Christians Shut Out of National Conference in Baghdad as Stream of Refugees number 40,000!

Rev. Ken Joseph Jr.
London

In a series of moves that do not bode well for the future of democracy and the rule of law in Iraq a series of maneuvers at the Iraqi National Conference in Baghdad have undermined the voice of the Assyrian Christians, who according to figures of the previous government comprise 2.5 Million or over ten percent of the country.

According to sources within the conference who asked not to be named, out of the total of 1,000 delegates only 54 Assyrian Christians were allowed to attend and in backdoor maneuvering a total of only three out of the 100 Delegates to be chosen are being allowed. 100 Assyrian Christian delegates should have been allowed to the conference and 10 for the National Committee.

"We are calling on the democratic countries of the world to assist us" the source said "Out of the watchful eyes of the world the same old thugs from the old regime are throwing their weight around and depriving the Christians of their historical and political rights'

"We call up on the democratic countries of the world to insist that the Assyrian Christians, as the indigenous people of Iraq be set aside 10 out of the 100 members of the National Council and that these members be chosen from our own community, not imposed from outside."

The Assyrian Christians, are the indigenous people of Iraq, a population that according to some experts nearly 60% of the current Iraqi population are former Christians.

The people of "Nineveh", of the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale, the Assyrian Christians play prominent roles in Church History becoming the first nation to accept Christianity and according to Kenneth Scott LaTourette in "A History of Christianity" the largest missionary sending people in Christian History.

Sources close to the conference, in particular single out The Kurdish Regional Government who in violation of Article 53 of the Iraqi Constitution have not provided for local autonomy for the Assyrian Christian Community in Northern Iraq.

Article 53 provides the Assyrian Christian with their local administrative rights in their original homeland in Northern Iraq, but they have not been able to enforce the law.

Apparently, strong pressure is being brought to reduce the numbers of Assyrian Christian representatives from the 10 to three and those members being appointed not by the community but by the Kurdish Regional Government.

The state of the Assyrian Christians has taken a sudden turn for the worse in recent days with the announcement by the Iraqi Minister of Migration, Pascale Isho Warda, the only Assyrian Christian in the Iraqi Government, that "The number of Christians who have left Iraq has reached 40,000 according to the latest statistics. This emigration is due to insecurity and the attacks on the Churches in Baghdad and Mosul two weeks ago."

According to Assyrian Christian activist William Yonan, who asked that his name be changed for fear of reprisal "We urgently need help! There is a calculated campaign to cause our people, the original people of Iraq to leave. There are those who hate Christians, simply because of our faith and because of the simple fact that we represent the voice of reason and normalcy.

The vast majority of the Iraqi people do not want the dark forces to rule in Iraq and are fighting valiantly to prevent their takeover. It is the Assyrian Christians who are at the forefront of this fight defending the Iraqi people who are for the most part completely secular against the mullahs and other dark forces who want to turn Iraq into another Iran."

An Assyrian Christian website Assyrianchristians.com posts pictures of recent killings as well as a plan for the enforcement of Article 53 on the ground in Iraq.

Yonan continues "It should now be clear to the world that the only way for the Assyrian Christians to survive in Iraq is to be accorded our rights under Article 53 for our homeland in historic Assyria. We call upon the democratic countries of the world to demand that the Iraqi constitution be honored and our land be returned to us so we can live in safety and honor as guaranteed by the Constitution."

A recent report by the European Union stated that "little or no aid is being received by the Assyrian Christians in Iraq. International aid is mainly distributed through regional and therefore moslem leaders and seldom or never reaches the Assyrians."

The population of Christians in the Middle East as a whole has gone from nearly 20% a generation ago to now under 2%. Reports tell of a conference held in 1980 in Lahore, Pakistan in which regional representatives vowed to climate all Christians from the Middle East.

As the numbers drop below 2% and with this most recent exodus from Iraq their goal is more and more a reality.

Aramaic: The Blessed Language of a Great, But Forgotten, People

Shooma Bet-Malik
Great Britain

"Not even the thousand years of Greek rule under Seleucide, Romans, and Byzantium were able to annihilate Aramaic as a language and Assyrian cultural identity from the Near East... The essential thing is that the Assyrians still preserve their ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity in spite of their loss of political power and heavy persecutions they have experienced especially in the Christian era."

'Assyrians After Assyria', Professor Simo Parpola, Dept of Assyriology, Helsinki University.

