Archbishop Samir Nassar, leader of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Damascus, Syria, visited the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to continue discussions for the Damascus Partnership. The partnership began in 2017 on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul as a way for the archdiocese to accompany the Archeparchy of Damascus through challenges of war, famine, social unrest and religious persecution.
As part of the partnership, icons were commissioned depicting the baptism of St. Paul which are now housed in the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of St. Paul in Damascus. Also, the archdiocese provides financial support to families in Damascus and educational forums to raise awareness of the Maronite Church in Syria.
Archbishop Nassar visited the archdiocese for the third time since 2017 from June 24-30. The Catholic Spirit interviewed him on June 26.
Q Archbishop Nassar, welcome to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Our archdiocese and the Maronite Archeparchy of Damascus have been in partnership since 2017, officially established on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Can you share what this partnership means to you, and what it entails between our cities?
A Your partnership means a lot. We didn’t look for it. You came to us in 2017 when we were under the war in total destruction and in total desolation. And your friendship arrived from far away.
We didn’t understand in the beginning the meaning. But we accept(ed) to be your partner, your friend. Of course, in that time, to the Syrian regime, America was the devil, the enemy. And I couldn’t be friends with the enemy. … We tried to be discreet in this relationship.
Now with the new regime since December, we don’t see exactly what is happening in the future, if it will be a democracy with lots of freedom. But the new president (Ahmad al-) Sharaa in Syria met (President Donald) Trump in Saudi Arabia and the relations become a little bit better. But it takes a long time to go to the normal situation.
Q The connective tissue, so-to-speak, between our archdiocese and the Archeparchy of Damascus is St. Paul the Apostle, the namesake of our capital city, and Damascus being his place of conversion.
A Well, this partnership started because of St. Paul. You are the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Damascus is the city of St. Paul. He was converted and baptized in Damascus. That means the Christian faith arrived in Damascus before St. Paul. We still have the chapel where he was baptized by Annanias. And you have an icon in your Cathedral (of St. Paul in St. Paul) about the baptism of St. Paul by Annanias.
Q After eight years, what are some of the fruits of this partnership?
A We have prayer together. We pray for you, you pray for us. Since December, our Martyrs of Damascus, who are buried in our cathedral in Damascus, you have the relics here. You visit the relics of our martyrs and bless your parishes and your diocese.
You are in synod. Your (Archdiocesan) Synod means a lot to us. This means the St. Paul and Minneapolis Church is going to renew the faith and the mission in this part of the world. You are preparing the future, and we are losing our place. We are like the Church from the past. We are losing people, we are losing priests, we are losing our place. We are now (a) very small minorit(y). We don’t know how long we can stay. We’ve been there since always, but in the future, we’re not sure if we have a good situation. The situation is still very bad. We have electricity one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. There is no life possible in this situation.
People continue to leave when they can with immigration. To give you an example, Aleppo is a city in the north of Syria. We had, before the war — the war started in 2011 — in Aleppo 160,000 Christians. After the war, by 2018, the number went to 30,000. After the earthquake in 2023, that number went to 19,000. We are trying to stay with the few. We’re trying to stay because it’s our Church, it’s our root.
We are an old Church. It was the first place a Christian was called a Christian. We are doing our best to stay. We hope that the new regime will change. We will have the freedom to show our faith and to find our way to live.
We have nothing. 30,000 medicine doctors in Germany, we don’t have doctors in Syria. They left. We have hospitals with a few doctors and few medicines. You get sick, you are dead.
Your diocese is supporting some families. It’s something. It’s a support to help us to stay, to not leave.
People are very tired and very sick and very depressed.
Q Archbishop, Syria has a rich history, but in recent years your country has experienced tumultuous events, such as the 2011 Arab Spring; a 13-year civil war that recently resulted in a regime change; the Islamic State claiming large swathes of territory; and general instability in the region. Where do you find your hope, and where can others who have been scarred by war and darkness find theirs?
