Armenians in Edleb (Idlib) celebrate return of Feast of St. Anna as historic church officially reopens after 14 years

EDLEB, Syria — For the first time in more than a decade, the bells of St. Anna’s Church rang again in the village of Yacoubiyah, a predominantly Armenian Christian community in northwestern Edleb (Idlib), Syria. The reopening and rededication of the centuries-old church was marked with the annual Feast of St. Anna, one of the most cherished celebrations in the Armenian Orthodox calendar, drawing pilgrims from across Syria and beyond.  

The ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Makar Ashkarian, head of the Armenian Orthodox Archdiocese of Holeb (Aleppo), in what many community members described as a rare moment of relief and continuity after years of displacement, restriction, and silence.  

Yacoubiyah, together with the nearby village of Al-Qunaya, has long been home to Armenian Syrians and other Christians. But in 2013, amid escalating violence, nearly 650 families fled after armed groups imposed severe restrictions on religious life — mandating Islamic dress codes, banning public displays of Christian identity, removing crosses, silencing church bells, and prohibiting communal religious celebrations. By the end of that year, only 240 residents remained.  

In recent years, however, some restrictions have eased. About 30 families have returned, facilitated in part by Idlib’s Department of Religious Affairs under the control of the dissolved Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). In 2021, local churches cautiously resumed holding services, and in 2022 HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who is now the new Syrian president, made a symbolic visit to Yacoubiyah and Al-Qunaya, meeting with residents and hearing their concerns.  

For many Armenians, St. Anna’s Church is more than a place of worship. The village, once bustling with summer camps and youth activities for Christians from across Syria, held deep cultural and spiritual meaning.  

The church itself is among Syria’s oldest Christian monuments. According to church tradition, it was founded in the early fifth century during the reign of Queen Helena. Damaged by an earthquake in 1722, it was rebuilt in 1814, renovated again in 1914, and most recently restored in 1995 with a full renewal of its altar and structure. The latest rehabilitation, completed this summer, allowed worshippers once again to gather in a space that had long symbolized resilience.  

On 10 August, the Feast of St. Anna was celebrated with liturgy, hymns, and the arrival of Armenian pilgrims from Holeb (Aleppo), Latakia, and other provinces. Brotherhood committees from across the country coordinated the event, which many participants described as a milestone.  

Though the population remains far smaller than before the war, Yacoubiyah’s Feast of St. Anna this year offered a glimpse of what many hope could be the gradual return of Syria’s plural religious mosaic — fragile, scarred, but still alive.