The Assyrian Church of the East: The
Modern-Day Assyrians
Rev. David Royel, S.T.L.
Since the establishment of the second Church of the East
patriarchate at Qudshanis, the mountain Assyrians of Turkey
and those of the plain of Urmia owed their allegiance to
Mar Shimun.
The patriarchal
cathedral of Mar Shalita was completed in 1689 AD,
and about a dozen bishops and metropolitans were in
communion with this patriarch. In the meanwhile, the
Mar Elia line of Alqosh ruled the Assyrians of the
Nineveh plain and its environs. By 1830, the old Mar
Elia line of Alqosh became entirely Roman Catholic and the
sole ‘Nestorian’ patriarchate was ruled
by the Mar Shimun dynasty.
With the advent of the First World War
in 1914, the Assyrian Church and Nation suffered greatly
at the hands of the Muslim powers of the day. In 1918, the
catholicos-patriarch Mar Benyamin Shimun XIX (1887-1918)
was martyred by the Kurdish chieftain Ismail Agha (Simko),
and the Assyrians were left at the mercy of the Ottoman
Turks and their Kurdish neighbors. With the dismantling
of the Ottoman Empire, the Assyrians were left without
a homeland of their own and the promises of the Western
superpowers were forgotten and left unfulfilled. In
1920, the majority of the Assyrians were moved to the
Bakuba Camp near Baghdad, being moved from Urmia, Iran.
They lived in horrible, sub-human conditions; tens
of thousands lost their lives along the way to Bakuba
from 1918 to 1920.
Mar Benyamin Shimun
(1887-1918)
Successively, the Assyrian people were able to recover themselves
after the creation of the independent state of Iraq, however,
without any claim to the land and home of their ancient ancestors.
Later, in 1933 another wave of atrocities were perpetrated
against the Assyrians of Iraq, this time on the part of the
Iraqi monarchy. A group of Assyrians were forced to take
refuge in the then-French colony of Syria. A confrontation
with Iraqi forces caused the death of some few thousands
of Assyrians. Those that crossed over were settled along
the Khabour River. Today there are some 33 Assyrian villages
along both banks of the Khabour River.
The late Mar Eshai
Shimun XXIII (1908-1975)
The Assyrians
in the United States at this time were quite sparse,
and number a few thousands in the whole country. The
late Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII (1908-1975), patriarch
of the Assyrian Church, was exiled along with the patriarchal
household after the 1933 massacre and settled for a
time on the Island of Cyprus by the British.
The patriarch
then moved to the US, settling first in Chicago, in
1940. From then on, the seat of the catholicos-patriarch
of the Assyrian Church would remain in the diaspora.
The early 1970’s and 1990’s—after the first
Gulf War—saw a great wave of migration of Assyrians
from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. These migrations
included the establishment of a large Assyrian diaspora predominantly
in the United States and in the various countries of Europe
as well. Outside the homeland, churches and cultural associations
were established during this period. Various parishes were
organized into dioceses and episcopal sees were established
in the West for the first time. These communities continue
to grow in number and affluence.
H.H Mar Dinkha IV
In 1975, the
patriarchal see became vacant with the death of Patriarch
Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII. The Assyrian bishops gathered
in London, England in 1976 and elected to the patriarchal
throne Mar Dinkha, the then bishop of Iran; the new
patriarch took the name of Mar Dinkha IV. The newly
elected patriarch made immediate contact with the Assyrians
living in the countries of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon
soon after his election. The patriarchal see was moved
to Chicago in 1980, where it remains today.
The Assyrian Church and Nation is a thriving community
found in all the major cities of North America, numbering
some 300,000. Assyrians have also settled in Europe and other
parts of Asia. Thus, the great majority of the Assyrians
are to be found in the diaspora rather than in their ancestral
homeland of Mesopotamia—modern-day Iraq. Centuries
of persecution and forced migration have decimated the once-numerous
populace, however the community continues to preserve its
ancient history and heritage.
Today, the descendents of the ancient Assyrians who populated
the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ are found all over
the globe. In the U.S., they have proved to be integral
part of the patchwork of nationalities and ethnic groups
of which this great nation is comprised. The struggle for
their nationalistic, cultural and religious rights in their
homeland continues. Notwithstanding, the Assyrians are hopeful
for a brighter and a more fair future; the ‘flickering
light’ shall indeed not be extinguished!
