 In face of violence, Orthodox aid agency continues work in Iraq |
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by Ecumenical News International |
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The International Orthodox Christian Charities, a US-based aid agency of Orthodox Christians, remains in Iraq, responding to needs of the beleaguered minority Christian community, as well as majority Muslims through incessant turmoil.
"[The] IOCC continues its work in Iraq, despite the violence and unrest, through its Iraqi staff," the group's spokesperson, Stephen Huba, told Ecumenical News International, after Sunday's violence in which more than 100 people were reported killed across the country. One of the IOCC's partner organizations in Baghdad, the Adventist Church, had been hit by car bombings in the violence, Huba noted, but there were no casualties. The Orthodox group is the relief arm of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) and has responded to ongoing violence, including recent attacks in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul, by providing relief assistance to survivors and families of the victims. During August, churches in Iraq that were usually distribution points for the IOCC aid were on the receiving end of assistance from the group, after a series of car bombing that targeted Christian worshippers, killing 11 persons and severely damaging the churches. "Christians around the world must stand with those who have fallen victim to this brutal violence, letting them know that we are with them not only in thought and prayer, but also in deed, in the days and weeks to come as they work to rebuild," said Saad Gedeon of the IOCC staff in Baghdad. The IOCC is one of several groups in Iraq linked to the Geneva-based relief alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT).
Date posted: Sep 14, 2004 |
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