Mar Mattai Monastery – A Timeless Sanctuary of Faith, History, and Resilience

By Syriac Press

August 23, 2025 

Photo Syriac Press

 ucked 35 kilometers northeast of Mosul, Iraq, Mar Mattai Monastery stands as an enduring symbol of spiritual devotion and historical richness. Perched at 2,100 feet on Mount Alfaf, this 4th-century Syriac Orthodox monastery, founded by saint Mar Mattai, is one of Beth Nahrin’s (Mesopotamia’s) most revered Christian landmarks. Its stunning location amidst the rugged beauty of northern Iraq, coupled with its serene climate and commanding views, makes it a cherished destination for pilgrims, historians, and tourists alike. As an archaeological treasure, religious sanctuary, and cultural beacon, Mar Mattai embodies the resilience of Beth Nahrin’s Christian heritage.

Founded in the 4th century by Mar Mattai, a Syriac ascetic renowned for his piety, the monastery quickly became a spiritual hub, drawing thousands of monks and hermits from Nineveh and across Beth Nahrin. At its zenith, it reportedly housed up to 7,000 monks, a testament to its prominence during its golden eras. Despite centuries of invasions, fires, and plunder, the monastery retains sacred elements, including the altar, the House of Saints (part of the main church), Mar Mattai’s cell, ancient cisterns, caves, and hermitages.

A catastrophic fire in 480 AD razed much of its original artistry, erasing intricate inscriptions and decorations. Yet, by 544 AD, dedicated monks restored the site, reviving its ascetic traditions. Further trials followed, including abandonment in 1171 due to attacks from neighboring groups and devastating Mongol and Tatar raids after 1260. Each time, the monastery rose from adversity, with significant renovations in the 1970s bringing electricity and a paved road, transforming it into a modern pilgrimage and tourist site.

Mar Mattai’s enduring fame rests on three pillars: spiritual, ecclesiastical, and scholarly significance. Spiritually, Mar Mattai and his successors played a pivotal role in spreading Christianity across the region. 

They converted notable figures such as Mar Behnam, his sister Sarah, their parents Sennacherib and his wife, and many from the province of Athor. The monastery’s sanctity, enriched by the relics of Saint Mar Mattai and other saints, has long drawn pilgrims seeking healing, blessings, and spiritual renewal. Its reputation as a sacred site persists, with visitors flocking to venerate its holy relics and hear the word of God amidst its tranquil halls.

Ecclesiastically, Mar Mattai rose to prominence as an episcopal seat in the late 5th century, later becoming a metropolitan see, wielding significant influence within the Church of the East. Its metropolitan held a preeminent position, shaping the church’s direction. 

The monastery served as a residence for distinguished figures, including the renowned scholar Bar Hebraeus, who lived there for seven years in the 13th century. It hosted several key synods, produced three patriarchs, seven catholicos, and numerous bishops, cementing its role as a cornerstone of Syriac Christianity.

Scholarly, Mar Mattai was a beacon of intellectual achievement. Its 5th-century library, one of the finest repositories of Syriac manuscripts, housed treasures like the Syriac Gospel by the monk Mubarak Bartalli, adorned with 54 vibrant illustrations. 

Many of these manuscripts are now preserved in prestigious institutions, including the British Museum, Cambridge, Berlin, the Vatican, and Lebanon’s Deir Sharfeh. The monastery’s school fostered luminaries such as Mar Marutha Tikriti and Bar Hebraeus, whose contributions enriched the intellectual landscape of the Abbasid era. The school’s scholars played a vital role in translating and preserving knowledge, bridging Eastern and Western traditions during a golden age of learning.

Today, Mar Mattai remains a vibrant testament to resilience. Accessible via a recently paved road or traditional stone paths winding between mountain ridges, its three-story complex comprises approximately 100 rooms, including two churches dedicated to saint Mar Mattai and the Virgin Mary. 

The name “Al-Tabki,” derived from the Syriac term for “ascent,” reflects the monastery’s elevated position, both physically and spiritually. Despite Iraq’s turbulent recent history, including threats from conflict and instability, Mar Mattai continues to attract visitors from around the world. 

Its blend of spiritual depth, historical richness, and natural beauty makes it a cultural jewel, inviting exploration of its sacred halls and contemplation of its enduring legacy. 

As a living monument, Mar Mattai Monastery stands as a bridge between past and present, offering solace and inspiration to all who visit.

Iraqi Christians face political challenges as election approaches

By Catholic News Agency - ACI MENA

Georgena Habbaba

August 23, 2025

As Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission announces the final lists of political coalitions, parties, and individual candidates ahead of November’s parliamentary elections, a critical question hangs over the country’s Christian community: Will their voice truly be heard in decision-making or will it be sacrificed to the interests of political parties and influential blocs?

More than 30 Christian candidates, running individually or with specific blocs and parties, are competing for the five seats reserved for them under Iraq’s electoral law. These seats are distributed across the provinces of Baghdad, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Dohuk, and Erbil. Meanwhile, the Independent High Electoral Commission recently disqualified three of these candidates for various reasons.

In an effort to attract Christian voters, several electoral entities and coalitions have emerged in what observers describe as the “political exploitation of the Christian component.”

Despite their different political affiliations and disagreements on multiple issues, they share a common strategy: adopting Christian names and aggressively competing for the five seats. This has raised serious concerns about the independence of Christian political decision-making in the upcoming Parliament.

Call to action

Despite a significant decline in Iraq’s Christian population over recent decades, particularly after many were forcibly displaced by ISIS in 2014, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, has consistently urged Iraqis, especially Christians, to participate in the upcoming elections.
He emphasized the crucial role each individual can play in shaping the country’s future.
Sako, whose church represents the majority of Iraq’s Christians, has long advocated for restricting voting for Christian quota seats to Christians only. He has expressed growing concern within his community, noting that the threat of emigration is intensifying “due to armed factions seizing control of their towns, especially in the Nineveh Plain, along with blackmail, harassment, and the confiscation of quotas and government positions, all while effective measures to protect their rights and security remain absent.”

Accusations and demographic decline

Accusations continue to fly between the so-called “Christian” alliances, with groups blaming one another for being controlled by larger, non-Christian parties and for hijacking quota seats while failing to provide genuine Christian representation. This infighting persists as the Christian community faces ongoing demographic decline and harsh conditions.

Meanwhile, new parliamentary figures are gaining prominence, often with success attributed to non-Christian votes, as they are seen as aligned with powerful political parties and alliances.

Calls for electoral law reforms are growing louder, with advocates demanding changes to prevent Christian quota seats from being captured by outsiders. They argue that reform is necessary to ensure the genuine voice of Christian voters is heard, free from marginalization, dependency, or exploitation.

As the election approaches, a critical question remains: Will the upcoming elections provide an opportunity for genuine Christian representatives to win, or will history repeat itself?

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Iraq: card. Sako (patriarca caldeo) a ritiro annuale clero, “no alla schiavitù del potere e del denaro. No al fondamentalismo”

