ACTION ALERT – Candlelight Vigil for missing ethnic Rûm and Aramean/Assyrian Archbishops

For Immediate Release 

Operation Antioch is proud to announce that on March 26^th, St. George Antiochian-Greek Orthodox Church will be holding a candlelight vigil for our two beloved Archbishops who were kidnapped on April 22^nd, 2013. Syriac Orthodox Archbishop, Yohanna Ibrahim, and Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Paul Yazigi were abducted by foreign terrorists in the village of Kfar Dael, located in the northern province of Aleppo while carrying out humanitarian work.  

The 189th Anniversary of the attempted liberation of Beirut

For Immediate Release –March 18^th, 2015

Today, exactly 189 years ago, on March 18th, 1826 a small group of brave Romaic Revolutionaries, led by Vasos Mavrovouniotis attempted to spread the Hellenic Revolution to Ottoman-occupied Coele-Syria. Although unsuccessful, their heroic attempt to incite the Rûm of the Levant lives on as a testament that the Rûm of Europe and those of the Levant were and still are one people. 

“Seleukeia” – A Proposed Safe-Haven for the Rûm of Syria

The following is a proposal for the creation of an International Administrated ‘Safe-Haven’ in portions of the Tartus, Homs, and Hama districts of the Syrian Arab Republic. This “Safe-Haven” would be a demilitarized zone that would fall under the authority of the United Nations, and would be monitored by a coalition of nations, specifically Russia, Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia. The Safe-Haven would be centered around Wadi al-Nasara, and divided into three zones of influence. Zone One) Russian – based in Marmarita, Zone Two) Greek/Cypriot – based in Mhardeh, and Zone Three) Armenian – based in Homs.

Commemorating our past to secure our future: The Feast of 42 Martyrs

Today, on the 1,170th feast of the 42 Martyrs of Amorium, we remember those Rûm, who were martyred for their refusal to be Arabized. On March 6th, 845 A.D., 42 Rûm hostages of the Abbasid Caliphate were beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam. Taken hostage by Caliph al-Mu’tasim, a Turko-Arab, after the 838 A.D sack of Amorium, the capital of the Anatolic Theme (Province) of the Romaiic Empire. They were taken to the city of Samarra in Arab-occupied Mesopotamia. Where they stayed until their execution.

OA Letter to Carson City Council

Dear Mayor Jim Dear & Council Members,

We are Operation Antioch, a network of Middle Eastern Greek Orthodox & Greek Catholic Christians with roots tracing back to countries of modern-day Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel/Palestine. It has come to our attention that your city is considering erecting a sculpture in honor of Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk”. As Middle Eastern Christians, it deeply saddens us, especially now as we are facing a Genocide at the hands of Islamic Terrorists like ISIS, that you are considering erecting a monument in honor of this man. 

ACTION ALERT – City in California to erected Ataturk Sculpture

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 4^th, 2015

URGENT! CALLING ALL DEFENDERS OF HUMAN DECENCY

According to Massispost.com, Carson City, California is considering erecting a sculpture in Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s honor at the request of the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California. If passed this butcher of Anatolia will be forever portrayed to future generations of Californians as a ‘hero’, rather than what he really was, a murderer!

Understanding a Rûm Shu’ubiyyah

By Ilias Michail & Elias Antonius

Many seem to have a difficult time understanding the meaning of a Rûm ethnic identity. They often confuse the message with some kind of ludicrous attempt at “turning Lebanese or Syrians into Greeks”. Thus, portraying ethnic Rûm supporters as “extremists” or people obsessed with a ‘foreign’ identity. However, this is a complete distortion and misunderstanding of the very idea of a Rûm Shu’ubiyyah. The main culprit behind this confusion is a misunderstanding of two things. First, the difference between Nationality and Ethnicity. The second, the concept of what it means to be Greek and Greece itself.