Supporting Newlywed Christians in Syria
Many young Christian couples in Syria, like Simon and Sandy, are unable to afford the cost of starting a new family. ACN is working with the Church in Syria to give the support needed by Christian newlyweds to start families.
By ACN Staff
Simon and Sandy at Mass. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Marriage is the pillar on which the family and the whole of society is built on. The Christian population in Syria has aged drastically. Many young Syrian Christians have left the country, with young men leaving in particularly high numbers to avoid being conscripted into lengthy service with the Syrian army. Therefore, it is vital that the young Christians that stay can raise the next generation of Syrian Christians.
Young Christian couples in Syria who will be support by ACN. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
There are a lot of barriers preventing Christian couples in Syria from getting married. The most significant barrier is simply the cost of starting a new family. Many couples spend years upon years engaged to each other as they cannot afford the costs of getting their apartment. This situation presents a crisis for the Church in Syria. In Aleppo, for example, there were around 180,000 Christians before the war. Now, there are only somewhere between 22,000 and 27,000. If young Christian couples are not able to marry, Christianity is under threat of dying out in places such as Aleppo.
Aleppo's various Christian rites and denominations set up a joint commission to discuss this problem. It was decided that each newly married Christian couple in Aleppo, with the help of ACN, should be offered €1,000 to help them set up their apartment or what else they might need to start a family. Based on the average number of marriages over the past few years, the initiative should help around 152 newlywed couples in need this year.
One couple that was in this position were Simon and Sandy. Simon runs an internet shop, and Sandy is a pharmacist. They met during the war. Simon was on the verge of leaving Syria but, as he explained, stayed to be with Sandy:
“When my family and I had to emigrate because of the war, the immigration regulations at the time meant that I couldn't take Sandy with me if I became a refugee. I prefer to stay in a country with a dire situation and be happy with the love of my life, rather than being a refugee in a stable situation with financial security but be away from Sandy.”
Despite both Sandy and Simon having relatively good jobs, the couple’s income was still insufficient to pay for an apartment and fit what they needed to start a new family. To the couples’ delight, they were told that they would receive support from ACN, as Simon tells us:
Y=a young Christian couple in Syria who will be support by ACN. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
“In the church we were told that ACN would be ready to support us as newlyweds. We were able to install a machine to regulate the electricity since the electricity in Syria isn't stable and it can come in high voltages and damage the electronic devices or even cause a fire. I was also able to get an electronic device to improve my shop, and hence improve my income. It’s exactly like the miracle that Jesus did at the wedding at Cana. Like when they ran out of wine, Jesus met their need by turning the water into fine wine. I felt the similarity between our story and the miracle.”
Simon and Sandy were able to get married and look forward to starting a family together. Getting married has only strengthened the couple’s faith, as Sandy explained:
“Since getting married, we built the habit to pray every morning and night and we attend Mass every Sunday.”
The couple is very grateful for the support offered to them by ACN’s benefactors, as Simon expressed his thanks:
“It is amazing how people work hard to give happiness to strangers who are in need like us. Thank you for everything, may God bless you!”
Please donate to our Christmas Appeal to help Christian couples in Syria like Sandy and Simon get married and start new families.