By AgenSIR - Patriarcato caldeo 

Foto Patriarcato caldeo

“Essere segni di speranza in un modo tormentato”: è stato il tema del ritiro spirituale annuale del clero caldeo (Ankawa, 18-21 agosto) cui hanno partecipato 65 tra sacerdoti, vescovi e religiosi di rito caldeo, sotto la guida del loro patriarca, card. Louis Raphael Sako.
Al termine dei lavori il patriarca ha indirizzato a tutti i partecipanti un messaggio nel quale li invita a riflettere sul senso della “vocazione da vivere con dignità e verità dentro di noi e nel cercare di diffonderla intorno a noi”.
Ricordando le parole di uno dei predicatori del ritiro, Mar Sako ha ricordato che “quella caldea è una chiesa che lotta nonostante le sfide e le tentazioni” e ha citato “la crisi degli sfollati che ha visto la nostra chiesa al loro fianco per guarire le loro ferite e venire incontro ai bisogni spirituali e materiali”.
Da qui l’esortazione del patriarca a “conservare quest’anima umana, spirituale e pastorale. Non importa quali siano le difficoltà, sostenetevi a vicenda – ha detto il cardinale rivolgendosi ai sacerdoti e vescovi presenti -.
Il ritiro spirituale è un’opportunità di riconciliazione e rinnovamento. Siamo esseri umani che possono entrare in crisi o commettere errori, ma siamo in grado di uscirne cambiati”.
Nella lettera Mar Sako mette in guardia anche dai rischi che derivano dalla “schiavitù del potere e del denaro, dalla partigianeria, dal rincorrere interessi personali e materiali a spese della verità. Queste sono tutte trappole del diavolo che fanno perdere tutti coloro che vi cadono dentro”.
In questo ambito forte è il monito del patriarca caldeo ai partecipanti al ritiro a “rispettare e cooperare con la gerarchia ecclesiastica, a ricercare il dialogo, il rispetto, e la sincerità nel rapporto con il proprio vescovo con senso di responsabilità e in spirito sinodale”. “La società è cambiata, la mentalità del mondo è cambiata, la stessa cultura è cambiata – conclude Mar Sako -. Non lasciamoci trascinare dal fondamentalismo e dalle tradizioni non autentiche, ma facciamo risplendere la luce di Dio su tutto, e aiutiamo le persone in questo tempo turbolento a comprendere la loro fede in modo comprensibile e corretto”.

The 7th shrine dedicated to Mary, mother of persecuted Christians, will open in Iraq

By Zenit
August 15, 2025

In the heart of Iraq’s Christian homeland, a new sanctuary is taking shape. Qaraqosh, once emptied of its Christian population by the advance of ISIS, will soon host one of only seven shrines in the world dedicated to Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians.
Its location is no coincidence.
Eleven years ago to the day of the sanctuary’s announcement, the city’s ancient Syriac Catholic community fled in the night, leaving homes, churches, and centuries of tradition behind.
ISIS had already issued an ultimatum to Christians in nearby Mosul: convert to Islam, pay the jizya tax, or face death.
Qaraqosh knew what was coming. For two years, ISIS turned Christian sanctuaries into firing ranges and military outposts. 

The liberation of Qaraqosh in 2016 by the Popular Mobilization Forces—predominantly Shiite militias—brought an end to jihadist rule but not to hardship. Christians began returning to a city in ruins, navigating a precarious coexistence under new political and military pressures.
The new shrine will stand within the recently built Church of St. Ephrem, its focal point an icon delivered this August by Father Benedict Kiely, founder of the Vermont-based charity Nasarean.org.
Painted by Syriac Catholic deacon Ibraheem Yaldo—himself displaced from his hometown of Bartella in 2014—the icon bears the Aramaic inscription “Mary, Mother of the Persecuted.”
For Archbishop Benedict Younan Hano, who heads the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul from Qaraqosh, the timing is deliberate.
“It is a sign that faith endures,” he says, “even in the very place where our largest Christian city was taken and desecrated.”
Hano hopes the shrine will prod Western Christians to pray for their brethren in the Middle East, and to remember that Christianity’s roots run deep in these lands, as Pope Leo XIV reminded Eastern Christians earlier this year.

The Syriac Catholic Church—one of 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome—still prays in Syriac, a dialect of the language spoken by Christ and the apostles. In Iraq, its faithful form the second-largest Catholic community after the Chaldean Church. But their numbers have plummeted: from 1.5 million Christians nationwide in 2003 to perhaps 150,000 today, with the exodus accelerating under ISIS’s reign of terror between 2014 and 2017.

Hope in Iraq: Churches full as 1,500 children celebrate first Communion

By Catholic News Agency

Georgena Habbaba
August 9, 2025

Eleven years have passed since ISIS seized Mosul and the Nineveh towns and with every anniversary commemorated each year, the same question arises: How many Iraqi Christians remain? 

Despite tensions and renewed challenges from regional conflict, Iraqi churches remain full.

Just weeks ago, Christians there celebrated joyfully as 1,000 young boys and girls received their first Communion. 

In Iraq’s capital, Chaldean parishes celebrated first Communion for 50 children, while 32 others received the sacrament at the Syriac Catholic parish.
Most significantly, 11 children took their first Communion at the Syriac Catholic Church of Our Lady of Deliverance — the same church that witnessed a horrific massacre in 2010, when dozens of worshippers and two priests were killed and hundreds wounded.

 
Guarding the deposit of faith In Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), churches belonging to the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul and its dependencies celebrated first Communion for 461 children across three separate ceremonies. Another 30 children received the sacrament in nearby Bashiqa and Bartella, with liturgies led by Archbishop Benedictos Younan Hanno. During his homilies, Hanno praised the faithful’s determination to stay on their ancestral land and their courage in returning after forced displacement. He commended their commitment to preserving their faith and passing it to their children, who have grown up in stable, united, devoted families.

Some celebrate, others wait
In Basra, Christian families have dwindled to fewer than 350 across all denominations — Chaldean, Armenian, Syriac, Presbyterian, and Latin — yet they remain on their land despite harsh living and environmental conditions. This year, the Chaldean and Syriac Catholic dioceses postponed first Communion celebrations, waiting to gather enough children for next year’s celebration. In Karemlesh, part of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Mosul, 26 children are preparing to receive the Eucharist. Meanwhile, the Chaldean Diocese of Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah celebrated first Communion for 26 children at Kirkuk’s Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. The Church in Sulaymaniyah, like Basra, is looking ahead to next year. 

Towns of northern
Iraq Ankawa’s churches within the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil experienced two extraordinary days.
Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda presided over three Masses where 210 children received first Communion. In his homilies, he emphasized that the sacrament goes far beyond beautiful photos and white gowns: It represents a lifelong commitment that transforms communicants’ homes into places where Jesus’ presence lives through forgiveness, active listening, and generosity. Children process into the St. Mary al-Tahir Church, also known as the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Baghdad, for their first Communion.
Also, in Ankawa, 66 children from the Syriac Catholic Diocese of Adiabene received the Eucharist, along with 15 others in Duhok. In the Chaldean Diocese of Duhok, 75 children celebrated first Communion, while 150 did so in neighboring Zakho Diocese. A similar number in Alqosh Diocese, bereaved of its spiritual shepherd, will receive the sacrament in coming days. The Syriac Orthodox Church also celebrated first Communion for about 70 children in Bartella and 40 in Ankawa, including children from other denominations.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Ninive, card. Sako: a 11 anni dai massacri Isis ‘ansia e ossessione’ di migrare

By Asia News - Patriarcato caldeo

card. Louis Raphael Sako* 
8 agosto 2025

 A 11 anni dall’esodo dei cristiani da Mosul e dalla piana di Ninive, il 6 agosto 2014, in seguito all’ascesa dello Stato islamico (SI, ex Isis) col suo carico di morte e distruzione, “l’ansia e l’ossessione” per la migrazione “continuano a crescere” in mancanza di diritti e sicurezza.
È quanto scrive il primate di Baghdad dei caldei, il card. Louis Raphael Sako, in un messaggio pubblicato sul sito del patriarcato e inviato ad AsiaNews in occasione dell’undicesimo anniversario della cacciata dei cristiani dalla Piana di Ninive. Un dramma ancora vivo nella memoria, mentre restano attuali le persecuzioni per mano di “milizie” che “praticano estorsioni, vessazioni, intimidazioni e sequestro di quote parlamentari”. Un richiamo ai gruppi, legati a sedicenti leader cristiani, contro i quali si è più volte battuto lo stesso porporato. Nella messa celebrata il 6 agosto nella cattedrale di san Giuseppe a Baghdad il porporato ha ricordato il significato della Trasfigurazione al monte Tabor, chiedendo ai fedeli di pregare per la pace.

