COMMENTARY: War-torn Syria was the site 10 years ago of one of the saddest and triumphant human rights crises in history.

Slaves built the chapel that still stands on East Market Street in 1827. It opened in 1829 for a white congregation.

The anniversary comes as Christians worry about the future of Syria following the ouster of longtime president Bashar Assad in December by insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

For a religion that preaches the transience of all things, the ever shifting sands of China's western deserts might seem the ...