Mar Dinkha Returns to Iraq !

By Ken Joseph Jr.

ANS (09/09/06) – In a surprise move, unexpected to even his closest followers, Mar Dinkha, the spiritual leader of Iraq ’s Christians is returning to Iraq !

Scheduled to leave the US on Thursday, September 14 he should be in his homeland for his birthday.

Mar Dinkha IVMar Khanania Dinkha IV (born on September 15, 1935, in the village of Darbandoki , Iraq ) and the current catholicos-patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East is returning to Iraq for the first time following the Liberation of Iraq.

He was baptized in the church of Mar Qaryaqos and is the fourth in the line of succession to the Bishopric See of Urmia bearing the distinguished title of Mar Dinkha.

The head of the worldwide Assyrian Church of the East, the oldest continuous Christian Church in the world is returning to the original site of the Church in Northern Iraq .

Taking with him a team of his staff as well as a limited number of followers, his trip is much anticipated by the beleaguered Assyrian Christians of Iraq.

“It’s about time! He should have been back three years ago” is one comment from a follower who wished to remain anonymous.

“Too little too late” comes from another.

The Assyrian Christians according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry under Saddam Hussein numbered 2.5 million.

Recent statistics have over 100,000 Assyrian Christians having left the country with those remaining struggling as Iraq stumbles towards what many believe is an Islamic Republic modeled after neighboring Iran.

Educated under the wise tutorship of his grandfather, Rev. Benyamin Soro. In 1947, at the age of twelve, he was entrusted to the care of His Beatitude, the late Mar Yousip Khnanisho, Metropolitan and the Patriarchal representative for all of Iraq .

After two years of very strict study, he gathered the basic knowledge in theology to qualify him to undertake an active role in the service of the Church. Thus, on September 12, 1949, he was ordained deacon in the church of Mar Youkhana in Harir by the second highest ranking ecclesiastic of the Assyrian Church of the East. Eight years later, on August 15, 1957, deacon Khananya was ordained to priesthood, once again, by no other than his mentor and religious scholar Mar Yousip Khnanisho.

Due to the political upheavals during and after World War I, a large number of the clergy lost their lives.

The Church was on the threshold of disintegrating for lack of viable Church organization or priesthood. His Beatitude Mar Yousip Khnanisho was aware of the dire circumstances prevalent in that country.

This deplorable situation was on his mind when he carefully selected young priest Khananya and trained him for the difficult task ahead as he was assigned as a priest in Tehran , Iran , in 1957.

As a young priest, he quickly built a very viable, well organized and progressive institution that attracted its strayed adherents by the thousands.

Consenting to overwhelming popular demand, Rev. Khananya was consecrated as bishop by His Holiness, the late Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII on Sunday, October 17, 1968, in the church of Martyr Mar Gewargis , in Tehran .

After the unexpected death of His Holiness, Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII, the Church of the East had an urgent need to restore the leadership. In 1976 the prelates of the church convened in London to elect a new Catholicos Patriarch. At this historic meeting, the consentaneous choice of all the prelates in session was His Holiness Mar Dinkha as the most qualified candidate to fill this sublime post.

After his consecration, His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV became the 120th successor in this line to the Apostolic See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, Babylon .

The last time the head of the Church returned to Iraq after a long absence, his predecessor, Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII, had over 30,0000 of the faithful show up to welcome him home.

This time, three and a half years after the Liberation of Iraq, after over 100,000 have left the country the question on many minds is how many will come out to welcome him home.

Others wonder aloud if his job will be to lead the faithful to “the promised land” of an Assyrian Province as promised by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Iraq or whether he will be destined to lead one of the last major Christian communities to leave their homeland in exile for the last time.