General Perspectives of Aramaic Language

Aramaic is the ' linguistic heritage' of the Assyrians. They inherited this precious language from their 'cousins', the Arameans. Assyrians and Arameans were the 'offsprings' of two brothers Ashur and Aram respectively---the sons of Shem(Sem), from which the term 'Semitic' is derived. ( Shem had five sons. Genesis, 10:22 )

The previous language of the Assyrians and the Babylonians was Assyro-Babylonian (Akkadian), notorious for being a difficult language but well-known for being a 'cultured language'. It was the first Semitic language, and it was written in cuneiform and was spoken for nearly 3000 years in Mesopotamia ---- from around 3500 to 600 BC; it became extinct about 200 BC.

It was around 800 BC that Aramaic language began its 'linguistic migration' from Aramea to Assyria. Indeed, Aramaic was the indigenous language of the Arameans. The Kingdom of Aramea, which consisted of something like forty tribes, was adjacent to Assyria(Assyrian Empire). The spreading of the Aramaic language in Assyria was taking place very rapidly, permeating into Assyrian social strata.This linguistic spreading was so successful that in twenty years time Aramaic was officially accepted as the second language of Assyria. Encyclopedia Britannica says, " By the eight century BC it[Aramaic language] became accepted by the Assyrians as the second language." (This was in my view about 770BC.) Aramaic continued its spreading successfully, in fact so much so that before 750 BC it supplanted the Akkadian language, thus giving an end to the 'linguistic rivalry' that was going on between Akkadian and Aramaic. Indeed, Aramaic became the official, the first, language of the Assyrians and the Assyrian Empire. Not immediately(as most scholars in this field think), but after two or three decades Aramaic began also spreading out over Babylonia, the 'sister' of Assyria. It did not supplant the Akkadian language in Babylon quickly; this took place most probably not before 650BC(say, between 650 and 640 BC).

At this stage it would be sheer folly not to say also a few words about Sumerian language, known as the earliest language in Mesopotamia (and most philologists say, 'in the world')---the first written and spoken language. Sumerian is said to have been rich in epics, hymns, rituals etc. Here too, more or less, is the same story. Akkadian gradually
became the second language of Sumerian people and then, over a period of time, it supplanted their language. Sumerian dates back 7000 years.

This ancient People, without any doubt, left some of her cultural influence in Mesopotamia.

From 600 BC Aramaic began to spread out beyond the boundaries of Mesopotamia. The whole process of this ' linguistic migration ' was so fast that a century later Aramaic became the ' lingua franca ' of most ( nearly all ) Middle Eastern countries. This ' first lingua franca in the world' was also welcomed in some other parts of the world. The most welcoming nation to this "amazing language" was probably the Persian Nation and its great Empire. Encyclopedia Britannica says, "....It[Aramaic} subsequently became the official language of Achaemian Persian dynasty ( 550 - 330 )'. Aramaic enjoyed its status as lingua franca for more than a thousand years. The "ubiquitous status" of this extraordinary language began diminishing in the late 8th century A.D, and such diminution was in direct proportion to the speed of its being replaced with Arabic language.

I have referred to Aramaic as 'amazing language', and in doing so I have not indulged in exaggeration--------I simply meant what I said. This precious language, Leeshana Aramayah, is amazing in many ways; it is a very special language. It includes elegant idiomatic expressions, rich metaphors and similes, meaningful paradoxes, amusing hyperbole, profound parables, and so on------but! But there is something even more than these that renders Aramaic unique among all the languages in the world. And that is the 'higher dimensional aspect' of it------something of a Spiritual Dimension. Aramaic is a 'mystical' language, and in certain aspects it is completely different from other languages. It is a language of the Soul/Mind..

.
Robert Allen, The President of The Aramaic Bible Society says: "Aramaic is a language which inherently
expresses the manner in which the mind functions."

Absolutely true! It could be said that it is the language of 'Here and Now'.

