Ancient church awaits restoration in Iraq desert

AFP ^ | December 26, 2007 | Jacques Charmelot

[NYer]

A general view shows the ruins of a church at the Iraqi Al-Aqiser archaeological site, 70 kms southwest of the shrine city of Karbala, central Iraq, 11 December 2007. The church of Al-Aqiser is thought to be the oldest eastern church in history and according to studies, it was built in the middle of the fifth century, 120 years before Islam. (AFP/File/Mohammed Sawaf)

[NYer]

A general view shows the ruins of a church at the Iraqi Al-Aqiser archaeological site, 70 kms southwest of the shrine city of Karbala, central Iraq, 11 December 2007. The church of Al-Aqiser is thought to be the oldest eastern church in history and according to studies, it was built in the middle of the fifth century, 120 years before Islam.

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[NYer]

Ping!

[ConorMacNessa]

How long until the Muslims claim it as an Islamic site?

[NYer]

Some additional photos.

[Greg F]

Calling an Iraqi Francis of Assisi . . .

Well, maybe I’m not but you get my point.

[Allegra]

"I am sure there is a city underneath the sand," said Yasser, a Shiite Muslim.

I hope they are able to excavate that. There is so much ancient history in Iraq. And Iraqis tell me that Christians were there first. There doesn't seem to be any animosity to Christians among the regular Iraqi people - just the fanatics and terrorists (which tend to be one and the same.)

[NYer]

And Iraqis tell me that Christians were there first.

Yes - these would be the Chaldean Catholic Christians. The name Chaldean comes from one of the ancient groups that lived in Mesopotamia, an area now known as Iraq.

Chaldeans are not Arab. They have been Christians since the first century. Chaldeans traditionally spoke Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. Aramaic is still chanted in parts of their Divine Liturgy, as in that of the Maronite and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches.

[Allegra]

Yes, I know the history and I know about the Chaldeans. There is a Chaldean church very close to where I live in Baghdad.

I didn't make my point well - what I was trying to express is that the Iraqis acknowledge that Christianity was there first. And they respect that.

I say this to get points across to the "all Muslims are evil terrorists" crowd.

[Mad Dawg]

Now, that’s what you call a “fixer-upper”.

[CondorFlight]

“Chaldeans are not Arab. They have been Christians since the first century. Chaldeans traditionally spoke Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.”

There were also many Jewish-Christian congregations (also Aramaic-speaking) which existed in the region, up until the Islamic invasions.

And, at one time, the Kurds are thought to have been Christian (prior to a forced conversion to Islam).

[cizinec]

“And Iraqis tell me that Christians were there first.”

“Yes - these would be the Chaldean Catholic Christians.”

I think the Assyrian and Syriac churches would rightly take you to task on this assertion.

Chaldean Catholics did not exist until the 15th Century. There were and are Nestorian and Non-Chalcedonian churches in the region. They did not generally have particularly strong ties to Rome. Most in the 5th Century had strained relations with the capital of the Roman Empire, Constantinople.

Chaldean Catholics are members of a sui juris church in communion with Rome. This sui juris church was not formed until much later, officially in, I believe, 1830. Hence, the Chaldean Catholics were *not* the earliest Christians in the region, nor were they likely to have built the church in question. Considering the date, I would assume it was built by a group more sympathetic with the Nestorians.

[naturalized]

Chaldeans traditionally spoke Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.

Some think He spoke Hebrew.

[NYer]

Hebrew, at that time, was the universal liturgical language, much like Latin is the liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church. The vernacular language of the peoples in that culture was Aramaic which was spoken by Jesus, His Mother and His Apostles. The words of Institution spoken at the Last Supper were in Aramaic which is retained by the Chaldean, Maronite and Syro-Malankara Churches to this day.

Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:

"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).

Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.

To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES

The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

[Publius6961]

In time, Karbala overshadowed it and became a key Muslim Shiite pilgrimage destination, while across the region Christian communities began to recede.
Deserted by its worshippers, Al-Aqiser slowly sank into the sands and would have been totally forgotten had it not been for a team of Iraqi archeologists who stumbled on its ruins in the 1970s.

I love the way AFP handles this "inconvenient" part of the story.
The Christian communities didn't "recede"; they were killed off. That's always been the muslim way.

"Deserted by its worshipers"= dead people can no longer attend.

I just thought I'd clear that up.
No charge.

[Publius6961]

I didn't make my point well - what I was trying to express is that the Iraqis acknowledge that Christianity was there first. And they respect that.
I say this to get points across to the "all Muslims are evil terrorists" crowd.

I'm afraid you have gone native and are ignoring the obvious: the number of Iraqis who acknowledge that fact are so minuscule as to be irrelevant.
No, not all muslims are evil (actively or by acquiescence). Just 99.995% of them.

When this church gets rebuilt and I am proven wrong, let's talk. I will humbly admit the error of my ways.
(I am not holding my breath.)

[SunkenCiv]

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[Grimmy]

Christianity became perverted into a tool of empire by the Romans. Islam was specifically created as a tool of empire.

That’s one of the issues that gums up the moral equivalencers who can’t figure out how Christianity was able to reform but Islam isn’t.

[RichInOC]

Man. That’s cool.

[Allegra]

I'm afraid you have gone native and are ignoring the obvious: the number of Iraqis who acknowledge that fact are so minuscule as to be irrelevant.

What a rude, insulting, ignorant, uninformed and stupid thing to say.

I hope you're proud of yourself.

Personally, I'd be ashamed if I were you.

Thank God I'm not.