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Address by the Archbishop of the Chaldean Diocese

of Erbil, Iraq1

CHAIR: We now turn to a matter of both great seriousness and immense sig-
ni?cance. Archbishop Bashar Warda, the Chaldean Archbishop, has been in-
vited to address Synod at the suggestion of Bishop Geo?rey Rowell and with
the support of the Ecumenical Bishops and Presidents. The Business Commit-
tee scheduled his speech as a follow-up to the panel session on the persecution
of minorities in Iraq and Syria which took place at the November group of ses-
sions. It is a huge privilege to hear someone who speaks from the centre of the
su?ering Church, from a place that we have been praying for so much. We are
deeply grateful to the Archbishop for being here today, making the di?cult
journey from Erbil to be with us. I am sure that the Synod will be very accept-
ing if the speech is slightly longer than scheduled given its immense impor-
tance and signi?cance to us. I invite you to welcome with great warmth his
Grace, the Archbishop.

ARCHBISHOP OF ERBIL: Your Graces, members of the Synod, thank you very
much for inviting me to the General Synod of the Church of England.

I am grateful for this opportunity to share with you our pain and hope in
Iraq and in the Middle East.

I must say that this talk is perhaps the most di?cult one I have had to
give. Many times I have spoken in front of audiences such as this, ?lled with
kind and caring souls, but it has always been to give warnings of what might
happen, and to invite investment and raise awareness about opportunities. This
time it is di?erent.

Christianity in Iraq is going through one of its worst and hardest stages
of its long history that dates back to the ?rst century. Throughout all of these
long centuries, we have experienced many hardships and persecutions during
which we have o?ered caravans of martyrs. The Christian community has en-
riched Mesopotamia throughout its historical stages with religion, culture and
civilisation as well as a culture of co-existence despite the painful blows that
they have been experiencing throughout the long centuries.

The recent decades have forced our faithful into displacement and im-
migration three times, leaving behind each time a history and a culture that
many sought to suppress and wipe out.

1 The Address by the Archbishop to the General Synod was delivered February 2015.

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