By Crux
Elise Harris
Faced with the ever-present fear that Christianity could disappear
from the Middle East, leaders from both Catholic and Orthodox churches
in Iraq have said their unity is key to ensuring their churches are
there to stay.
In comments to Crux, Mar Gewargis III, Catholicos-Patriarch
of the Assyrian Church of the East in Iraq, said every church leader in
the region urges their faithful “to always remember that in the present
situation in which all the churches find themselves, and that Christians
in general find themselves, that they ought to be close to the Church
and close to their pastors.”
“There is an understanding between all the heads of the churches
there,” he said, adding that each church and each head of a church
“teaches their faithful to be united in spirit, so it’s a unity in
spirit, a unity in collaboration between all of the churches.”
Gewargis, 76, was elected head of the Assyrian Church, which belongs
to an eastern branch of Syriac Christianity, in 2015. He is currently
visiting the Vatican for a two-day meeting with the joint-commission for
relations between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the
East, which concluded Thursday.
Though he did not offer specifics of what was discussed, Gewargis
said the commission continues to meet annually “in obedience to Christ,
that we all might be one, as it says in John 17.”
The Vatican issued a landmark ruling in 2001 approving
inter-communion between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of
the East in certain circumstances, a decision described by one expert as
“the most remarkable Catholic magisterial document since Vatican II,”
in part because it represented official Catholic approval for a
time-honored Eucharistic consecration rite that doesn’t involve the
‘institution narrative’ of the synoptic Gospels, which Catholic
tradition always has regarded as essential.
Closing his time in Rome, Gewargis is scheduled to meet Pope Francis
Friday morning. During the meeting, he said he wants to give the pope an
update on the situation of Christians in his home region, “continuing
the conversation of how the Holy See and the international community can
continue to be aware and continue to help the plight of Christians in
the Middle East.”
Unity among the different Christian rites in Iraq has been a major
priority in recent years, as the number of Christians continues to
diminish due in large part to migration, either because of the poor
economy and lack of government stability, or because of persecution from
extremist groups such as ISIS.
In general, the number of Christians has dwindled throughout the
Middle East, not just Iraq, making up just four percent of the region’s
overall population, which is down about 20 percent from before the First
World War, according to a statement made over the summer by Cardinal
Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity.
Pope Francis has often spoken when referring to Christian persecution
in the Middle East about the “ecumenism of blood,” a phrase indicating
that when extremists target Christians, it doesn’t matter what rite they
belong to.
However, dialogue among the various churches in the area has not
always been an easy task, as those from the region are typically divided
on ethnic and religious lines, with a deep sense of identity rooted in
cultural or religious traditions.
According to Shlemon Warduni, auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, this task
has become more difficult after the 2014 ISIS invasion. The reason, he
said, is “egoism,” because the mentality now “is each one for himself.”
In comments to Crux, Warduni said many of the rites are
controlled by “personal interests,” and that dialogue generally is “not
like before. Before, it was better.”
Speaking generally, he said “we are not so spiritually deep as
Christians,” which also has an influence over how they interact.
However, if Christianity is to survive in the Middle East, “Christians
must work together, not one against another.”
“If they don’t have this, this comes from me, that comes from you,
and they go one against the other,” he said, adding that prayer and
concrete help for families are also desperately needed to keep people
from migrating.
With few jobs and many families already split by migration, the
thought of leaving becomes increasingly more attractive, especially when
threats such as ISIS arise, Warduni said.
Though ISIS has been defeated and Christians are trickling back to
their villages, many are still without homes, “they don’t have anything
to do, and they don’t have anything to eat, this is it. So, it’s
something very serious. It’s very dangerous, because the Middle East
will be without Christians,” he said.
For Christians to achieve unity, Warduni said it will first of all
take humility, and a willingness “to choose Christ,” rather than
themselves or their own interests.
“What does Christ say? That all are one, and then to love others as I
have loved you. He has loved us to the cross, but we want the armchair,
that one for you, this one for me. This is not good.”
“Right now, we really need people to pray for us a lot,” he said,
because “if we choose God, we can do anything. If not, it will be
difficult.”
If Christ is chosen above one’s own ego, then “everything happens,
because Christ is for everyone,” he said, adding that in the spiritual
life, “personal interests must be closed, not open to four doors.”
Warduni, who was present alongside Gewargis at the launch of a Nov.
8-9 conference in Rome marking the 700th anniversary of the death of
Eastern theologian Abdisho bar Brikha, read aloud a statement from
Chaldean Patriarch Luis Raphael Sako, who was originally scheduled to
attend the gathering but was unable due to other commitments.
In his message, Sako also stressed the importance of unity, saying
Christians in the Middle East “must have a unified strategy and vision
to defend our presence.”
“To continue our indispensable role, we must be stronger than
division and eliminate psychological and historic barriers in order to
unite the Church in the east,” he said, adding that in the face of
current challenges such as extremism and migration, “our unity will help
us to reach a better future.”
