Evangelical Church has a history in Iraq that goes back to 1850. This church focus on education and established several schools in main cities in Iraq including Baghdad, Mosul, Basra and Kirkuk. After 2003, this church established more presence in Iraqi Kurdistan. The presence and influence of these churches and schools varies depending on the political system in Iraq. Members of this church comes from Iraqi Presbyterian church and the historic Iraqi Syrian Catholic denomination.

History

In 1850 Presbyterians and Congregationalists opened a mission in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. The Arabian mission of the Reformed Church in America started in 1889 in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

; during the 1920s the

Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A ...

and the United Presbyterian Church supported this effort. This united mission was merged with the Southern Presbyterian Church in 1957. Its main focus was education; there was little success in

church planting Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

. There were four Reformed-Presbyterian congregations in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

, Kirkuk,

and Mosul, served by Egyptian pastors. In 1969 all missionaries were expelled from Iraq and their schools were closed. The exact number of churches and adherents is unknown. In 2001 the Evangelical Church of Iraq had five congregations and opened a Christian school. These congregations are: *National Evangelical Protestant Church in Kirkuk *Assyrian Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Baghdad *Arab Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Baghdad *National Evangelical Protestant Church in Mosul *National Presbyterian Church in Basra These churches recently formed the Assembly of Presbyterian Churches of Iraq. It was formally recognised by the Iraqi government. The Presbyterian Church (USA) helps to form relationships with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt, the Reformed Church in Kuwait,

National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL), also known as Synod SL (of Syria and Lebanon), is a Reformed denomination in the Middle East. It is a federation of Arabic-speaking congregations, that trace back their origin to the ev ...

. Evangelical churches have experienced a rapid growth and revival. Since the fall of the

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

regime, 15 evangelical congregations have been started. Officially, two evangelical churches, both Presbyterian, operated during the Baath regime. But now, there are Baptists, Methodists, Christian Alliance denominations as well. Most of the new evangelical members come from the Presbyterian church and from the historic Syrian Catholic denominations.

References

{{Demographics of Iraq Churches in Iraq Reformed denominations in Asia