Joint Media Release from the  National Council of Churches in Australia & the NSW Ecumenical Council

“…and should I not pity Nineveh, that great city…” (Jonah 4:11 NKJV)

`Genocide’ is how Bishop Daoud Nikdomios a Syrian Orthodox Bishop from Mosul described what has happened to the Christian people in Mosul, an Ancient City of the faithful people, near Nineveh, from the Apostolic times for nearly 2000 years.

``Everything is taken from us: churches, houses, clothes, money, even the babies nappies”. Bishop Daoud Nikdomios described how the crosses from the churches were removed, and how ISIS wanted to remove all the history of the church from Mosul.

Houses were marked with the letter `N’ in Arabic, - for “Nasarah” signifying they are homes for Christians. These homes are appropriated once people flee.

Their choices given are either: convert to Islam; pay an impossible tax; or `face the sword’. Those who can have fled to Kurdistan. The Bishop spoke to us from Kurdistan on 22nd July.

He seeks our prayers and financial support to give his people basic necessities.  They have great demands: food, shelter, and education for the young. We are also asking our Australian Government to increase its resettlement quota for Iraqi refugees.

Given the grave and immediate threat of persecution many now face, we also ask that the Australian Government consider the use of its in-country emergency evacuation for individuals at high risk.

Act for Peace, the aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia has sent $30,000 today – more is needed.
Donations for Iraq can be made to actforpeace.org.au or via 1800 025 101.

At the same time we must pray for Iraqi Christians this Sunday. Ecumenical Prayer Vigils are planned for coming days. In recent days we have also spoken and prayed with His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zia, the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon and of Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, and Mor Malatius Malki Malki, Metropolitan Patriarchal Vicar of the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand.

A Prayer for Sunday
Gracious God,
We give thanks for your gift of peace, first gift of our Risen Jesus to the frightened disciples.
We pray for the raising up of peacemakers in the region and for the cessation of religious persecution in Iraq and elsewhere.
We pray for divine generosity to inspire our Appeal for the Support of disciples of Jesus now in Kurdistan.
We pray through the strong name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Amen!

Bishop Philip Huggins                                                             Very Rev Fr Shenouda Mansour
Acting General Secretary of the NCCA                                General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council   

National Council of Churches in Australia and NSW Ecumenical Council
SYDNEY: 7th Floor, 379 Kent Street, Sydney (Locked Bag 199, Sydney 1230) Tel: (02) 9299 2215  Fax: (02) 9262 4514

Direct Bishop Philip Huggins on (02) 9299 1155 or

Very Rev Fr Shenouda Mansour General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council 0418 713 733