Archbishop gives warning over IS threat to Christianity

Christianity faces "elimination" in the Middle East, the region where it began, the Archbishop of Canterbury will warn in his Christmas Day sermon.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby will say so-called Islamic State is "igniting a trail of fear, violence, hatred and determined oppression".

He will also brand IS as "a Herod of today" - a reference to the Biblical king at the time of Jesus's birth.

The archbishop will deliver his sermon at Canterbury Cathedral.

He will say: "Confident that these are the last days, using force and indescribable cruelty, they [IS] seem to welcome all opposition, certain that the warfare unleashed confirms that these are indeed the end times.

"They hate difference, whether it is Muslims who think differently, Yazidis or Christians, and because of them the Christians face elimination in the very region in which Christian faith began.

"This apocalypse is defined by themselves and heralded only by the angel of death."

The archbishop - spiritual leader of the world's 85 million Anglicans - will also say that to those who have been, or are being, "dehumanised by the tyranny and cruelty" of Islamic State, then "God's judgment comes as good news, because it promises justice".

Elsewhere, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, in his own message for the festive season, will condemn "aggressive secularism that threatens to relegate spirituality and sanctity within our society" as well as the "shameful scourge of hatred and oppression, which remains the most pressing global challenge of our time".

And Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, will say in a life shaped by faith in God, there is "absolutely no room at all for gratuitous violence".

He will say: "Living by faith calls us to overcome all temptations to violent speech or aggressive actions. This has to begin in our family circle. Lessons learned at a young age are rarely forgotten.

"It is therefore clear that any claim that faith in God supports or justifies such violence is abhorrent. It is a corruption of true faith."

The Anglican Archbishop of York will visit an open prison in North Yorkshire on Christmas Day to lead morning services.

Dr John Sentamu will attend Kirklevington Grange Prison and expected to tell inmates that it's never too late for a fresh start.