The story across the region is far more complex than is often told. While in some places Christians are harried and persecuted, in others they are able to minister to those in need.
Be careful what you wish for was the message coming out of some elements of the mainstream Israeli media last night as Donald Trump dramatically pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Just as Jerusalem remains the key to unlocking the region's intractable conflict, Israel itself remains critical to the wider region's troubles and potential conflicts.
Syrian state TV said on Saturday that rebels had agreed to surrender an enclave northeast of Damascus and go to opposition areas at the border with Turkey, a withdrawal that would clinch another victory for President Bashar al-Assad.
A priest in Aleppo has told of how he has chosen to stay in the Syria city that suffered massive destruction in the country's civil war in order to minister to the people there.
Presbyterian churches in Syria have added their voices to the chorus of criticism from Christians in the country at the air strikes on the regime's chemical weapons facilities.
The sceptical majority is backed by not only most – though not all – Quakers, who are traditionally pacifist, but also the Methodists, the Church in Wales, Syrian church leaders and, according to some reports, Pope Francis.
Pope Francis called on world leaders on Sunday to renew efforts to bring peace to Syria, saying he was deeply troubled by their failure to agree on a joint plan to end the bloodshed.
Western airstrikes against President Assad were 'unjustified aggression' and a 'clear violation of the international laws', Syrian Church leaders have said.