Father Najeeb Michael saved as many people as he could.
Right before Islamic State stormed his village, he packed as many people as possible into his car and fled to Irbil in the dead of night.
The manuscripts include parchments that date back more than 1,000 years, and historical documents related to astrology, theology and philosophy.
Some of the documents now are tucked away inside a metal filing cabinet in the middle of a rundown building in central Irbil, kept in gray boxes tied in cream-colored ribbons.
Father Najeeb said he managed to sneak many pieces, including paintings, out of Qaraqosh and surrounding churches 10 days before the extremists stormed in.
Opposite the file cabinet, Father Najeeb has set up a camera above a small table, where he and a number of students are painstakingly photographing every page of every manuscript.
By digitizing these historical pages, Father Najeeb hopes he will forever preserve Iraq’s Christian history.
