Washington D.C., Jun 16, 2017 / 03:12 am (CNA).- Ancient artifacts. Centuries-old legends. Prayers dating back to the time of Christ. An enemy seeking to destroy it all. And a team of dedicated scholars trying to save the memories before it’s too late.
It may sound like the start of the next Indiana Jones movie, but for the team behind the Christian Communities of the East Cultural Heritage Project, the reality of Christian communities disappearing from the Middle East is a pressing threat.
Faced with persecution at the hands of ISIS, more than a decade of war, and generations of economic struggle, these researchers are looking to record the memories and traditions of the Christian communities of Iraq before they are lost forever.
But instead of swinging through empty tombs or digging through rubble, these scholars are asking the community members themselves to engage in the rich Middle Eastern tradition of storytelling, sharing their memories and descriptions in their own native Arabic and Neo-Aramaic languages – some of them singing and speaking the same language Christ himself did.
Dr. Shawqi Talia, a lecturer on Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures at The Catholic University of America explained that his colleagues’ quest to preserve the history and culture of Iraqi Catholics is essential for passing on their meaning, not only to the next generation, but for the world.
Talia, himself an Iraqi Chaldean Catholic, told CNA that he wants young people “to know how life was and what life was all about for the Christians – not just up north but in Iraq as a whole – in the ’50s and the ’40s and the ’30s, and to know that our history goes back for 2,000 years.”
Yet as Christians from the Nineveh plain continue to leave their homeland due to threats of violence, Talia hopes Middle Eastern Christians in diaspora will see the stories, songs, histories and memories contained in the project not only as a record, but as a tool. He wants Middle Eastern youth to “work in order to keep this kind of heritage alive, not just for the Christians from that part of the world who are now living in diaspora, but because it’s the history of humanity – for all of us.”
This history is not just for the Christian communities of the Middle East, but for all Christians and the whole world to learn from and preserve – especially as the ancestral lands continue to be embroiled in conflict. “You can read something in a history text, but now you see it, and you hear it in person,” Talia said of the recorded interviews.
Preserving the past
The idea behind Christian Communities of the East Cultural Heritage Project – a joint partnership between the Institute of Christian Oriental Research and the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America – was born over the course of years of conversations between Dr. Talia and Dr. Robin Darling Young, an associate professor of spirituality in the university.
“The reason that we started this project was that we wanted to put together materials that would make available to other people and to communities themselves records of various kinds of the life of Christian communities in the Middle East,” Darling Young told CNA.
Attacks by ISIS against Christian and other minority religious communities in northern Iraq heightened the sense of urgency in preserving this culture’s heritage and history.
Since 2003, violence in Iraq and Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, including whole communities of Middle Eastern Christians. In the past 14 years, an estimated 1 million Christians have left their communities in Iraq, leaving less than 500,000 Christians in the lands inhabited by the faithful for 2,000 years.
To begin preserving their history before it completely vanishes, the group used Talia’s connections to the Chaldean Catholic community in the United States, particularly those in the Washington, D.C. area and in Southeast Michigan, where some 150,000 Chaldean Catholics have established new homes over the past century. Plans also exist to interview Iraqi Christian communities in Europe and elsewhere, as well as release a documentary funded by the Michigan Humanities Council.
After developing a detailed questionnaire, the team began to record interviews with members of the Chaldean communities in both English and Neo-Aramaic, a form of the language spoken by Christ. The researchers also collected photographs and documents to digitize and present online along with the recordings as part of a comprehensive online archive.
Ryann Craig, a doctoral student in the department of Semitics, explained that after consulting with oral history experts at the Library of Congress and elsewhere, the team sought to “draw out descriptions of communal life in their original languages” in the interview process.
“My challenge was to try to craft questions that would get people to answer in their native tongue.” One of the first questions, she said, was to ask community members to explain the meaning behind their family name and its importance in their home village. This same technique was also used in getting participants to sing special communal songs created for special occasions like marriages or births, as well as to describe childhood games, or record how family recipes were made and their importance.
Given the circumstances that have brought some Chaldean Christians to the United States, however, some interviews have captured a much different side of the Middle Eastern Christian experience: persecution and flight. Craig told CNA that some of the first interviews of the project were conducted with recent refugees, many of whom were still processing the traumatic circumstances leading up to their exodus.
