On Christmas Day, Michel Butros al-Jisri, one of the last Christians in the Syrian city of Idlib, didn't attend services, because the Islamic rebels who control the area had long since locked up the church. Nor did he gather with friends and relatives to celebrate around a tree because nearly all of his fellow Christians have either died or fled during Syria's 10-year civil war.
On Christmas Day, Michel Butros al-Jisri, one of the last Christians in the Syrian city of Idlib, didn't attend services, because the Islamic rebels who control the area had long since locked up the church. Nor did he gather with friends and relatives to celebrate around a tree because nearly all of his fellow Christians have either died or fled during Syria's 10-year civil war.
Communities across the Middle East and North Africa some of which trace their roots to Christianity’s early days have been struggling for decades with wars, poverty and persecution.
Michel Butros al-Jisri is among the few Christians left from a once-vibrant community in Idlib on the brink of disappearing. The city, in the only territory in Syria still controlled by rebels, is ruled by Islamists.