Il grido di allarme lanciato dal patriarca caldeo non è certo isolato, anche se troppo spesso sembra cadere nel vuoto inascoltato. Nei giorni scorsi leader caldei, assiri e siriaci hanno ricordato il “genocidio” che ha “sradicato” quasi mezzo milione di cristiani autoctoni dalla regione, chiedendo il riconoscimento formale delle atrocità e azioni urgenti della comunità internazionale per salvaguardare l’esistenza di un popolo. Nonostante il Parlamento iracheno abbia ufficialmente riconosciuto i crimini dell’Isis, infatti, non è stato intrapreso alcun passo formale per restituire i cristiani alla loro terra, mentre resta attuale il rischio di nuove persecuzioni a sfondo confessionale dello Stato islamico o altri gruppi. Per scongiurare ulteriori tragedie e preservare la vita e la cultura cristiane della regione serve una presa di coscienza dello Stato, che è chiamato a garantire la sicurezza. A distanza di anni estorsioni, molestie, intimidazioni e discriminazioni a livello politico e di lavoro, sono cronaca attuale nella piana di Ninive e nel nord dell’Iraq.

Di seguito, il messaggio del patriarca Sako:

Nell’undicesimo anniversario del radicale attacco contro i cristiani da parte dei membri dello Stato Islamico (Isis), che ha portato al loro sfollamento da Mosul e dalle città della Piana di Ninive, accompagnato dal saccheggio e dall’incendio delle loro proprietà, case e chiese, l’ansia dei cristiani e l’ossessione della migrazione continuano a crescere, in assenza di misure efficaci per proteggere i loro diritti, la loro sicurezza e i servizi. A ciò si aggiunge il controllo delle loro città nella pianura di Ninive da parte di milizie che praticano estorsioni, vessazioni, intimidazioni, nonché il sequestro delle loro quote parlamentari e delle opportunità di lavoro governative.

Nonostante queste difficili sfide, i cristiani rimangono saldi nella loro fede: la lettera rossa “N” (ن) sulle porte delle loro case rimane impressa nella loro memoria, ispirandoli a rifiutare l’ingiustizia e a testimoniare Cristo con fedeltà, indipendentemente dai sacrifici e dalle difficoltà.

Chiediamo al governo, che rappresenta tutto il popolo iracheno, di assumersi la responsabilità di proteggere questa popolazione cristiana autoctona e di difenderne i diritti. Si tratta di una necessità umanitaria e di un imperativo nazionale, per cui la salvaguardia delle libertà e dei diritti dei cristiani e delle altre minoranze non deve essere determinata solo da considerazioni demografiche, ma da misure giuste ed eque.

Poiché essi sono gli abitanti originari di queste terre, incarnano una ricca cultura e un patrimonio altrettanto ricco, rimangono fedeli alla loro patria, hanno svolto un ruolo essenziale nella vita della nazione irachena nei settori dell’istruzione, della cultura, della medicina e dei servizi sociali e possono ancora contribuire alla rinascita e al progresso dell’Iraq. Di conseguenza, la comunità cristiana merita sicurezza e giustizia per garantire che la sua presenza possa continuare nella propria terra; questo si aggiunge il dovere primario di garantire una coesistenza pacifica all’insegna della tolleranza, del rispetto e dell’armonia.

* Patriarca di Baghdad dei caldei e presidente della Conferenza episcopale irachena

Does the Eleventh Anniversary of the Christians’ Exodus Promise Peaceful Change

By Chaldean Patriarchate
Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako

August 6, 2025

On the eleventh anniversary of the drastic attack on Christians, by members of Islamic State (ISIS), resulted in displacing them from Mosul and towns of Nineveh Plain, accompanied by looting and burning of their properties, homes and Churches, the anxiety of Christians and obsession of migration continue to grow, in the absence of effective measures to protect their rights, security, and services. In addition to the seizing control of their towns in Nineveh Plain by militia groups that are practicing extortion, harassment, intimidation, as well as the abduction of their parliament quotas and governmental job opportunities.

Despite these tough challenges, Christians remain steadfast in their faith: the red letter “N” (ن) on the doors of their homes remaining etched in their memories, inspiring them to refuse injustice and bearing witness to Christ with fidelity, regardless of the sacrifices and hardship.

We call on the Government, which represents all Iraqi people, to shoulder its responsibilities of protecting this indigenous Christian population and upholding their rights. This cause is a humanitarian necessity and a national imperative, for which preserving the freedoms and rights of Christians and other minorities must be determined not by demographic considerations only, but by just and equitable measures; for they are original inhabitants of these lands, who embody a rich culture and heritage; who remain loyal to their homeland; who have played an essential role in the life of Iraqi nation in the fields of education, culture, medicine and social services; and who can still contribute to Iraq’s renaissance and progress.

Consequently, the Christian community deserve security and justice to ensure their continued presence on their land and a peaceful coexistence in tolerance, respect and harmony.

I ragazzi iracheni: torniamo da Roma carichi di speranza per il nostro Paese

By Radio Maria

Davide Imeneo - Avvenire

Per 110 giovani iracheni, il Giubileo dei giovani è stato un nuovo inizio, un’opportunità per rinvigorire il cammino di fede. Provenienti da diverse città dell’Iraq – Bagdad, Karakosh, Erbil, Duhok e Zakho – e appartenenti alle comunità neocatecumenali di rito caldeo e siro-cattolico, questi ragazzi hanno ripreso la via di casa con una certezza nuova: «Torneranno in Iraq rafforzati nella fede – spiega don Daniele Casturà, missionario italiano e responsabile dell’équipe itinerante del Cammino neocatecumenale – dopo un’esperienza che loro stessi hanno definito fortissima e unica».
Il pellegrinaggio a Roma si è rivelato un tempo di grazia capace di generare frutti concreti: «Questo darà loro la possibilità di testimoniare la freschezza dell’amore di Dio ai loro coetanei e nelle loro chiese molto sofferenti. Il ritorno di questi pellegrini sarà una grande iniezione di speranza per tutti – aggiunge don Daniele – e soprattutto porteranno in loro semi di nuove vocazioni e di nuove famiglie cristiane costruite sulla roccia, che è Cristo».
Questo cambiamento è il culmine di un cammino iniziato un anno fa, con un percorso di preparazione al Giubileo che ha coinvolto tutti i giovani delle comunità irachene. Ogni mese, in due diverse zone del Paese, si sono tenuti incontri per meditare sui messaggi del Papa ai giovani e fare un’attenta lettura e meditazione sui brani della Scrittura. Una settimana prima della partenza, l’intero gruppo si è riunito per un incontro spirituale, per entrare insieme nello spirito del pellegrinaggio.

Il viaggio ha incluso tappe nei luoghi di alcuni grandi santi: Francesco e Chiara d’Assisi, Carlo Acutis, padre Pio, Michele Arcangelo, e soprattutto san Tommaso, a Ortona, «primo evangelizzatore delle terre irachene». I giovani hanno anche incontrato seminaristi del Redemptoris Mater di Macerata e le monache benedettine di Barletta, ascoltando testimonianze vocazionali che li hanno aiutati a riflettere sulla propria chiamata.

Durante il Giubileo, i momenti più significativi sono stati la Veglia e l’Eucaristia con il Papa, e l’incontro di ieri con l’équipe internazionale responsabile del Cammino Neocatecumenale. In quell’occasione, «dopo aver ascoltato l’annuncio del Kerygma fatto dall’iniziatore del Cammino neocatecumenale Kiko Argüello, racconta don Daniele, sei giovani del nostro gruppo hanno espresso la volontà di seguire il Signore nel sacerdozio ministeriale e nove ragazze nella missione e nella vita contemplativa. Siamo rimasti veramente sorpresi e meravigliati di questi grandi doni». Un Giubileo, dunque, che non si conclude a Roma, ma continua nelle parrocchie e nelle comunità del Medio Oriente: giovani che tornano come segni viventi di una speranza nuova, pronti a edificare il futuro sulle fondamenta di una fede più matura, più consapevole e più gioiosa.

