Paris: The Assyrian Church of the East has expressed deep sorrow and condemnation following the brutal murder of an Assyrian Christian who was stabbed to death in Lyon, southern France, while publicly sharing his faith. The victim, identified as Ashur Sarnaya, had fled Iraq in 2014 to escape Islamic State persecution, only to meet a tragic end in his adopted country.
Mar Avraham Youkhanis, the Assyrian Bishop of London and Western Europe, issued a heartfelt statement honoring Sarnaya’s life and testimony. “He was killed for preaching the Gospel and bearing witness to our Lord,” the bishop said, calling the murder both a crime against humanity and an affront to the sacredness of faith. He urged the faithful to honor Sarnaya’s memory not with anger but with prayers for peace.
“We honor his testimony for Christ. We pray that his soul may rest in the eternal embrace of our Lord and that his mother and family may find comfort. There is no place for violence among believers. Regardless of differences of faith, we are called to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bishop Youkhanis said. He further emphasized that taking a life in the name of religion is a grave insult to God and humanity.
Sarnaya, who lived in France with his sister, had spent more than a decade rebuilding his life after fleeing Mosul when ISIS took control of large swathes of Iraq. Living with physical disabilities that confined him to a wheelchair, he nonetheless found strength in preaching and connecting with fellow Christians through social media.
He became known for his evening livestreams on TikTok, where he regularly spoke about his Christian faith, offered prayers, and engaged with viewers. For Sarnaya, online evangelism was a way to continue his mission despite physical limitations.
Family members revealed that Sarnaya had been targeted several times in the months leading up to his death. He had reportedly received threats from extremist Islamists angered by his evangelism. On September 10, while livestreaming from his wheelchair, he was attacked and fatally stabbed by unknown assailants. His relatives and members of the Assyrian community strongly believe the attackers were radical extremists determined to silence his witness.
Christian leaders and human rights advocates have condemned the killing as a heinous act of religiously motivated violence. They are calling on French authorities to ensure a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice, stressing that the protection of vulnerable religious minorities is a matter of both human rights and national responsibility.
For the Assyrian Church, the murder of Ashur Sarnaya is not only a personal tragedy but also a painful reminder of the ongoing persecution faced by Christians who have sought refuge in the West. Yet, in the words of Bishop Youkhanis, his death “is also a testimony of faith, courage, and unshakable devotion to Christ.”