We often think of Syria as “just another Muslim country” and while Syria is, by far and large, majority-Muslim, many Christians live in Syria too, with several towns having a Christian majority, and most cities having a substantial Christian presence.
Many of the Christian-majority towns are concentrated in an area known as “Wadi al-Nasara” in western Syria, which is near Homs in the south, but many Christians also live throughout the Orontes Valley and up to Idlib in the north, as well as more isolated communities in Qalamoun and the Jazira, mostly illustrated on the map below:
Some of the largest of these cities and towns include:
Al-Suqaylabiyah
Al-Suqaylabiyah is a Christian Syrian town located in Rif Hama, near the Orontes River, with a population registered as 17,313 in 2004, of almost exclusively Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christians. It didn’t see extensive fighting during the war, so the Christian population remained reasonably stable and the town even took in some Christian IDPs fleeing persecution elsewhere in Syria. Worthy of mention is that earlier last year, it was announced that a new Hagia Sophia would be built in al-Suqaylabiyah, with the assistance of the Russian government!
Mhardeh
Mhardeh, also located in Rif Hama near the Orontes, is another Antiochian Greek Orthodox town in Syria. It’s population is slightly larger than that of al-Suqaylabiyah, having been counted as 17,578 in 2004’s census. As with al-Suqaylabiyah, it was thankfully not overrun by terrorists during the war and the bulk of the population stayed.
Syria’s Christian city: Seven years under fire at the Idlib frontline
Marmarita
Marmarita, located in Rif Homs near Lebanon, is an Antiochian Greek Orthodox town of approximately 15,000, though its’ population increases to 25–30,000 during the summertime. It’s the heartland of “Wadi al Nasara”, the Christian valley in Syria, and the largest town in it. Though Wadi al-Nasara and Marmarita still retain a large Christian population, the diaspora is very large itself, with many Christians from the wadi having emigrated to Allentown in the US, in particular.
Allentown, America’s Syrian Christian City
Safita
Safita, a Christian-Alawite city, is located in Rif Tartus, west of Homs. It had a population of 20,301 as of 2004, which is mostly comprised of Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christians and Melkite Greek Catholics, with some Alawite Muslims living in Safita as well. During the war, Safita took in Assyrian Christian refugees from Al-Thawrah (Tabqa) after they were displaced by al-Nusra and ISIS.
Assyrian Refugees from Al-Thawrah (Tabqa) in Safita
Maaloula
Maaloula, located in Rif Dimashq, east of Lebanon, is a predominantly Christian town in Syria, with Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christians as well as Melkite Greek Catholics, and a smaller community of Sunni Muslims. The population was recorded as 2,762 in the 2004 census, but as with Marmarita, many people come back to Maaloula during the summertime, increasing its’ population to 10,000 or so.
Though Maaloula only has a moderately large Christian population compared to the above cities, it’s worthy of mention because its’ residents speak Western Neo-Aramaic, a dying language of <25,000 speakers, and very similar to that which Jesus himself spoke!
In the Syrian desert, the language of Jesus lives on | Archdiocese of Baltimore
Al-Qaryatayn
Al-Qaryatayn is a town in eastern Rif Homs with a substantial Christian population, mostly of the Syriac Orthodox Church, in contrast to the other towns mentioned, which are mostly Antiochian Greek Orthodox or Melkite Greek Catholic. The 2004 census counted 14,208 residents of al-Qaryatayn, however, during the first four years of the Syrian war, the population increased to about 40,000 or so, as many displaced people from elsewhere in Syria fled to al-Qaryatayn.
Unfortunately, the Islamic State twice overran al-Qaryatayn in 2015 and 2017 respectively, blowing up a monastery and expelling the Christian population. Thankfully, though, residents of al-Qaryatayn are returning to their homes now that it is safe to do so.
Behind the Syrian violence — the peaceful town of Al Qaryatayn
Now, these towns and small cities all have a Christian majority, but their Christian populations are not very large in relative terms. Many major cities in Syria, while having fewer Christians percentage-wise, have much larger Christian populations in terms of the numbers, and these urban Christian communities can be found across Syria, as seen below:
Some of the largest Christian communities in Syria in terms of size include:
Aleppo
The northern Syrian city of Aleppo, formerly the largest with 2.3 million people pre-war, also had a very large Christian population, with estimates ranging from 160–180,000, 250,000, and even as high as 270,000 Christians in Aleppo!
