Community of Aleppo: History
Aleppo – Carmel of Our Lady of Syria – 1964
The Carmel of Aleppo vocation is in the very heart of Syria, cradle of Christianity.
In fact, it’s in Antioch that, for the first time, the disciples received the name of Christians. After Jerusalem, this city was the first major center from which the first apostles left to evangelize the Roman Empire. It’s also in Syria that the “Syrian” hermeticism and monasticism developed.
Thus, our desire is to perpetuate this monastic presence and to help the Syrian Christians to remain in their land so that the Light of God may illuminate this country which is predominantly (almost entirely) Muslim.
It’s impossible to speak of Syria without mentioning Saint Paul. Antioch and Damascus are closely linked to the evangelizing mission of Pierre, Paul and all the apostles. The Carmelites’ vocation is both contemplative and missionary. Thus, we can find in Saint Paul, as he traveled the roads of Syria, an untiring zeal for the glory of God and the “pagans” conversion , so numerous and so diverse today. This indirect apostolate is fruitful as long as it’s anchored in a life of authentic union with God.