Where's the tallest statue of Jesus Christ? If you said "Brazil" or "Portugal" .... you are wrong.

The world's biggest Jesus Christ statue has been installed.  The bronze statue is 128 feet tall, so that makes it taller than the famous one in Rio de Janerio and a little taller than the one in Lisbon which held the record for the tallest ... until now.  The most beautiful part of this story is that  the statue of Jesus has been erected in a Muslim country, a Muslim country that is presently war-torn, a Muslim country that is the most tolerant to Christians .... SYRIA.

The first vid below is a recent one and shows the statue.  The other is from 2009 when the project was underway.

From this news about the statue and my recent readings on the influence of the new religious Russia in Armenia and Syria,  I think the powers-that-be created the ongoing conflict in Syria primarily because they feared  Russia's influence in that part of the world, and not because of all the other factors we have been fed to date.  

The project was started in 2005 and the result was displayed to the world on October 14, 2013.  It now stands on Cherubs Mountain in the village of Saidnaya. The project was funded by Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church and the creator of the masterpiece is Armenian sculptor, Artush Papoian. 

Melissa Steffan and Kate Tracy writing at ChristianityToday:
....In a beleaguered Syrian city where many Christians still speak the language of Jesus, Jesus has literally come to "save the world." At least in one sense.

Last week, the historic Christian pilgrimage destination of Saidnaya (or Sednaya), where many residents speak Aramaic, became the latest recipient of one of the world's tallest Jesus statues. Made in Armenia out of bronze, the statue, standing 128 feet (39 meters) tall on a 6,500-foot mountain top, can reportedly be seen from Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. Its name: "I have come to save the world."



Saidnaya has recently faced sectarian attacks similar to Maaloula, another Aramaic-speaking pilgrimage destination just 15 miles north. In addition to displacing tens of thousands of people, the attacks have prompted 50,000 Syrian Christians to apply for citizenship in Russia, reports Interfax. "It is for the first time since the Nativity of Christ that we Christians of Qalamoun living in the villages of Saidnaya, Maara Saidnaya, Maaloula and Maaroun are under threat of banishment from our land," reads the group's appeal to the Russia Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, the new Jesus statue is slightly taller than Rio de Janeiro's Cristo Redentor, which may be the world's most famous Jesus statue but isn't the tallest—not by a long shot...........

From Armenian consultate in Jordan stated:
A magnificent 39m high bronze statue of Jesus Christ    assembled in Armenia was erected in Saidnaya, Syria on October 14. The statue, placed on the top of the Cherubs’ Mountain, is called “I have come to save the world”. It is one meter higher than the statue of Christ in Brazil. The idea of placing the statue occurred five years ago to businessman Yuri Gavrilov, who was assisted also by a Syrian businessman. Two days after placing statue the author of the idea Yuri Gavrilov passed away, leaving behind him a magnificent work to Syria and the world.

From Eurasia:
.......From its vantage point above the sea,  the statue overlooks an historic pilgrimage route from Istanbul to Jerusalem. The statue, created by Armenian sculptor Artush Papoian, was installed on October 14, when Orthodox Christians celebrate a commemoration of the Virgin Mary, whose icon is a chief draw for the monastery.

But the statue was not born of recent events in Syria. While Syria's ethnic Armenian population has been fleeing the country in droves -- including to Armenia itself, which has built a "New Aleppo" to accommodate the arrivals -- the project has been in the works since 2005, Russia's Komsomol'skaya Pravda reports........

From MoscowTimes:
....The project was backed by  both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian government, which takes an active interest in Syria, as seen in recent events. Russia also has a navy base on Syria's Mediterranean sea coast.

Despite the statue's Russian connection, it was cast in Armenia and made by an Armenian sculptor, Artush Papoian. Syria's ethnic Armenians have been fleeing the country in droves since the conflict began, to the extent that Armenia has built a new settlement called New Aleppo to house them,  the news website Eurasianet.org reported. The settlement is named after the war-torn northern Syrian city where most of Syria's ethnic Armenian population live. Some 7,000 of Syria's ethnic Armenians are now seeking refuge in neighboring Armenia, Armenian news agencies reported......