Archbishop: Christians Are Facing 'Imminent Extinction' in The Middle East
Justin Welby claims 'daily threat of murder' is getting worse
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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has warned that Christians are now facing 'imminent extinction' in the middle east, according to reports.
Welby declared to his followers that the 'daily threat of murder' is getting worse and the situation is now worse than the 'Mongol invasions of the 13th century'.
The Archbishop advised the Government to take in more Christian refugees, due to figures suggesting just one in 400 Syrian refugees given asylum last year were Christian.
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Speaking to the BBC: Mr. Welby said: "The plight of Christians in many parts of the Middle East has become more and more acute."
'As we approach Christmas, we need to pray for them and speak out for them.'
He added in a separate interview: "Christians face daily the threat of violence, murder, intimidation, prejudice, and poverty."
"In the last few years, they have been slaughtered by so-called Islamic State, and in many countries they find themselves squeezed between the upper and lower millstones of pressure on them within society and of conflicts that afflict the region."
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"Many have left. Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. Many have been killed, enslaved and persecuted or forcibly converted. Even those who remain to ask the question, 'Why stay?''
The Christian population of Iraq is under half what it was in 2003, according to Welby.
"Across the region Christian communities that were the foundation of the universal Church now face the threat of imminent extinction," he wrote.
He added: "We must support and help them in every way we can. Where they wish to leave, they will be refugees in need of asylum."
"Where, courageously and by the grace of God, they choose to remain, they need publicity and external, visible support.'
