A Chaldean archbishop told OSV News June 23 that he has been unable to contact his fellow bishop in Iran, following recent strikes by the U.S. and Israel on various sites in that nation. Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar M. Warda of Irbil, Iraq, said he has been attempting to call fellow Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Imad Khoshabeh of Tehran over the past few days, but without success.
A suicide bombing by Islamic State (IS) targeting a church in Damascus has killed 20 people and wounded 52, Syrian authorities have said. The attack on Sunday night was the first major IS operation and the first suicide bombing in Syria since former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December and replaced by an Islamist-led government.
On June 13th and 14th, an international conference titled '1915-2025: 110 Years Since the Assyrian Genocide' was held in Athens. Many genocide scholars and historians spoke regarding the causes and consequences of the genocide, as well as how its denial by Turkey still affects Turkish politics, amongst other topics.
"It's amazing to see people living the Christian faith -- and especially when they don't have to." That's what Chaldean Paul Thabet Habib Yousif Al Mekko of Alqosh in Iraq told me during an interview two years ago. A soft-spoken man, he knew why he and his people were following Christ. They were given an ultimatum by ISIS: Convert or die.
In light of the upcoming country visit to Iraq by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and Assyrian Universal Alliance have submitted a report on the current human rights situation facing the Assyrians in Northern Iraq, urging the Special Rapporteur to consider visiting the region.
The historic Mor Kiryakus Monastery, built 1,600 years ago by Syriac Christians in southeastern Türkiye's Batman province, has reopened to visitors following an extensive restoration effort. Located on the slopes of Mount Kıra near the village of Ayrancı in Beşiri district, the two-story monastery spans 2,500 square meters and dates back to the 5th century. Related: The Case of the St.