A heavy rain this morning took any Sunday afternoon yardwork plans off the table.  This enabled me to enjoy one of my favorite things--a Sunday afternoon with a fresh pot of coffee and the New York Times spread-out over the dining room table.  A number of articles caught my attention. First, there was this:

Wary Easter Weekend for Christians in Syria. 

"Either everything will be O.K. in one year, or there will be no Christians here."  That is the opinion of Ilias, a Damascene Christian.  The journalist spoke to a number of other Syrian Chrisitans during Good Friday observances (noting, of course, that most Syrian Christians are Orthodox and will be celebrating Easter on May 5.)  The situation was tense during the service at St. Kyrillos Church, as gunfire rattled a few blocks away.

Sam at Notes on Arab Orthodoxy is a good resource for articles on how the civil war (and our support for it) is harming the ancient Syrian Christian community.  Recent posts include:

Christians Slowly Fade from Tripoli's Troubled Landscape (30 March)
The plight of Syria's Christians:  'We left Homs because they were trying to kill us' (28 March)
An Interview with Bishop Luka Khoury on the Situation in Syria (27 March)
Syrian Rebels Target Christian Areas of Damascus (12 March)
Met. Saba Esber on the Crisis in Syria (20 February)

I am more pessimistic than I have been since the civil war started.  After it is all over, I particulary do not want to see U.S. politicians and bureaucrats shrug their shoulders as if to say, "it is not our fault--how could we have known?"