{"id":41867,"date":"2016-12-26T12:07:41","date_gmt":"2016-12-26T10:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/site\/?p=41867"},"modified":"2016-12-26T12:07:41","modified_gmt":"2016-12-26T10:07:41","slug":"%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d8%aa%d9%81%d9%84%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a8%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d9%88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d8%aa%d9%81%d9%84%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a8%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d9%88\/","title":{"rendered":"Syrians celebrate Christmas amid Aleppo cathedral ruins"},"content":{"rendered":"

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War-weary Christians celebrated a Christmas Mass amid the ruins of the bombed-out St. Elias Cathedral in Aleppo Sunday, just\u00a0days after civilian refugees were evacuated and the government regained control of the city.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Scores gathered amid the rubble in the Old City landmark, where they worshipped before a simple makeshift altar bedecked with a pair of golden candelabras and a gold cross, with a lighted star strung overhead.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Priests prayed for peace as Russian officers took part with other worshippers inside the cathedral, situated on what was long the five-year civil war\u2019s front line in the Old City,.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe festive atmosphere is great. It\u2019s a new birth for Jesus Christ and a new birth for the city of Aleppo,\u201d George Bakhash, a Christian community leader, told Reuters.<\/span><\/h2>\n

He said the number of people attending Mass across the city had surged now that worshippers no longer feared missiles from rebel-held areas.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Many Syrian Christians supported the government in the civil war, viewing President Bashar al-Assad, a member of a Shiite-derived minority sect, as a protector against rebel fighters mainly drawn from Syria\u2019s Sunni majority.<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the comparatively undamaged parts of the city that had long been held by the government, restaurants were thronged by Christians late into the night.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Hundreds of people danced and celebrated in the Azizya neighborhood, where the public Christmas tree had gone unlit since rebels took the eastern half of the city in 2012.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Giant posters depicted Assad and his Christian ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Although some Christians stayed on the sidelines in the war, many saw the rise of ISIS and other Sunni Muslim insurgent groups as a threat to the very existence of their communities, some as old as the Bible.\u201cI am sure his soul is in peace now because Aleppo has been liberated,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Christian population of Aleppo has shrunk since the start of the conflict, from 250,000 to around 50,000, according to Bakhash.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, Russian jets resumed heavy strikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo province after a pause to complete the evacuation of insurgents from the city.<\/span><\/h2>\n