Unlike the relatively homogenous small towns and villages, the denominations of Aleppo’s Christians are quite diverse, with large communities of Armenian Orthodox/Catholics, Antiochian Greek Orthodox, Melkite Greek Catholic, Chaldean Catholics, Syriac Orthodox, and Maronite Catholics found in Aleppo.
During the war, several of the Christian districts of Aleppo, such as Azizyeh, Sulaymaniyah, and Midan found themselves on the frontline next to terrorist-controlled areas, which led to a substantial flight of Aleppo’s Christian community, especially the Armenian Christians. Down from 250,000 or so total Christians in Aleppo before the war, 100,000 remained in 2014, and only 80,000 were still in Aleppo as of 2016, when it was liberated.
However, after 2016, Aleppo was much better for Christians to live in-Christmas was publicly celebrated in 2016 for the first time since the war started! Many Christians began returning to Aleppo after it was liberated, in particular the Old City’s Christian district of Jdayde, seen below.
Aleppo: A Syrian Mosaic | CNEWA
Christians hold out in Syria’s Aleppo despite jihadist threat
Qamishli
Qamishli, in northeastern Syria’s Jazira region, is a predominantly Kurdish city with a large Armenian and Assyrian Christian population as well. Founded after the Assyrian Genocide to accommodate the survivors of it, it was a Christian-majority city for many years until the nationalization of land in the 1970s led to Christian emigration from the city, and Kurdish emigration from the countryside into the city.
In 2004, Qamishli had a total population of 184,231, with roughly 40,000 of these being Christian, belonging to the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Armenian Orthodox Church. However, even though very little violence struck the city, half the Christian population left, due to the poor economic conditions as well as Kurdification. Now, 10% or so of Qamishli is Christian, with approximately 2,300 families or so remaining.
From Qamishli to Qamishlo: A Trip to Rojava’s New Capital
Syria: The Last Christians in Qamishli
Hundreds of terrified Christians flee due to new Syrian conflict
Al-Hasakah
Similarly to Qamishli, al-Hasakah was founded in the aftermath of the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides, to provide a safe haven for Armenian and Assyrian refugees in Syria. In the 1930s, al-Hasakah also took in Assyrian refugees from Iraq fleeing the Simele Massacre, so it was Christian-majority for most of its’ history.
As of 2004, al-Hasakah was estimated to have a population of 188,160, and Christians of various denominations were said to make up 20–30% of this. Christians in al-Hasakah are predominantly Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean, with some Armenian Orthodox as well.
During the war, al-Hasakah briefly came under attack from ISIS in 2015, which led to some flight of the Christian population, however, al-Hasakah has largely remained safe, and has even hosted Christian refugees from other places in Syria such as Deir ez-Zor and the Khabur River villages, after they were captured/besieged by ISIS.
Due to all the population displacements which took place in al-Hasakah compared to Qamishli, reliable population statistics do not exist, but my own personal guess would be that anywhere from 10–25% of al-Hasakah is currently Christian. Al-Hasakah also remained largely under government, not Kurdish control, and this helped stop the migration of Christians due to Kurdification.
Kurds Assert Control of Hasakah: The Battle for Rojava (Dispatch 3)
Hasakah Christians’ choice: Migrate or face ISIS | Ragheb al-Jbour | AW
The Christian minority of Northern Syria — Achilleas Zavallis | Photographer
Now, I solely focused on the largest Christian-majority villages and population centres in Syria because they’re the largest in size, however, there are many more Christian villages in Syria, particularly in the northeast along the Khabur, as well as in southern Syria. None of them are as populous as the towns mentioned above, though, so I chose not to include them.
Many other major cities in Syria have large Christian populations as well, such as Damascus, Homs, Hama and Latakia, but Aleppo, Qamishli, and al-Hasakah were just the focus here.
Anyways, sorry for the long and convoluted post, but I hope it was able to showcase well the substantial Christian presence in Syria!