Iraq: 11 anni fa l’invasione dell’Isis della Piana di Ninive. Card. Sako (patriarca caldeo), “continuano le discriminazioni contro i cristiani”

By AgenSIR - Patriarcato caldeo

Undici anni dopo il tragico attacco ai cristiani da parte dello Stato Islamico (Isis), “l’ansia dei cristiani e l’ossessione per la migrazione continuano a crescere, in assenza di misure efficaci per proteggere i loro diritti, la loro sicurezza e i loro servizi”.
La denuncia è del patriarca caldeo di Baghdad, card. Louis Raphael Sako, che, in un messaggio diffuso dal Patriarcato caldeo, ricorda la data del 6 agosto del 2014 quando i miliziani dello Stato Islamico dilagarono nella Piana di Ninive, costringendo i 120mila cristiani che l’abitavano a fuggire verso il Kurdistan iracheno.
Da lì in poi si susseguirono saccheggi e incendi delle proprietà cristiane, di case e chiese.
A distanza di anni, nonostante estorsioni, molestie, intimidazioni e discriminazioni a livello politico e di lavoro, che subiscono da parte di milizie attive nella Piana di Ninive, rimarca il cardinale, “i cristiani restano saldi nella loro fede.
La lettera rossa ‘N’ (ن), Nazareni, sulle porte delle loro case resta impressa nella loro memoria, ispirandoli a rifiutare l’ingiustizia e a testimoniare Cristo con fedeltà”. Mar Sako lancia un appello al Governo iracheno “affinché si assuma la responsabilità di proteggere la popolazione cristiana autoctona e di tutelarne i diritti. Questa causa è una necessità umanitaria e un imperativo nazionale, per cui la salvaguardia delle libertà e dei diritti dei cristiani e delle altre minoranze non deve essere determinata solo da considerazioni demografiche, ma da misure giuste ed eque”.
Il patriarca caldeo ribadisce che i cristiani “sono abitanti originari di queste terre, incarnano una ricca cultura e un ricco patrimonio; rimangono fedeli alla loro patria; hanno svolto un ruolo essenziale nella vita della Nazione irachena nei campi dell’istruzione, della cultura, della medicina e dei servizi sociali; e possono ancora contribuire alla rinascita e al progresso dell’Iraq”. “La comunità cristiana – conclude – merita sicurezza e giustizia per garantire la sua continua presenza sulla propria terra e una pacifica convivenza nella tolleranza, nel rispetto e nell’armonia”.

Does the Eleventh Anniversary of the Christians’ Exodus Promise Peaceful Change

By Chaldean Patriarchate

Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako

On the eleventh anniversary of the drastic attack on Christians, by members of Islamic State (ISIS), resulted in displacing them from Mosul and towns of Nineveh Plain, accompanied by looting and burning of their properties, homes and Churches, the anxiety of Christians and obsession of migration continue to grow, in the absence of effective measures to protect their rights, security, and services. In addition to the seizing control of their towns in Nineveh Plain by militia groups that are practicing extortion, harassment, intimidation, as well as the abduction of their parliament quotas and governmental job opportunities.

Despite these tough challenges, Christians remain steadfast in their faith: the red letter “N” (ن) on the doors of their homes remaining etched in their memories, inspiring them to refuse injustice and bearing witness to Christ with fidelity, regardless of the sacrifices and hardship.

We call on the Government, which represents all Iraqi people, to shoulder its responsibilities of protecting this indigenous Christian population and upholding their rights.
This cause is a humanitarian necessity and a national imperative, for which preserving the freedoms and rights of Christians and other minorities must be determined not by demographic considerations only, but by just and equitable measures; for they are original inhabitants of these lands, who embody a rich culture and heritage; who remain loyal to their homeland; who have played an essential role in the life of Iraqi nation in the fields of education, culture, medicine and social services; and who can still contribute to Iraq’s renaissance and progress.

Consequently, the Christian community deserve security and justice to ensure their continued presence on their land and a peaceful coexistence in tolerance, respect and harmony.

Patriarca caldeo: ‘Siano salvati gli storici cimiteri cristiani di Najaf’

By Asia News - Kurdistan 24  (Dr. Karaman Aziz)

Nel tentativo di salvaguardare il fragile patrimonio cristiano iracheno, il patriarca di Baghdad dei caldei ha lanciato un appello urgente al primo ministro Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, per fermare quelli che definisce “tentativi di distruggere gli storici cimiteri cristiani” della provincia di Najaf. Al loro posto, denuncia il card. Louis Raphael Sako in una riflessione pubblicata sul sito del patriarcato, le autorità locali vogliono sostenere dei piani di sviluppo commerciale che finirebbero per cancellare una testimonianza storica di grande valore.

Secondo quanto riferisce il primate della Chiesa caldea, da “fonti affidabili a Najaf” - città 160 km a sud della capitale - arrivano campanelli di allarme in merito a “tentativi di trasferire il controllo di cimiteri storici cristiani” a investitori e imprenditori, con l’obiettivo di “realizzare progetti” nel campo dell’edilizia. Da qui l’iniziativa del porporato, che si è rivolto direttamente al capo del governo per bloccare l’esproprio e mantenere viva la memoria di una presenza cristiana nell’area.

Secondo la nota, il card. Sako ha chiesto ad al-Sudani di “intervenire e fermare la violazione dei luoghi santi cristiani”, identificando specificamente il “cimitero di Manathira” e il “cimitero di Umm Kheshm per la Manathira cristiana” come a rischio di “minaccia imminente”. “Questi siti storici - ha proseguito il porporato - devono essere sorvegliati e recintati. Inoltre, essi non devono essere vincolati ai progetti di investimento privato, che finirebbero per cancellarli completamente”.

Inquadrando il suo appello in termini di interesse nazionale, il cardinale ha sostenuto che queste aree possiedono un immenso valore culturale ed economico, che va oltre la comunità cristiana ma riguarda tutta la popolazione irachena, musulmani compresi. Il card. Sako prosegue sottolineando che la storia diversificata dell’Iraq precede di molto la sola era islamica, comprendendo “gli accadi, i sumeri, i caldei, i babilonesi, gli assiri, gli arabi, i persiani, i cristiani e infine i musulmani”.

Nella prospettiva di diversificare gli introiti per le casse dello Stato, il primate caldeo ha quindi ricordato come la conservazione - e la promozione - di questi siti finirebbe per rilanciare anche la stessa economia del Paese. “Questi siti archeologici, insieme ai santuari sciiti di Najaf e Karbala, sono luoghi di pellegrinaggio sui quali si può investire adeguatamente in modo che, a lungo termine, diventino mete turistiche e religiose” ha osservato il card. Sako. Egli lancia un ulteriore avvertimento alle autorità, aggiungendo che “fare affidamento solo sui proventi del petrolio non è sostenibile perché un giorno il greggio finirà”.

Questo appello arriva in un contesto di crisi esistenziale per una delle comunità cristiane più antiche del mondo, regione oggi teatro in molte zone di persecuzioni, violenze, abusi e violazioni che finiscono per incentivare l’esodo e svuotare la regione di una sua componente primaria. Del resto l’Iraq prima dell’invasione statunitense del 2003 aveva al suo interno circa 1,5 milioni di cristiani; tuttavia, decenni di conflitti, instabilità e persecuzioni mirate hanno visto quel numero crollare a meno di 200mila oggi.

La campagna genocida del 2014 da parte dello Stato islamico (Isis) contro i cristiani e altre comunità religiose nella Piana di Ninive e nel nord dell’Iraq - oltre alla vicina Siria - hanno segnato una deriva catastrofica. Centinaia di migliaia di persone sono state costrette a fuggire, chiese e antichi monasteri sono stati profanati o distrutti e un profondo senso di vulnerabilità è stato impresso nella memoria collettiva della comunità. Anche dopo la sconfitta militare dell’Isis la crisi è proseguita, come l’esodo. Inoltre, i (pochi) cristiani di ritorno hanno affrontato una nuova serie di ostacoli, tra cui un ambiente fragile in tema di sicurezza, cambiamenti demografici nelle loro città storiche e il problema sistemico dell’appropriazione delle proprietà. Il tentativo di sviluppare cimiteri storici a Najaf è visto da molti come un altro esempio di questa “lenta cancellazione” della loro presenza fisica e culturale dal panorama iracheno. Il patriarca ha infine aggiunto che questa eredità cristiana è stata arricchita anche da celebri poeti arabi cristiani come Imru’ al-Qais e al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani, che hanno svolto un ruolo fondamentale nel plasmare la letteratura araba. Archeologia arte e letteratura costituiscono un patrimonio dal grande valore economico, storico e culturale, tanto da rappresentare il vero “oro nero” dell’Iraq come aveva dichiarato in passato lo stesso primate caldeo. Sin dai tempi in cui era arcivescovo di Kirkuk, infatti, il card. Sako era solito denunciare i pericoli corsi da un “bene universale” da salvaguardare da furti, traffico illegale e persino dai cambiamenti climatici, perché da solo vale “più del petrolio”. Un compito di tutti gli iracheni, non solo i cristiani, richiamato dal patriarca anche nel 2016 durante la “Conferenza internazionale per la salvaguardia del patrimonio culturale nelle aree teatro in conflitto” ad Abu Dhabi, negli Emirati Arabi Uniti. (EAU)

L’impegno della Chiesa per il futuro dell’Iraq

By L'Osservatore Romano

Guglielmo Gallone

9 luglio 2025

Israele, Gaza, Palestina, Siria, Iran, Cisgiordania: il Medio Oriente è più che mai tornato a dominare lo scacchiere internazionale. Eppure, c’è un Paese di cui si parla poco ma che è sempre più al centro degli equilibri mediorientali: l’Iraq. 

