CWN - The North American Orthodox Catholic Theological Consultation has issued a joint statement entitled “The Plight of Churches in the Middle East – Revisited.”

“The situation of many of the Christian communities in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine has become catastrophic,” the statement noted. “We repudiate all violence and demand action by responsible authorities to end the kidnapping, torture, and killing of Christians and all civilians. We also appeal for the release of Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, both of Aleppo, Syria.”