This past Sunday, for the first time in 2,000 years, no Christians received Holy Communion in Nineveh. The Islamic militants have eradicated the Christian population in the northern Iraqi city. The few Christians that remain are either too old or sick to escape.
Canon Andrew White, Anglican vicar of Baghdad, told The Telegraph that churches have been turned into offices for the Islamic militants, crosses removed. No Christians, he says, want to be there.
Last week there was no communion in Nineveh for the first time in 2,000 years,” he said. “All [the churches] are closed, all their people have run away. It is so sad. Many Christians here are very frightened about what has happened to their community up in the north. Some have relatives who have lost everything: their homes, furniture, cars. They have nothing left at all.”
Almost a quarter of a million Christians fled Nineveh, and Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, has also been taken over by ISIS. Christians who remain must pay an infidel’s tax, convert or face martyrdom. Canon White had begged his congregants to remain, promising he would stay with them, but he admits it became clear that they could not safely stay in their homes. White does not want American or British troops on the ground in Iraq, however, as he says he fears more loss of life. He admits military force may be inevitable.
Read “Iraqi Vicar: No Communion in Nineveh This Week for First Time in 2,000 Years” at Breitbart News.