Strategico per la sua posizione di crocevia tra i Paesi del Golfo, il Mar Mediterraneo e la Turchia, in Iraq il 3 gennaio 2020 furono uccisi il generale Qasem Soleimani, al comando della brigata Qods dei pasdaran, e Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, al tempo capo della coalizione di milizie sciite irachene filo-iraniane. 

Poi, lo scorso 11 giugno, un giorno prima dell’attacco israeliano all’Iran, gli Stati Uniti hanno ordinato l’evacuazione del personale non essenziale dalla loro ambasciata a Baghdad, capitale dell’Iraq, mentre per il personale diplomatico in Bahrein e Kuwait era solo stata autorizzata la partenza volontaria.

Con riferimento proprio all’Iraq e all’Afghanistan furono inoltre utilizzati per la prima volta nel ventunesimo secolo i concetti di “guerra preventiva” e “regime change”, nuovamente attuali quando si parla di Medio Oriente ma che, tanto in Afghanistan quanto in Iraq, furono capaci solo di peggiorare una situazione già precaria. 

Ancora oggi in Iraq si contano oltre un milione di sfollati interni, tre milioni di persone che richiedono assistenza umanitaria e 280.000 rifugiati provenienti da altri Paesi. 

Di questa condizione soffrono in particolare le minoranze presenti nel Paese, fra cui si contano almeno 250.000 cristiani (nel 2003 erano oltre un milione e 300.000). «La situazione è indubbiamente migliorata rispetto al 2006-2007 o al 2014 – esordisce ai media vaticani don Karam Shahmasha, sacerdote iracheno originario della piana di Ninive – oggi non c’è più alcuna persecuzione e anzi la libertà in generale c’è.
«Tuttavia, c’è un alto livello di discriminazione». Padre Karam fa riferimento ai «molti problemi interni, legati soprattutto alle minoranze e ai diritti dei cristiani. Ad esempio, le nostre possibilità sono limitate, specie quando si parla di lavoro. Le discriminazioni in questo senso sono moltissime e dipendono dal partito, dalla religione o dall’etnia cui si appartiene».

Padre Karam conosce bene questa condizione perché proviene da un’area dell’Iraq, la piana di Ninive, non lontana dal confine tra Iraq e Siria, dove nel 2014 120.000 cristiani furono perseguitati e costretti a fuggire a seguito della presa di Mosul da parte dell’Is.
«Abbiamo perso tantissimi fedeli – ci racconta – alcuni furono minacciati, altri lasciarono il Paese. Oltre il 60 per cento della popolazione di ogni villaggio cristiano ha trovato rifugio all’estero e ancora adesso rimane lì. La grande presenza cristiana in quest’area oggi è stata fortemente ridotta. Noi abbiamo perso tutto. Eppure, supportati da realtà come Aiuto alla Chiesa che soffre (Acs), abbiamo deciso di restare. E non abbiamo perso la cosa più importante: la nostra fede. E grazie a Dio siamo rimasti uniti per difenderla».

Le difficoltà, ovviamente, non mancano e quando chiediamo a padre Karam di menzionarci quelle più complesse, ci rassicura evidenziando anzitutto che «grazie a Dio, oggi le nostre Chiese sono vive: tanti fedeli partecipano alla messa, ci sono poi gesti quotidiani di fraternità, riunioni giovanili, attività. Cito ad esempio l’Ankawa Youth Meeting, un forum annuale dedicato alle nuove generazioni che negli scorsi anni ha contato oltre 1500 giovani. Quest’anno, dopo gli incontri preparatori settimanali, ci aspettiamo 750 ragazzi, con un programma centrato sulla vocazione che partirà il 9 luglio. Cerchiamo in tutti i modi di tenere i ragazzi vicini alla Chiesa, anche se è difficile. Il nostro problema non è tanto l’ateismo come in Europa, bensì difendere la nostra identità davanti a religioni diverse. Nelle scuole, nelle università, spesso siamo gli unici cristiani e ci viene chiesto: “Perché sei ancora cristiano?”. Dobbiamo prepararci a rispondere, anche con il sangue, come avvenne nel 2014, e ora con la testimonianza e la fedeltà».

In effetti, Matthias Kopp, esperto di Medio Oriente, portavoce della Conferenza episcopale tedesca e consultore del Dicastero per la Comunicazione, nel suo libro “Il patrimonio cristiano dell’Iraq - sopravvivere nella Mesopotamia” afferma proprio che senza cristianesimo l’Iraq è impensabile.
«È vero – riprende Shahmasha – il cristianesimo in Iraq non è solo una religione tra le altre. Anzitutto, in origine questo Paese è stato una roccaforte del cristianesimo. Qui passarono gli apostoli Tommaso e Taddeo, si sviluppò fin dai primi secoli la Chiesa d’Oriente, fiorirono comunità cristiane tra le più antiche del mondo e nacquero santi e vescovi. Oggi gli altri ci dicono: “Voi siete diversi”, perché vedono in noi fiducia, pace, valori. Dove ci sono i cristiani, c’è la pace. Un Iraq senza cristiani è un Iraq che ha perso le sue fondamenta. La storia lo dimostra: abbiamo tradotto la filosofia, la teologia, la scienza dal greco al siriaco, poi in arabo, portandola dunque di nuovo in Europa. Siamo stati un ponte per la cultura e per la fede. La nostra presenza è essenziale, non è solo di colore, ma di profondità».
In questo senso, il sacerdote iracheno ricorda ai media vaticani come «tra le altre cose, lottiamo per i diritti umani. Anni fa, quando si parlava di autorizzare il matrimonio con bambine di solo otto anni all’interno della costituzione irachena, i cristiani furono i primi a opporsi. Anche se non siamo tanti nel parlamento, la Chiesa fa sentire la sua voce, difende i valori umani per tutti».

“Ricostruire e ricominciare” era stato l’appello lanciato da Papa Francesco quando, nel marzo 2021, durante il viaggio apostolico in Iraq visitò quei luoghi, arrivando anche nella chiesa dell’Immacolata concezione di Qaraqosh, simbolo della persecuzione contro i cristiani: a distanza di quattro anni, nel pieno dell’anno giubilare dedicato alla speranza e agli inizi del pontificato di Leone XIV, don Karam Shahmasha tiene a rimarcare che «la nostra Chiesa è viva. Lavoriamo per portare luce e speranza. Oltre agli incontri giovanili, un esempio importante è l’Università Cattolica di Erbil. Dopo la distruzione del 2014, la Chiesa non ha solo dato rifugio e cibo ai profughi, ma ha costruito scuole e università. Il 30 settembre celebreremo il decimo anniversario dell’università pensata e nata, anche grazie all’aiuto della Conferenza episcopale italiana, per le varie minoranze. Cerchiamo in ogni modo di sostenere i nostri giovani: sono il futuro della Chiesa. E, con questo auspicio, andiamo avanti».

