2000 years of Christian history in Iraq may end – Iraqi Chaldean Church
(IraqiNews.com) The Chaldean Church in Iraq warned of a possible “end of Christian history” in Iraq, which is due to more than 2,000 years, if the current situation did not change, indicating that the presence of its followers in the country has become “symbolic” because of the continuing migration to the outside as a result of the violence that affect them.
The Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq and the world, Saint Louis Raphael first Sako said during his visit to Brussels accompanied by two bishops in an effort to ask for the protection of the European Union for their followers. According to a report by Reuters and followed by IraqiNews.com, that “the war and sectarian conflict caused the shrinking number of Christians in Iraq from more than a million and a half before the U.S. invasion of the country in 2003, to less than 400 thousand now, “adding that” those Christians who remained in Iraq started the migration to Turkey, Lebanon and European countries to escape the deteriorating security situation.”
The Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq and the world expected, that “the coming days will be very bad,” noting that “the Christian presence in Iraq would be symbolic if the current situation didn’t change despite that the history of Christians is coming back for more than 2,000 years. ”
For his part, the Bishop of the Chaldean Church in Kirkuk, Joseph Marquis said that “hundreds of Christians are leaving Kirkuk daily, although it is safer for them from Mosul.”
The Christians in Iraq, especially in Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk and Basra, exposed to violence since 2003, including the incident of the kidnapping and the killing of the bishop of the Chaldean Catholic, Paulos Faraj Rahho in March 2008.
The most notably was the incident of storming the Church of Our Lady of Deliverance by gunmen belonging to al-Qaeda in 2010 and the burning of churches, monasteries and targeted raping of Christian women as reported by IraqiNews.com on June 16 as follows: