Mor Gabriel News Today

Archeological workers restoring the historic Syriac Orthodox Mar Thomas Church in Iraq’s capital Mosul, which was heavily damaged by Islamic State fighters about four years ago, have discovered about a dozen ancient relics and parchments connected to several saints, according to reports.

Archeological workers restoring the historic Syriac Orthodox Mar Thomas Church in Iraq’s capital Mosul, which was heavily damaged by Islamic State fighters about four years ago, have discovered about a dozen ancient relics and parchments connected to several saints, according to reports.

06/23/2022 Iraq (International Christian Concern) – The Islamic State, during its rampage in Iraq, ravaged many Christian historical sites. Among […]

The church, like the city of Mosul where it stands, has seen its share of war and destruction throughout its history.

In recent years, around 60-100 Syriac Orthodox families have returned from central Europe to Turkey. Encouraged by changes in the political atmosphere, the minority nonetheless faces a host of problems, from the expropriation of land belonging to a monastery, to a ban on special schools and kindergartens, and also a lack of places of worship in Istanbul. By Ekrem Eddy

While the Turkish government tries to improve the rights of the country's minorities, in the South-Eastern Anatolian region of Tur Abdin there are still conflicts of interest between the Turkish state on the one side, and Armenians, Arameans and Kurds on the other. Harald Brandt explains the background to the problems