Father Danho of St. Peter’s Church in Stockholm: We must not forget the memory of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide

STOCKHOLM — On Pentecost, Priest of St. Peter’s Church in Hallonbergen, Sweden, Fr. Jimmy Danho, delivered a sermon on the memory of 1915 Sayfo Genocide.

The Sayfo Genocide was committed by the Ottoman Empire and allied Kurdish, Arab, and Circassian forces in the early 20th century against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people and occurred parallel to the genocides of Armenians, Greeks, and Yezidis. Upwards of 300,000 of the region’s estimated 700,000 Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans) were massacred. More than 200,000 were forcefully displaced or deported south.

“While we celebrate the Pentecost feast, we recall the approaching painful memory of the Sayfo Genocide,” said Father Danho. “The Syriac Church unanimously declared the 15th of June as Sayfo Genocide Remembrance Day.”

“We commemorate the Sayfo Genocide martyrs,” he added, indicating that the Christians should be proud of their martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their people and Christianity.

He declared that the meaning of martyrdom is great, and the Lord Jesus Christ was the first martyr who gave us life.

Father Danho called on the Syriac (Aramean-Chaldean-Assyrian) people not to let the memory of the Sayfo to fade and to keep demanding their rights until they are fully recognized.