IRAQIS gathered for Christmas behind Kalashnikovs yesterday. Midnight Mass was cancelled because of bombing fears and curfews, but the country?s rapidly dwindling Christian minority turned out in their thousands for early morning services.

Protected under Saddam, Christians once numbered between 600,000 and 700,000 in Iraq, but church officials say that about half have now fled, especially from the south, where militias linked to Iraq?s ruling parties have waged a three-year campaign to Islamise the country at gunpoint.

From Stephen Farrell in Baghdad, Dec 25, 2005, Times Online, UK

Believers who came to the Shabbat Service at the Messianic Congregation at Beer Sheva to worship, were confronted by a throng of about 500 men, women, and children who had come to prevent the congregation from baptizing two believers. Apparently these people have heard the news of people coming to know Christ from Arad, a neighboruing town in the South of Israel, from which the two belong to the congregation there, and the plan was for a number of them in the congregation to come over to Beer Sheva and participate in the holy-day celebration, and the immersions would take place in the baptismal on the congregational property. The religious opposers of the good news forced their way into the grounds of the "Old House", creating a disturbance and claiming that they were going to rid Beer Sheva and Israel of Messianic Jews.

Special For "Come and See", Dec 25, 2005

By secular standards, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa has done spectacularly well in his career. Even from the perspective of the Catholic establishment, Pizzaballa is an unparalleled success story. In fact, being appointed custodian of the Holy Land at the age of 39 is quite a feat by any yardstick: In practice, Pizzaballa is the man in charge of all the Christian holy places in the Middle East.

By Lili Galili, Haaretz, Dec 24, 2005

If you travel around the Arab villages and towns in Galilee these days, you will be surprised to see billboards with the sign ?Jesus Christ is the Feast? (Jesus is the Reason of the Season) - This is the name of the campaign that the Life agape Ministry is leading with the cooperation of around 50 churches (Baptists, Nazarenes, Assemblies of God and Brethren). This campaign has been launched everywhere in the newspapers, billboards and the Internet.

Special for "Come and See", Dec 23, 2005

If pilgrims worshipping in the Church of the Nativity look up at the roof, they will see a battlefield threatening the future of one of Christendom's most holy sites.

Squabbling over crucial roof repairs between the three Christian communities who share custodianship of Jesus's birthplace is endangering the 1,500-year-old basilica.

By Tim Butcher, The Telegraph

They have come to Israel from Russia and Ukraine. They are more numerous than the members of the historical Churches, but they are not included in any tally. Observant Jews, Orthodox Christians, and Catholics are all competing for them.

by Sandro Magister, Chiesa, Dec 13, 2005

Law states life of terminally ill person who does not wish to continue living will not be extended artificially; health minister: ?This is one of most important laws passed by Knesset. It represents major moral value for terminally ill and their families?

Ilan Marciano, Ynetnews, Dec 6, 2005

The founder of the US first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims.

The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman.

The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials.

By Julia Duin, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, November 26, 2005

The Jerusalem-based Palestinian human rights lawyer and peace activist writes about the unique situation of Christian Arabs:

"Those who expected Arab Christians of siding with the 'Christian' West, for the outsiders, were consistently proven mistaken. To the contrary, the unique position of Arab Christians, with their knowledge and understanding of the West have always been used to promote the interests of the Arab world and press for its positions at every turn of the road".

Jonathan Kuttab, Al-Hayat, Nov 7, 2005