Chaldean Churches in United States

There are approximately 150,000 Chaldeans in the U.S.A. They're spread all over the country but mainly in Detroit, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, Turlock, San Jose and Arizona.

Biography of Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim

Mar Ibrahim Ibrahim was born on October 1, 1937 in Tel Keppe (Telkaif in Arabic, a suburb of old Nineveh), North of Mosul, (IRAQ). He entered the Chaldean Seminary in Mosul September 1951, after six years of study he was sent to the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris, France to continue the studies of Philosophy and Theology. He returned to Baghdad in August 1962, and was ordained priest by the Late Patriarch Mar Paulus Cheikho on December 30, 1962 and he was appointed Professor of Dogmatic Theology in the Chaldean Seminary in Baghdad.

In September 1964, Reverend Ibrahim was appointed Rector of the Chaldean Major Seminary in Baghdad till 1968 when he was designated to be associate pastor in St. Joseph Chaldean Parish. In 1970 he was asked to return to his native village, Tel Keppe in order to establish a new Seminary College in the Archdiocese of Mosul, IRAQ. After two years he was sent by the Chaldean Patriarch to Rome to continue his study of Theology, three years later he earn his Doctor Degree in theology from the Augelicum University, his thesis was about the Christology of Narsai, a famous Chaldean Theologian, writer and poet of the 5th. Century.

In December 1975 Rev. Ibrahim returned back to Baghdad and was assigned to the same post in St. Joseph Parish till 1978 when he was asked to go to the United States of America to assist the pastor of St. Peter Chaldean Parish in San Diego, California. One year later he was asked to establish a Chaldean parish in Los Angeles and he became the founder of St. Paul Parish in there.

In January 22, 1982 the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II confirmed the election made by the Chaldean Synod of Reverend Ibrahim to become the First Chaldean Bishop of the U.S.A. Reverend Ibrahim was consecrated Bishop on March 7, 1982 in Baghdad, and his confirmation took place at the Chaldean Cathedral in Southfield, Michigan on April 18, 1982.

Bishop Ibrahim speaks and writes Chaldean, Arabic, English, French and Italian.

Biography of Bishop Sarhad Jammo

His Excellency Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jamo was born Sarhad Jammo in Baghdad on March 14, 1941. After completing elementary school at St. Joseph Elementary in Baghdad and high school at the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in Mosul, he moved to Rome at the age of 17 where he spent the next ten and half years of his life. Between 1958 and late 1964, he studies at the Pntifical University the Urbaniana, where he earned a Masters degree in Philosophy and a Masters degree in Theology. He continued his studies at the Pontifical Institue for Eastern Studies where he obtained a Doctorate in Ecclesiastical Eastern Studies with his doctoral dissertation "The Structure of the Chaldean Mass".

Having completed his studies in Rome, he returned to Baghdad where he was appointed Pastor of St. John the Baptist parish from 1969 to 1974 during which time a new church building and rectory were built. In 1974, he was appointed Rector of the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in which capacity he served until 1977. It was after his service as Rector of the seminary that he came to the United States and was appointed as Associate Pastor of Mother of God Parish in Southfield, Michigan to serve with Msgr. George Garmo during which time the new church was built. In September 1980, he was appointed pastor of Mother of God Parish. After serving in Southfield as pastor for three years, he moved to Troy, Michigan to become pastor of St. Joseph Church in which capacity he served for almost twenty years. During his time as a pastor, he built a new social hall, a meeting hall, an office building, a new rectory, and a new church building. In 1991, he was assigned as Vicar General of the Chaldean Eparchy of the United States.

In addition to his pastrol work, Bishop Sarhad Yawsip never ceased his academic pursuits. From 1977 to 1979 he taught courses in Eastern Liturgies at his alma mater, the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. In 1984 and 1985, he taught at the University of Notre Dame, and in 1987 he taught a course at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Since 1993, he has been appointed Professor of Eastern Liturgies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, where he teaches one semester per year. He is the author of numerous publications, particularly on the subjects of Aramaic language and literature and the history and liturgy of the Church of the East.

In the civil arena, Bishop Sarhad has been active in advancing Chaldean and Assyrian cultural causes, and especially in expressing and clarifying the Assyri-Chaldean historic identity. In 1981, he acted as the principle founder of the Chaldean Federation of AMerica. He also co-founded the Chaldean Voice radio program with several new activities. In 1990, he founded the Chaldean Academy, an organization pursuing Chaldean arts and literature, through which he produced his musical play "Between the Tigris and Euphrates" in 2001.

Perhaps Bishop Sarhad Yawsip's most significant contributions in the ecclesial arena have been in the areas of liturgical renewal and the reunification of the Church of the East. In the area of liturgy, he has pioneered ceremonial, architectural, and iconographic articulation of the Chaldean ritual. He has also made genuine mark in his promotion of Chaldean liturgical music in his development of extant melodies, his composition of new melodies, and his formation of the St. Joseph Choir. In the area of reunification of the Church of the East, he has also made his mark. In 1979, he became a member of the Consultation Committee of the Catholic Conference of Bishops, in the dialogue with Eastern Orthodox Churches. His work toward unity was a contributing factor leading to the 1994 Joint Christological Declaration between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Catholic Church. Following this, in 1995, he was appointed as a member of the Mixed Committee for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, and on August 14, 1997 he was made Co-Secretary General of the Joint Committee for the Unity between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. His work in these committees helped lead to the 2001 Holy See document Guidelines for Intercommunion between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.

Click here for a list of Christian Monasteries in Iraq

Chaldean Catholic Churches in the United States:

Chaldean Diocese                                                                               Mar Addai Parish
25603 Berg Road                                                                                 24010 Coolidge Highway
Southfield, MI 48034                                                                           Oak Park, Michigan 48237
Phone (248) 351-0440                                                                         Phone (248) 547-4648

St. Mary Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church                                  Mother of God Parish
109 North First Street                                                                         25585 Berg Road
Campbell, CA 95008                                                                            Southfield, Michigan 48034
Phone (408) 378-6212                                                                          Phone (248) 356-0565

Saint Peter's Church                                                                          Saint Joseph Parish
1627 Jamacha Way                                                                              2442 East Big Beaver Road
El Cajon, California 92019                                                                  Troy, Michigan 48083
Phone (619) 579-7913                                                                          Phone (248) 528-3676

Saint Paul Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church                               Sacred Heart Parish
13050 Vanowen Street                                                                       310 W. Seven Mile Road
North Hollywood, California 91605                                                   Detroit, Michigan 48203
Phone (818) 765-3665                                                                         Phone (313) 368-6214

Saint Thomas Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church                         Saint Thomas Parish
2901 N. Berkeley Avenue                                                                   6900 Maple Road
Turlock, California 95380                                                                   West Bloomfield, MI 48322
Phone (209) 668-4500                                                                        Phone (248) 788-2460

Saint Ephrem's Church                                                                     Mar Auraha Chaldean Catholic Church
2537 West Bryn Mawr Avenue                                                          6816 East Cactus Roar
Chicago, Illinois 60659                                                                        Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Phone (773) 271-8899                                                                         Phone (602) 596-6798

Mart Maryam Church
2849 West Chase Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60645
Phone (773) 761-9401