Archbishop reflects on meeting Iraqi Christians in Jordan

From Justin Welby-

Yesterday we visited St Paul's Anglican Church in Amman, Jordan. It is an extraordinary place - a congregation made up of Jordanians, a few Egyptians, some Syrians (though many of these have been resettled) and Iraqi refugees.

It was their stories which I found especially moving. The intense suffering of Iraqi Christians does not end when they leave Iraq. As I listened, there was this awful sense of lives torn apart.
People are divided from their children and families and have no idea what will happen. One woman has children in both Germany and the Netherlands, but has been refused entry to both so she doesn't know when or if they will ever be reunited.

Young men are vulnerable to being recruited to extremist causes because their community and networks have been stripped away.
One man told me he has no hope at all. He said he is caught between Islamic State, the government and NGOs who further discriminate against him because he is a Christian.

More here-

http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5858/archbishop-reflects-on-meeting-iraqi-christians-in-jordan-

Head of Anglican church visits Christian refugees in Jordan

From ABC News (more links below)-

The head of the Anglican Church met with Iraqi refugees Tuesday during a visit to Jordan in which he called on the region's embattled Christians to remain in the Middle East, the cradle of their faith.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said Christians "are the past in the Middle East, they are the present and they must be the future."

Two dozen refugees from Iraq asked the archbishop to help them leave the Middle East after praying with him at the Anglican church of St. Paul in Amman. Welby also met Jordan's King Abdullah II and visited the Zaatari refugee camp.

The Middle East is home to the oldest Christian communities in the world, but large numbers have fled in recent years to escape war and Islamic extremism.

At dusk, the bells at Amman's Church of the Redeemer rang out in welcome of the archbishop for a prayer service with about a hundred Jordanian, Iraqi and other Christians.

More here-

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/head-anglican-church-visits-christian-refugees-jordan-47156011

The Daily Mail-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4468660/Archbishop-Canterbury-leads-prayers-Jordan-River.html

Christian Today-

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/archbishop.of.canterbury.in.jordan.christians.are.the.past.present.and.must.be.the.future/108308.htm

Huffington Post-

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/justin-welby/iraqi-christians-jordan_b_16405980.html

Amman: Where A Good Church Is Easy to Find

From Patheos-

Finding a Christian church in Amman is the easiest thing in the world – provided you’re not too picky which church.

Estimates of the numbers of Christians in Jordan range from a high of 390,000, or 6%, to a modest 186,000, or 2.8 %. Beyond dispute, however, is their variety. Jordanian Christians come in all flavors, including Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Melkite Greek Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Maronite Catholic, Latin-Rite Catholic, and Anglican. The churches have synchronized their liturgical calendars in agreement with Orthodox conventions; today they celebrate Easter across the board. Whatever advantages this offers believers themselves, it makes them harder than ever for outsiders to tell apart.

Read more:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/diaryofawimpycatholic/2015/04/amman-where-a-good-church-is-easy-to-find/#ixzz3XBdRSlXh

Pope visit boosts Jordanian site of Jesus baptism

BETHANY BEYOND THE JORDAN (Reuters) - When Pope Benedict stops to pray at a pool of still green water here on Sunday, his visit will bolster the case that Jesus was baptized at this spot on the east bank of the Jordan River.

The exact location is unclear and a rival spot across the narrow muddy river has long claimed to be the place where John the Baptist and Jesus met for the cleansing ritual.

But for over a decade now, Jordanian experts have unearthed ruins of ancient churches amid the tamarisk trees here and found early pilgrims' writings about the site. Christian denominations have begun building new churches for modern pilgrims nearby.

Rustom Mkhjian, assistant director of the Baptism Site Commission developing the area, said the archaeological evidence showed early Christians saw this as the true site.

The rest-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/07/AR2009050701023.html

Baptism center opens in Jordan

Baptist leaders and other dignitaries -- including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- took part in a ceremony March 20 dedicating a new evangelical Christian baptism center at the Jordanian spot traditionally regarded as the site of Jesus' baptism.

The afternoon celebration at the Baptism Center at Bethany beyond Jordan included more than 120 baptisms by immersion in the Jordan River. They were conducted by pastors from the Jordan Baptist Convention.

Eron Henry, associate director of communications for the Baptist World Alliance, said in a travel blog it is the first time Baptists in Jordan have received such prominent coverage in Jordan's major media outlets.

One of several new churches being built along the Jordan River at about the location Christian pilgrims have long believed Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the center is intended to cater to Christian traditions that practice believer's baptism by immersion.

BWA General Secretary Neville Callam, in the day's major address, called the center "a place where people from all parts of the world may assemble for a journey and an experience." He expressed hope that "the waters of the Jordan extinguish the crippling fires of hopelessness that burn in the hearts of those who have no knowledge of God."

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3948&Itemid=53