Lebanon's Maronite patriarch is to visit Damascus on Sunday for the enthronement of Syria's Greek Orthodox leader, in a show of support for the Christian minority community.
Patriarch Beshara Rai will attend the enthronement of Yuhanna X Yazigi.
The An-Nahar newspaper in Lebanon reported it will be the first visit by a Maronite patriarch since Syrian independence in 1943.
It said the trip is to "express solidarity between churches while Syria is in crisis, a crisis for Christians in Syria."
AAP reports Syria's Christian minority makes up about 5% of the population.
Many Christians have remained neutral in the conflict while others have taken President Bashar al-Assad's side for fear of the rise of Islamism.