In Aramaic the 'divisions' between Past, Present, and Future are not 'thick concrete walls' as they are in other languages. Furthermore, Subject and Object in Aramaic are on the same 'spectrum', and Objective and Subjective are not the 'opposites' but on the same 'continuum'. It is the Language of Eternity-----"I Am". Is it any wonder then why Western Aramaic scholars have never been able to grasp ( fully understand ) this "Spiritual Beauty" ( this ' non-physical' aspect) of the Aramaic language? Now we can see why the late Doctor George Lamsa, an Assyrian, had by far a deeper knowledge of Aramaic and particularly a more profound insight into Aramaic Bible( and biblical Scriptures as a whole) than all the Western Aramaic scholars put together. That is why most of them did not like him and many of them could not stand him, and even now(after his death) some of them have not stopped slogging him off. And it wasn't only because of these that Lamsa was disliked by these 'Quasi-Scholars' in the West. They could not stand him mainly for his spiritually adventurous nature, his extraordinary courage, and his straightforwardness in revealing "The Truth" about The Bible-----that Bible was originally written in the Language Spoken by Eshoo Msheekha (Jesus Christ)--- the Aramaic language.

On the translation of the Bibles(Old and New Testaments), Lamsa spent more than twenty five years. In his books, articles, and lectures, Lamsa always maintained that Aramaic Bibles are superior sources of Biblical truth than Latin or Greek based Texts. His writings are illuminating and his explanations are elucidating. He was a true Scholar and a truly learned man. He spoke at least eight languages. Often in his writings Lamsa refers to Aramaic as " The language of the Assyrians ", and also sometimes as " The language of the Church of the East". Western scholars did not like this kind of statements. As far as The West is concerned The Assyrians ' vanished ' from the face of Earth in 612 BC, when their Empire fell. Being part and parcel of the Western world, these scholars hardly(in fact most of them never) in their writings mention the word 'Assyrians' who are the heirs to the very language of which they claim to be the scholars. I wonder if they realize how great has been the contribution made by the Assyrians in terms of both amount and quality to the Aramaic language and literature. And the Missionary Enterprise of the Assyrians under the 'umbrella' of the Church of the East ( Also known as The Assyrian Church ) still remains unparalleled in spreading Christianity in the World. Furthermore, these inherently cultured people of Mesopotamia, the Assyrians, together with the Babylonians, built, what is known as, " The Cradle of Civilization ".

Assyrians love their language; they think of it as their ' highly important cultural identity', and also as the "Connecting Link" between them, as a People, and their Saviour. And that is why they have taken 'Good Care' of it. As the heirs to this precious language they have looked after it and their Scholars have developed it linguistically and enriched it philologically. Such enrichment also includes the suffusion of many Akkadian words in Aramaic language and literature. The mention of 'Aramaic literature' reminds me to say that more than two-third (at least 70 percent) of the treasure of Aramaic literature available today is the product of the literary works of the Assyrian writers, including some of their eminent scholars; and of course the theologians of the Church (The Ancient Apostolic Church of the East whose present Patriarch is the 120th on the Line of Succession ) have contributed enormously to the treasure of Aramaic language.

Later, the city that became the place for the development of Aramaic was Edessa ( in Assyrian/Aramaic called 'Urhai' and today is part of Turkey, referred to as 'Urfa' ).Edessa was renowned for being the cultural and intellectual center of the Assyrians. I love to talk about Edessa and also to tell the story of Jesus and king Abgar of Edessa, and the exchange of the letters between them, but this is not the place for it. Anyhow, Assyrian scholars and intellectuals and their Church ( the Church of the East) in the 5th century had to move from (in fact they were ordered to get out of) Edessa which was at the time part of the Roman Empire. They moved to Nisibin which was another cultural city of the Assyrians.This city was part of Persian Empire. It was here, in Nisibin, that the Assyrians established The First University in the World. The University consisted of several Faculties: Philosophy, Theology, Literature and Philology, Science, and Mathematics'. At this stage the Aramaic language and literature were flourishing.

And what about the priceless treasure of the Aramaic literature available today? Paul Younan, an Aramaic scholar and the translator (interlinear translation) of the New Testament from Peshitta Aramaic into English, in his interesting and informative Paper, ' The Preservation and the Advancement of Aramaic Language in the age of Internet', says, "Aramaic language encompasses a treasure of nearly 3000 years of Assyrian civilization including our versions of the Bible( The Peshitta Aramaic ), hymns and poems, translations of Greek works, biblical commentaries, historical works, compilations of lives of Saints, and works on Philosophy, Grammar, Medicine and Science."

Who knows? Perhaps the Assyrians ' were meant' to Pave The Way philologically) for The Coming of The Lord and Saviour! And who knows Perhaps the Aramaic Language ' was meant' to be the Language of the Teaching and Preaching of The Christ of The Living God.

