Ancient saint's bones discovered in ISIS' destruction of monastery

Al-Qaryatain's St. Julian monastery was torn to pieces by the Islamic State.

One of the last Islamic State strongholds in Syria, al-Qaryatain, has been recovered by Syrian troops. Unfortunately, this was after ISIS brutally ripped apart and destroyed the city's ancient monastery and Christian church.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Qaryatain, resting between the recently seized Palmyra and Damascus, was once home to a large amount of Christians. Before ISIS' takeover, the city held a mixed population of 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians.

Once the violence began, many of the Christians ran for their lives, but more than 200 residents were captured, including the Syrian priest, Rev. Jack Murad.

Shortly after ISIS' reign, the fifth-century monastery, Mar Elian (St. Julian) was brought to the ground with explosives and bulldozers, similar to the way the militants attacked other religious buildings and artifacts.

"The church's doors and windows were blown out and its interior appeared to have been used by the militants as a workshop for manufacturing bombs and booby traps, its floor littered with gas canisters, metal kettles, coffee pots and blue pails," according to the Daily Mail.

Among the ruins of the monastery, the bones of a saint were discovered. Photographs taken of the rubble exposed a destroyed sarcophagus with a skull and bones appearing along side the stone.

The remains are believed to be St. Julian's. The saint was martyred in 284 AD for refusing to deny his faith, according to the Catholic Herald.

"These are indeed his sarcophagus and his remains," Father Jacques Mourad, head of the Syriac Catholic monastery, told AFP by phone from Italy. "I am filled with grief, and I choose to remain silent, because in the face of everything that is happening, silence is the most fitting answer."

Father Mourad barely escaped ISIS' torture when he left the city in October 2015. Two other churches in the city were destroyed during ISIS very first week occupying the location, according to Father Mourad.

The exterior of the church was further vandalized with blue paint and the words "We faced you in battle like hungry lions who find the flesh of the enemy to be the most delicious."

"The Lions of the Caliphate."

Although ISIS is losing hold over many of their important locations in Syria, they have already done their damage in those cities. The terrorists have shown complete disregard for any faith or belief other than their own.

The destruction of religious artifacts is devastating to the church, but we must remember no matter how much destruction occurs on the outside, the Devil cannot destroy the faith we hold within our hearts.

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