Christians in Syria's northwestern Idlib province have been performing their religious duties freely, said Hanna Celluf, the archpriest of Qunayah Church.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Celluf said: "No one disturbs us while we are performing our prayers. No one harasses us. We don't come across any adverse conditions while carrying out our activities in the church."
The 70-year-old Franciscan has been serving as an archpriest for Qunayah Church for 21 years.
Qunayah Church, which was built in the fifth century in the village of Qunayah, is located in a mountainous and green area, and several historical artifacts are also preserved in the church.
Now, only around 210 Christians in Idlib gather and worship at the church in the Jisr al-Shughur district due to the civil war that broke out in 2011.
Celluf said that before the civil war, the Christian population of Qunayah, Yacubiyeh and Jdayde villages used to be around 10,000 and Syrian Christians lived mainly in the Aleppo, Idlib, Damascus, Hama and Jazira regions.
But due to the war, most Christians had to leave the country or were internally displaced.
Christians living in areas under the control of military opposition groups in Idlib are among the most ancient inhabitants of the region, although they are in a minority.
While the number of Christians in Idlib exceeded 10,000 before the civil war, the number has dropped to 600 due to the attacks of Bashar Assad regime forces and the Daesh terrorist group.
"Occasionally, (Christian) families living in other provinces of Syria return to their homes. We welcome them," Celluf said.
The Idlib de-escalation zone was forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire agreements, which have been frequently violated by the Assad regime and its allies.
A fragile truce was brokered between Moscow and Ankara in March 2020 in response to months of fighting by the Russia-backed regime. Almost a million people have fled the Assad regime’s offensive yet the regime still frequently carries out attacks on civilians, hindering most from returning to their homes and forcing them to stay in makeshift camps.
"In general, our relations with people are excellent. There is a brotherly love between us. I hope those who left their homes will return to their families and lands so that we can live in love and peace," he went on to say.
In response to a question on why he didn't leave Idlib, the archpriest said: "No one abandons their roots. Because the Christians took root in Antakya. Our roots have stood firm since then. Our ancestors and families lived here. We will live here until we die."
He noted that there are many Christians in the region from the Armenian Church of Dhok and the Greek Orthodox, Protestant and Latin Catholic churches.
"As the Catholic Church, we are no different from other sects. We do our prayers together. We live together, we commiserate with each other," he said, adding: "There is no difference between us as Greek, Orthodox or Armenian. We all worship the one God and the one Christ."
Expressing his honor to serve the Christians in Idlib as a Christian of the Franciscan Priests of the Guardianship of the Holy Land, Celluf said that Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the Catholic world, wrote a letter to them.
"The pope wrote us a letter of encouragement to continue our lives and sacrifices by living with the people here," he said.
He said the pope encouraged them to give hope to the Christians living in Idlib, writing in his letter that one day peace will come to these lands.
Thanking everyone who helped them so that they can live in safety and peace, he said: "We have hope that the unity of these lands will be restored under the supervision of the U.N., Turkey and other countries."
