A group of monks, watching the Islamic terrorist group ISIS advancing on their monastery, acted quickly to save an ancient Christian library.
The monks collected all the works, including handwritten books of Christian manuscripts, and rushed them into nearby areas that were firmly under the control of Kurdish militia.
The manuscripts are being held in an apartment with no indication of the historical treasure inside its walls. Christians who have fled the terrorists are standing guard over the documents.
The Associated Press viewed the library and reported copies of Bibles and Bible commentaries, most of them written in a form of the ancient Aramaic. The oldest item in the collection is a copy of letters from the Apostle Paul that date back 1,100 years.
ISIS has been systematically destroying historical locations and documents of religions as part of their campaign to “cleanse” the region.
The terrorists were eventually stopped before they could reach the monastery and the road to the site is now protected by Kurdish forces.
“Thank God they were unable to reach the monastery,” said Raad Abdul-Ahed, a local Christian who helped transport the library. But “we will keep it here until the crisis is over, until the situation is stabilized.” Abdul-Ahed, who fled his hometown near Mosul, now lives in the apartment with the manuscripts.