A Where do we find our hope? In our faith. In Jesus. We are a really faithful people. We don’t have anybody who doesn’t believe. Second, we are a Marian Church. We have a lot of devotion to Our Lady. Mary is present in our Mass, in our churches, in our houses, in our schools. It helps a lot. We can find in Our Lady of Peace … an affectionate support (for) our poor people.
Our faith. We don’t have more than that. We also believe in the family. The family in Syria is united. Family is a big support to society. The family is still the main support to each of us. Another good sign is vocation(s). We still have vocations. We are not afraid for the future to not have clergy. We have good priests fighting and staying. And sisters, nuns, they are very active. We have a faithful who like the Church. They are here every time, all the time, day and night.
We don’t feel safe. You can see the bombing in the church last Sunday (June 23, a suicide bomber at a Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus took the lives of 25 and injured dozens.) People are afraid now. They have been afraid, but (even) more now. How can we try to encourage them to follow (a) normal life?
Q We’ve seen in the past month more instability threaten to further shake the Middle East. While the world watched closely, Syria was caught between two warring nations. Just recently, a ceasefire was negotiated and for now there is peace. How do these conflicts in neighboring countries affect Syrians?
A The last war in Gaza and Israel and Iran, Syria still stays outside of this problem. But all the airports were closed. We can’t travel; we can’t come in. This was a negative point. Now we hope that the peace can come back to the Middle East. Your president is working on that in creation of partnership between city, between country.
If you have supermarket, and I also have supermarket next door, we are enemy. But if we mix the two, we become partner. And he (Trump) is working on that, make economy mixed problem, make people friendly. I think this is not a stupid idea. When we combine, we have the same interests. I don’t fight you; you are not my enemy anymore, even if you are not the same religion. We have the same business. Make the same business. I think your president he’s right in this way. He can make it a reality.
War, 14 years of war. We have 12 million refugees. One Syrian in two, is a refugee. No house, no home. No place. They’re out in Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Germany. How can we take back our refugees? Even the Syrians who live in Syria don’t have enough to eat, don’t have medicine to live. You can’t take back people from outside if you are living in this situation.
We are praying and I think your partnership is a big support in our mission.
Q What role does the Church have in promoting peace around the world?
A This is something good during the war: all bishops and priests didn’t leave. They stay. We stay with our people. We had martyrs, many priests (have) been killed. Two bishops have been killed. And sisters also. We have martyrs, but we stay with our people.
We’re staying, we’re praying. But the people need to eat, they need to go to school, they need the hospital, they need medicine, they need electricity. If you don’t have electricity, you have to throw your food in the rubbish. You need electricity to live. The plan of formation is (to) build another electric place in Syria to help them live.
But it takes them three years. Two to three years before having electricity and a normal situation.
Q What are some of your priorities in your ministry?
A For my Church, for all the Christians, for all of Syria. And the Christians are not different than the Muslims. They are citizens, poor citizens, both in the same situation and (the) same difficulties. It’s too much; it’s too long. Fourteen years of war. Now I think Syria deserves a new chance to start again.
Q What is your hope for the future of our partnership?
A We still hope. The mission of the bishop is to sell hope. My mission is to have hope and to give hope, even if I don’t have any. This is our mission. We have to keep our hope, to do our best, to do what we can. If I can’t find a solution for all problems, I try to find solutions for some. I do what I can. This is our vision, not to have a big plan for the future. We try to arrange our daily life and our daily prayer and try to find a solution for how people can work together and help each other. And to be present with them in service.
Your initiative was very important because nobody came to us from far away. You (thought) about us, you came to us. This is something very precious. We are very grateful for all of you, for what you are doing and for all that you’ve done. We wish you all happiness and all sanctity of life, Christian life. Especially as you are in synod. The Church in Minneapolis is going to renew spiritual life and her mission. We wish you all the best to Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda, the priests and the parishioners.
