SAINT MARY Syriac Orthodox Church in Maskanah

Maskanah is a village in central Syria, located in the region of Homs, some 135 km north of the capital, Damascus. St. Mary’s Church was built there in 1760 as a part of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Homs, Hama and Tartous. The church was last renovated in 1920. Maskanah was predominantly Syriac Orthodox and Catholic, with a population of 4,430 according to the 2004 census. During the war St. Mary’s Church suffered damage from mortar shell attacks. The church was built on a rock giving it a certain degree of stability, but despite this two walls and the ceiling collapsed due to the shelling.

H.E. Mor Selwanos Boutros Al Nehme, Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Homs, hopes Syria’s Christians will experience a resurrection from death – that they may rise from the pains they have suffered and that their souls are saved.