Church in Middle East

The Latest

Christian worshippers pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Pope Francis: ‘Prayer and fasting are the weapons of love that change history’

Oct 7, 2024

By Kristina Millare, Elias Turk

In his letter to Catholics in the Middle East, the Holy Father expressed his closeness with those “who dwell in... Read more

Nearly 2,000 young people from Christian youth groups across Iraq gathered for the seventh annual Ankawa Youth Gathering 2024 held Aug. 22–24, 2024, in the Mar Elia Shrine Courtyard in Ankawa-Erbil, Iraq.

Nearly 2,000 Christian youth in Iraq gather for prayer, faith formation

Aug 29, 2024

By Georgena Habbaba

Young people from Christian youth groups across Iraq gathered for the seventh annual Ankawa Youth Gathering held Aug. 22–24 in... Read more

An emergency novena will take place between July 16-24, including the feast days of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Charbel Makhlouf.

Novena for peace in the Near East announced for Christians, innocents in region

Jul 4, 2024

By Gigi Duncan

The novena, which will take place July 16–24, will implore protection for Christians and all innocent civilians in the region,... Read more

A moment of prayer during the procession through the narrow streets of the Christian quarter of Bab-Touma (St. Paul) in the Old City of Damascus on July 9, 2023, in celebration of the liturgical feast of the Martyrs of Damascus.

Joy in Syria: Pope Francis gives ‘green light’ for canonization of ‘Martyrs of Damascus’ 

May 23, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The Vatican has announced that eight Franciscan friars and three laymen who were killed for their faith in Syria will... Read more

Ongoing construction work on St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, in April 2024.

Qatar’s St. Charbel Maronite Church prepares to welcome worshippers

May 10, 2024

By Georgena Habbaba

Once completed, St. Charbel will be Qatar’s largest Catholic church and the second Catholic church in the country. Read more

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite Patriarch, at the Vatican March 5, 2013.

Maronite Catholic leader calls on international community to ‘help save Lebanon’

Feb 9, 2021

By Courtney Mares

Lebanon’s Maronite patriarch called on Tuesday for the United Nations to help resolve the country’s crisis by convening an international... Read more

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite Patriarch, at the Vatican March 5, 2013.

Catholic leader outlines vision for Lebanon as the ‘Switzerland of the East’

Aug 18, 2020

By Courtney Mares

Lebanon’s Maronite patriarch issued a memorandum Monday outlining a vision for the restoration of the country’s neutral status as the... Read more

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite Patriarch, at the Vatican March 5, 2013.

Patriarchs meet in Lebanon to discuss political neutrality amid crisis

Jul 24, 2020

By Courtney Mares

As Lebanon reels from an economic crisis, Catholic patriarchs met Thursday and reaffirmed the importance of the country’s neutrality in... Read more

Pope Francis meets with Patriarch of Eastern Catholic Churches based in the Middle East at the Vatican, Feb. 7, 2020.

Middle East patriarchs discuss plight of Christian minorities with Pope Francis

Feb 7, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

Six Catholic patriarchs from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq met with Pope Francis at the Vatican Friday to discuss the... Read more

Archbishop Petros Mouche of the Syrian Archeparchy of Mosul.

Iraqi archbishop longs for better times for his Church and his people

Apr 8, 2019

Archbishop Petros Mouche heads the Syriac-Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was captured by ISIS in the summer... Read more

The Melkite Greek Basilica of St. Paul in Harissa, Lebanon.

Youssef Absi elected Patriarch of Melkite Greek Catholic Church

Jun 22, 2017

The synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church elected on Wednesday Archbishop Youssef Absi as the Church's new patriarch, who... Read more

Pope Francis and the cross at the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion at St. Peter's Basilica on April 3, 2015.

Pope: MidEast Christians reflect heroism of St. Stephen

Dec 26, 2016

Pope Francis has said the heroic martyrdom of St. Stephen is mirrored in the persecution of modern-day Christians, particularly in... Read more

Pershmerga fighters inspect Al Tamera Syriac Catholic parish in Qaraqosh, Iraq, after the city's recent liberation from Islamic State. Photo courtesy of Fr. Roni Momika.

Christianity returns to the towns of Iraq's Nineveh Plain

Nov 22, 2016

Two years after the sound of church bells was replaced by the sound of explosives in Bashiqa, Iraq, just north... Read more

In Hungary, anti-Christian persecution prompts government action

Sep 12, 2016

By Andrea Gagliarducci

The Hungarian government has established a new office on the persecution of Christians to address both persecutions of Christians in... Read more

Carl Anderson, Supreme Knights of the Knights of Columbus, speaks with CNA June 26, 2014.

The next US president must aid persecuted Christians – Knights' head

Sep 12, 2016

By Matt Hadro

Christians can’t be second-class citizens if they are to remain in the Middle East, and the next United States administration... Read more

Syrian refugees.

Those who've stayed – what now for Christians in Syria and Iraq?

Nov 5, 2015

By Elise Harris, Kevin J. Jones

War in Iraq and Syria have taken a heavy toll on the Chaldean Christians of the Middle East. Now Chaldean... Read more

Christian refugees in Mar Elia parish centre in the Ankawa, Erbil, Iraq.

Iraqi Christians who fled Islamic State share their story

Sep 23, 2015

The plight of Christians in the Middle East was the focus of an educational and fundraising event in Denver on... Read more

Father Sergio Perez baptizes a young boy at Tunis' Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul.

Despite terror attack, Christians in Tunisia have reasons to remain hopeful

Jul 9, 2015

By Oliver Maksan

In the wake of a June 26 terrorist attack on tourists in Tunisia which killed 38 people, one of the... Read more

The remains of St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox parish in Homs, Syria.

'The unthinkable is real,' author warns about persecutions of Middle East Christians

Jun 27, 2015

Growing unrest in the Middle East is causing great concern for the Christian community around the world, and author George... Read more

CNA

Christians belong in Middle East, Antioch patriarchs say in call for peace

Jun 9, 2015

The five Christian patriarchs of Antioch met in Syria on Monday, calling for peace in the Syrian civil war while... Read more