Iraqi ISIS suspect tied to Damascus church bombing

By Shafaq News

June 26, 2025

One of the suspects arrested in connection with the suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church in Damascus is an Iraqi national who previously resided in al-Hol camp, the Syrian daily al-Watan reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said it had obtained internal documents from the distribution of heating fuel in the camp, located in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province near the Iraqi border. Among the listed recipients of humanitarian aid provided by the NGO Blumont in November 2023 was a man named Kinan Ali bin Ramadan, identified as an Iraqi citizen and resident of al-Hol.

His name appeared as number 15 on the aid list and, according to the report, matches one of the individuals recently detained by Syria’s Interior Ministry for alleged involvement in the bombing—an attack attributed to an ISIS-affiliated cell.

The revelation contradicted a statement issued a day earlier by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who rejected claims that the attackers came from al-Hol. “The statements made by the ministry’s spokesperson regarding suicide bombers coming from al-Hol are inaccurate and lack factual basis,” the SDF said.

The group added that its own investigation found no unauthorized exits from the camp during the time in question, aside from Syrian nationals transferred at Damascus' request and Iraqi nationals repatriated through formal coordination with Baghdad.

The SDF also stressed that al-Hol camp houses mostly women and children from families affiliated with ISIS and does not contain foreign combatants—casting doubt, they said, on the claim that non-Syrian suicide bombers could have emerged from within its confines.

In a press briefing earlier this week, Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba said Syrian security forces had dismantled the ISIS cell responsible for the Mar Elias bombing and prevented a second planned attack targeting the Sayyida Zainab shrine, a key Shiite pilgrimage site south of Damascus.

According to al-Baba, the cell was led by Mohammed Abdul Ilah al-Jumaili, known by his nom de guerre Abu Imad al-Jumaili and referred to within ISIS ranks as Wali al-Sahra (Governor of the Desert). He was reportedly based in al-Hajar al-Aswad district, south of the capital.

The ministry said al-Jumaili facilitated the infiltration of two non-Syrian suicide bombers into Damascus from al-Hol, exploiting what it described as "security gaps" in the vast desert areas of central Syria.

Guerra “dei 12 giorni”, Patriarca caldeo Sako: le strategie per “imporre nuovi regimi” possono peggiorare la situazione

By Fides

25 giugno 2025

Quella che hanno voluto chiamare “Guerra dei 12 giorni” ha sparso preoccupazione e paura anche in Iraq. Lo conferma all’Agenzia Fides il Cardinale iracheno Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarca della Chiesa caldea, in una breve intervista in cui vede nei fatti accaduti un ulteriore segno della crisi dell’ordine internazionale.

Davanti allo scenario della “guerra infinita” e dei bombardamenti giustificati come strumenti per innescare cambi di regime, il Cardinale ricorda l’esperienza irachena: ripete che “cambiare regime spetta ai cittadini”, e che le strategie di ‘regime-change’ possono “peggiorare la situazione”.

Bombe da Israele e USA sull'Iran, missili iraniani su Israele e le basi militari Usa in Quatar. Patriarca Sako, come guarda Lei a quello che sta avvenendo in Paesi vicini o confinanti con l’Iraq, e come vive tutto questo il popolo iracheno?

CARDINALE SAKO: Ciò che avvenuto è triste. Abbiamo tutti vissuto tempi duri di preoccupazione e paura. Il mondo ha perso l'ordine internazionale. Adesso bisogna ritrovare il buon senso e rigettare il discorso dell’odio, della violenza e della guerra. E’ peccato distruggere la vita e ciò che è stato costruito. La pace è un dono, dobbiamo accoglierlo e custodirlo con entusiasmo, facendo della tutela della pace un autentico impegno di vita.

Nei giorni scorsi, i bombardamenti sull’Iran sono stati presentati come una operazione volta a indebolire il potere iraniano e portare al suo crollo. Lei come considera simili ipotetiche strategie, anche alla luce dell’esperienza in Iraq?

CARDINALE SAKO: Bisogna rispettare la sovranità dei Paesi e risolvere i problemi tramite il dialogo sincero e coraggioso. Cambiare il regime spetta ai cittadini. Imporre un altro regime potrà peggiorare la situazione. Il cambiamento deve avvenire dall’interno, se i cittadini lo trovano necessario. Dopo 22 anni dalla caduta del regime in Iraq, non abbiamo ancora un vero Stato di cittadinanza, né giustizia, sicurezza e stabilità. La corruzione e il settarismo continuano.

Quali sono per i cristiani in Iraq le cose in cui porre speranza, in questo tempo e davanti a questi scenari?

CARDINALE SAKO: I cristiani hanno sofferto molto, insieme a tutti gli iracheni, a causa dell'Isis. Le sofferenze spingono all’esodo e all’emigrazione. Finora siamo marginalizzati, i nostri villaggi occupati dalle milizie, e la quota di seggi nelle istituzioni politiche riservate ai cristiani viene depredata… Per tutto questo sembra non avvicinarsi per i cristiani un avvenire migliore. Ma nonostante quello che avviamo sofferto, sentiamo di avere una vocazione in questa terra, con la nostra fede. Per questo possiamo rimanere fiduciosi, e attendiamo un futuro migliore.

‘Each new conflict’ in region ‘reopens old wounds,’ says Chaldean Catholic archbishop in Iraq

By OVS News

June 24, 2025

Gina Christian

A Chaldean archbishop told OSV News June 23 that he has been unable to contact his fellow bishop in Iran, following recent strikes by the U.S. and Israel on various sites in that nation.

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar M. Warda of Irbil, Iraq, said he has been attempting to call fellow Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Imad Khoshabeh of Tehran over the past few days, but without success.

“I cannot reach (him). I tried many times, and I will keep calling,” said Archbishop Warda.

He also warned of the grave consequences of conflict, speaking from direct experience.

Islamic State Attacks in 2014

In 2014, Islamic State group fighters launched a devastating wave of attacks against religious minorities in northern Iraq, seizing Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh Plains. Christians and Yazidis, an ancient Indigenous community, fled toward Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, with thousands of Yazidi women and girls who were sexually enslaved by IS militants.

Now, as Israel and Iran trade strikes amid the former’s “Operation Rising Lion” — and with the U.S. launching June 21 attacks on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities — Archbishop Warda pleaded for an end to the escalating violence.

“As someone who has witnessed firsthand the devastation that war leaves behind — how it empties villages, scatters families, and deepens the wounds of identity and trust — I cannot help but echo the words of Pope Leo XIV in his recent appeal for peace,” Archbishop Warda said. “His voice is a beacon of conscience in a world increasingly deafened by the noise of weapons.”

The archbishop added, “War has never brought us lasting peace."

‘Memories of Shattered Cities'

“We know this by heart. Here in Iraq, we carry the memory of shattered cities and displaced people,” he said. “Each new conflict reopens old wounds and threatens to erase what remains of our fragile presence (as a Christian minority) in this land."

Instead, said Archbishop Warda, “It is time to stop the war machine. Time to return to dialogue, to diplomacy, to the hard but hopeful work of negotiation.”

The Middle East, ravaged by conflict for centuries — with continuous clashes over the past half century in particular — “does not need more destruction,” said Archbishop Warda. “It needs healing. It needs space for its people to breathe again, to believe again, to build again.”

He clarified that he was speaking “not just as a bishop, but as a man from this wounded land (of Iraq),” which although an overwhelmingly Muslim majority nation has been home to Christian communities for some 2,000 years, having been evangelized by St. Thomas the Apostle and his disciples.

Christians ‘Once Thrived’ in Iraq

Iraq was “a land where Christians once thrived, where faith and culture were deeply woven into the soil,” said Archbishop Ward. “Today, that soil is dry and cracked, not only by the heat of the sun, but by the fire of violence and fear.”

“Our prayers are with — and for — all civilians caught in the crossfire of this conflict … the innocent who fall daily, dead or wounded … the displaced who have been forced to leave behind their homes, their dreams, their loved ones,” he said. “As Christians, we do not pray only for our own, but for every human being whose dignity is being crushed under the weight of war.”

He cautioned that “if the world does not act now, if the international community does not insist on peace, the slow disappearance of Christianity from its birthplace may become irreversible.”

