ABSTRACT
This chapter forms the main focus of the text in terms of the original research completed in Iraq during October 2013. I offer the first cohesive account of Chaldean ecclesial development since the 2003 war based on interviews with clergy and community members and archival research. I consider:
– The effects of persecution, migration and ecclesiastical reorganisation on the community
– The metaphysical sense of Chaldean-ness which helped sustain the Church and community as it became a diaspora-based institution outside of its place of origin and geographically distant from its Mespotamian-Iraqi Christian heritage.
The chapter provides an overview of each of the Iraqi Chaldean dioceses, with a historical account of their origins to October 2013. I note how crucial it is for any community in a period of crisis to better understand their history in order to defend their current identity and sustain their heritage into the future.