Indeed, the treasure of Aramaic language is priceless. And it has also been priceless in enriching other languages' literature. Assyrian Aramaic became for centuries the 'source of enrichment' for the Greek theological and philosophical works. Furthermore, to a large extent Greek language stemmed from Aramaic. And again to a large extent, both Hebrew and Arabic languages owe their development to Aramaic language. In fact the Hebrew alphabet is derived from (base on) the Aramaic alphabet; and this applies to many other languages too. In the same Paper, Paul Younan says: "Aramaic was the first lingua franca. It also served as a basis for almost every Western-based alphabet in existence, from Greek to English and from Hebrew to Arabic."

Today there are nearly(if not quite) twenty variants of Aramaic language, which are referred to by some students of Aramaic as 'languages'. This makes nonsense of what is meant by ' language'; they are not languages. Nor are they all (as most scholars say) 'dialects'. Some of them are dialects, and some of them are ' Versions ' in the true sense ( Forms of Aramaic ). They all of course come under the 'umbrella' of Aramaic language. Until about 250 BC there was one Aramaic, the Assyrian Aramaic. At the time of Jesus apart from this original Aramaic there were two (perhaps three?) variants of this language, one of which was Hebrew Aramaic. The real diversification of Aramaic took place from around 1000 to 1500 AD. Only one or perhaps two of the variants of Aramaic available today are Western Aramaic, the rest are all Eastern.

The Bible and the Aramaic Language

"Many of our Assyrian people in America unfortunately are unaware of the key which we hold to the Scriptures and especially to the New Testament through the Aramaic language that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke and preached
during His Mission on Earth." (Patriarch of the Church of the East, His Holiness the late Mar Shimun in an address to the Assyrians in Modesto, California, USA)

The Holy Text, the official text, of the Assyrian Church of the East is the Peshitta Aramaic (also sometimes referred to as Peshitta) which is the rich and authoritative Version of Aramaic language. 'Peshitta' means 'simple', 'straight', 'uncomplicated', 'sincere'; it would be reasonable to infer from the combination of these meanings that here the word 'Peshitta' denotes 'Genuineness'-------genuine form of Aramaic. (And of course this does not mean that other variants of the language in question are not genuine.)

As regards to the holding of "The Key to the Scriptures", credit ought to be given to the Church of the East and the martyrs thereof who throughout gave their lives for the preservation of the original scriptures handed down by the Apostles, from one generation to another, kept in the security of the Church. Let me again quote from His Holiness, the late Mar Shimun from His letter to a publisher on 4th April, 1957---He says: "...as the Patriarch and the Head of
the Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East, we wish to state that the Church of the East received the Scriptures from the hands of the blessed Apostles themselves in the original language spoken by Our Lord Jesus Christ Him self and that Peshitta [Peshitta Aramaic] is the Text of that Church which has come down from the biblical times without any change or revision.

Indeed, Peshitta Aramaic, as the Version of the Holy Text of the Church, is both the earliest (original) and the most authoritative. And contrary to what many Western biblical scholars believe, the Four Gospels were written, completed, only some years after the Ascension of Lord Jesus to the Mystical Eternity of The Heavenly Father. Lamsa says: "...that is also true of the Gospels. They [the Gospels] were written a few years after the Resurrection, and some of the portions were written by Matthew while Jesus preaching. They were not handed down orally and then written after
Pauline Epistles as some Western scholars say; they were written years before those Epistles."

Assyrians, as a People, were the first to believe in Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. After the Assyrians, in my view, it was the Chaldeans who followed Jesus. However, Victor Alexander slightly differs from this view. He says: " "The Ashurai Nation [Assyrian Nation] became Christian in the first century, followed by the Armenians and Chaldeans."