At the same time, said Archbishop Warda, “We are not without hope. Hope is what we teach our young people here every day. Hope is what gives our families the courage to stay. And hope is what I choose to hold on to now.”

He added, “Please pray with us. And if (you) can be a voice for peace — through prayer, advocacy, or solidarity — I would be deeply grateful.”

Lutto nella chiesa caldea. Si è spento il vescovo di Alqosh, Monsignor Thabet Mekko

By Baghdadhope* - Sala stampa vaticana

Lutto nella chiesa caldea in Iraq.

Si è spento Monsignor Thabet Mekko, che il 22 novembre 2022 era stato confermato vescovo della diocesi di Alqosh.

Di seguito la biografia di Monsignor Mekko pubblicato dalla sala stampa vaticana al momento della sua elezione a Vescovo Coadiutore dell’Eparchia di Alquoch dei Caldei il 14 agosto 2021.

Curriculum vitae

S.E. Mons. Thabet Habib Yousif Al Mekko è nato il 14 febbraio 1976 a Karemlesh (Iraq).

Ha conseguito la laurea in Scienze geologiche presso l’Università di Mosul e ha quindi iniziato il percorso seminaristico a Roma dove ha ottenuto il Baccalaureato presso la Pontificia Università Urbaniana e la Licenza in Patrologia presso l’Istituto Patristico Augustinianum.

Rientrato in Iraq, è stato ordinato sacerdote il 25 luglio 2008 a Karamlesh.

Ha svolto il servizio pastorale a Karemlesh fino all’invasione della Piana di Ninive nell’agosto 2014 e ha poi accompagnato i fedeli rifugiati ad Erbil. Rientrato a Karemlesh nel settembre 2017, è stato Parroco seguendo da vicino i progetti di ricostruzione e continuando l’attività di insegnamento di Patrologia e Teologia presso il Babel College.

Finora è stato Protosincello dell’Arcieparchia di Mosul dei Caldei.

President Aoun meets with Patriarch Sako during his visit to Chaldean Patriarchate in Iraq

By National News Agency

President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, concluded his official visit to Iraq today by meeting with the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Iraq and the World, Louis Raphael I Sako, at the Patriarchate headquarters in Baghdad.

A meeting was held in the presence of members of the accompanying Lebanese delegation, during which talks centered on the situation of the Chaldean community in both Iraq and Lebanon, the role it plays in preserving spiritual and cultural diversity in the region, and the affairs of the Lebanese and Iraqi communities in both countries.

Patriarch Sako expressed his optimism towards Lebanon's return to normalcy after the crises it has experienced, expressing his support for the goals set by President Aoun for the country's advancement since his election as President of the Republic, particularly in terms of restricting arms to the state, combating corruption, and confronting terrorism.

"We hope you will restore Lebanon's former glory, for Lebanon is a model to be followed, and we have all hope in the new state and government," the Patriarch added as he addressed the President.

Touching on the dangers of sectarian fanaticism and extremist rhetoric that have even infiltrated into universities, fueled by the witnessed circumstances, Sako emphasized that "terrorists and fanatics have nothing to do with religion, whether Christian or Muslim, as faith in God contradicts all such practices." He recalled one of his visits to Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who stressed that terrorism and corruption are among the taboos.

Patriarch Sako called for "strengthening the Christian presence in the Middle East and providing a nurturing environment conducive to this goal through moral and political support," adding that this is what he felt on part of the new Pope, Leo XIV.

President Aoun, in turn, thanked Patriarch Sako for his warm welcome and highlighted the importance of this patriarchal edifice.

"The state is the one that protects sects, not the other way around," Aoun asserted, emphasizing "the importance of pluralism and the preservation of liberties, but only under the umbrella of the state," adding, "Differences are permitted, but not discord."

Aoun underlined the significance of religious diversity and its richness in Lebanon, and the added value it can offer to interaction and coexistence between religions and peoples.

He then spoke about Lebanon's experience with terrorism and the victory it achieved over ISIS, calling for "maintaining vigilance and caution against this organization and all terrorist and criminal organizations to prevent their return and expansion."

President Aoun stressed that "the state's fight against corruption has begun, and nothing is impossible as long as there is will."

He also shed light on the dangers facing societies, including drugs, which have ravaged families and become widespread and accessible to all social classes, poor and rich, causing devastation to families and tearing societies apart.

In this context, Aoun pointed to the steps undertaken by Lebanon's security apparatuses to curb this scourge and significantly mitigate its impact, describing this confrontation as a "long war, but one that must not be stopped."

Chaldean Patriarch Sako presides over Divine Liturgy at Notre-Dame Cathedral on World Day for Eastern Christians

By Syriac Press

In a celebration of spiritual solidarity and cultural heritage, Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Mar Louis Raphaël I Sako led a Divine Liturgy at Notre-Dame Cathedral on Sunday to commemorate the World Day for Eastern Christians.

This annual event, organized by the French association L’Œuvre d’Orient and held on the sixth Sunday of Easter, brought together bishops, clergy, believers, and artists. The ceremony highlighted the enduring legacy and spiritual richness of Eastern Christianity.

This year’s liturgy was particularly notable as it featured the blessing of eight newly commissioned icons created by a collaboration of French and Middle Eastern artists. The icons, depicting prominent saints of the early Eastern Church, were consecrated with sacred chrism and installed in a newly designated chapel within Notre-Dame, dedicated to St. George and the Eastern Christian community.

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris opened the ceremony with a reflection on the importance of iconography in Eastern Christian spirituality. “Icons are not merely images,” he said. “They are windows into the divine — tangible expressions of the Church’s faith and a profound invitation to prayer.”

Patriarch Sako praised the ongoing restoration of Notre-Dame and expressed gratitude for the recognition of Eastern Christian traditions within one of Western Christianity’s most iconic landmarks. “The dedication of this chapel is a significant gesture,” he stated. “It affirms the universality of the Church and the shared spiritual heritage that binds us.”

Syrian iconographer Neemat Badawi, who led the team of artists, explained the creative process behind the icons. “We didn’t replicate older works,” he said. “Each piece reinterprets the saints through a contemporary lens while honoring their origins and traditions.”

The saints depicted — Andrew, James, Mark, Gregory the Illuminator, Thomas, Addai and Mari, Frumentius, and Ignatius of Antioch — represent the geographic and theological diversity of Christianity during its formative centuries across the Middle East and beyond.

As the incense-filled air mingled with the sound of ancient Chaldean hymns reverberating through Notre-Dame’s soaring Gothic arches, the liturgy was a powerful affirmation of the enduring contributions of Eastern Christian communities, many of whom face marginalization or threats in their ancestral homelands.

The ceremony was a vivid reminder of the spiritual and cultural wealth that Eastern Christianity brings to the global Church. In a divided world, it served as a beacon of unity, both liturgical and human, and a call to preserve the richness of the Christian East for generations to come.

Les chrétiens européens ont perdu le dynamisme de la mission chrétienne, du témoignage, de la Foi (cardinal Sako)

By Belgicatho - De France Catholique (extraits)

 « Les chrétiens européens sont timides » estime le cardinal Sako

Le patriarche de l’Église catholique chaldéenne, le cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako est venu célébrer la messe annuelle de l’œuvre d’Orient, à Notre-Dame de Paris, le 25 mai. Il a salué la restauration de cette « perle française », tout en regrettant la déchristianisation de l’Europe.

Éminence, quel est pour vous le sens de cette journée et de la consécration d’une chapelle dédiée aux chrétiens d’Orient, à Notre-Dame ?

Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako : Pour moi, cette cérémonie a été comme une Pâque : devant ces fidèles qui priaient de tout cœur, et qui s’unissaient à cette liturgie orientale, j’ai senti que l’Église était unie et ressuscitée. Nous avons célébré cette liturgie avec beaucoup de joie et beaucoup d’espoir.

Quelle est la particularité de l’Église chaldéenne, et quelle est sa situation aujourd’hui ?

