[World Council of Churches] Calling for an immediate end to all forms of violence in Syria, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee issued a public statement on 4 September requesting “all parties to engage in dialogue – as the only solution – in order to safeguard the unity and pluralistic nature of historic Syria”.

The statement noted that “the Christian presence in the Middle East is part of the social and cultural constituency of the society they live in” and that Syrian Christians “have a historical role to play in building up a future society based on the mutual respect and dialogue of life” within the country. Christians make up approximately ten percent of the Syrian population.

The statement concludes with an assurance that the WCC “prays for the reign of peace with justice in Syria and in all countries in the Middle East”. The Central Committee also appealed “to the international community to respect the ability and responsibility of the Syrian people to find solutions to the crisis, and to refrain from outside military interventions”.

Full text of the Central Committee statement

More information on the Central Committee meeting