Assyrians, while The Lord was doing His Teachings and Preachings on the Earth, were preparing for the establishment of the First Apostolic Church. Such 'Holy Establishment' was Founded in Seluquia-Ctesiphon, Babylon in 33 AD; the Founders were Thomas and Bartholomew (from the twelve Disciples), and Mar Addai and Mar Mari (from the seventy Followers). This Church in Babylon, ( which later was named The Holy Apostolic Church of the East), is mentioned by Shimun Keepa (Simon Peter ) in one of his Epistles. He Says: "the chosen Church that is in Babylon,
elected together with you, saluteth you. And so does my son Marcus." (1Peter, 5:13)

This Church, the Church of the East, today is usually referred to as the Assyrian Church of the East. The Patriarch and The Head of the Church is His Holiness Mar Dinkha. The rituals and the liturgy of the Church are carried out in the spiritually rich and beautiful version of Aramaic that Our Saviour spoke and also used for His Teaching and Preaching, The Master was the master of both the use and the usage of the words in Aramaic Language. It is only in Aramaic language that The Lord's Prayer rhymes, and it is only in Aramaic Bible (only in Aramaic language, and in no other language in the world) that The Beatitudes, Sermon on The Mount, rhyme. In fact there are hundreds of poetical verses in Aramaic. Such rhyming, rhythmic beauty and poetical skill and word-play in Aramaic New Testament can not be translated into any other language. Now we can see why this 'philological beauty' is absent in Greek bible, which is a 'messy translation' of the Aramaic Bible.

There is no shred of evidence that the Bible was originally written in Greek; it has been taken for granted ----- and that is all. Today the Aramaic Primacy is growing more and more -the view that the Bible was originally written in Aramaic (Peshitta Aramaic). Yes indeed, New Testament was first penned in the language of Eshoo Msheekha. That the Bible was first written in Greek is not just a misconception but also a complete delusion. The Greeks propagated this 'Myth' and the West gladly followed this 'mythical concept'. The West loves to believe that Civilization started in Greece, and if so, then, why not also believing that the Holy Bible was first written in Greek? After all Greece is in Europe! So, The Holy Bible was written in Europe! And I should not be surprised to see one day the Greeks claiming "Jesus was a Greek born in Athens!" And again I should not be surprised to see the West, sheepishly, following into their footsteps. In fact there are already a few web-pages on the internet which say that Jesus also knew Greek, and that his disciples too were quite familiar with Greek language; thus Jesus and His disciples sometimes used to communicate in Greek! Absolutely Nonsense! The great man, Doctor George Lamsa says: "Not even a word of Scriptures was written in
Greek...Jesus and his disciples not only could not speak Greek but they never heard it spoken."

And let me say here that without the civilization of Mesopotamia there wouldn't be Greek (and also to a large extent Persian) civilization. Particularly, Greeks owe a great deal of their civilization to the Assyrians from whom they learned almost everything. Every Assyriologist and every Scholar of the Ancient History will attest this. The eminent Assyriologist of Helsinki University, Simo Parpola, in his well-known Paper, 'Assyrians After Assyria' says: "We know that Greeks and Romans from Plato till antiquities kept learning spirituality and science from the Assyrians and the Babylonians."

Yes indeed, also the Romans and the Roman Empire learned, and learned a great deal, from the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Jesus, Aramaic, and the Assyrians

Now, let us see: what kind or form ( Version ) of Aramaic did Lord Jesus Speak? On this question most biblical scholars say that it was "Galilean" . However, they each say it in their own way. These are the most stated sentences on this issue. They are,

" Jesus spoke Galilean dialect of Aramaic."
" Jesus spoke Aramaic with Galilean accent."
" Jesus spoke Galilean Aramaic."

The three above statements denote the same thing: Jesus spoke the Aramaic that was spoken in the Galilee, which was a region, province, in Palestine. Let us know more about this ' Special Region ' of Palestine. And who can describe it better than the man himself, Doctor G. Lamsa?

In his book ' The Kingdom on Earth ', he says: "Indeed, Galilee is a beautiful and luxuriant land when compared with the arid hills of Judea and adjacent lands of.... Nature has graced this land with many scenic beauties and abundant water in a part of the world that water is scarce and precious. There is some thing mysterious about nature around the
lake of Galilee.......Galilee was far away from Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religion....The Galilean were free-thinkers, free from the complex system of ........ Therefore, they [ the Galilean] were eager for the fulfillment of the
Messianic promises, and they prayed with vehement supplications for the deliverance of their lands from the pagan rulers."

In Palestine, at the time, there were only ' a couple of ' variants of Aramaic, and the best (the richest) one was spoken by Galilean people.

For further information and to access the application form, all applicants are invited to refer to www.aanf.org.

