Justin Welby says Christians in the Middle East face ‘imminent extinction’

Dec 3, 2018 by Jill

By Eno Adeogu. Premier:

Christians who were the foundation of the universal Church now face the threat of “imminent extinction”, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

In a letter written in The Sunday Telegraph, the most Rev Justin Welby reflected on how long Christians have lived in the Middle East.

Sharing a story, he said: “About 15 years ago I sat in the home of an elderly Palestinian Christian man in Galilee, on a hillside where Jesus himself may have walked.

“Foolishly, I asked, ‘How long has your family been Christian?’

“The man – who was as vibrant as someone half his age – gave me a look and replied, ‘Since about the time of Saint Paul, I should imagine’.”

Christians have been in the Middle East for nearly 2,000 years.

Yet, the persecution against Christians in the region led to a Christian leader commenting that the Christians of the region are “facing the worst situation since the Mongol invasions of the 13th Century”, Archbishop Justin said.

[…] The Home Office has admitted that not a single Christian was among the 1,112 Syrian refugees resettled in the UK in the first three months of this year.

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See also: Charles, defender of the faithful persecuted, by Archbishop Cranmer

At last persecuted Christians have a defender, by Melanie Phillips, The Times

UK government comes clean about Syrian Christian refugees, from Global Christian News

Report: Half a billion Christians facing global persecution, by Edwin Mora, Breitbart