Middle Eastern Christians are experiencing one of the most significant periods in their history, according to religious and political leaders meeting in London last week.
Regime changes in Egypt and Iran, and sectarian violence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, have presented an opportunity for the Christian minority to speak out, or for international bodies to advocate on their behalf.
The Rev. Andrew White, pastor of an Anglican church in Baghdad, spoke of the "terrible suffering" of Iraq's Christian community. He said that in the last 10 years since Saddam Hussein was toppled, 1,026 members of his congregation had been killed—58 within one day.
White said that in the last decade, Iraq's Christian population had shrunk from 1.5 million to around 200,000.
As Egypt adapts to its second regime change in two years, Bishop Angaelos, leader of the Coptic Church in the U.K., said Egyptians are beginning to embrace their identity as Egyptians, rather than only as part of a group of distinct communities.
http://www.charismanews.com/world/40158-is-christianity-nearing-extinction-in-the-middle-east
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