“Some one correct me if I am wrong. It wasn’t great, but wasn’t Assad ‘somewhat’ protecting Christians in Syria, much moreso than they see under ISIS?
And, also, weren’t a good portion of those Christians some variety of Orthodox....not Russian Orthodox...but orthodox?”
Yes on both counts. Russia is the traditional protector of Orthodoxy, at least since the 16th-17th centuries.
None of this is simple. None of this is what it appears to American eyes. This situation goes back to before the Crusades.
Have you gotten any sense that Putin is making the protection of the Orthodox Christians a part of his rationale?
You really need to check out my wonderful interpretation of events over there, insert wink here.
While Assad family is not the warm and fuzzy types, yes, his regime was a secular “equal opportunity oppressor,” just like Khadafi, Mubarak and Hussein. Christians were not singled out for persecution, nor for the outright extermination that is taking place now.
Most of the Syrian Christians are Antiochean Orthodox, who trace the origins of their churches to the Apostle Paul. They have been using the John Chrysostom ritual since the 5th or 6th Century. We have a large Antichoean congregation in our community; last year they finished a new church, which was built to resemble a 6th Century Byzantine church. The inside is painted with the most amazing iconography that just takes your breath away with it’s beauty.
I have many friends who attend there (and I have attended a service or two, and always attend their annual festival). They tell me what is happening to their friends and families back home and it’s heartbreaking.