Martyrdom in the Syriac tradition is a sensitive and important issue. From the very beginning of the history of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the list of martyrs was venerable and maintained carefully. The life of the martyrs as it was described in church literature was an example of how the church flourished. In the church of Antioch, St. Ignatius, (+107) the third Bishop of Antioch as a martyr, became a model for other martyrs in the church. In addition, relics of martyrs were venerated. Churches, shrines, monasteries and chapels were built after their names. In the calendar of the year, special feast and memorial days are dedicated to the martyrs. Children are named after the names of the martyrs. All these indicate how martyrdom was kept in the memory of the church from the very beginning of its history. However, when we mention martyrs, we mean both males and females.

The question here is: how far martyrs have affected the life of the church and testified faith and unity of the church?

I will stick myself here with two examples:

One is the Persian martyrs. Although early Christianity was mostly confined within the limits of the Roman Empire, there was one area outside the Empire in which Christianity flourished from that early date. This was in what is now Iraq and western Iran; the area that since the early years of the third century had seen the focal centre for the Sassanian Empire.

In this region, and under the Persian rulers, the church paid a high price for its expansion and flourishing. If we take, for instance, the martyrdom of Theqla, a daughter of the covenant, together with four other daughters of the covenant with her, we realize that the main reason behind it was to do the King's will and worship the sun; which means to ignore the commandments, to abandon the church and to adore the sun instead of God. This is a real challenge to the faithful, who is dedicated to Jesus and presented himself the example of unity and faith in the church. At that time, the majority of the people of the Persian Empire were seeking to fulfill the King's will and worship the sun. Moreover, the authorities, and in order to please the King, were trying to divide the unity of Christians and lead their faith into danger. They were not reflecting on Jesus' words to his disciples, when he says: " I tell you, my fiend, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can not afterward do anything worse. I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw you into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear! " (Luke 12: 4-5)

What was then Theqla's reaction concerning the order of the King?

She told him in a loud voice : " you, proud and insolent man! Do not try to frighten and beguile us with these deceiving words. No! put into effect what you have been ordered to do without any further delay. Far be it from us to turn away from our God and our Creator to take advantage of anything that you have urged us to do. We will not exchange God for the sun. We will not become foolish and senseless like you, who have abandoned the creator and worshipped instead what he has created." What was the result of her objection? The sentence of death was immediately given and they were listed as martyrs.

What I want to say here is that in the same region today, we hear that the lives of many Christians are put in danger, and big numbers of people are persecuted and assassinated because they refuse to change their religion.

Here I turn to the second point, which is what was the main reason behind the massacres of the Christians at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century?

In my region, in the Middle East, everybody is familiar with the massacres of the Christians: Armenians, Syrians, Assyrians, and Caldeans. If you read the documents, which describe the massacres and genocides of those nations and churches carefully, you will see that the Christian faith was mainly described as a dangerous factor for the non Christians. Everybody knows that Jesus prepared his followers for any tension, anxiety, or confusion that they may face. He says in the Beatitudes: " Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them! Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted. " (Matthew 5: 10-12)

Today, martyrdom is a mark of most of the Christians in the Middle East. From one side, they are very keen to work together with a real spirit of ecumenism. They discovered after many centuries of division and scatter that they all lost, and are now in a real dangerous situation. They were fighting for their faith; but on the other hand, they lost their unity when they entered in a real dialogue on different levels: local, regional and international. Church leaders dedicated their agenda for the unity of the church. This means faith should proceed side by side with unity. The equations says : wherever there is faith, unity exists.

The Persian martyrs, both men and women, alongside with the martyrs of the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, as well as other Christian martyrs in the region in different situations will remain a testimony for faith and unity, as it was said that the blood of the martyrs becomes the seeds for deepened faith.

I would like to conclude be mentioning that the Christians of Aleppo, and in spite of their different backgrounds in history, liturgy, language, heritage, teaching and structure; as well as their efforts to bring Christians together and to fulfill the wish of our Lord Jesus Christ: " I pray that they may all be one. Father, may they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me� so that they may be one, just as you and I are one" (John 17: 12, 21, 22). Church leader in Aleppo decided few year ago to strengthen their vision towards faith and unity, therefore, they commemorated the memory of three great Saints of the Church in the region; namely: St. Simon the Stylite in 1994, and Mor Sarkis and Bakhos in 2002.

I may witness that both celebrations were accepted with a great joy by all Christians and they felt as the church is living the same time before its division.

This year 2005, all Churches in Aleppo, are commemorating Cozmas and Damian the pattern Saints of physicians. According to the later tradition, the twin brothers practiced their profession without claiming reward from their patients. They were, hence, known as the moneyless. They are also supposed to have suffered martyrdom. Their passion, which exists in several form and languages, is late and historically valueless. Immediately after their martyrdom, a church in Aleppo was dedicated after their names in the fifth century. Their lives are linked very much with the history of Edessa, the blessed city, where its Bishop constructed a shrine after their names. It was a place of pilgrimage for many patients who used to seek healing and recovery through their intercessions.

The Christian Churches in Aleppo are from three different traditions and backgrounds; namely: Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical. They all believed and trusted that the commemoration of the two saints Cozmas and Damian as two great martyrs from the Orient could be a good sign of unity and faith in the Church. We all hope that by their intercessions, the faith of the Christians will be strengthened and the unity among churches will be realized.

In this gathering, where the Community of St. Egidio invited us to glorify our Lord, we may give a testimony that this gathering is a means for Christians to come closer together and achieve the best results by being good Christians and work for the unity of the church.

I have the honor to invite you all to come to Aleppo and celebrate the commemoration of the two great martyrs Cozma and Damian with us.

May I affirm that we are proud that our churches were called churches of martyrdom.