Christianity
Christianity was brought to Iraq in the first century by the Apostle Thomas, Addai (Thaddaeus) and his pupils Aggagi and Mari. Thomas and Thaddeus belonged to the twelve Apostles. Iraq's Syriac Christian minority represents roughly 3% of the population, mostly living in Northern Iraq, concentrated in the Ninewa and Dahuk governorates. There are no official statistics, and estimates vary greatly. In 1950 Christians numbered 10% of the population of 5.5 million. Since the 2003 Iraq war, Iraqi Christians have been dislocated to Syria in significant but unknown numbers. Iraqi Christians are divided into three church bodies:
- "Chaldeans" (Chaldean Catholic Church)
- "Assyrians" or "Nestorian" group (Assyrian Church of the East and Ancient Church of the East)
- "West Syriac" or "Jacobite" group (Syriac Orthodox Church and Syriac Catholic Church)
Read more about this topic: Religion In Iraq
Famous quotes containing the word christianity:
“With two thousand years of Christianity behind him ... a man can’t see a regiment of soldiers march past without going off the deep end. It starts off far too many ideas in his head.”
—Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894–1961)