Bombs fall, but faith rises: Easter in Lebanon | Shalom World News
Amid airstrikes, displacement, and fear, Easter still rises in Lebanon as a symbol of undying hope. This year, the Resurrection is not celebrated in the comfort of ancient village churches, but in exile—inside crowded halls, temporary shelters, and unfamiliar parishes in Beirut. Thousands of Christians, driven from their homes in southern Lebanon by war, gather to pray not only for Christ’s victory over death, but for survival, for peace, for a return home. In churches like St. Anthony’s in Beirut’s outskirts, the faithful kissed the cross with tears in their eyes. Priests led liturgies beside memories of churches they left behind—some destroyed, others too dangerous to reach. Entire communities that once celebrated Easter together in ancestral villages now worship in scattered places, carrying both faith and grief. Yet, even in displacement, the message remains unshaken: Christ is risen—even here, even now. For many, simply choosing to celebrate is an act of defiance. A testimony that war cannot silence faith, and that hope—like the empty tomb—cannot be buried.