A former Archbishop of Canterbury has urged more senior figures in the Church of England to speak out against the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria as
Lord Rowan Williams was giving a speech at Cheltenham Literature Festival when he said: "I have people I know who are currently being held in the Middle East, including two bishops in Syria, and I am waiting to find out their fate."
When asked by a member of the audience if the Church should be doing more to condemn Islamic State, he replied: "I couldn't agree more.
"Many have been speaking up and I hope more will. One of the dangers we face at the moment is the rise of a particular kind of religious tyranny in that region, whose results both locally and globally are lessons for us all.
"We cannot turn our backs on that. It is not academic - I am glad there are people speaking out."
The former archbishop did not name the men, although The Daily Telegraph claims it is Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church.
The newspaper says the pair were pulled from their car by gunmen in April last year while travelling in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference
In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.
Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.
For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.
Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.
Support Us
