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PRINCE OF WALES CONDEMNS 'GROTESQUE AND BARBAROUS ASSAULT' ON MIDDLE EAST CHRISTIANS
Christian Today
Nov 19 2014
by Ruth Gledhill
The Prince of Wales has condemned the persecution of Christians
in the Middle East as "the most soul-destroying tragedy" and as a
"grotesque and barbarous assault".
Speaking today at London's Armenian cathedral, he said the persecution
in the Middle East in countries where Armenian Christians have long
lived peacefully with their neighbours was "literally heartbreaking".
Prince Charles spoke out in particular against the "mindless brutal
destruction" by Jabhat al-Nusra Islamists of the Armenian church
in Deir el-Zour in Syria, which was dedicated to the one and a half
million Armenians murdered by the Turks in 1915. The loss included
archives from as early as 1841 and during the attack, the remains of
hundreds of genocide victims were taken from the crypt and desecrated
by being scattered on the ground outside the church.
In a further atrocity, a 1,800-year-old church in Mosul, Iraq's second
largest city, was destroyed by Islamic State earlier this year. The
church was believed to house the tomb of the biblical prophet Jonah.
The city's Christians had already fled the city after being ordered
either to convert to Islam, pay a tax, leave or be murdered.
The Prince of Wales said: "As I have said before along with so many
others I have been deeply distressed by the appalling, nightmare faced
by Christians, and other minority communities in various parts of the
Middle East. Every week I receive, see letters from people who are
gravely concerned about the persecuted church in the Middle East. Our
prayers for those who have to endure this continuing horror, seem so
hopelessly inadequate under such dreadful circumstances, but please,
please just know how truly heartfelt they are."
The Prince of Wales has worked ceaselessly to encourage inter-faith
dialogue and a greater understanding between faiths.
His visit to St Yeghiche Armenian Church in Kensington followed his
address in December last year when he spoke passionately about the
challenges facing Christians in some Middle-Eastern nations. At that
point, he visited the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in Stevenage and
the Syrian Orthodox Church in Acton.
Archbishop of Iraq Avak Asadourian said that until relatively recently
Iraq had been a good and innocent place to live. The coup of 1958
followed by four wars since 1980 had destroyed the fabric of Iraqi
society.
"The last of these was the ill-advised war of 2003. For 11 years now we
have had a destroyed infra-structure," said the Archbishop, describing
high-level corruption, a school system that has broken down and ongoing
violence between rival sects as the conditions Iraqis live under now.
While in 1980 there were about 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, there
are now about 400,000 and numbers continue to dwindle.
"If political measures are not adopted very soon, then Christianity
in its eastern manifestation will cease to exist in its own birthplace.
If this comes to pass, how sad it will be for all of us."
Armenians in Syria, where they have been settled since 1915, have also
become a target during the fighting there with schools and churches
vulnerable to arson attacks. Many Armenians have fled from Syria back
to Armenia. The Diocese of the Armenian Church of the UK and Ireland
has raised £15,000 to help the Armenians of Syria during the past year.
The Prince of Wales visited Armenia in May 2013. The cathedral is
one of two Armenian churches in London, St Yeghiche and St Sarkis,
also in Kensington. St Yeghiche, formerly known as St Peter's, is
a former Anglican Church which was closed in around 1973 and taken
over by the Armenians in 1998. It has been restored and refurbished
and is now an extraordinarily beautiful Victorian neo-gothic gem with
a seating capacity of 1,000.
The first Armenian Church built in the UK is the Holy Trinity Church
in Manchester which was built and consecrated in 1860.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/prince.of.wales.condemns.grotesque.and.barbarous.a ssault.on.middle.east.christians/43273.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Christian Today
Nov 19 2014
by Ruth Gledhill
The Prince of Wales has condemned the persecution of Christians
in the Middle East as "the most soul-destroying tragedy" and as a
"grotesque and barbarous assault".
Speaking today at London's Armenian cathedral, he said the persecution
in the Middle East in countries where Armenian Christians have long
lived peacefully with their neighbours was "literally heartbreaking".
Prince Charles spoke out in particular against the "mindless brutal
destruction" by Jabhat al-Nusra Islamists of the Armenian church
in Deir el-Zour in Syria, which was dedicated to the one and a half
million Armenians murdered by the Turks in 1915. The loss included
archives from as early as 1841 and during the attack, the remains of
hundreds of genocide victims were taken from the crypt and desecrated
by being scattered on the ground outside the church.
In a further atrocity, a 1,800-year-old church in Mosul, Iraq's second
largest city, was destroyed by Islamic State earlier this year. The
church was believed to house the tomb of the biblical prophet Jonah.
The city's Christians had already fled the city after being ordered
either to convert to Islam, pay a tax, leave or be murdered.
The Prince of Wales said: "As I have said before along with so many
others I have been deeply distressed by the appalling, nightmare faced
by Christians, and other minority communities in various parts of the
Middle East. Every week I receive, see letters from people who are
gravely concerned about the persecuted church in the Middle East. Our
prayers for those who have to endure this continuing horror, seem so
hopelessly inadequate under such dreadful circumstances, but please,
please just know how truly heartfelt they are."
The Prince of Wales has worked ceaselessly to encourage inter-faith
dialogue and a greater understanding between faiths.
His visit to St Yeghiche Armenian Church in Kensington followed his
address in December last year when he spoke passionately about the
challenges facing Christians in some Middle-Eastern nations. At that
point, he visited the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in Stevenage and
the Syrian Orthodox Church in Acton.
Archbishop of Iraq Avak Asadourian said that until relatively recently
Iraq had been a good and innocent place to live. The coup of 1958
followed by four wars since 1980 had destroyed the fabric of Iraqi
society.
"The last of these was the ill-advised war of 2003. For 11 years now we
have had a destroyed infra-structure," said the Archbishop, describing
high-level corruption, a school system that has broken down and ongoing
violence between rival sects as the conditions Iraqis live under now.
While in 1980 there were about 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, there
are now about 400,000 and numbers continue to dwindle.
"If political measures are not adopted very soon, then Christianity
in its eastern manifestation will cease to exist in its own birthplace.
If this comes to pass, how sad it will be for all of us."
Armenians in Syria, where they have been settled since 1915, have also
become a target during the fighting there with schools and churches
vulnerable to arson attacks. Many Armenians have fled from Syria back
to Armenia. The Diocese of the Armenian Church of the UK and Ireland
has raised £15,000 to help the Armenians of Syria during the past year.
The Prince of Wales visited Armenia in May 2013. The cathedral is
one of two Armenian churches in London, St Yeghiche and St Sarkis,
also in Kensington. St Yeghiche, formerly known as St Peter's, is
a former Anglican Church which was closed in around 1973 and taken
over by the Armenians in 1998. It has been restored and refurbished
and is now an extraordinarily beautiful Victorian neo-gothic gem with
a seating capacity of 1,000.
The first Armenian Church built in the UK is the Holy Trinity Church
in Manchester which was built and consecrated in 1860.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/prince.of.wales.condemns.grotesque.and.barbarous.a ssault.on.middle.east.christians/43273.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress