ONE of the Archbishop of Canterbury's special envoys, from York, whose work helped stop the persecution of thousands of Christians in Turkey, has been awarded an MBE.
The Rev Stephen Griffith, who now lives in Bootham, was presented with the honour by the British Ambassador in Syria, where he has worked for the last five years.
Although based in Damascus, Mr Griffith regularly travelled across the Turkish border to expose the plight of Christians, many of whom he discovered were beaten and killed for their beliefs by other Turks.
His reports back to the Archbishop have now led to a radical improvement in the situation, after the lobbying of the Turkish government.
Mr Griffith was also instrumental in setting up a development programme in the Syrian capital to provide education and healthcare for thousands of Sudanese refugees.
"I was flabbergasted when I was told about the MBE," said Mr Griffith, who is a former chaplain of St Peter's School, in York.
"Some of the places I travelled through were pretty wild and dangerous. There were times I was really scared.
"My job was to report back what I saw and heard from Christians living in Turkey. Many of them were being killed for their beliefs and it was important the world knew about it."
Mr Griffith recalled a time he was driving across a dusty road in Turkey when a man wielding a Kalashnikov rifle flagged them down and got in.
Fortunately, he turned out to be a police officer and was only hitching a ride to the next village.
"The situation in Turkey has now radically improved and the killing of Christians has all but stopped," Mr Griffith said.
"The Turkish Government wants to get into the European Union, and obviously anything like that does not help them.
"A lot of my work in Damascus was spent building up relations between the different churches, as there is a significant Christian population there."
Mr Griffith is now on six months' leave and considering his future at home in York.
"I plan to do some preaching in churches around York," he said.
"It's great to come back to the city."
Updated: 11:41 Tuesday, January 15, 2002
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