Nazareth was a town in Galilee. Jesus was from this town---hence, Jesus of Nazareth. Galileans, originally, were Ashurayeh (Assyrians) who centuries before had moved, immigrated, to that region of Palestine. This has been attested by a number of scholars including Victor Alexander and the late George Lamsa. Victor Alexander, who has translated the New Testament from Aramaic into English(and he is busy translating the Old Testament too), says that not only were the Galileans Ashurayeh, but also their language, Galilean Aramaic, is the key to the Scriptures, or as he puts it ' to the translation of the Bible'. Let us see what he says.

"......the language that Jesus spoke with the Galilean accent...The Galileans were originally from Nineveh...Nineveh
was the Capital of Ashur[Assyria]. Ashurai [Assyrian] language in the Galilean dialect is the key to the translation of the Bible."

At the same time we have many biblical scholars particularly 'Aramaic Primacists' who maintain that the version called 'Peshitta Aramaic' (which is the official, the Holy, Text of the Apostolic Church of the East), was the language of Jesus and His Disciples, and it is The Key to the Scriptures. In fact this was emphasized (more than once) by His Holiness the late Mar Shimoon, The Patriarch of the Holy Church of the East (the one before the present Patriarch), who was also an eminent Scholar of The Bible and the Aramaic language; I have already quoted from Him.

From what has been said I draw my own conclusion which in part is implicit in what has been said. As I see it both Peshitta Aramaic and Galilean Aramaic were Aramayah d'Ashurayeh, Assyrian Aramaic, but with a difference. The difference is this: Peshitta Aramaic is the Special Version ( the Literary Form ) and the Galilean Aramaic refers to the Common Speech( the vernacular) of Aramayah d'Ashurayeh. Put another way, Galilian was the 'Colloquilism' of Peshitta.

We can see the close affinity between the Ashurayeh(Assyrians) and our Lord Jesus. He, Lord Jesus, grew up and lived among them and spoke their language. Some of the most faithful friends and closest followers of Msheekha (Christ) were Assyrians, or as He called them, ' The men of Nineveh' . He loved them, that is why He gave them hope and encouragement when He said: "The men of Nineveh [The Assyrians ] shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold a greater than Jonah is here." (Matthew, 12:41)

Isn't it the ' greatest Blessing ' for a people or nation to be Pronounced 'repented' by Jesus Christ?

Assyrians usually refer to their language as Leeshana Ashuraya (Assyrian Language). And why not? They have spoken this language for nearly 3000 years, therefore they have every right to think of it and to call it 'Assyrian language'. There have been, anyhow, people including some philological students who have used the the two terms ' Ashurai ' and ' Aramaic ' interchangeably. Perhaps this has been more prevalent among the Jews particularly in relation to the Hebrew Scriptures. Victor Alexander says: "There is another name for ancient Aramaic. The Jewish scholars of scriptures today talk of the Ashuri language and they call the sacred language of the Torah "Ashurit"...Ktave Ashuri or Ashuri writing. This is the language in which the Ten Commandments were written, and the only sacred language of the Old Testament
according to most Jewish scholars."

Such usage of the two words, 'Ashurai and Aramaic' (using them interchangeably) is a reminder of the ancient Assyrians and of the ancient Aramaic, and also of the Ashurayeh and their language at the time of our Lord in Palestine.

Reverend Doctor R.A.Wigram, an eminent English Scholar of theology and ecclesiastical history(who in the early part of the 20th century wrote several books on the Assyrians and on their Church, the Church of the East, and related areas) in his book, ' The cradle of Mankind' says: "One thing is certain that the Assyrians boast with justice that they alone of all Christian Nations still keep as their language which is acknowledged to be the language of Palestine
[referring to Galilee]."

Apart from the Assyrians there are in the Middle East a few other communities, including the Chaldeans, who speak Aramaic language, and also in their Churches the liturgies and rituals are carried out in this language. These people speak in different versions/dialects which are called (by aramaic pundits), ' Modern aramaic' or ' Neo-aramaic'. Languages, in the course of time, change as a ' linguistic evolutionary process'. However, considering the vicissitudes, over the centuries and centuries, that the Aramaic speaking people, particularly the Assyrians, have been through, we can boldly say that it is a ' Not-Much-Changed' language---Still Spiritually Rich Aramaic!

Incidentally, the Chaldeans of today most (if not all) of them are the Assyrians who are the followers of the Roman Catholic Church. Let me tell a long story in a few lines only.

