The visit of His Holiness Aram I, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, to Syria was a source of great inspiration for Aleppo Armenians. The Catholicos’ call for reconstruction of Aleppo became a guarantee of restoration and survival for the community.

Avo Avoshyan, lecturer at the Yerevan State University’s Chair of Diaspora Studies, says “it’s hard to estimate the percentage of Armenians that have stayed in Aleppo.”

According to him, there could still be 6-8 thousand Armenians living there despite the cruel five-year war. He’s confident the visit of the Catholicos will inspire Aleppo Armenians to return.

Administrator of the “Aleppo Armenians Facebook page Sosy Mishoyan-Dabbaghian considers that those, who have settled in Armenia or the West, will hardly return to Syria, but believes that the families that have moved to safer places in Syria are likely to return to their homes in Aleppo.

Both hope the support for Aleppo Armenians will be maintained and the community will be reorganized.

His Holiness Aram I visited Syria earlier this month. The Catholicos had a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and representatives of the Armenian community.

His Holiness Aram I celebrated the Christmas Liturgy at the Holy Mother of God Church, assisted on the altar by Archbishop Shahan Sarkissian, the Diocesan Bishop, and Bishop Norayr Ashekian, a member of the brotherhood accompanying the Catholicos.

Catholicos Aram I focussed his sermon on the biblical verse, “Do not be afraid, for God goes with us,” assuring the community of the solidarity of Armenians everywhere. He said that in their history, Armenians have overcome persecutions through their faith in Jesus Christ. He then invited the community to pray that the Good News of the Prince of Peace will renew them in their faith, inspire new hope and fill their lives with the love of God.