Charles M. SennottApril 1, 2013 15:27

The Road to Emmaus: How a Christian exodus from the Middle East undermines the Arab Awakening

Why anyone who cares about tolerance and peace in today’s Middle East should care about the diminishing Christian presence in the land where the faith began.

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An Iraqi Christian women carries an olive branch in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil as Christians gather at the St. Joseph Church, on March 23, 2013, to celebrate Palm Sunday that marks the triumphant return of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem when a cheering crowd greeted him waving palm leaves the week before his death. (Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images)

This is the fourth in a series of posts about dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East.

Today in churches all over the world, the scripture tells of the story of the ‘road to Emmaus’ on the day after Easter Sunday. In the Gospel According to Luke, two of Jesus’ disciples headed out to a village called Emmaus, about eight miles northwest of Jerusalem.

It’s quite possible they were fleeing Roman authorities in fear of being associated with Jesus and his radical message. And it was there on the road to Emmaus more than 2,000 years ago that something mystical happened, a story with a good deal of resonance today.

Charles M. SennottMarch 31, 2013 07:53

Egyptian Christians losing sense of home

Copts are leaving Egypt in unprecedented numbers.

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A woman holds her hands together during an early morning prayer service at the Church of the Virgin Mary. (Laura El-Tantawy/VII mentor program/GlobalPost)

This is the third in a series of posts about dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East.

Lauren E. BohnMarch 30, 2013 08:07

Christians in Egypt increasingly vulnerable

From sectarian violence to political marginalization, Christian Copts are being pushed aside in majority-Muslim Egypt.

This is the second in a series of posts about dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East.

MELLAWI, Egypt — It’s been close to two years since Evon Loga Gabrieul’s 17-year-old son died, but she can’t step into his pristine gray-scale bedroom without breaking down.

Charles M. SennottMarch 29, 2013 11:19

The Road to Emmaus: Dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East

Why Christians’ disappearance in the Middle East should matter to anyone who cares about tolerance and still hopes for peace in the region.

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A man prays inside Cairo's Church of the Virgin Mary in the neighborhood of Shubra on Sunday Feb. 3, 2013. (Laura El-Tantawy/VII mentor program/GlobalPost)

This is the first in a series of posts about dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East.

On the ancient cobblestones of Jerusalem’s Old City today Christians retraced what tradition holds as the path of Jesus in his final hours of life.

Marking what is referred to in the Roman Catholic religious calendar as ‘Good Friday,’ there are annual reenactments, in which an actor playing the role of Jesus wears a torn robe and a crown of thorns. He stumbles under the weight of a heavy wooden cross while other actors, dressed as Roman soldiers, beat and torment him along the way.

Michael GoldfarbMarch 28, 2013 13:49

Passover and modern anti-Semitism: a reflection

Celebrating one of Judaism's most important holidays with the lingering sense that anti-Jewish hate is never far from a resurgence.

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"The last Jew in Vinnitsa." 1941. Vinnitsa, Ukraine. (Unknown/Wikimedia commons)

LONDON — Passover is the time of year when all Jews — even the most secular — reflect on what it means to be Jewish. And all Jews feel some sense of amazement that an event that may or may not have happened 3,500 years ago has been celebrated continually for at least 2,500 of the years that have followed.

I can't offer you statistics to back up that assertion, but take it from an insider, if a sociologist or pollster made a study asking Jews about the Passover story as a source of identity, most would put it near the top.

Lauren MadowMarch 28, 2013 11:40

Is the prime minister's resignation a golden opportunity for Lebanon?

Though the war in Syria is creating tumult in Lebanon, Najib Mikati may have created a chance for much-needed reform.

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Lebanese protesters wearing a Guy Fawkes mask used by the Anonymous movement carry placards during a protest organized by the public sector employees on March 21, 2013 near the Presidential Palace in Baabda east of the Lebanese capital Beirut, to demand an increase in wages. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)

In a live speech broadcast last week, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati presented his resignation as a call to action for other government parties, saying that “God willing it will provide an impetus for the primary political blocs in Lebanon to assume their responsibilities."

Paresh DaveMarch 25, 2013 15:46

Pope Francis won't change the church's path, says Dublin city councillor

Mannix Flynn said the Catholic Church needs to take responsibility for its wrongs before it can change for the better.

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Dublin City Councillor Mannix Flynn (Paresh Dave/GlobalPost)

DUBLIN — In his first week at the Vatican, Pope Francis called for a leaner, no-frills church rooted in Christ's original mission of serving the most needy. Many heralded his vision for the future, but not everyone is convinced that Francis can reposition the diverse global institution.

Dublin City Councillor Mannix Flynn is among the naysayers. A victim of sexual abuse while at a church-run industrial school in Ireland, Flynn said he believes the church will continue down a perilous course.

Shweta Saraswat and Paige BrettingenMarch 25, 2013 15:48

Young Irish Catholics reject conservatism of new pope

The Vatican expects Francis to rebuild the church, but disaffected young Catholics are skeptical.

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The bell tower of Trinity College in Dublin. (Paige Brettingen/GlobalPost)

DUBLIN — Pope Francis received a resounding welcome on Wednesday evening as the first non-European pope, but some college students at Dublin’s Trinity College saw the conservative choice as one that would push them further away from their Catholic ties.

The College of Cardinals chose 76-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to succeed Pope Benedict XVI and to represent the burgeoning Catholic population outside of Europe. But they did so at the risk of alienating another essential demographic group: young adults.

Swe WinMarch 23, 2013 16:43

Sectarian violence sweeps through central Myanmar

Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims left more than 50 dead and thousands homeless.

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Policemen stand guard outside a partially-burnt mosque in riot-hit Meiktila, central Myanmar on March 22, 2013. Charred bodies lay unclaimed on the streets of a riot-hit town in central Myanmar, witnesses said, as global pressure mounted for an end to the Buddhist-Muslim unrest. Parts of Meiktila have been reduced to ashes in the most serious communal violence to hit the former junta-ruled nation since last year, leaving the authorities struggling to bring the situation under control (Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images)

YANGON, Myanmar – The latest round of sectarian violence in Myanmar seemed to be quieting over the weekend after the government declared a state of emergency and sent army troops to the area, leaving thousands homeless and more than 50 people confirmed dead.

Michael GoldfarbMarch 23, 2013 12:28

With new archbishop, Church of England exercises political power on welfare reform

The 'C of E' — now led by Justin Welby — is pushing against the Conservative government's approach to the poor.

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The Most Reverend Justin Welby during his enthronement as the Archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral on March 21, 2013 in Canterbury, England. He was enthroned in front of bishops and religious of the Anglican communion from around the world, the Prime Minister David Cameron, the Prince of Wales and other dignitaries. (Philip Toscan/AFP/Getty Images)

LONDON — Last week the Roman Catholic church got a new pope. This week the Church of England got a new archbishop of Canterbury.

Thursday's enthronement of Justin Welby as the 105th archbishop was slightly less grand than that of Francis. But that's the Anglican way: understated, like good British tailoring.

Pope Francis didn't have African drummers bring a bit of liveliness to the proceedings, but Archbishop Justin specifically added them to the ceremony to represent the time in his life when he was an oil company executive based in Nigeria.