Church torched in southern Syria as violence spreads to rural villages

AL-SURA AL-KABIRA, Syria — In the early hours of Tuesday morning, flames consumed the Greek (Rûm) Catholic Mar Michael Church in the village of Al-Sura al-Kabira, a small, predominantly Christian community nestled in the rural countryside of Suwayda Governorate. The attack, believed to be an act of arson, marks the second church targeted in less than a month, following the deadly assault on the Greek (Rûm) Orthodox Mar Elias Church in Daramsuq (Damascus). 

Father Butrus al-Jut, the church’s longtime priest and spiritual leader of the community, expressed deep sorrow and outrage, revealing that not only was the church intentionally set ablaze, but the village itself was then subjected to looting and destruction. “They didn’t stop at the church,” he said in a statement posted on social media. “They burned and ransacked our homes. They shattered our windows, stole our belongings, and set our lives aflame.”

The European Syriac Union (ESU) also condemned the attack. “This morning, the Mar Michael Church in the village of al-Sura al-Kabira, located in the countryside of Suwayda, was set on fire in an act of arson,” the organization wrote on their official Facebook page. “Following the attack on the Mar Elias Church in Daramsuq, another church has now been targeted.”

The statement raised alarm about the growing pattern of violence directed at Christian sites and communities in Syria.

This morning, the Saint Michael Church in the village of Al-Sura Al-Kabira, located in the countryside of Suwayda, was set on fire in an act of arson.

Following the attack on the Mor Eliyas Church in Damascus, another church has now been targeted.@europapress @EU_Commission pic.twitter.com/Csx7xTPOas

— EuropeanSyriacUnion (@esu_int) July 15, 2025

The Mar Michael Church, a modest stone structure with deep roots in local tradition, has stood as a spiritual and cultural landmark in Al-Sura al-Kabira for generations. More than just a house of worship, it served as a gathering point for community events and a symbol of resilience in a region long known for its religious and ethnic diversity. 

“This church is not made of stones,” Father al-Jut wrote. “It is built on faith — faith that still lives in our hearts. And we will rebuild it.”

The burning of Mar Michael Church follows weeks of intensifying violence in Suwayda province, where clashes between Druze militias, tribal armed groups, and government forces have pushed security in the region to the brink of collapse. While much of the media attention has focused on urban centers like Suwayda city, this attack highlights the growing vulnerability of rural and minority communities caught in the widening storm of violence. 

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Al-Sura al-Kabira, located near the border with Druco (Daraa), had largely remained on the sidelines of Syria’s broader conflict. Its residents — mostly farmers, artisans, and clergy — had maintained a quiet life until recent days, when growing unrest spilled over from the province’s central districts. 

The motivations behind the attack remain unclear, though Father al-Jut pointed to growing lawlessness and sectarian hatred. “This isn’t a battle between armies,” he said. “It’s vengeance masked as politics, a hatred that does not build nations — it only burns them down.”

Local reports indicated that in addition to the church, dozens of homes and shops in the village were looted and torched. Vehicles were smashed, utility poles cut, and personal belongings stolen in what many residents described as a campaign of terror. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, no official response had been issued by the Syrian government regarding the incident in al-Sura al-Kabira. Meanwhile, calls for protection from religious leaders and community representatives across Suwayda are growing louder. 

The arson attack underscores the alarming erosion of safety for the smaller religious components in southern Syria, raising fears that churches and sacred spaces — once sanctuaries in the midst of war — are no longer off-limits. 

For the faithful of al-Sura al-Kabira, the smoke may have cleared, but the scars are only beginning to form. And in Father al-Jut’s words, the question now is painfully simple: “Where are those responsible?”