The Circassians of Syria

The Circassians of Syria, numbering approximately 30,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnic group indigenous to the Northwest Caucasus region of Russia. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Adyghe is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Circassian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Caucasus
Primary Language(s): Adyghe (ady)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 30,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012175
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Circassians of Syria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Adyghe
Language Family: Abkhaz-Adyge

100%
%
Adyghe Speakers

Media Resources in Adyghe:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Adyghe:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2014 Edition✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Adyghe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Circassians:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Circassians of Syria

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
readMatthew 9:36

Pray that those who have no hope and are in need of a Savior will be comforted by the Good Shepherd, who seeks to gather the lost and weary into His care.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Adyghe Across Countries (ROP3 - 100079) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
CircassiansCircassiansJordan194,000Engaged yet UnreachedAdygheSunni Islam
Circassians - AdygheCircassians - AdygheRussian Federation129,000Engaged yet UnreachedAdygheSunni Islam
CircassiansCircassiansIraq46,500Unengaged and UnreachedAdygheSunni Islam
CircassiansCircassiansSyria30,000Unengaged and UnreachedAdygheSunni Islam
CircassiansCircassiansUnited States6,900Unengaged and UnreachedAdygheSunni Islam
CircassiansCircassiansIsrael3,600Unengaged and UnreachedAdygheSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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