Title in large bold print:

LEARNING ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN IRAQ

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body,
though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
(I Corinthians 12:12-13)

How many Christians are in Iraq?
Christians represent between 3-4% of the population, representing between 600,000-1million people.

Where are they located?
Their communities are found throughout the country.

When did Christianity come to Iraq?
Tradition says the Apostle Thomas came, converted the Assyrian king, and in the first century the Assyrians became among the first Christians.

Are there Presbyterians in Iraq?
Yes, there are five congregations. The National Presbyterian Church of Iraq was registered in 2000 AD. The congregations are in Basrah, Baghdad (2), Kirkuk, and Mosul.

Is there religious freedom in Iraq?
Iraq is a secular state governed by a secular party, and grants more religious freedom than most other countries in the Middle East. The vice-president of the country is a Christian — Mr. Tariq Aziz.

Are we communicating with them?
Yes, we have been making regular visits to Iraq since 1997 to encourage and stand by the Church. Emigration out of the Middle East has been a serious issue for Christian communities. Visits are of particular importance in this region. The most recent visit was late December 2002 and was a group of 12 religious leaders including Dr. Victor Makari, PC(USA) Coordinator for the region.

To download photos, follow these steps:

• Click on thumbnail image to view full-size photo.
  
• Point the mouse arrow on the picture.
  
• For PC users, right-click on the picture so that a menu appears. For Mac users, press and hold down the mouse button to see the menu.
  
• Choose "Save picture as" if you're using Internet Explorer, or choose "Save image as" if you're using Netscape Navigator.
  
• Select the name that's in the "File name" box, and type in the name you would like to give the picture.
  
• Click the down arrow to the right of the "Save as type" box.
  
• Pick a format to save the picture as.
  
• Click twice on the folder you want to save it in.
  
• Click the button to the right of the "File name" box. Depending on your browser, it's either called Save or Open.

PC(USA) photographer David P. Young was one of six Presbyterians who traveled to Iraq in November, 2000, to visit each of the five Presbyterian churches there.

For eight days the delegation traveled from north to south, visiting in Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, and Basra. Young found that everywhere they went people were willing to be photographed.