SYRIA, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

The Syrian Arab Republic is located in the Middle East, and is bordered on the north by Turkey, on the east by Iraq, on the south by Jordan, on the southwest by Israel and the Golan Heights, and on the west by Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. The region presents a series of belts of low and high lands running north-south; from west to east these are: a coastal plain, narrow, fertile and rich in small natural harbors; a mountain range, topped by Mt. Lebanon (10,132 feet), once heavily forested; a system of fertile valleys, formed by the Orontes River running north from near Baalbek and the Leontes River running south from there; a second, short range, less continuous, reaching 9,230 feet with Mt. Hermon; and an arid expanse of desert reaching to the Euphrates. Natural resources include oil, phosphates, crhomoe ore, iron ore, marble, gypsum and rock salt. Agricultural products consist of wheat, barley, cotton, beans, olives, sugar beets, dairy produce and livestock.

Its name, a shortened form of Assyria, Syria formerly denoted the regions of modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. The history of the region is largely that of its more powerful neighbors. At the crossroad of ancient civilizations, Syria never enjoyed lasting political unity of its own. By 2000 a shaky, backward economy and international rebuke over its aggressive posture in Lebanon diminished its ability to attract the investment needed for modernization.

Ancient History. For the Greeks, Syria (Συρία) was at first the Assyrian-Babylonian Empire (Herodotus 7.63) or its successor, the kingdom of the Seleucid Dynasty, but later only its western portion. For the Romans, the imperial province of Syria included Palestine. The Old Testament applies the term Aram (Heb. ārām ) to the country north of Palestine: Ārām Naharaim (i.e., Aram of the Two Rivers) is northern Mesopotamia (Gn 24.10); Aram of Damascus (2 Sm 8.6) is central Syria around Damascus. In the New Testament, Syria is the region north of Palestine (Acts 15.23; Gal 1.21).

The first known settlers, who entered the region c. 2000 b.c., were amorrites in the east and Canaanites (see canaan and canaanites) in the west (later, along the coast, known as phoenicians to the Greeks). Seaports, such as ugarit, byblos, Sidon and Tyre were prosperous independent Canaanite centers in this early stage, though suffering recurring pressure from hittites, Babylonians and Egyptians. During the 12th century b.c., when Israelites and philistines occupied the region to the south of Syria proper, the restless aramaeans invaded the interior and set up strong states especially around Hamath and Damascus. The latter, subjected once by David (2 Sm 8.5–8), was long the foe of the Israelites (2 Kgs passim ). In the late 8th century b.c., Syria was subjugated by the Assyrians, a century later by the Babylonians under nebuchadnezzar, and in 539 b.c. by the Persians, and finally in 333 b.c. by Alexander the Great. After Alexander's death, Syria became a bone of contention between the kings of the Seleucid Dynasty and the Ptolemies, the former prevailing after 200 b.c. After being made a Roman province in 64 b.c., Syria suffered numerous invasions of the Parthians (see persia) and was for a short time under the rule of palmyra. In a.d. 638 the Arabs wrested Syria from the Byzantine Empire and gradually imposed on it the language, culture and religion it retained into the modern era. Damascus, Aleppo and Baghdad shared supremacy in the Arab world for many centuries, being only slightly shaken by the Crusaders' short-lived hold during the 12th century.

The Modern Era. In 1516 the iron rule of the otto man turks isolated Syria from outside contacts. From this dark period the West, first through commercial and missionary expeditions, then by political interventions, awakened Syria. After World War I the Ottoman Empire was broken apart, and the region became a shared protectorate of France and Great Britain, characterized by restlessness and insurrections under the dual force of nationalism and Pan-Arabism. After World War II four independent states emerged: Syria proper in the north, lebanon on the central coast, the State of israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of jordan in the south. In 1958 Syria joined egypt to form the United Arab Republic, but in 1961 it reestablished its complete independence. A military regime took power in 1963, followed by the dictatorship of Hafiz al Assad, who named himself president in February of 1971. A constitution based on Islamic law was promulgated on March 13, 1973. Al Assad died in June of 2000 and was succeeded by his son, Bashar al Assad.

During the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, Syria lost the Golan Heights region to Israeli forces. Considered a buffer zone by the Israeli government, the region continued to be contested into 2000, and became the focus of continuing political tensions between the two countries. In 1976 over 35,000 Syrian troops entered Lebanon, claiming a peacekeeping function, although their presence there, counteracted by the introduction of Israeli troops, remained hotly contested by both political and religious

leaders, including Pope John Paul II and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. In December of 1999 Israeli-Syrian peace talks resumed, and Israel withdrew its forces from Lebanon in May of 2000. By June of 2001 Syrian forces had also withdrawn from Beirut, although the situation in the Golan Heights had still to be resolved.

Under its constitution, the state granted freedom of religion, although proselytization by Christians was discouraged. While religion is required to be taught in Syrian schools, students could chose between Islam and Christianity. The small Jewish population of 100 had a separate primary school and was both denied government jobs and military service obligations. The Greek Orthodox Church was the largest Christian group in the country. Catholic churches included the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Greek Melkite Church, the Maronite Church, the Syrian Catholic Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church. By 2000 there were 204 parishes tended by 174 diocesan and 74 religious priests in Syria, aided in their efforts by approximately 400 religious of the various Catholic churches.

Bibliography: f. m. abel, Géographie de la Palestine, 2 v. (Paris 1933–38) 1:1–17. h. r. fedden, Syria: A Historical Appreciation (rev. ed. London 1955). p. k. hitti, Syria: A Short History (New York 1959); History of Syria, including Lebanon and Palestine (2d ed. New York 1957). Bilan du Monde 2:820–827.

[m. trecco/eds.]