Read the cutlines to understand the diversity of the Iraqi Christian community. I now understand the meaning of the word "Priceless." These pictures are definitely priceless.
Source: Mideast Image
Photograph of the Celebration of the Christian Catholic feast of Corpus Christi in Baghdad in the 1920's. The Patriarch, Bishops, and Priests of the Chaldeans (the most numerous of Iraq's Catholics), the Syrian (Syriac) Catholic and Armenian Catholic Bishops are seen with their priests, deacons and students marching through the streets of Baghdad close to the old Christian Quarter of Aqd al-Nasara.
Source: Mideast Image
Post-card of celebration at the Syriac Orthodox Monastery in the Iraqi northern city of Mosul. The Syriac Christians ,known locally as Syriaan , belong to the Monophysite branch of Christianity,as do the Armenians and the Copts of Egypt ant Ethiopia.Their liturgy is Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, and their Patriarch resides now in Damascus. The seat of the Patriarch was at the Yellow, or Safron Monastery , known as Qasr al Za'faran,located few miles east of the ancient city of Madin,now in south-east Turkey and few miles north of the Syrian border.After centuries the Patriarch was forced to leave in the 1920's.Some Syriacs have acknowledged the Pope in Rome and became known as the Uniate [in union with Rome ]or Syrian Catholics.
Source: Mideast Image
Photograph, ca. 1905 of young students attending a school run by a Protestant mission, in the northern city of Mosul, in Iraq,during the Ottoman period. "There are few parts of the world so baffling to the ethnographic map-makers as the district which was once known as the Vilayet of Mosul.Not only do there dwell within its limits multitudinous sects,as little known, in many cases, as they are ancient; it is rare to find, as one ranges the great Mosul plain,two consecutive villages peopled by the same race ,speaking the same tongue,worshiping the same god ". Mosul and its minorities,Harry C. Luke,1924.
Source: Mideast Image
Some Armenian women and children who had escaped from the general massacre of their compatriots, took refuge in the British lines. The official efforts were admirably backed up by the local Armenian community, headed by Mr. M.H. Kouymdjian of Baghdad, and Mr. Dervichyan, O.B.E. ,Honorary Belgian Consul at Basra ". SIR ARNOLD WILSON, MESOPOTAMIA, A CLASH OF LOYALTIES 1917.
Source: Mideast Image
Baghdad's Jesuits House of Wisdom in the 1950.
Source: Mideast Image
Photograph by Bezaz Photo of the Latin Church in Baghdad. " The Catholic Church, the Latin Rite,better known as the Latin Chapel, was built in 1866 to replace a smaller one which has existed from 1721. It is a massive building with a large dome which can be seen from the roofs in any quarter of the city. The bell of the church rings daily at noon and at sunset. Permission to do this was granted about fifty years ago, previous to which time Christians were not allowed to employ bells." BAGHDAD THE CITY OF THE CALIPHS, Y.M.C.A 1918
3 comments:
Hi Fay,
I'm glad for Allan Enwiya's family.
They'll have a far better chance in life in the U.S. than Iraq or Jordan. No religious persecution, the best medical care in the world, the best colleges and higher education system - an opportunity to achieve one's goals in a peaceful environment.
And congratulations to everyone who donated - I read over the list and was happy to see all the contributors who helped. They made a difference.
There's been quite a few articles about Christians in Iraq and the Middle East, but I thought you could use a break from the news.
Any ways the pictures are nice, of a simpler happier time.
It's so easy to get stuck in the 'American' Christian bubble and forget the rest of the Church's amazing history. Thanks for the walk through!
shukran ya fairuz!
Have posted a link over at Islam and Christianity.
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