{"id":17894,"date":"2012-10-23T06:30:39","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T10:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=17894"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:02:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:02:26","slug":"vatican-ambassador-attends-first-mass-held-at-iraqi-monastery-in-1500-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/10\/vatican-ambassador-attends-first-mass-held-at-iraqi-monastery-in-1500-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Vatican ambassador attends first Mass held at Iraqi monastery in 1,500 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Amazing.\u00a0 Read on: <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Vatican\u2019s ambassador to Iraq and a number of monks held the first mass in 1,500 years in one of the oldest monasteries in the Iraqi city of al-Hira (south of Najaf), and met with the top Iraqi Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Hira had been a spiritual capital for Christians, and was a destination for monks for more than 500 years before the introduction of Islam to the country. There are 33 monasteries between Najaf and Kufa, some of which were only discovered recently. However, the majority of the monasteries in this region have yet to be rediscovered.<\/p>\n

The Christian delegation \u2014 which included the Vatican\u2019s ambassador Giorgio Lingua, the head of Iraq\u2019s Christian Endowment, the endowment\u2019s general inspector and 15 pastors \u2014 met with Sistani.<\/p>\n

During a press conference, Archbishop Lingua said Pope Benedict XVI<\/a>\u00a0\u201cis very concerned with the situation of Christians in Iraq, and has urged them to stay in the country and live their lives naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that \u201cthe Iraqi Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to live anywhere within the country, regardless of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lingua said: \u201cThe visit to Najaf was religious and fraternal, aimed at creating a spirit of love between all religions. It was a positive visit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the rest. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazing.\u00a0 Read on: The Vatican\u2019s ambassador to Iraq and a number of monks held the first mass in 1,500 years in one of the oldest monasteries in the Iraqi city of al-Hira (south of Najaf), and met with the top Iraqi Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Hira had been a spiritual capital for Christians, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[939,45],"tags":[449,11210],"class_list":["post-17894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","tag-iraq","tag-middle-east"],"yoast_head":"\nVatican ambassador attends first Mass held at Iraqi monastery in 1,500 years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amazing.\u00a0 Read on: The Vatican's ambassador to Iraq and a number of monks held the first mass in 1,500 years in one of the oldest monasteries in the Iraqi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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