In 1550s AD a number of Assyrians headed by a monk by the name of Sulaqa broke away from the Church of the East. Sulaqa together with his 'entourage' went to Rome and visited the Pope. He was warmly welcomed and was gladly appointed the Patriarch of the new Uniate by the Pope, Julias the third, who also designated the new Church ' the Chaldean Church' in order to have it distinguished, separated, from the Assyrian Church of the East. Thus, all the Assyrian followers of Sulaqa betrayed their ecclesiastical identity and denied their national entity; they followed the Church of Rome and called themselves ''Chaldeans'. And even to this day if or when an Assyrian joins Roman Catholic Church he or she (most probably) will call himself or herself "a Chaldean", which is absolutely absurd, and also very sad --- Sad indeed!

Today there are over three millions (nearly 3.5 M) Assyrians scattered almost in every corner of the world. Nearly two-third of them are in Iraq, America and Syria, and the rest of them mostly(but not all) are in Europe. These inherently cultured and instinctively courageous people (despite going through the worst kinds of persecutions throughout the centuries, and being Stateless since 612BC, and in spite of having experienced the horror, grief and sorrow of the killings, massacres and the genocides of their brothers and sisters, most of which took place in the 20th century), have dearly preserved their language, and have faithfully kept their Christianity and also their Ancient Church, and have graciously upheld their cultural values and traditional principles. And above all, these great people, Ashurayeh, have never stopped contributing to the well-being of their fellow human beings and to the civilization of the World.

References:

(The amount of literature on Aramaic Language on the Internet is huge. And also there is plenty of material on obtaining knowledge and information on this language in relation to the Assyrians and the Church of the East, and on the interesting topic of 'Aramaic Primacy'. However, I am going to supply the reader with a few references that are directly related to some of the Quotations --- or are closely linked to one or two areas dealt with---- in this Article.)

PAUL YOUNAN's Website: www.peshitta.org
(this website is unique in its kind. It contains so many things and it deals with so many issues: Aramaic, Bible, The Church of the East, Forum Debates, Teaching Assyrian Aramaic, Books and Articles on related areas. Paul's Interlinear Translation of the New Testament, from Peshitta Aramaic into English is available on this Web-site. And his Paper, 'Preservation and Advancement of the Aramaic Language .....' www.atour.com/education/200l0903a.html

VICTOR ALEXANDER's Web-site: www.v-a.com/bible/ & www.v-a.com/bible/project-report0.html
(Victor's Articles are all interesting, informative and here and there with 'some originality'. He writes courageously. Alexander's translated Bible from Aramaic into English also is available on his Website.)

Doctor George Lamsa. The Websites that deal with Lamsa and his works (books,etc) are mostly of the Aramaic Bible Society.

www.metamind.net
www.aramaic.org
www.aramaicbiblecenter.com
www.metamind.net/Aboarder.html
www.aramaic.org/News.html

Professor Simo Parpola's Paper, 'Assyrians After Assyria': www.atour.education/20000703a.html

There is a Compiled Work on Peshitta Aramaic Primacy, compiled and discussed by Chris Lancaster. I highly recommend it: www.peshitta.netfirms.com (Click on ' Was The New Testament Really Written In Greek? ' )

www.truth777.netfirms.com

Sam Razali's / Shooma Bet-Malik's Website: www.assyrians-homeland.org

Doctor W.A.Wigram wrote several books on Assyrians and the Church of the East, and related areas. There is, in this Article, a Quotation from one of his books, ' The Cradle of The Mankind ' which is included in Paul Younan's Website.

Consecration of the St. Mary Syriac Orthodox Church in Montfermeil, France

Samuel Yalap
Producer of the Assyro-Chaldean Voice
France
Translated into English by Linda Karatay

The Syriac Orthodox Saint Mary Mother of God’s Church, Montfermeil , France consacrated and inaugurated on July 4 th, 2004.

The Assyro-Chaldeans, called by France ’s people, “the builder people”, have just inaugurated a new church.  Sunday, July 4 th, 2004, was a great day for the Assyro-Chaldean people of France: a portion of the members of this community celebrated Saint Thomas in the Chaldean church which is dedicated to him (consacrated on February 7th of this year) in Sarcelles, and another group participated in the consecration of a new Syriac Orthodox church in Montfermeil. Within only thirty years of presence in France, our people inaugurated three churches : Notre Dame de Chaldée in Paris (1992), the Saint Thomas Apostle church in Sarcelles (2004) and the new church, Saint Mary Mother of God in Montfermeil (2004).

