Syriac Christians in Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, marked Christmas with a traditional liturgy at the historic Forty Martyrs Church, highlighting the city's centuries-old culture of religious coexistence.
Coexistence between Muslims and religious minorities, particularly Christians, has a long history in Iran, stretching back centuries. Despite persistent criticism in some Western media outlets over the state of religious freedoms in the Islamic Republic, realities on the ground often present a more complex and nuanced picture than the one commonly portrayed.
The House of Representatives of Cyprus has adopted a resolution condemning the historical massacre of Assyrians in a unanimous vote during its plenary session on Monday, the Cyprus News Agency reports. The measure, put forward by Independent Socialist MP Kostis Efstathiou, formally recognizes and denounces the atrocities suffered by Assyrians.
In a land where civilizations were born, and religions lived side by side long before the borders of modern states were drawn, Iraq's Christian presence endures like an old bell--weathered by centuries, cracked by violence, yet still echoing. Here, where prayer once rose in many languages, Christmas was never a fleeting ritual. It became a memory layered with faith, joy, loss, and survival.
The Chaldean Patriarchate clarified on Wednesday that remarks made by Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako during a Christmas Mass in Baghdad, in which he used the term "normalization," had been misunderstood and taken out of context.
As Christmas approaches, the town of Shaqlawa in the Kurdistan Region is marked by lights, church decorations, and a renewed sense of unity among its Christian community, even as Christians from Sinjar continue to voice frustration over prolonged displacement and neglect eleven years after fleeing their homes, following ISIS attack.
Kuwait -- The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) announced on Wednesday the discovery of significant archaeological finds at Al-Qusur Monastery in the center of Failaka Island, including pottery inscribed with Syriac writings and evidence dating to the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods.
Christians in Lebanon have declined from a demographic majority to a minority. Lebanon was majority-Christian starting from the first century (when Christianity was introduced by figures such as St. Peter and St. Paul) until the mid-20th century. Mount Lebanon, which remains the Christian heartland of the country, is frequently mentioned in the Bible.
DEM Party Mardin MP George Aslan submitted a legislative proposal to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) requesting an amendment to the Law on National Holidays and General Holidays. The proposal requested that December 25, symbolizing the birth of Jesus Christ, be declared a public holiday under the name "Christmas Day.
Christianity has a long and intricate history in Iran, predating many other regions of the world. Iranian Christian communities have preserved their faith and cultural identity for centuries. Today, Iran hosts one of the oldest continuous Christian presences in West Asia, with Armenian, Assyrian, and other Christian minorities contributing significantly to Iran's diverse religious landscape.
As conflicts continue to scar large parts of the Middle East and beyond, leading Christian patriarchs from the region used their Christmas messages this year to emphasize faith as a source of light, urging peace, reconciliation and renewed commitment to human dignity in a time of global upheaval.
North Iraq -- More than a decade after the Islamic State's assault on northern Iraq fractured the region's demographic landscape, the Christian communities of the Nineveh Plains remain largely displaced, unable to return to their ancestral homes due to the lingering dominance of irregular armed groups and a pervasive lack of security assurance.
(AINA) -- For three decades the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) has served as one of the most influential and authoritative voices documenting the life, heritage, and challenges of Assyrians and their Syriac-speaking Churches, both in the homeland and the diaspora. AINA is a privately funded, independent news agency founded by Peter Pnuel BetBasoo and Firas Jatou in 1995.
(AINA) -- The recent decision by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) to officially incorporate the Assyrian language into its website marks a significant milestone for cultural representation, linguistic rights, and digital inclusion.
(AINA) -- The Assyrian Arts Institute (AAI) is an organization founded by Nora Betyousef Lacey in 2017 and claims to support Assyrian arts. AAI has sponsored a few events since its founding, including an Assyrian women's choir.
(AINA) -- On July 12 Iraqi president Abdul Latif Rashid repealed the decree recognizing the appointment of Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as head of the Chaldean Catholic Church and which appointed him to the office of the waqf (وقف), the endowment which oversees all church property. The details of the events leading up to this action are exhaustively covered in this report by MEMRI.
(AINA) -- In contemporary political discourse, the rights of indigenous peoples are too often reduced to numbers--population size, electoral weight, or demographic dominance. For the Assyrian people, this reduction is not only unjust; it is historically illiterate.
(AINA) -- The tragic death of Patriarch Eshai Shimun on November 6, 1975, remains a sombre and defining moment in the history of the Assyrian people. A leader devoted to preserving Assyrian heritage, faith, and identity, he had dedicated decades to guiding his Church and community through difficult times.
Kochi, India -- As the Yuletide spirit fills the air, posters, cutouts and dolls of Santa Claus crop up everywhere, heralding the season of love and sharing. However, not many may know that Santa, the most popular symbol of Christmas, is inspired from and modelled after St Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop from Myra in ancient Turkey known for his generosity and secret gift-giving.
Archaeologists in northern Israel uncover a luxurious Iron Age cremation burial, revealing elite lifestyles, long-distance trade, and Assyrian influence thousands of years ago. For a long time, life in the ancient world has been imagined as harsh, modest, and largely deprived of luxury.