Syriac

Zaki Aydin, a 50-year-old Syriac language teacher in Orebro, said he was afraid for the first time for his young students, who are mostly from the Middle East.

In Bab Touma, the ancient Christian quarter of Damascus, the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church says: "We did not have the experience of Russia or anybody else from the outside world protecting us."

The pared-down Christmas was in keeping with the original message of the holiday and illustrated the many ways the community is coming together, said Stephanie Saldana, who is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and has lived in Jerusalem and Bethlehem for the past 15 years with her husband, a parish priest at the St Joseph Syriac Catholic Church.

He later visited the Syriac Catholic Mar Behnam Monastery to express his condolences to victims.

The Austrian academy said in a news release the discovery confirms the veracity of the Old Syriac translations of the initial New Testament books.