Anglican Vicar: End of Christianity in Iraq Is 'Very Near'

by Mary Chastain
26 Jul 2014

Andrew White, the vicar of the only Anglican church in Iraq, told BBC Radio 4 that Christianity is coming to an end in the Middle Eastern country. The Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, is forcing Christians out of towns and into isolation.

“Things are so desperate, our people are disappearing,” he said. “We have had people massacred, their heads chopped off. The Christians are in grave danger. There are literally Christians living in the desert and on the street. They have nowhere to go.”

"Are we seeing the end of Christianity?” he continued. “We are committed come what may, we will keep going to the end, but it looks as though the end could be very near."

ISIS told Christians in Mosul, home to one of the largest Christian communities in the world, to convert to Islam, pay a protection tax, or die. The majority chose to leave, and for the first time in over 2,000 years, there are no Christians in Mosul. ISIS even marked Christian homes with an "N" for Nazarene.

"There is not a single Christian family left in Mosul," said Bashar Nasih Behnam, who left with his two children. "The last one was a disabled Christian woman. She stayed because she could not get out. They came to her and said you have to get out and if you don't we will cut off your head with a sword. That was the last family."... the rest image

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