Mar Addai and Mar Mari: the first Chaldean parish in Germany

By Baghdadhope

Yesterday in Essen (Germany) there was the important ceremony of presentation to the population of the city of the church and the Chaldean community, entrusted since September 2007 to Father Sami Danka who explained to Baghdadhope how his community is organized.

"That in Essen is not the only Chaldean community in Germany, there are, for example, others in München, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg. The only difference is that the parish of Essen, which includes the communities of Mönchengladbach, Bonn and Stadtlohn, is the first fully Chaldean. This means that the church where yesterday we celebrated the ceremony was originally a Catholic church but now it is a Chaldean one, a church where our people can follow the functions according to the Chaldean rite. The church, as a building, is dedicated to St. Albert the Great, but the parish as a whole is dedicated to St.Addai and St. Mari, the apostles of Jesus."

Was it a ceremony according to the eastern rite?

"No. Considering that it was an official ceremony of presentation to the city we celebrated according to the Latin rite, but we prayed and sang in German, Arabic and Aramaic."

Who did attend the ceremony?

"The Holy Mass was celebrated by me, by Msgr.Philip Najim Chaldean Procurator to the Holy See and Apostolic Visitator for Europe, officially invited for the occasion by the diocese of Essen, and by Msgr. Wolfgang Miehle, Secretary General of German Bishopric Conference. Among the faithful, about half of whom were Germans, there was Father Cesar Sliwa, the Chaldean priest in Stuttgart, and many German religious and civilian representatives. There was Msgr. Franz Vorrath, one of the auxiliary bishops of Essen managing the vacant seat since the transfer of the former bishop Msgr. Felix Genn to the diocese of Münster.
There was Msgr. Hubert Luthe, bishop emeritus of the city. Father Martin Pischel, vicar general for the affairs of the clergy. Dr. Wilhelm Tolksdorf, vicar general for the pastoral and Father Nikolai, dean of the priests of this area of the city. There were the Mayor of Essen Norbert Kleine-Möllhoff, the commissioner of state for migration of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Kufen Thomas, and the town councillor Gisela Juschka. There were some representatives of Caritas and Marie-Ange Siebrecht of Aid to the Church in Need - Germany "
Father, what did this ceremony leave you?

"The firm belief that the Chaldean community living in Germany has started to integrate in the country while preserving its religious identity. The participation of the faithful yesterday was emotionally tangible and this, for a community living in diaspora, is what cements it, keeps alive the thoughts and memories of the motherland and spurs it to build a life in the country that welcomed it."
In the last days the world celebrated, a year after his funeral, the memory of Archbishop Raho. Was he mentioned in the ceremony in Essen?

It was Msgr.Philip Najim who answered to this question.

"Of course. In the speech I was invited to give besides thanking the Diocese of Essen for the enormous willingness demonstrated to the Chaldean community I spoke about how the church in Iraq is founded on the sacrifice of its martyrs from which it draws strength and faith. Remembering Msgr. Raho then and dedicating a thought to him and to the other Christian martyrs was natural. In Germany, as everywhere in the world, the Chaldean community will always have a special affection for them.”

On last year the European Union called its member states to accept 10,000 Iraqi refugees living in Syria and Jordan, but by now among all the states it has been declared the availability to accept only 5,000 of them, 2500 of whom will arrive in Germany. Among the refugees for whom the Union pleaded the reception there are also the members of religious minorities.

The EU decision sparked protests from several Iraqi bishops who saw in it a further incentive to emigration for the Iraqi Christian community. Criticisms that do not seem to match with the immigration policy of the German Government. The formalization of Mar Addai and Mar Mari as the first Chaldean parish on German soil, however expected, and "in the order of the things," seems to want to emphasize the concept of a "welcoming" state that decides autonomously who can get in its territory.

And that may go beyond the numbers. On the one hand the human rights organizations in Germany that are pushing in this direction by asking for the establishment of a permanent resettlement scheme (currently according to the EU program the refugees are offered a three-year extendable residence permit) or Guenter Burkhardt of Pro-Asyl who stated that more than 2500 refugees are in need of help and that this people, most of them educated, are needed by Germany. On the other hand, the change of the Presidency of the European Union that from July will be assigned to Sweden, a country that, as stated by Dan Eliasson, head of the migration board, since 2006 accepted 80,000 Iraqi, a half of whom as asylum seekers and half as refugees, and that will certainly put pressure on other European governments to contribute more aids to refugees arriving in the Old Continent.

Maybe disappointing who is trying to stop the bleeding of the Iraqi Christian community for the preservation of its origin and traditions but maybe blostering the spirits of those refugees who are unable or unwilling to return to Iraq.