YPG-YPJ Kurds Kidnap Young Aramean Woman In Northeast Syria: Terrorization Of Christians
On Sunday, 3 July 2022, the female YPJ Kurds kidnapped a young Aramean woman, Rasha Chamoun, in broad daylight in northeast Syria’s Malikiyah (Kurdish: Derik) – last year, their male counterpart abducted an Aramean in this town. Seven days of efforts to resolve the matter diplomatically were all futile. Despite repeated promises from Mazloum Abdi’s office, the military leader of the Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Rasha still has not been released and her family has not been allowed to visit or speak with her.
WCA attends signature ceremoney UNESCO World Heritage in Midyat, Southeast Tuerkiye
On 14 February 2022, WCA attended the signature ceremony of the UNESCO World Heritage Nomination File Preparation co-operation protocol between the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Midyat Municipality in Midyat, Southeast Türkiye.
Impressions of Participation of WCA President in the Second Antalya Diplomacy Forum
The WCA President Johny Messo was invited to speak at the second Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) held on 11-13 March 2022 in a beautiful Antalya resort on the coast of the Mediterranean. This high-level event gathered political leaders, diplomats and academics from diverse continents to shed light on a wide range of topics in international relations under the overarching theme of “Recoding Diplomacy.” For a summary of Johny's participation in the first ADF, click here.
9th Anniversary of the Abduction of the Metropolitans of Aleppo
Nine years ago today, two Aramean Archbishops of Aleppo were kidnapped by armed rebels in Syria near the Turkish border. Join us in remembering and honoring our religious leaders, while praying and working for their safe return.
WCA Youth Academy Introduces ARAMEAN DIASPORA series
The WCA Youth Academy kicks off its first event in the series ARAMEAN DIASPORA! On 17 March, the young Aziz Mousa Yousef from Santiago will present a fascinating story on why, when and how Arameans ended up in Chile.
Personal Assistant to WCA President
WE ARE HIRING | Fulltime Position for a PERSONAL ASSISTANT to the WCA President. Are you the right person (male or female) to free the WCA President from administrative duties so that he can spend more time on strategic tasks and build a larger and stronger WCA? Then don't hesitate to seize this adventurous job opportunity.
Arameans honor their King Abgar V who wrote with Jesus in Aramaic
Today, Arameans honor Abgar V as the first King, and his small Aramean Kingdom as the first state, in the world who adopted Christianity! Fascinating traditions from the 4th and 5th centuries recorded that Abgar had exchanged letters with Jesus “in Aramaic” and this correspondence had been stored in the city archives of Edessa.
Today’s commemoration is because on this day Arameans have reached half of the Great Fast, which occurs on the first Wednesday of the Fourth Sunday of the Great Lent of 40 days. The apostle Addai (Greek: Thaddaeus), one of the 72 disciples from Luke 10:1, was sent by Apostle Thomas from Jerusalem to Edessa to heal King Abgar from his disease, and thus he and a substantial part of the Aramean population in and beyond his kingdom embraced Christianity.
King Abgar V “the Dark-skinned” Hmishoyo Ukomoܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ. was the most famous member of the dynasty that ruled from 132 BC - 242 AD the kingdom of Osrhoene from its capital Edessa (today's Şanlıurfa). Its realm encompassed parts of Southeast Türkiye and Northeast Syria. To a certain extent, it remained a sovereign buffer state between the Roman and Parthian empires who were frequently in conflict with each from 54 BC until 217 AD.
From the fifth century onward until today, our church fathers hailed Abgar. For example, the West Aramean Jacob of Serugh (451-521) lauded Edessa as “the daughter of the Arameans” (Bath-Oromoye) and her King Abgar as “the son of the Arameans” (Bar-Oromoye). This was true until the 13th century and later, as shown from this excerpted text written by an East Aramean Metropolitan of South Iraq, Shlemon, who praised him as “Abgar the Aramean king of Mesopotamia” (malko Oromoyo d-Beth-Nahrin).
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WCA President meets Türkiye's Minister of Culture and Tourism
On 11 March 2022, the WCA President Johny Messo had a very successful meeting with Türkiye's Minister of Culture and Tourism H.E. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy on the sidelines of the second Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Kurdish PYD-YPG Shamelessly Terrorizes Christian Churches In Northeast Syria
On 21 September 2021, the Kurdish PYD/YPG militia in Northeast Syria once again abused Western support to terrorize the defenseless Christians of Qamishli, the stated capital of their self-proclaimed ‘West Kurdistan’. This time, they kidnapped an eminent member of the local Church Board, which resists attempts to Kurdify the private Aramean schools.
