Statement from the World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches has forcefully denounced the series of bombings which targeted Christian churches in Iraq on 1 August 2004.

Responding to the news, the general secretary of the WCC, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia said "I was appalled to learn about the bombing of churches in Iraq. This action further undermines efforts to rebuild Iraq as a democratic society where all religious communities and peoples can live in harmony. The WCC has worked for many years to foster understanding and dialogue among Muslims and Christians, which have a long history of peaceful co-existence in the region. The Council has been at the forefront of ecumenical efforts to promote peace in Iraq and condemned the US-led intervention in the country. WCC and its member churches have actively supported humanitarian relief work in Iraq since the conflict started. We strongly condemn all forms of violence which target religious communities or any group of people, and which seek to introduce religious enmity into this conflict."

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, in a pastoral letter addressed to the churches in Iraq, has expressed his solidarity with all the people of Iraq as they pass through these critical and turbulent times and has assured them of prayers of support.

Speaking from Cairo, the WCC Middle East secretary Lina Moukheibar emphasized that this was the first time Christian churches had been the object of attack. "We should remember that the escalation of violence in Iraq has affected thousands of people, both Muslims and Christians, and our solidarity is with all victims."

According to reports, the bomb blasts in Baghdad also damaged offices and property of the WCC-related humanitarian organization ACT-Action by Churches Together, as well as of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).

Middle East church leaders respond to Iraq bombings: solidarity and work for peace needed

Middle Eastern church leaders have condemned attacks on Iraqi churches and called for solidarity following bombings at churches yesterday.

Speaking today at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order plenary commission meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Bishop Nareg Alemezian of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of Cilicia) said: "This is the first time Christian churches have been targeted. We condemn this attack and we are very concerned about it."

Metropolitan Dr Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, from the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, urged Christians and Muslims to work together for peace. "Solidarity is very important, both inside and outside the region, both among Christians and between Christians and Muslims," he said.

Gregorios stressed that "the WCC and others should encourage anything that brings Christians and Muslims together, not only in theological dialogue but also in the dialogue of life and work."

"I address my appeal to the Arab world, which can support any plan for peace, and also to the Iraqi people themselves. If they are not in solidarity, how then can they solve these problems?" he asked.

Alemezian called on international and local people to work for peace. "This is not just a problem for Syrians and Armenians," he said. "The situation in Iraq is not isolated. It is related to the general political situation in the world.

"We have a conflict, and we have to solve it - the US, the UN, all parties involved in the creation of this situation, but also local people and faith communities."

Both leaders stressed the good relations between Christians and Muslims in Iraq prior to the bombings.

"Christians are an integral part of the society they are living in, they are not newcomers. They are not there for any superficial reason," said Alemezian. "Middle Eastern Christians are the people of the land where Christ was born," he added.

They both stressed the dangers posed by pressure on the nearly one million Iraqi Christians, leading to increased emigration.

"The diminishing number of Christians in Iraq is a terrible thing," said Gregorios. "The same picture is replicated in other countries like Turkey, Iran, and Palestine. We are losing our people."

Could a situation arise, they asked, where there were no Christians in the Middle East and no Muslims in the West? This would be "dangerous for everybody," said Metropolitan Gregorios. "This is very important. It's not good for humanity."

According to news reports, at least 11 people were killed and dozens injured as bombs exploded at four churches - two of them Syrian and two, Armenian Orthodox - and a monastery.