A Plea To Free Archbishop Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and Archbishop Boulos Yazigi...
A Plea To Free Archbishop Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and Archbishop Boulos Yazigi Who Were Kidnapped One Year Ago Today
Wolfgang Danspeckgruber
It is now precisely a year, 365 days, since the kidnapping of the two Metropolitans of Aleppo, the Syriac-Orthodox Archbishop Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and the Greek-Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Yazigi, which took place on the road between Aleppo and the Turkish border on April 22, 2013.
The kidnappers murdered the driver on the spot while a fourth person in the car managed to escape unharmed. While rumors abound, and we have endured a host of different reports and messages concerning life, injury, or death, to date there have been no verifiable signs of the two Metropolitans - neither of life nor of death. The Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox churches in Aleppo have been missing their leaders. In addition to pastoral work, the churches also operate schools and hospitals, and run humanitarian programs for all persons in need, regardless of their color or creed.
The location of the Metropolitans and their state of health, as well as the identity and aims of their kidnappers, is still unclear. According to multiple media reports, it is assumed that Abu al Banat and a jihadist Group of Chechen led the kidnapping. They may have been acting on a tip-off with the aim of robbery, since the two bishops were en route to negotiate the liberation of two priests and had apparently had more than half a million US Dollars in the car. Or perhaps the kidnappers were acting to show opposition to Russian interests and its support of the al-Assad government, since both archbishops were clearly recognizable as Orthodox clergy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wolfgang-danspeckgruber/archbishop-mar-gregorios-yohanna-ibrahim-and-archbishop-boulos-yazigi-_b_5186945.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
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