Newsfeed
Iraqi Christians eye new year with hope and trepidation
Author: Samuel David (edited by Filipe d’Avillez)
Publication Date: 21/1/2022
Source: Church In Need
The life of Christians on Iraq's Nineveh Plains remains precarious, even though much progress has been made in the wake of the ouster of ISIS from the region and the restoration and rebuilding of Christian homes as well as churches and Church properties. Four Christians from Qaraqosh, which is regaining its status as the most important Christian town in the country, share their hopes and dreams for the new year with Aid to the Church in Need.
Card Sako’s New Year message calls for overcoming divisions, tensions to reform Iraq
Publication Date: 3/1/2022
Source: Asia News
Card Louis Raphael Sako, primate of the Chaldean Church, released his New Year message to Iraqi Christians and Diaspora communities who still maintain strong ties with their homeland.
Iraqi Christians remain in limbo years after ISIS violence
Author: Kevin Zeller
Publication Date: 14/1/2022
Source: Mission Network News
Years after the defeat of ISIS in Iraq, many Iraqi Christians remain in limbo. ISIS forced them to leave their homes because of their faith.
Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says ISIS gave them the choice. ‘Become a Muslim, and you can be part of us. You can keep your house and you can stay here. They didn’t do that. They said, ‘No, I am a Christian.’”
From the Nineveh Plain: Iraqi Christians Focus on Light in the Darkness
Author: Father Benedict Kiely
Publication Date: 29/12/2021
Source: National Catholic Register
Seven years ago, when I first flew into Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, thousands of Christians were living in camps, abandoned buildings and Church properties. They had fled their ancient homeland on the Nineveh Plain, where Jonah the Prophet had preached; his tomb in Mosul, present day Nineveh, had been blown up by ISIS.
Christmas celebrations continue at Dubai Global Village
Author: Angel Tesorero
Publication Date: 7/1/2022
Source: Gulf News
The festive season continues at Global Village as visitors can enjoy spectacular celebrations marking Russian Orthodox Christmas until Saturday, January 8.
Organisers said guests can visit the Russian Pavilion to meet Russian Santa Claus, more commonly known as Ded Moroz or Father Frost, and his granddaughter Snegurochka, who also host a special festive show every day.
How Do Saudis Celebrate Christmas? Quietly, but Less So.
Author: Vivian Yee
Publication Date: 24/12/2021
Source: The New York Times
The lights had been strung, the guest list was set and the Santa hats were ready to go. For the first Christmas party they would openly throw in Saudi Arabia, Umniah Alzahery and Mike Bounacklie had even bought an ugly (but, of course, adorable) Christmas sweater for their Bernese mountain dog, Nova.
IRAQ: A Christmas celebration held for the Syriac schools in Kerkeslokh
Publication Date: 5/1/2022
Source: Syriac Press
For the Christmas and New Year holidays, the Syriac Studies Department of Kerkeslokh (Kirkuk) Governorate held a celebration at Anastas Karmali Elementary Mixed School in Kerkeslokh.
Mayor of Istanbul Imamoglu to Host Dinner for Christians
Author: Thomas Kissei
Publication Date: 21/12/2021
Source: Greek Reporter
Turkey’s Mayor Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, will host the first dinner in honor of Christians in the city’s history this coming Monday.
Notable Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders from Armenian, roman, and Assyrian communities have been asked to attend the event. The Turkish government has also invited the consuls of the United States and EU countries, along with 39 mayors of the Turkish Republican Party (CHB) Good Party (IYI) hailing from Georgia, Syria, and Bulgaria.
But perhaps the most notable guest is the current archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Chaldean Patriarch Sako receives a delegation from the Muqtada al Sadr Movement
Publication Date: 5/1/2022
Source: Agenzia Fides
Yesterday, Tuesday, January 4th, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, received a delegation from the movement of Muktada al-Sadr from Karkh, a district of the Iraqi capital west of the Tigris, at his residence in Baghdad. This was reported by official sources of the Chaldean Patriarchate and added that the representatives of the political party, led by the Shiite leader Muktada al-Sadr, conveyed their New Year's greetings to the Patriarch, stating that the conversation between the delegates and the Primate of the Chaldean Church would focus on the general situation in the country and the next stages of the political and legal development, which is being pushed forward at the behest of the political movement, in order to return to the rightful Christian owners real estate - houses and land - to the legitimate Christian owners - which in recent years had been illegally stolen from them by individuals and organized groups.
Turkey's Only Christian Magazine Turns 10 Years Old
Author: Michael Ray Smith
Publication Date: 1/12/2021
Source: Religion Unplugged
Publisher Gökhan Talas recalled the early days of his Miras magazine when he took a finished issue of Turkey’s only Christian periodical to an advertiser to collect payment. One pastor had not only bought an advertisement but also written a piece for the fledgling magazine.
“My associate and I visited him for the payment, but then we realized his article wasn’t in the magazine,” Talas said, a twinkle in his dark eyes. “The pastor said, ‘It’s okay; I can understand it happening, but can I see the advertisement?’”