“A lot of the questions we were asking just weren’t relevant for them,” she said of the questions about traditions and history on the group’s questionnaire. “At that point we just decided to let them tell whatever story they wanted to tell, and didn’t really prompt as much as we do with people who have been here for decades and feel more settled.”
In collecting both these stories as well as those from Chaldean Christians who moved to the United States decades ago for economic reasons, the group has been able to document a cross-section of Iraqi Christian life. Among those who came over in the 1950s-70s, the researchers have recorded histories by people from smaller Christian villages who spoke Neo-Aramaic and were very much connected to the Chaldean identity and more ancient traditions and ways of life.
Meanwhile, the majority of Chaldean refugees coming over to the United States as a result of violence and persecution are more likely to speak Arabic than Neo-Aramaic, and are also more likely to come from larger, more cosmopolitan cities. Still, among those persecuted, “there’s a profound sense of them being Christian, because they’re being persecuted for that reason.”
‘More than just memories’
Though Talia is not involved directly in the interview process, he stressed to CNA the importance of gathering oral histories due to their unique ability to capture the essence of what it’s like to be a Middle Eastern Christian.
Just as his mother painted the experience of growing up in her hometown for Talia and his siblings, so too do these oral histories transmit the feeling of being in the communities of northern Iraq. “When you see these memories put on audio or on video, you can feel as if you were, or are present.”
While Talia was raised in Baghdad, his mother came from a Christian village of around 5,000 people in the northern Nineveh plain, without electricity, but maintaining many ancient traditions in their daily lives, including use of the Neo-Aramaic language.
“It’s more than simply nostalgia,” he explained of the stories. “It’s more than just memories. It’s a way of life which has disappeared or is disappearing.”
For Talia, the importance oral history plays in Middle Eastern culture has all the more weight due to the uncertainty faced by many communities. Even those that have been freed from the hands of ISIS are often in ruins, and much of the Middle Eastern Christian community is now in diaspora. Talia wants to help ensure “that the community isn’t gone simply because it isn’t in the villages or the towns.”
The next generation
The preservation of their home cultures and traditions is also a major concern for young Middle Eastern Christians who want to know more about their roots.
Yousif Kalian is a second-generation Iraqi immigrant and a member of the Syriac Catholic Church. As an undergraduate student at The Catholic University of America, he was a young adult researcher on the Christian Communities of the East Cultural Heritage Project, and he has continued to work with the endeavor after graduation. He initially learned about the project while taking a class with Dr. Talia.
“I’ve always had an interest in the region from a professional point of view, on top of being Iraqi-American,” Kalian told CNA. He said that within both Catholic and secular culture in the United States, there is a lack of understanding about Middle Eastern Christians, as well as a culture gap between Middle Eastern parents or grandparents and their children or grandchildren. This, he said, has left a lot of questions about identity and culture among many of his Middle Eastern Christian peers.
Kalian sees this project’s blending of oral history and multimedia access as a way for young people to help change that knowledge gap.
“If you know anything about the Middle East, the oral tradition is the most prominent tradition there,” he said, pointing to the recitation traditions in Islam, Judaism and several Christian churches. Singing and storytelling are closely tied up with the identity of the people, he explained.
“I think not just preserving dates and numbers and facts, but really preserving the stories is the most important thing to preserve from Middle Eastern Christian culture,” Kalian stressed.
“We all grew up with stories. The monastery that my grandfather is named after was destroyed by ISIS in 2015,” he said. “And my grandfather’s name was Behnam.”
Saint Behnam and Saint Sara monastery was established in the 4th Century in the Nineveh plain, about 20 miles from the city of Mosul. In late 2014, ISIS fighters took control of the monastery, expelling the monks under threat of death. On March 19, 2015, the terrorist group released images of the destruction of the tomb of Saint Behnam and the surrounding buildings.
Yet, Kalian keeps the memory of the monastery with him, as a part of who he is. “The story goes that my great grandma couldn’t have a son,” he told CNA. “Kept having daughters, and in Middle Eastern culture having a son is a point of pride: he carries the name and the wealth and protection. So she went to St. Behnam monastery and was praying, ‘Please give me a boy, St. Behnam. I’ll name him after you if you give me a boy’.”
