Christianity in Iraq
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Christians of Iraq are considered a minority population, and number about 636,000 in 2005, representing 2% of the population of the country. They numbered over 1 million in 1980. It is one of the oldest Christian communities of the Middle East.
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[edit] Christian Communities
- Chaldean Catholic Church - The majority of the Iraqi Christians belongs to the Chaldean Catholic Church and represents 350,000 persons.
- Assyrian Church of the East
- Ancient Church of the East
- Syriac Orthodox Church
- Syriac Catholic Church
[edit] The Churches of the Armenian rite
[edit] The other churches and communities
- Orthodox Church (Melkite)
- Catholic Church (Melkite)
- Roman Catholic Church (Latin)
[edit] Current situation
On January 26, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed the election of Armenian Mgr Emmanuel Dabbaghian as archbishop of Baghdad. Dabbaghian was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1933, and was ordained a priest in 1967.
In Iraq, the Christians are persecuted. In October of 2006, a Syriac priest was beheaded and a boy of 14 years was crucified by Muslim fundamentalists.[1]
[edit] Relations with non-Christians
An article from the Italian periodical chiesa, dated June 2, 2007 explains the situation of the Christians, particularly of Christian-majority quarter of Dora quarter 10 kilometres to the South-West from the capital.
