Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day

The third edition of this essential guide to the history of Christian Churches and people of Iraq from the time of the Apostles to the present day.

Christianity was firmly established in Iraq from the earliest times, and the Churches of Iraq were to play a major role in the development of Christian theology and spirituality for many centuries. By the seventh century evangelization from Iraq had brought Christianity to China, Central Asia and India. Yet few people in the West are aware of Christianity’s vibrant past in this region, or of the fact that Christianity has continued to be a significant cultural and religious presence in Iraq right up to the present day.

The story of the Churches of Iraq, their interaction with each other and their varied fortunes under successive Parthian, Sassanid, Arab, Mongol and Ottoman rule, is told here with consummate skill. Suha Rassam guides the reader seemingly effortlessly through complex issues of doctrinal dispute and ecclesiastical politics. She helps us to explore the ancient heritage of these Churches, and the major contribution they have made to the intellectual development of the region and the wider world. The detailed account of the Churches in the twentieth century, under British rule, the monarchy and then the Ba’athist regime and Saddam Hussein, is particularly useful. This book sheds much-needed light on the current dire situation for Christians in Iraq, under occupation and transitional rule through to the present day. It is essential reading for all those in the West who are concerned for the future of Iraq and its people.

Christianity in Iraq, now in its third revised edition, continues to be a timely contribution to understanding not only the Christian tradition in Mesopotamia but the great challenges confronted by Christians across the Middle East region. Anthony O’Mahony, Heythrop College, University of London

Suha Rassam’s book is an extraordinary achievement, opening up the history and patrimony of Christianity in Iraq to the West. The Church in Mesopotamia is one of the oldest in the world, and Christians there helped build and develop Arab culture and civilization, forming an essential part of Iraqi society from the earliest times to the present. The understanding that this book provides will help the task of supporting Christians to remain in their homeland today. His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon

Dr Suha Rassam has written a work of remarkable scholarship. But it is also a vivid portrayal of an extraordinary story of conflict, persecution and, for fifty years in the twentieth century, of hope, harmony and prosperity for the Christian community in Iraq. It would be a tragedy if that Christian community were now extinguished. Dr Suha Rassam’s book portrays starkly and powerfully what would be lost: not just the Christian community itself but a shared history with the Muslim people of Iraq which is a vital part of the fabric of that country. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

Suha Rassam was born in 1941 in Mosul to a medical family. Assistant Professor of Medicine in the University of Baghdad, she came to England in 1990 to do further research. Since that time she has worked in hospitals in London, studied Eastern Christianity at London University, and is now retired.