News

2016, Archbishop of Aleppo Jean Jean-Clément JEANBART,
Luca VOLONTÈ Novae Terrae Foundation,
and EU Commissioner Jan FIGEL


Dec. 6^th, 2017

Dear friends,

Our international campaign to raise funds for the reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin of Aleppo in Syria is coming to its final days. Join us in this effort to help one of the oldest Christian communities in the World. Our Christian brothers and sisters have suffered terrible persecution the last years! Novae Terrae Foundation’s project has been developed over the last months with the Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo, Archeparch Jean-Clément JEANBART.  Our fundraising appeal started on the 29^th of November and will end on the 8^th of December feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

between 19 July 2012 and 15 December 2016 there were 31,000 people killed in Aleppo, 76% of all fatalities were civilians

The conflict in Syria began on 15th March 2011, and has since taken the conflict has taken the lives of almost 250,000 people, with almost 3 million Syrian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries to escape the violence. Before the conflict started in 2011 the total number of Syrian Christians numbered about 2.4 million or 11-12% of the population: 1.1 million Greek Orthodox, 700,000 Syrian Orthodox, 70-100,000 Armenian Christians (Apostolics and Catholics), and 400,000 Catholics of various rites. It is not clear how many Christians fled and are refuges in countries around Syria. But we know that the majority of Christians were not able to flee the conflict and are living in the devastated cities. Aleppo had once one of the largest Christian population, and we all know how much suffering the citizens of that city have experience on almost 7 years of conflict.

The Archeparchy of Aleppo is one of the oldest ones of the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch. The eparchy of Berea (ancient name of Aleppo) had its origin goes back to the First Council of Nicaea (325). The eparchy of Aleppo was elevated to the rank of archeparchy in the sixth century

There are many needs in Syria, and particularly in Aleppo, we cannot try to fix them all, but what we will try to do is help the reconstruction of one of the main Christian symbols in the Middle East, the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin of Aleppo. In response to this crisis growing humanitarian crisis, Novae Terrae Foundation will do a fundraising appeal to all our friends around the world for the reconstruction of the Cathedral.

This Cathedral built around 1830 unexpectedly during the Ottoman empire that prohibited all constructions of churches, it has been a place where many Christians have received multitude of blessings reason why for centuries thousands of pilgrims go to venerate our Lady to Whom this Cathedral is dedicated

With our Novena to our Lady of the Immaculate Conception we have joined friends from around the World in prayer, in prayer for our Christian brothers suffering in Aleppo and other cities in Syria, but many of you have send financial donations for the reconstruction of the Cathedral in Aleppo. We ask your financial support, even a small donation of €30 can make a difference in this reconstruction effort.

Donate now!

You can find the letter that Archeparch Jean-Clément JEANBART sent us a few days ago in our website in this link Letter Archeparch JEANBART.

With my best wishes for you and your family, I remain yours,

Luca VOLONTE
General Director of Novae Terrae Foundation