“Sure enough, she gave birth to a boy, and he survived,” Kalian said, “He survived, and she named him Behnam.”
“You can find a book on Christianity in Iraq, or you can find a book on this monastery. But stories like this: they’ll die with our parents or grandparents.”
“That’s why I think this project is so important: to get the recipes of the food that they cook and the history behind the food they cook, and the names of our parents and grandparents and where they come from, and these saints and stories and traditions…once we move here, to an extent it stays and is alive, but in another sense it gets lost,” he lamented. “That’s why I think that this project really is important.”
And he is not the only one who is excited about the chance to pass on these stories: his siblings and other friends from his Syriac Catholic community have been interested in having a template to interview their parents and grandparents, and a way to digitize their memories. Kalian himself hopes to interview his family members and priests to collect their oral histories.
“I think every young person, if offered the opportunity, would love to speak with their grandparents or parents, if you gave them a structure to find out more about their own history,” he said.
“If you make it an active thing to learn about your culture and not just have it be reading or watching documentaries. Being able to engage – having it be an active thing and have an active culture – will engage them more and therefore persevere our communities, our history, our culture and our language.”
Once completed, the Christian Communities of the East Cultural Heritage Project will be accessible at www.ccmideast.org and in the archives of the Institute of Christian Oriental Research at The Catholic University of America. Documentary video will also be distributed in Michigan at a later date.
Photos courtesy of The Catholic University of America.
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“There is no need for the government to carry out enforcement actions in a way that provokes fear and anxiety among ordinary, hardworking immigrants and their families.”
Noble words indeed, which beg the question – given the ‘behavior’ of the good folks of LA – What other methods would you suggest?
Try That In A Small Town
Newsom runs onto the tarmac begging Trump for federal funds for the fire disaster but won’t help the feds remove criminals – go figure.
They never call for a reform of immigration laws when the liberals allow open borders for illegals to stream in.
Here’s another bishop who can’t bring himself to say “illegal” in reference to illegal immigrants. Why is he troubled that the federal government is enforcing immigration law? He should support law and order. The lawless and destructive rioters, encouraged by years of Democrat disregard for law and enforcement, are solely to blame for what’s happening in Los Angeles.
Newsom thinks the president must call him before activating the National Guard. I suspect he learned that from studying the efforts of other governors such as Orville Faubus and George Wallace
There’s a word for people who throw rocks at police, smash windows, loot, burn cars and shoot off fireworks with the intent to harm and terrorize. “Protesters” is not it.
The author of this piece uses the phrase “undocumented immigrants” and the bishop uses the phrase “unauthorized immigrant” even when referring to terrorist immigrants.
The bishops’ voting guide this past year stated that “we must stand with “newcomers-authorized and unauthorized.”
The bishops just cannot bring themselves to use the word ‘Illegal.” The words and terms that they use can only be described as propaganda words and terms. By using these propaganda words and terms they loose teaching credibility.
Archbishop Gomez, his Archdiocese of L.A., and its Catholic Charities are responsible for CAUSING the problem we now have with the invasion of our country by law-breaking illegal immigrants. It is ARCHBISHOP Gomez himself who should be arrested, tried, convicted and sent to jail. Try abiding by our laws, Archbishop.
Kings not apply. Another autocrat in action.
President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard on Saturday night, citing local leaders’ failure to control the situation. Interestingly, Trump saw the “need” to federalize the National Guard in LA, but, ironically, he did not call in the NG as the US Capitol on Jan. 6 was under siege. Instead, he sat idly by in the White House watching the riot on TV while Medows received a call for him to stop the madness. Some of those who called were his own family! After the smoke cleared, Trump called for the rioters to “Go home now. We feel your pain, we love you”. Then he issued a pardon for more than 150 rioters.
No one should accept riots in the streets of any city. Peaceful protests have been and are a constitutional right on display in nearly every US city relative to ICE and DOGE cruel actions. Why is LA any different?
Kings not apply?
I saw there’s a group with a similar name organizing these protests.
mrscracker: He’s just repeating what his handlers told him to say.
Do you believe Mr Morgan has handlers?