Nous sommes l’une des plus anciennes Églises du monde. Notre Église a donné beaucoup de martyrs et en donne encore aujourd’hui. Nous avons une liturgie particulière et un patrimoine très riche. Aujourd’hui, en Irak, nous sommes en proie au sectarisme, à la violence et à la persécution. Nous avons eu beaucoup de difficultés avec Daesh. Un million de chrétiens ont quitté le pays, mais il y en a qui restent, entre 400 000 et 500 000 chrétiens sont encore là. Mais le mal n’a pas d’avenir. Le Salut semble loin, mais il viendra.

Quel rôle les chrétiens vivant en Irak ont-ils à jouer dans ce pays ?

Les chrétiens d’Irak sont des citoyens irakiens ! Avant l’arrivée des musulmans, au VIIe siècle, ils étaient majoritaires, et ils ont beaucoup donné à leur pays. Et, malgré toutes les épreuves que nous traversons, nous avons là-bas une vocation, nous sommes des missionnaires. Les musulmans attendent de nous un témoignage différent du leur. Les jeunes chrétiens irakiens sont d’ailleurs très engagés dans les paroisses et se mettent au service des autres.

Vous avez participé à l’élection du pape Léon XIV, qu’espérez-vous de ce nouveau pontificat ?

J’ai participé au conclave. J’étais à côté du cardinal Prevost lors des votes. Je lui ai parlé des Églises orientales, de leurs défis et de leurs difficultés. Je lui ai dit : « Il faut prendre cette cause à cœur, et manifester votre soutien et votre proximité. » Il a acquiescé et il a fait un bon discours quand il nous a accueillis à Rome, pour le Jubilé des Églises orientales.

Vous avez donc l’espoir qu’il prendra soin des chrétiens d’Orient ?

Bien sûr ! Il est père de tous. Il n’est pas le Pape seulement des catholiques romains, il est aussi le pape des Églises orientales.

Qu’attendez-vous des chrétiens français et européens, et de tous ceux qui se recueilleront dans cette chapelle dédiée aux chrétiens d’Orient ?

J’ai étudié ici en Europe [à Rome, N.D.L.R.] et j’y reviens régulièrement. Je trouve que les chrétiens en Europe sont timides : ils ont perdu le dynamisme de la mission chrétienne, du témoignage, de la Foi. Ce sont les chrétiens de l’Occident qui ont prêché l’Évangile en Afrique, en Asie… Où sont-ils aujourd’hui ? Autrefois, l’Orient était la racine du christianisme et l’Occident, avec ses missionnaires, en était le cœur. Aujourd’hui, tout est changé ! Il y a une grande indifférence et cela nous choque en Orient. Mais cela choque aussi les musulmans. Ils ont une religion différente, certes, mais ils ont une grande foi et ils y tiennent. Alors qu’ici, non…

Paradoxalement, ce sont peut-être les difficultés et les persécutions qui renforcent votre foi, en Orient ?

Ce qui nous donne la Foi, surtout, c’est Jésus-Christ. Tout est fondé sur le Christ. C’est cette relation d’amour qui nous donne la force de résister dans les épreuves. C’est le Christ, c’est tout.

Les chrétiens d’Orient parviennent donc à garder l’espérance ?

Oui, bien sûr. Puisqu’ils ont la Foi, ils ont l’espérance qui est ancrée dans la Foi. C’est ce rapport personnel à l’Église et au Christ qui change tout.

Le Patriarche Sako rencontre les Chaldéens de France: Notre unité fait notre force

By Médias du Patriarcat

En marge de sa visite à Paris, Sa Béatitude le Patriarche Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako a rencontré les Chaldéens de France dans la banlieue de Sarcelles, lundi soir 26 mai 2025. Y ont participé Son Éminence Mgr Félix Chebbi, Sabri Anar, les curés de la paroisse et une foule nombreuse.

Sa Béatitude a loué la foi des Chaldéens de France, leur solidarité avec leur Église chaldéenne, leur coopération avec leurs prêtres et leur générosité, au point que les Français les admirent. Il les a appelés à préserver ces valeurs constantes : ecclésiales, sociales et familiales. Il a exprimé sa joie face à la croissance de la famille et au nombre d’enfants. Il a mentionné ce que lui a dit un des prêtres qui sert dans la paroisse, à savoir qu’il y a 200 naissances par an contre 30 décès.

Concernant l’unité, Sa Béatitude a dit: Votre force réside dans votre unité. Vous êtes liés les uns aux autres sur le plan ecclésiologique, linguistique et régional (la plupart d’entre vous sont originaires des villages de l’actuelle Turquie du Sud et des villages limitrophes de l’Irak). Ne laissez personne vous diviser… il n’y a pas de salut pour nous sans unité.

Du point de vue de l’Église: Nous sommes une Église chaldéenne. Notre affiliation est à l’Église catholique et notre chef est le Souverain Pontife, le Pape. Nous maintenons notre particularisme en tant qu’Église Sui Juris, des droits spéciaux, avec sa propre liturgie, qui a été réformée dans un langage compréhensible et à travers une étude scientifique afin que les croyants puissent y participer et vivre leur contenu. Le Patriarche est le Père de l’Église: il incarne son unité et assure sa vitalité et sa continuité. Nous remercions Dieu que notre Eglise soit un témoin d’un changement qualitatif au cours de la dernière décennie à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de l’Irak, malgré la marginalisation délibérée et l’émigration que vous avez subies…

Au niveau ethnique: Nous sommes des Chaldéens aux racines profondes. Et les Français vous appellent avec admiration : Les chrétiens de France.

En tant qu’Église et nation, nous sommes ouverts aux autres et engageons un dialogue avec eux afin de parvenir à une dénomination acceptée par tous. Cependant, nous rejetons les noms étranges et n’acceptons pas que quiconque nous les impose, tout comme nous n’imposons notre nom à personne.

Nous sommes ouverts d’esprit et non fanatiques et c’est ce pour quoi nous sommes connus ! Votre unité ecclésiastique, nationale, sociale et familiale est votre force de vitalité et de continuité. Ne laisser personne vous pour aucune raison.

Il a demandé aux associations chaldéennes, qui organisent un dîner annuel et invitent des religieux étrangers et des hommes politiques, d’organiser un dîner commun auquel chacun pourrait participer, au lieu de se faire concurrence…

Le dialogue a ensuite été ouvert aux questions et réponses qui ont tourné autour de la liturgie, des coutumes et des défis. Deux personnes, avec une colère et une impolitesse, ont essayé de gâcher la réunion en imposant le nom assyrien.

Sa Béatitude a répondu: Nous sommes chaldéens et nous restons attachés à notre Église et à notre identité nationale. Nous respectons votre sentiment national assyrien, mais en retour, respectez notre sentiment national chaldéen. Vous êtes libre de choisir ce que vous voulez et nous respectons cela, mais vous devez respecter notre nationalité chaldéenne. En Irak, nous dialoguons avec les Assyriens et les Syriaques et respectons leur identité. C’est la bonne voie vers l’unité, pas vers le fanatisme et les cris.

La réunion s’est terminée avec la condamnation par la majorité de ce comportement inapproprié et l’expression de leur respect et de leur fierté envers leur église, leur patriarche et leur nation.

Mais le patriarche a répondu

que ces gens sont nos enfants et que nous les aimons,

et que nous n’avons que de l’amour les uns pour les autres

Iraqi Christians: An Ancient People Driven into Exile

By European Centre for Law & Justice

Nearly eight years after the official fall of the Islamic State in Iraq, the situation for Christians remains alarming, marked by insecurity and discrimination. Iraq ranks 17th among the countries where Christian communities are most persecuted,[1] despite their ancestral presence. The ECLJ is working to draw the attention of the United Nations to these persecutions. We have conveyed to the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues the concerns and needs expressed by local NGOs and Church leaders. This Special Rapporteur will conduct an official visit to Iraq from June 15 to 23, 2025.

A Disappearing Minority 

At the beginning of the 2000s, there were still 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. Today, only 140,000 remain,[2] divided between federal Iraq and the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Mostly Assyrian or Chaldean, but also Syriac and Armenian, both Catholic and Orthodox, these Christians now make up less than 1% of the Iraqi population. They are the largest religious minority in the country, alongside the Yazidis, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Kakais. The majority of the population is Muslim—64% