Iraqi Christians worship in fear

Boston Globe ^ | 12/25/04 | Borzou Daragahi

[freedom44]

BAGHDAD -- During Christmases past, Iraqi Christians crowded into the Virgin Mary Church on Karada Street, jovial congregants young and old spilling out noisily onto the sidewalk to celebrate Mass. Even last year, the first Christmas in the shaky postwar era, the pews were nearly filled to their 800-person capacity.

But yesterday afternoon, fewer than 200 subdued worshipers braved the capital's perilous roads and passed through a gauntlet of security forces to attend Mass.

''Can we be happy when our churches are being attacked?" Father Peter Hadad, head of the church, said in an interview after the service.

''This year, people are afraid to come to the church. It is sad for all Christians and even for our Muslim friends that this Christmas is not about celebrating the spirit of joy. It is about sadness."

Iraq's Christian minority -- which includes mostly Chaldeans with allegiance to the pope, as well as Assyrians, Armenians, and other small denominations -- numbers about 800,000 and accounts for about 3 percent of the population, church officials say.

[Sola Veritas]

I was wondering. Are there any indiginous evangelical protestants (like Baptists) in Iraq - other than foreign missionaries?

[dervish]

The Assyrian Christians of Iraq are the descendents of the Great Assyrian Empire which can be traced back to Nineveh (present day Mosul) to 5000 BC and its peak in 612BC when it controlled much of the Middle East.

The Assyrian people first come to the attention of most people in the story of Jonah. They are the people of the city of Nineveh who `repent` of their sins and come back to God following the coming of Jonah. Again, they come to the fore following the death of Christ, when they become the first people to convert to Christianity through their King Abgar. Following Following this they become, according to Kenneth Scott LaTourette, the historian, the `greatest missionary sending people in history`, bringing Christianity to China, India, Japan, The Philippines and throughout Asia. article here

[miltonim]

Most Christians here have moved their lights and decorations indoors, for fear of attacks .........

But Sister Beninia Hermes Shoukwana, a Christian nun who heads a school near Palestine Street, has stubbornly refused to bow to militants. She put up Christmas trees at her school, and her students sing holiday songs. She will attend Christmas Mass at her convent.

Hope she makes it.

[dighton]

Lemme guess, “If only they still had Saddam as protector!”