"Ernakulam - The Indian Christians mobilize for their confreres in
Syria which has caused since the beginning of the civil war more than
90,000 victims and refugees continue to increase. The Syrian Christians
are suffering along with the population because of displacement and
poverty, and it is estimated that over a million and a half Syrians have
emigrated. Due to this alarming situation, the Jacobite Church in
Kerala, linked to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, has
launched a collection of humanitarian aid for the assistance to the
Christian communities in Syria. "The fight has become increasingly
violent and has damaged most of the churches and Christian properties in
Syria," explains a note sent to Fides Agency by the Jacobite Church.
All the communities of the faithful in Kerala are contributing
generously to the collection, which will be led by Catholicos Baselios
Thomas I, leader of the Jacobite Church in India. In the coming weeks a
delegation of the Church will carry out a solidarity mission in Syria
and will deliver the aid. The Christian communities in India, of all
denominations, express sympathy and concern for the delicate, unresolved
matter regarding the kidnapping of two Syrian bishops.The Jacobite
Syriac Church, one of the various Christian churches founded in India by
the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle, is an integral part of the
Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Patriarch of Antioch as its supreme
head. The head of the Church in India is the "Catholicos of the East",
currently Baselios Thomas I, and its seat is in the state of Kerala in
southern India."
(http://www.news.va/en/news/asiaindia-christians-will-bring-aid-to-syrian-refu)
