A gathering of hundreds was held at a Modesto church Friday evening to to pray for the safe return of Assyrian Christians taken hostage this week by Islamic State militants in northeast Syria. Among the more than 250 hostages taken from Assyrian villages in northeast Syria is former Modesto resident Hanno Amo. The vigil was held at St. Zaia Cathedral on Mable Avenue. The cathedral is a parish of the Assyrian Church of the East, Diocese of California. Stanislaus County has one of the United States' largest Assyrian communities, estimated at about 20,000.