The Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, described the increasing violence in war-torn Syria and the threat to Syria’s religious communities at a public lecture sponsored by LISD on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall on the Princeton University campus. The Archbishop, who resides in Aleppo, has made numerous appeals to the world community for concrete diplomatic initiatives in response to the growing violence in Syria. The event was co-sponsored with the Woodrow Wilson School. There was a public reception following the discussion in Shultz dining room.

Archbishop Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim holds degrees from St. Ephrem Theological Seminary in Zahle, the Oriental Institute in Rome, the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and Birmingham University in the UK where he received his PhD and wrote a dissertation entitled, “Christian Arabs in Mesopotamia before Islam.” He has held positions in Iraq, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, and Lebanon, and has served as Archbishop in Syria since 1979. He is and has been a committee member on many religious boards, including the Global Christian Forum, the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. He has acted as a representative of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch at international, regional, and local conferences since 1980. Most recently, he assisted in preparation of the Papal Visit to Lebanon and attended the G8 Religious Summit in Bordeaux, France, as well as the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Doha. He participated in LISD’s April 2012 Liechtenstein Colloquium on Syria, Iran, and the macro region held in Triesenberg, Liechtenstein.

A webcast of this lecture if available on LISD's YouTube channel.