[4] However, in recent times, the Syrian Christian community has faced numerous challenges, including ongoing and severe persecution, displacement, and emigration.

[1] Christians in Syria have also been subjected to violence and discrimination by Islamic State fighters during their control of large areas of the country.

[5][6][7] In Aleppo, the country's second largest city, the proportion of Christian residents fell from 12% pre-war to 1.4% in 2023 with more than 20 churches damaged during the war.

[9] Some governments and organisations including the United States have claimed that the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in Syria and Iraq, constitute an act of genocide.

[20] According to the Catholic charity group Aid to the Church (ACN), number of Christians residing in Syria is estimated to have reduced from 2.1 million (10% of population) in 2011 to around 300,000 (less than 2%) in 2022.

The decrease is due to large-scale emigration of Christians to Europe triggered by deteriorating living conditions caused by the civil war.

In 431, the Nestorians were separated from the main body of the Church because of their belief in the dual character of Christ, i.e., that he had two distinct but inseparable "qnoma" (ܩܢܘܡܐ, close in meaning to, but not exactly the same as, hypostasis), the human Jesus and the divine Logos.

The largest Christian denomination in Syria is the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch (officially named the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East), also known as the Melkite church after the 5th and 6th century Christian schisms, in which its clergy remained loyal to the Eastern Roman Emperor ("melek") of Constantinople.

Members of the community sometimes also call themselves "Melkites", which literally means "supporters of the emperor" in Semitic languages – a reference to their past allegiance to Roman and Byzantine imperial rule.

[38] Damascus still contains a sizeable proportion of Christians, with some churches all over the city, but particularly in the district of Bab Touma (The Gate of Thomas in Aramaic and Arabic).

[20] Following in the traditions of Paul, who practiced his preaching and ministry in the marketplace, Syrian Christians are participants in the economy, the academic, scientific, engineering, arts, and intellectual life, entertainment, and the Politics of Syria.

In September 2017, the deputy Hammouda Sabbagh, a Syriac Orthodox Christian and member of the Ba'ath Party, was elected speaker of parliament with 193 votes out of 252.

[40][41] Syrian Christians have their own courts that deal with civil cases like marriage, divorce and inheritance based on Bible teachings.

On 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented the new constitution (after reaching power through a military coup in 1970), which led to a national crisis.

Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syria to be of the Islamic faith, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama.

[45] Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the Syrian Transitional Government, despite being composed of Islamists, vowed to respect the Christians and other religious denominations in Syria.

[46][47] However, in the weeks following HTS taking power, numerous reports emerged of Christians, among other minorities, being persecuted in Syria.

[61] In November 2021, the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs in Raqqa's city center was rebuilt by the aid group called the Free Burma Rangers.

[64] Prominent Christian figures have been involved in revolutionary activities of the Syrian opposition; through peaceful demonstrations as well as armed resistance.

Also according to the SNHR, out of 124 documented incidents of violence against Christian religious centres between 2011 and 2019; 75 attacks were perpetrated by militant forces loyal to the Assad regime and 33 by various factions of the opposition.

[69][70] A week after issuing the statement, the Archbishop was abducted and has remained missing ever since; allegedly by Al-Nusra Front before being handed over to ISIS.

[71] Ba'athist regime has also passed a discriminatory military conscription law which enables government authorities to seize properties of Syrians and their families accused of draft evasion.

The law disproportionately targets Sunni and Christian families across Syria, who constitute the vast majority of the Syrian refugee population.

Many rural and young Christians view emigration to Europe as a way to advance career opportunities in education and employment, in addition to providing better prospects for their families.