- Feb 5, 2002
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The U.S.-born leader of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East discusses the rapid decline of Christianity in its birthplace, denounces Western indifference, and expresses renewed hopes for unity following his meeting with Leo XIV.
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Catholicos-Patriarch Awa III of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East recently visited Budapest with a stark warning: Christianity in the Middle East is vanishing. Entire communities are being erased, while the Western world looks away.
Speaking at Pázmány Péter Catholic University on May 21, he testified to the strength and resilience of Christians in the Middle East. A few days earlier, he had attended the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV, with whom he shares not only American nationality, but also the same birthplace, Chicago. Their first private meeting at the Vatican gave the patriarch cause to hope that the ecumenical dialogue between their two Churches would gain momentum, as he revealed in this interview with the Register.
The Assyrian Church of the East is among the world’s most ancient Christian communities, with roots in Mesopotamia. Its current patriarchal seat is located in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Though separated from the Catholic Church since the fifth century, it shares many essential tenets of faith and has engaged in sustained theological dialogue with Rome since the 1980s.
Continued below.
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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Catholicos-Patriarch Awa III of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East recently visited Budapest with a stark warning: Christianity in the Middle East is vanishing. Entire communities are being erased, while the Western world looks away.
Speaking at Pázmány Péter Catholic University on May 21, he testified to the strength and resilience of Christians in the Middle East. A few days earlier, he had attended the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV, with whom he shares not only American nationality, but also the same birthplace, Chicago. Their first private meeting at the Vatican gave the patriarch cause to hope that the ecumenical dialogue between their two Churches would gain momentum, as he revealed in this interview with the Register.
The Assyrian Church of the East is among the world’s most ancient Christian communities, with roots in Mesopotamia. Its current patriarchal seat is located in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Though separated from the Catholic Church since the fifth century, it shares many essential tenets of faith and has engaged in sustained theological dialogue with Rome since the 1980s.
A Vanishing Presence in the Middle East
Continued below.
Shared Roots, Common Cause: Patriarch Awa III on Challenges Facing Christendom in the Age of Pope Leo XIV
The U.S.-born leader of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East discusses the rapid decline of Christianity in its birthplace, denounces Western indifference, and expresses renewed hopes for unity following his meeting with Leo XIV.
