Bishop Jules Boutros is a Lebanese bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church and the youngest Catholic bishop in the world. He recently visited ACN’s headquarters in Germany and spoke with Filipe d’Avillez about the Syriac Catholic Church and the situation in Lebanon.

By ACN Staff

Bishop Jules Boutros began the interview by explaining the history of the Syriac Catholic Church in Lebanon. Syriac Catholics have been present in Lebanon since 1782, but the majority of Syriac Catholics in Lebanon today are descendants of refugees from what is now Turkey who fled the Ottomans during the genocide in 1915. Syriac Catholics are a small minority amongst Lebanon’s Christian population. With around 16,000 Syriac Catholics living in Lebanon, they represent less than 1% of Lebanon’s Christian population.

The bishop explained that the Syriac Catholic population feels excluded from the Lebanese political system and is not properly represented in the parliament or cabinet of ministers. The bishop elaborated further by explaining that when Syriac Catholic refugees arrived in Lebanon, they were encouraged by their patriarchs to get involved in commerce and business rather than politics. There are signs of progress. For example, a young Syriac Catholic was elected to parliament in Lebanon’s recent elections.

Despite this progress, the bishop has little confidence in Lebanese politics. This is particularly true following the Beirut port explosion in August 2020. The bishop explained that the blast hit him particularly hard:

“I am from that part of Beirut, and for me it was terrible to hear what I heard and see what I saw: to see your capital, your country, your city, totally destroyed. None of my close friends remain in Lebanon, they all left after the blast.”

The bishop still has hope in the Lebanese people. For this reason, the Syriac Catholic Church has been encouraging its members to be involved in Lebanese society and active in the political system, despite its flaws, to build a better Lebanon.

The bishop also discussed the wider situation for the Syriac Catholic Church in the Middle East. The Syriac Catholic Church has around 140,000 members and is one of the smaller Eastern Catholic Churches traditionally present in the Middle East. Most of the Church’s membership is not based in Lebanon but Syria and Iraq. The bishop explained that it has been a tough time for the Syriac Catholic Church in both Syria and Iraq:

“Most of our young people are trying to get out of Iraq and Syria. They find it difficult to stay in Iraq, because they have lost confidence in their government, they have faced so much persecution. More than 60,000 Syriacs were forced to leave the Nineveh Plain in one night. In total, more than 120,000 Christians were obliged to flee to Kurdistan, and from there they have been going to the west. A good number returned home, and that is a good sign, because we have a mission in this part of the Middle East. But many families are still trying to get out.

Things are worse in Syria, because the war is still going on. Military service is the biggest issue for our young men, because you have to serve for 9 or 10 years. After that time, if you return alive, you need to start from zero. This is in all of Syria.”

The bishop said further that the situation is particularly difficult for Christians in Kurdish-controlled parts of Syria, as the young men are forced into military service in both the Kurdish forces and the Syrian military. This means that most young men go abroad for five or so years, and then come back when they are no longer eligible for mandatory military service.

The bishop finished the interview by passing on his thanks to ACN’s benefactors for supporting the Church in the Middle East:

“First of all, thank you! Thank you for helping us. We are all one family, One Body of Christ. I would also say that maybe we can give something back to the churches that are better off, by sharing with you the wealth that we have, the treasures that are found in our culture, our spiritual heritage and legacy.”