THE CHALDEAN CHURCH
IN THE IRAQI TEMPEST

 by Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo

            The Chaldean Church of the East, with her Assyrian segment as well, has seen all kinds of hardship through her millennial history. This is the only apostolic church that has never had a Christian king or ruler and never was within the boundaries of a Christian Empire or state. Nevertheless, she survived with unique spiritual splendor and achievement. In the present era, she is facing brutal attacks and pressures of the worst kind, which she experiences while living as a flock of sheep between the wolves of this world. 

            What is being done today to her could be likened to what happened during the years of the Persian persecution (A.D. 340-379). At that historical junction, fundamentalist Zoroastrians chastised Christians--flock and leaders--burning churches, executing faithful, and imposing additional taxes. At the present time, fundamentalist Muslims are pursuing similar policies and deeds in Iraq.

            But humanity at our age cannot pretend to ignore or stand idle in view of a systematic cleansing of the Christian people, who have every right to enjoy living in their ancestral land and who, despite all the hardship that they endured for many centuries under Moslem rulers in Iraq, were always and consistently loyal to their country and state. Is what happened in Iraq in the past few decades, particularly lately, an issue that can be ignored by the civilized world?

            At this point, impressions and attitudes of good-will cannot suffice. Already half of Baghdad’s Christian communities have fled the capital; Basra is almost emptied of an ancient vibrant Christian presence; already, eight priests have been kidnapped. Except Kurdistan and the adjacent plain of Nineveh, nowhere is safe for Christians to be in Iraq.  Time is past due for concrete measures. 

            In the fourth century, a lenient king and an international intervention brought peace and justice to the Church of the East. Most of all, in our opinion, Chaldean Church hierarchy and the civil representatives of its people must formulate their proposals for a viable solution in regard to the prospect of a peaceful and prosperous future for their people and Church. 

NEWS ITEM:

Convocation of a Holy Synod

His Beatitude Mar Emmanuel III Delly convoked a Synod of the Chaldean Church from June 1-7, 2007 in the North of Iraq. Our Bishop, Mar Sarhad Yawsip Jammo, left the Diocese to attend the meeting of the Chaldean Hierarchs at this critical moment in the history of our Church and people. May our prayers be with him and all the other hierarchs.