This church was built on the initiative of a Syriac Orthodox priest of the community settled in Clichy-Sous-Bois and in its neighborhood, Qashisho Yakup Aydin. This one made everything for the realization of the prediction of Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka 1st Iwas, who had said ten years ago : "one day, the small herd of France will have its own church". Qashisho Yakup Aydin began with nothing: he realized all the works he could make himself (dig, build, decorate, collect money by very numerous visits in the European countries). When the collected sums were not enough to complete the building works, he did not hesitate to go in various countries or to visit various organizations to gather new capital. It is for this courage and this dedication that the patriarch decorated him with a very beautiful cross.

Qashisho Yakup Aydin, the “builder” of the new church together with the mayor of Montfermeil, Xavier Lemoine

After several years of waiting (quite as the Saint Thomas Apostle church in Sarcelles), the Syriac Orthodox church opened its doors to the Assyro-Chaldean community, of Syriac Orthodox confession, dependent on Moran Mor Zakka Iwas's jurisdiction. The day of its opening, July 4th, 2004 , about 700 to 800 persons were present: several Assyro-Chaldean delegations came from different European countries ( Sweden , Germany , Holland , Belgium ) participated in this big event with their priests and bishops, notably Mor Julius Jeshu Cicek, Syriac Orthodox Church’s Archbishop of Central Europe. Political, civil and religious personalities did not miss to be present, as the consul of Syria in Belgium, the representative of the Syrian consul in France, the military attaché of the embassy of Syria in France. The municipal people in charge of the city of Montfermeil, among whom the mayor, the people in charge of the various Christian confessions in France (Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic), the leaders of non-governmental organizations as Aide à l’Eglise en Détresse (Help to the Church in Distress) and Oeuvre d’Orient (the Work of East), etc., greeted this community and this beautiful realization.

Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antiochus

 Among the presents, we could count also Mgr. Petrus Yousif, patriarchal vicar of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Paris, who showed, by his readings and his presence, the religious unity between the Chaldean Catholic and the Syriac Orthodox Churches. Besides, Joseph Yacoub, interrogated at the end of the ceremony by the biggest channels of French television covering this event, made the trip between Lyon and Paris not to miss this occasion. Sébastien de Courtois, young researcher and author of a book about the forgotten genocide against our people in 1915, was also present. The Association of the Assyro-Chaldeans of France as well as the Union of the Assyro-Chaldeans of France and the representatives of some Assyro-Chaldean political parties had sent delegations to show their support for the Syriac Orthodox community. The Assyro-Chaldean Voice covered this event. The Assyro-Chaldean community of France, which did not miss to support the project, so morally as materially by donations, was scattered in the church and in its garden, where was placed a huge screen.

The Consul of Syria in Belgium,the Representative of the Embassy of Syria in France as well as the Military attaché of the Embassy of Syria in France

 The absence of the Turkish authorities and the Turkish media, not invited to this celebration, was noticed by this community mainly native of the southeast of Turkey . Indeed, the Assyro-Chaldeans of Syriac Orthodox confession are from the villages of Tour Abdin and its neighborhood. Syria is the second country of origin of the Syriac Orthodox. The Syrian authorities were present and it was a brand of respect to Moran Mor Zakka Iwas, who came from Damascus , specially for the inauguration of the new church.

This church could not have been realized if the architects, that Qashisho Yakup Aydin qualified as "the hand of God", had not realized the architectural plans voluntarily. And they managed of the bet to realize a very beautiful church surmounted by a bell tower hidden in a magnificent dome of Syriac tradition.

 The consecration of the church Saint Mary Mother of God was made by His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka 1st Iwas, whose speech was very positive concerning the situation of our people in Syria . At the end of the ceremony, the city hall of Montfermeil had given to the Syriac church all its infrastructures (room, local police, etc.). The patriarch participated in the meal offered in his honor and did not hesitate to bless families, couples and children. The members of our community crowded to be photographed with the patriarch. The meal was offered to about 700 to 800 persons.

Meal given on the occasion of the consecration of the new church in honour of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka Iwas

[Zinda: More photos are available on the website of the Association of the Assyro-Chaldeans of France. Click here]

Dr. Matay Arsan (Holland)
David Chibo (Australia)
Tomas Isik (Sweden)
Petr Kubalek (Czech Republic)

 

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