60 minutes segment about Iraqi Christians

[mark_a]

Did anyone else catch this? I’m pretty confused by it.

• the segment acknowledged the 2000 year history of the Iraqi Christians, but did not call them Chaldeans or Catholics
• the featured priest on the show was sent there by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but no mention of Anglicanism was made
• there were lots of crucifixes (seems kind of un-Anglican)
  Is there a large Anglican presence in Iraq?

Any insight anyone?

 

[jimmy]

Did anyone else catch this? I’m pretty confused by it.

• the segment acknowledged the 2000 year history of the Iraqi Christians, but did not call them Chaldeans or Catholics
• the featured priest on the show was sent there by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but no mention of Anglicanism was made
• there were lots of crucifixes (seems kind of un-Anglican)
  Is there a large Anglican presence in Iraq?

Any insight anyone?

I don’t know about Anglicans in Iraq but that is where the Church of the East is from. The Chaldean Catholic Church corresponds to them.

 

[Irish_Melkite]

The British had a military and political presence in Iraq immediately after WWI but they had been in the geographical region long before that time and, in the days of the Empire, where the British were, the Anglicans were.

In the 19th century particularly, there was a strong Anglican interest in Eastern and Oriental Christianity - interestingly, although I’m sure that they didn’t turn away anyone seeking to convert, evangelization does not appear to have been the prime mover in their presence and activities in the Near East and Indian subcontinent. This was, notably, the same era in which “travelogues” masquerading as serious cultural studies were all the rage in Britain - and people hastened to purchase each new work detailing the strange customs of the heathen and otherwise foreign inhabitants of far-flung lands. Whether this quest to better know the unknown likewise spurred the mission clergy, we’ll never know.

However, although it resulted in a few successful ecclesio-cultural incursions into the faithful of the local churches (such as the Anglican influence and presence among some of India’s Saint Thomas Christians), it had the unforeseen benefit of affording much documentation of some indigenous ecclesia - the Assyrian Church being prominent among those. A number of Anglican clergy who were serious students of Eastern Christianity penned works that have provided historians and students of the East with in-depth knowledge and understanding of Assyro-Chaldean religious praxis, spirituality, vesture, ecclesial organization, etc.

Crucifixes are common among Anglo-Catholics and High Church Anglicans, and not at all uncommon among many othedr bodies within the Anglican Communion.

As to who are the Christians in Iraq - the Chaldean Catholics are, I believe, the largest single body. All of the following among the Apostolic Churches have some presence there - the bolded ones are the most prevalent:

• Chaldean Catholic Church
• Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the East (Assyrian Church)
• Ancient Church of the East
• Syriac Orthodox Church
• Syriac Catholic Church
• Armenian Apostolic Church
• Armenian Catholic Church
• Melkite Greek-Catholic Church
• Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church
• Maronite Catholic Church
• Latin Catholic Church

There are also Anglicans and smaller numbers of other Protestant Christians.

Many years,

Neil

 

[blessedtoo]

Did anyone else catch this? I’m pretty confused by it.

• the segment acknowledged the 2000 year history of the Iraqi Christians, but did not call them Chaldeans or Catholics
• the featured priest on the show was sent there by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but no mention of Anglicanism was made
• there were lots of crucifixes (seems kind of un-Anglican)
  Is there a large Anglican presence in Iraq?

Any insight anyone?

Confused? How about angered? I was so steamed by this report that I wrote a letter.

It’s understood that the Chaldeans are the largest Christian group in Iraq. But you don’t think for a moment that 60 minutes would have interviewed a CATHOLIC priest, do you? After all, he may not have been as compliant as the Anglican Reverand in blaming the crisis on the American military presence. He may not have been as willing to make statements like “Christianity has been wrong as much as Islam has,” like the good Reverand. And of course the media resolutely avoids covering any stories about Catholics that don’t involve clergy sex abuse. If it’s a story that puts the Catholic faith or it’s priests in a positive light, they would just as soon turn to some other Christian denomination.

I found it to be a shameful distortion of the truth completely driven by an ideolgy at odds with the Christian faith.

 

[mark_a]

Confused? How about angered? I was so steamed by this report that I wrote a letter.

It’s understood that the Chaldeans are the largest Christian group in Iraq. But you don’t think for a moment that 60 minutes would have interviewed a CATHOLIC priest, do you? After all, he may not have been as compliant as the Anglican Reverand in blaming the crisis on the American military presence. He may not have been as willing to make statements like “Christianity has been wrong as much as Islam has,” like the good Reverand. And of course the media resolutely avoids covering any stories about Catholics that don’t involve clergy sex abuse. If it’s a story that puts the Catholic faith or it’s priests in a positive light, they would just as soon turn to some other Christian denomination.

I found it to be a shameful distortion of the truth completely driven by an ideolgy at odds with the Christian faith.

I guess I’m not as confused as I trhought I was.

 

[Alexius]

Are there really more Chaldean Catholics than Assyrian Eastern Christians in Iraq?

 

[Irish_Melkite]

Are there really more Chaldean Catholics than Assyrian Eastern Christians in Iraq?

There are approximately 400,000 Assyrians worldwide and an unknown (much smaller) number belonging to the Ancient Church of the East; additionally, there are approximately 425,000 Chaldean Catholics worldwide.

About half the Chaldeans live in Iraq, as do the majority of those adhering to the Ancient Church. The majority of Assyrians live outside Iraq,

Many years,

Neil

 

[Alexius]

There are approximately 400,000 Assyrians worldwide and an unknown (much smaller) number belonging to the Ancient Church of the East; additionally, there are approximately 425,000 Chaldean Catholics worldwide.

About half the Chaldeans live in Iraq, as do the majority of those adhering to the Ancient Church. The majority of Assyrians live outside Iraq,

Many years,

Neil

So, it is unknown the actual amount living within Iraq? I thought I heard around 500,000 at one point,? I guess there are also some Armenians among them aswell, no (At the northern border)…?

 

[Irish_Melkite]

So, it is unknown the actual amount living within Iraq? I thought I heard around 500,000 at one point,? I guess there are also some Armenians among them aswell, no (At the northern border)…?

My figure for the Chaldeans is based on 2007 data in Annuario Pontificio - the Vatican’s annual statistical report by diocese. Is it reliable? Who knows, but it has been declining in recent years and that’s consistent with Christian migration from the Near, Mid, and Far East in times of war. The 500K might represent all Christians in Iraq - my guess.

As I mentioned a few posts back, the Catholic and Orthodox Syriacs, Armenians, Melkite Greek-Catholic and Antiochian Greek Orthodox, and Maronite Catholics all have a presence in the country, but the numbers are not high.

Many years,

Neil