Followers of Christ recall their savior\u2019s warning that they will face persecution, and they recall St. Paul\u2019s teaching that suffering produces endurance and character. Most Christians in the Middle East retain their spiritual hope, but they are losing their temporal hope: They fear that they will never return to their ancestral lands, and that the Christian presence in the region might disappear.<\/p>\n
Iraq is home to one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world, some of whose members still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. But their numbers have plummeted to around 200,000 from 1.5 million before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. A Christian exodus, if it isn\u2019t reversed, would be a devastating loss for Iraq. Iraqi Christians are well-organized, and for years they\u2019ve tended to the educational, cultural and social needs of the wider society.<\/p>\n
Christians have also historically helped stabilize the volatile region. \u201cChristians have always played a key role in building our societies and defending our nations,\u201d\u009d Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah has said. \u201cThere is no Iraq without Christians,\u201d\u009d says Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.<\/p>\n