THE massive surge in reported violence towards the minority Christians in Syria has put them back in the top ten most vulnerable groups in Open Doors’ World Watch List.
The latest Open Doors report was launched in Parliament on 14 January. It ranks the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. North Korea remains top, and Somalia second, but Syria now ranks at sixth — up from 18th in 2025: the most dramatic change in ranking. Thousands fled after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. “Violent extremists are exploiting the country’s instability as the new government tries to find its feet,” the report says.
It refers to the bombing of a Greek Orthodox church, St Elias’s, Dweilaa, in Damascus, last June (News, 27 June 2025), when 22 Christians were killed, and others ceased to attend church altogether. “The broader threat of further attacks and rising Islamist radicalism has driven believers to hide Christian symbols and avoid any public display of their faith, especially in majority-Islamic areas or at checkpoints,” the report says.
It also refers to the recent closure of 14 Christian schools in the Kurdish region for refusing to adopt a new curriculum. Pressure is high in cities such as Damascus and Aleppo, “where churches are under constant surveillance and endure bureaucratic delays affecting activities or renovations. Loudspeaker-equipped vehicles roam the Christian neighbourhoods of Damascus, exhorting residents to convert to Islam. No matter where they live, Christians are vulnerable.”
It says that the law gives little recognition to Baptist, Evangelical, and Pentecostal congregations, exposing them to significant pressure because of “the popular perception that they evangelise”. Neither is the Orthodox Church free of risk, “because of its visibility in the community and its perceived ties to the previous regime”.
OPEN DOORSRubble in the Greek Orthodox St Elias’s, Dweilaa, in Damascus, after the June 2025 attack
Open Doors estimates there about 300,000 Christians remain in Syria, down from 1.1 million in 2025, and says that their small numbers leave them exposed, particularly in areas with no state-provided security.
But it also refers to an example of “resilience in the face of persecution and chaos”: a church counselling school has opened, from which 27 trainees, both men and women, graduated from six different Syrian cities. They will “play a vital role in enhancing support within churches”.
More than 388 million Christians worldwide face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, the report says. Three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa — Sudan, Nigeria, and Mali — have the maximum possible score for violence.
It concludes: “Persecution, both violent and non-violent, is increasingly subtle or targeted. In some countries, violent insurgency dominates in one region, but instability spreads through the whole country. In other parts of the world, particular denominations or leaders are singled out for attack, which undermines the human rights of all.
“In still other contexts, persecution is increasingly hidden, against Christians who are forced to go underground in closed countries. This makes it harder to get accurate information, even in the face of egregious human rights abuses.”
Open Doors has welcomed as “a hopeful declaration” the Government’s decision to place both Syria and Iraq on its list of ten priority countries in its Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) strategy.