Forgotten victims - Iraqi Christians who speak the language of Jesus

Irish Examiner ^ | Oct. 11 05 | Colm Mealy

[eastsider]

FYI

[churchillbuff]

"no one speaks for the Iraqi Christians."

[GOP_Party_Animal]

I would believe this if it weren't so terribly one-sided. To say that the occupying force, most of them Christians, is knowingly helping to snuff out Christianity in Iraq is ridiculous.

[churchillbuff]

"Since June last year, when the interim government took office, Christians have been leaving Iraq in their thousands. Christians living in cities have been targeted by gangs of fundamentalist thugs operating a policy of ‘ethnic cleansing’ under the eye of the occupation forces. Their homes have been burned, businesses looted, and the women and children subjected to intimidation, murder and rape. "

OF COURSE THIS COULDN'T BE TRUE. ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS WOULD NEVER ACT THAT WAY, WOULD THEY?

[kipita]

The Assyrians and Chaldeans are some of the few remaining peoples who speak and worship in the original Aramaic language of Jesus Christ.

Their music is very similar to Flamenco (Bulerias), in southern Spain. More or less songs of suffering.

[the OlLine Rebel]

"the US and Britain have succeeded in replacing the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein with the dictatorship of Islam and paved the way for a possible civil war....... several ...have emigrated to ....the US and various countries in Europe seeking asylum"


Oh, that horrible US....so horrible, why would any1 want to GO to the US???


A poorly veiled attempt to appeal to traditional conservative Christians; in other words, USING Christianity again.

A lefty Christian. Jesus would want us to be mugged for our money to pay for others who do nothing for themselves, and all that stuff. Liberal Catholic or mainstream Methodist, my guess!

[the OlLine Rebel]

No, it's not the Moslem's fault - it's the US' fault for "unleashing" them.


The same precarious chain-effect reasoning that piles on a hero for a victim being shot during a mugging - because he had the TEMERITY to try and step in and STOP the MUGGING!

[Inyokern]

The exodus from cities such as Baghdad and Babylon is another Dharfur, a silent holocaust outside the glitzy world of regular news reporting.

There is no city of Babylon and there has not been one for many centuries. This reporter does not seem to know much about Iraq.

[conservativehistorian]

This is not the first report of anti-Christian attacks in Iraq. Despite the fact that the issuer has an anti-US bias, the report has some plausibility. Perhaps one of the Chistian relief organizations might shed some truth on this very troubling matter.

I do know that in the past another of the anti-US Mideast dictators, Papa Assad of Syria, permitted Christians to live and worship in his country relatively freely. I am aware of this from a close Orthodox friend from Syria who emigrated here 20 years ago.

[talleyman]

In the first century AD, long before Islam spread in the seventh century, St Thomas the Apostle brought Christianity to the Chaldeans and the Assyrians of Mesopatamia.

You've piqued my interest here on this point - we're teaching about the 12 Apostles in this year's Sunday School class, and info is spotty re: most of them.

A quick check at Catholic Encyclopedia online
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14658b.htm
references stories of Thomas going to India.
Do you have a source I could pursue on the Mesopotamia angle?

Thanks.

[wideawake]

(1) Babylon is an historical site, not an inhabited town.

(2) More than 80,000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than 1,000,000 have fled their homes.

(3) Iraqi Christians speak a dialect of Imperial Aramaic, not the Palestinian Aramaic which Jesus spoke.

The two languages are probably not even mutually comprehensible, let alone identical.

(4) The Christians of Iraq made peace with the Hussein government on the understanding that they would not spread the faith among Muslims.

That was hardly a reasonable compromise.

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

the US and Britain have succeeded in replacing the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein with the dictatorship of Islam

No, the Iraqi voters did that by putting religious parties in power.

[wideawake]

This is because Assad is not a Muslim, but a member of the tiny Alawite sect. It is in his best interest as a non-Muslim to encourage the participation of non-Muslims in Syrian society.

[wallcrawlr]

It infers the Iraqi Christians preferred life under Saddam. My guess is they prefer life under a new President but dont like being singled out and murdered by terrorists, gangsters and other radical murderers.

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

Despite the fact that the issuer has an anti-US bias, the report has some plausibility. Perhaps one of the Chistian relief organizations might shed some truth on this very troubling matter.

There's an Iraqi Christian who blogs from Texas. She's written numerous posts on the harassment of Christians. She also mentioned they are fleeing Basra.

http://fayrouz.blogspot.com

[hang 'em]

The tiny Alawite sect is often categorized as a subset of Shia islam.

[NYer]

The Assyrians and Chaldeans are some of the few remaining peoples who speak and worship in the original Aramaic language of Jesus Christ. They are the oldest continuous churches in the history of Christianity.

Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 22 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:

"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).

Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.

To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES

The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15).

To locate an Eastern Catholic Church in your community, follow the following link:

Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.

A Roman rite Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his of her obligations at and Eastern Catholic Parish. A Roman rite Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest, since all belong to the Catholic Church as a whole. I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith at a Maronite Catholic Church. Like the Chaleans, the Maronites retain Aramaic for the Consecration. It is as close as one comes to being at the Last Supper.

Please freepmail me if you would like more information on the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

Eastern Catholic Ping List
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[wideawake]

The tiny Alawite sect is often categorized as a subset of Shia islam.

True. And there are similarities.

However, it's like when Jehovah's Witnesses are categorized as a subset of Protestant Christianity.

Christians do not consider JWs Christians and the sect teaches doctrines that are completely opposed to Christianity, but JWs market themselves to outsiders by using Christian language and tropes to make people more comfortable with them.

teh same holds true of Alawites in the context of Islam.