Out of "Ur of the Chaldees" he came, at the command of God, and with his family and flocks he wandered into the Land of Canaan. We call him Abraham, father of nations, for it is he who begot two of the nations of the Middle East, namely the Israelites, later called Jews, and the Ishmaelites, also called Arabs.
In the first century AD St. Thomas the Apostle brought the Gospel of Christ to Mesopotamia. He was assisted by St. Addai who preached from 37 to 65 AD. After the latter's martyrdom, his work was carried on by his disciples, St. Aggai (65 - 87 AD) and St. Mari (88-121 AD). The Church of the East, also called the East Syriac Church, because it lay east of the Roman Empire, grew rapidly in the following centuries, spreading the faith to Persia, China and India. The competition between the Byzantine Empire and Persia caused the Church of the East to sever its ties to the Patriarchate of Antioch in 424 AD. At that time the Nestorian heresy (1) was raging throughout the Middle East. The Church of the East eventually succumbed to this heresy in large part due to its aversion to the influence of the Church of Constantinople. In rejecting the orthodox resolutions of the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Church of the East separated itself from the Universal Church and was thereafter known as the Nestorian Church.
In 634 Arabs bearing the religion of Muhammad appeared in Mesopotamia and brought the entire region under the heel of Islam where it remains today. In the early centuries of Islamic rule, the Church of the East continued to prosper. Thereafter, under growing Islamic persecution and repression the Church declined. In the 16th century portions of the Church of the East sought relief by establishing relations with the Church of Rome. Thereafter, those Christians in union with Rome were known as Chaldeans whereas the remaining Christians were called Assyrians.
The Christian minorities in Iraq today are among the oldest in Christendom. They make up about 6% of the population numbering fewer than one million out of a population of 17 million.
CHALDEAN CHURCH AL TAHERA IN MOSUL
Photo taken early 2004
This church was blown up by Muslims, early in December.
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