Greece and the Christians of the Middle East

Israeli information officers stand defender extracurricular the Church of the Holy Sepulchre aft being blocked from attending Easter events inside, pursuing restrictions connected gatherings successful ample groups, amid the US-Israel war with Iran, successful Jerusalem's Old City, connected April 5, 2026. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Greece – and Cyprus – are the Western countries closest to the Middle East. Having traditional ties, arsenic well arsenic trade relations, with astir of the states successful the region, Athens is acrophobic astir the processing struggle and expresses its sincere involvement successful the information of Christian populations. The involvement is not constricted to the Orthodox colonisation – it concerns each Christians, including those of different denominations, who reside successful these countries.

A fewer hours earlier Orthodox Easter is celebrated, unhindered entree for the Greek Orthodox to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre successful Jerusalem is of large importance, successful the wake of the problems precocious faced by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Not agelong ago, Athens reacted strongly to the violent incidents against residents successful the chiefly Greek Orthodox metropolis of Suqaylabiyah, successful western Syria.

Athens has repeatedly noted that the peaceful people and improvement of Syria tin lone germinate inclusively and successful this context, the rights of the country’s Christian residents, who are often treated arsenic “religious enemies,” indispensable beryllium ensured, particularly by a authorities and its supporters who were not renowned for the tolerance and respect they showed for Christianity.

Close relations with specific Arab countries where Christian populations – adjacent small successful fig – live, arsenic well arsenic its special narration with Israel, with its evidently tremendous value owed to the Holy Land, heighten the relation Athens tin play.

A total of implicit fractional a cardinal Christians unrecorded successful Syria, Israel, Iraq and Jordan, while successful Lebanon there are estimated to beryllium implicit 1.5 million. In the latter, a cardinal portion of the Middle East puzzle, Greece has actively supported the country’s Maronite Christian president, Joseph Aoun, not lone politically, but besides by sending subject equipment, arsenic portion of an effort to strengthen the country’s weakened equipped forces, which are unable to guarantee security, but besides normality, successful a divided and segregated state.

Another information worth mentioning is that tens of thousands of Christians who person immigrated to the United States and Europe support adjacent and household ties with their co-religionists successful Syria and different countries successful the region. 

This aggravated and sincere Greek involvement indispensable besides beryllium highlighted successful the US, where a ample portion of the colonisation is profoundly religious, particularly within the Republican Party, and feels an accrued sensitivity for the extortion of Christians everywhere, particularly successful countries where they represent small minorities.

Such a determination will springiness Athens’ relation – beyond the evident humanitarian magnitude – further diplomatic and geopolitical value.