The King has said he will be praying this Christmas for Syria, whose citizens have been given a glimmer of hope following the overthrow of the country’s dictator.
Charles met a Syrian nun when he joined a Catholic congregation that has been supporting the work of Aid to the Church in Need, a charity helping Christians persecuted across the Middle East and the globe.
The event was a special advent service held at the Catholic Farm Street Church in Mayfair and attended by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales, and Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, Pope Francis’s apostolic nuncio or diplomatic representative in the UK.
After the short service, attend by Iraqi Christians and schoolchildren, the King met Sister Annie Demerjian, from the Syrian Catholic Church, in a side chapel and the pair, who have met before, warmly embraced.
She described to Charles the desperate situation in her homeland after the fall of Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s regime and said afterwards: “It is desperate, but we are praying for a better future.”
The nun added: “He said he was praying for us, for all the people who have been displaced and find themselves battling against (the) odds.
“We are praying and we are hoping for a better future, and we appreciate your King’s support.”
Sister Demerjian said Christians would now flock back to the country after the fall of the regime, but shortages of food, shelter and other medical resources were an issue.
She said: “Many will come to the aid of their brothers and sisters, and we hope to raise the profile of the need for help for many people.”
In a short sermon, Dr Caroline Hull, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (UK), told the congregation that 10 years ago the world “watched in horror” as the ancient city of Mosul fell to Isis or Daesh forces.
She added that they “attacked villages in the Nineveh plain, sending over 100,000 Christians and other religious minorities fleeing for their lives” and creating refugee camps “filled to the brim”.
The King also met the Butrus family, Iraqi-Christians who fled their homeland ten years ago after Isis forces invaded and began persecuting non-Muslims, with the family first settling in Syria before later moving to the UK in 2016.
Charles chatted to mother Ban Butrus, 49, and her grown-up children Jolia, 27, Peter, 24 and Sofia, 23, who presented the King with an oil painting she had painted.
It was a reworking of the Arabic letter N, a reference to the word “Nazarene” Isis forces used to identify Christians, with the letter N written on their homes.
Sofia said: “The dot in the middle of the letter has now become Christ reconciling a Christian.”
Commenting on the King’s visit, Jolia said: “He’s giving 100% support to the people of Iraq and the King giving up his time to meet us is really important.
“It’s difficult to settle here to be honest because it’s so expensive and when you start from zero, you have the drama of being persecuted and then the drama of starting all over again.
“We are still struggling but we cannot go back now because it’s not fully safe.”
Before leaving, Charles chatted to a number of groups working in the Farm Street Church parish, including groups support the homeless and the LGBT community.
