Chaldeans are members of an autonomous Catholic Church that retains
a unique liturgy and tradition while recognising the Pope's authority.
Chaldeans form the majority - about 550,000 - of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians.
Their spiritual leader, Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly,
is based in Baghdad. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in
2007.
His Church originally comprised members of the Nestorian
Church, and has had a presence in the country now known as Iraq since
the 2nd Century.
Nestorianism ascribes to the belief that Jesus Christ has two
natures - that of a divine being, the Son of a God, and that of a
mortal human.
The Eastern-rite Church the Chaldeans belong to has a
traditional liturgical language, Syriac - a linguistic descendant of
Aramaic, the language thought by most scholars to have been spoken by
Jesus and his disciples.
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My question is on the following sentence of the above:
His Church originally comprised members of the Nestorian
Church, and has had a presence in the country now known as Iraq since
the 2nd Century.
Why is it necessary to write 'has had a presence in the country now known Iraq since 2nd Century'?
It is enough to write 'has a presence in the country now known Iraq since 2nd Century'
What do you think?