Antakya Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Aleppo Metropolitan Paul Yazici and Syriac Orthodox Church Aleppo Metropolitan Yuhanna İbrahim, who were kidnapped in Syria on April 22, 2013, are commemorated with sadness on the 8th anniversary of their disappearance.
There is still no news from the Metropolitans Paul Yazici and John Ibrahim who were kidnapped in Syria. While there is no reliable information about their fate in the 8 years since their abduction, it is not certain whether they are alive or not.
Due to the anniversary of the disappearance of the metropolitans, some social media accounts were shared on their behalf. We are praying for your return, Seyidne… 8 years… {Enough!} The wishes and desires of Paul Yazici and John Ibrahim to be alive and to return to their homes as soon as possible were expressed.
Mardin Deputy Tuma Çelik submitted a Questionnaire
Mardin Deputy Tuma Çelik had prepared a parliamentary question for the two clergy who were abducted on Syrian territory after leaving Turkey in 2013 and have not been heard from yet, with the request of Vice President Fuat Oktay to answer.
In the parliamentary question, Tuma Çelik asked for answers to whether a satisfactory explanation could be made about the abduction of the two clergy, and what the latest data and information about the fate of the abducted metropolitans were.
Steel, also in his explanations; “Both Metropolitans were abducted on April 22, 2013, while they were on their way to Aleppo from the Bab’el Hawa border crossing to meet with intermediaries to rescue two Armenian clergymen who were kidnapped in early 2013. Statements were made by government officials, especially the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the time, Ahmet Davutoğlu, that it was known that the abducted clergy were alive and that they would be reunited soon. However, until now, no information about their fate could be found.”
Immediately after the abduction of the metropolitans, Hatay Deputy Mehmet Ali Ediboğlu also brought the issue to the agenda of the Parliament in 2013. Ediboğlu asked the then Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu if they had any information, but Davutoğlu explained that they did not have any information.
Joint Message from John 10 and Ephram 2
His Beatitude John the 10th Patriarch of Antakya and the All Eastern Greek Orthodox Church and Ephraim II, the Patriarch of Antioch and the All-Eastern and Supreme President of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, have issued a joint message regarding the metropolitans Paul Yazici and John Abraham who disappeared 8 years ago. The following statements were included in the article published on the official website of the Antakya and All Eastern Greek Orthodox Patriarchate;
“On April 22, 2013, the Bishops of Aleppo, the Metropolitans Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim were kidnapped. This tragedy experienced by the people of the East continues to be the scar left by the lies on the cheek of the truth. Today we remember these two brothers, whose abduction represents the most bizarre cases, violating the very essence of humanity. Today we commemorate our two brothers who were kidnapped while returning from a humanitarian mission. We always remember our two brothers, who are symbols of the Christian presence in the East. We remember all this with a broken heart that was not repaired in an eight-year period.
We put this issue before the local and international public and knocked on every door. No results on this issue so far. As Christians, we are called to work together today, despite confessional differences. We are called to stay together.
This kidnapping; It is the ultimate proof that what unites us in Christ is greater than the sediments of history that separate us. This kidnapping; It is proof that as Christians we share a common destiny in the East.
We repeat once again that as Eastern Christians, as long as we have blood in our veins, we are settled and rooted in the East. We rely only on God and put our hope in the Lord of the Resurrection. We are here because we lean on the Lord of the Apocalypse, who has been with us for two thousand years. We believe that He will be with us forever. We will rise and be resurrected with Him!” (SAT-7 Turk/İlyas Edip TERBİYELİ-İskenderun)
