Funeral Held for New Martyrs of Damascus

A member of the community mourns during the funeral service for Syria's new martyrs in Damascus. Photo: antiochpatriarchate.org

DAMASCUS — On June 24, 2025, the funeral service and burial for the martyred children of Syria took place following the June 22, 2025, terrorist bombing at St. Elias Church in Damascus.

According to a public announcement from the Patriarchate of Antioch titled, “Whoever believes in Me, even though he dies, shall live,” a service for the repose of the souls of the martyrs was held in the early afternoon at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa. The bodies of the martyrs were then transferred to St. Elias Church in Dweilaa – the site of the terrorist attack.

Photo: antiochpatriarchate.org

After the bodies were laid to rest, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and the families of the martyrs received condolences in the hall of the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa.

During Patriarch John’s address to the faithful at the funeral, he said that he had set aside his written remarks “because the bodies of our beloved martyrs lying before us compel me to speak to you from the heart.”

“Beloved martyrs, you have left us and passed to heaven, to eternal life in the presence of the Lord Who rose from the dead,” His Beatitude said. “You were martyred last Sunday – the second Sunday after Pentecost – the very day designated by the Holy Synod of Antioch to commemorate the saints of Antioch. You gave your lives and entered eternal life on this day, to join the assembly of righteous Antiochian saints and martyrs, together with all the saints. We address you now and ask you to pray for us, for you now dwell in the embrace of the Lord.”

Photo: antiochpatriarchate.org

Patriarch John told the faithful present that the bombing was not a random act, but a direct attack on the Christian presence in Syria, and he appealed to the Lord God to strengthen and keep those present firm in the faith.

Quoting Romans 14:8 (“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s), the patriarch said the martyrs are not dead, but alive, though they passed in a horrific way.

“They were praying in church, attending the Divine Liturgy. The Gospel had just been read. What kind of atrocity is this? In the midst of prayer, when the faithful were saying, ‘In peace, let us pray to the Lord… Lord have mercy,’ this crime was committed.”

He also shared that hierarchs visited the wounded in the hospitals on June 23, who have not been forgotten and whose healing will be continually prayed for through the power of the Holy Cross.

Photo: antiochpatriarchate.org

In closing, His Beatitude said:

“We offer our prayers for the martyrs, and ask for their prayers – where they now stand in the light of God – for us. The Lord says in the Gospel: ‘Take heart, for I have overcome the world.’ He also says: ‘I am in her midst, and she shall not be moved.’ Thank you, everyone. May the Lord bless and protect you – He who is blessed forever. Amen.”

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