All Things Assyrian
Killing Christians Because of Their Faith
By Fr. Michael Shields
Bookmark and Share

Every year 105,000 Christians are killed because of their faith.

This was a figure that the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe, a European Union commission reported in June. It also reported that every five minutes a Christian is killed for his or her faith.

We are in a time of martyrdom and persecution of Christians. In the Middle East, this persecution is acutely felt. There is a danger, as one cardinal of the church recently noted, that ancient Christian communities in the Middle East may simply die out due to Christians fleeing persecution.

Europe should prepare for a new wave of emigration from Christians fleeing persecution. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfayev, of the Russian Orthodox Church, noted that "at least one million" of the Christians enduring persecution in the world are children.

In my sabbatical year, I chose to come to Detroit and visit one of the martyred churches of our time, the Chaldean Catholic Church routed in Iraq. They tell the stories of friends and family martyred, of priests and bishops shot, of churches bombed and families emigrating to save their lives. The largest Chaldean community outside of Iraq is in Detroit with more than 200,000 members. I spent three weeks praying with them and learning from them. I celebrated the Chaldean Mass which is celebrated in neo-Aramaic that is the language of Jesus. The Chaldean community has kept alive the language of Jesus. It is so impressive to me to hear the Mass in the very words that Jesus would have spoken.

In truth, most Christians do not desire martyrdom and yet it is a reality for more than 100,000 each year. I remember a homily once that asked this question: "If they were killing Christians for their faith, would your life have enough witness to convict you?"

After spending some time with these very courageous Chaldean Catholics, I pray for deeper faith. I, like most, probably won't face the red martyrdom, but will I be courageous enough to face white martyrdom? Will I be willing to speak and live the truth in a society that sees the moral teachings of the church as out of date and irrelevant? Am I willing to openly defend the church and advocate for the life issues even when they are unpopular and could bring me into conflict with friends and family? Every five minutes somewhere, a Christian says "yes" with his or her life. I pray I will have the courage to do the same right here.

The writer is pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia.



Type your comment and click
or register to post a comment.
* required field
User ID*
enter user ID or e-mail to recover login credentials
Password*