That wouldn’t occur to me.
Choice of language is a way to protect innocent and deserving illegals and other illegals with a good standing but with potential not yet ascertained. The legal-enforcement situation is very unsteady and has had the tendency to be brutal. The Archbishop and others could rightly feel that officials should resist being or feeling pressured to act unreasonably. Prudence would be the best course.
And by the way peaceful protest might win more support.
The LA TIMES report indicates that the policing has been left to local authorities and the military are consigned to federal locations.
‘ Maria Patiño Gutierrez lives in East L.A. but was back downtown Monday morning to join the rally in support of Huerta, the union leader arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday. As a U.S. citizen, she feels safe enough to join the rallies, knowing that many others in her community feel too vulnerable to be as vocal.
While she noticed graffiti as she walked to Grand Park, she said it was barely a concern compared with the recent ICE roundups that have had devastating consequences.
“Graffiti is going to be painted over, but family’s lives are impacted,” she said. “I’m just trying to stay hopeful, but I’m also really worried, really scared, really sad.”
“Everyone in L.A. is impacted one way or another — or everyone should be impacted,” Patiño Gutierrez said. “This is not business as usual.” ‘
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-09/la-me-downtown-la-immigration-violence
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/post/federal-judge-sides-with-trump-in-allowing-immigration-enforcement-in-houses-of-worship/
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/05/new-florida-illegal-immigration-blocked-by-federal-judge/82944027007/
A voice of moderation Elias. During present times even that will be impugned. I agree with what you say, although this dilemma is injurious to those on both sides of the issue.
Our bishops rarely if ever spoke out against human trafficking, evidence of using children. Crime, the fentanyl disaster. That has to be weighed in the scales of justice along with what you rightly say. Open border policy has precipitated a moral imbroglio. If we don’t control the border we will likely lose our Nation. Nevertheless, they’re many illegals working in the CA sun picking our crops.
I’ve held the position from the start that the Administration should be morally considerate on the justice issue. Biden gave them a free pass and the migrants knew it. Fault lies on the Biden administration side. Which is why, if we discover illegal migrants working hard along with their families we should let them stay for a term and finality set by the present administration.
Dear Father, I must respectfully disagree with your statement relative to Trump’s immigration policy. As a grateful American, I respect the Office of the President. I reserve my constitutional right to object to its occupant.
“The fault lies on the Biden administration side. Which is why, if we discover illegal migrants working hard along with their families we should let them stay for a term and finality set by the present administration.”
True, Biden was responsible for the current mess, but given that, I want to try to focus on the current administration and its “slash-and-burn” immigration policy failures. Lately, I see Biden as a conflicted man. His age is taking its toll. However, Biden showed me a man of character who did not spew hatred, lies and disparagement.
You know that Trump’s immigration “plan” will never purge only the criminal migrants. You also know that the ICE mass deportation “plan” is totally unworkable, costly and cruel. Czar Tom Homan recently said, “If you are here illegally, we will find you”. I interpret that to mean even hardworking families. Deporting a child suffering from cancer is perhaps the most egregious and sinful.
I am a lifetime Republican, and I refuse to align with the Trump MAGA madness, many of whom are directly affected by the actions of their “dear leader”. The American people are showing their objection to this man’s flame-throwing by peacefully protesting in every state.
I cannot remain silent, my religion and my Red, White and Blue stripe demand it.
God bless.
If you broke the law by entering the USA illegally, you must return to your own country. You are welcome to apply for entry in our country legally once you have left the USA; we’d be happy to have you.
It is the do-nothing establishment Republicans with their empty campaign promises that made Trump necessary. Your side are the ones who refused to govern and carry out your side’s hollow big talk. This has gone on for decades until the arrival of Trump and MAGA. Because of their failures, to me the establishment Republicans are just about as guilty as the Democrats are in the care and feeding of the Deep State. BTW, I’m an independent voter.
This article seems to be top heavy with euphemisms. Understand, my criticism is directed only to those using these euphemisms, not to this website for publishing this article. These euphemisms simply are an attempt to kick the can down the road and avoid dealing with the issue. I’m wondering how much government money is warping the conduct of the Church hierarchy? The paymaster being the true master? The church tax has pretty well destroyed the German Church.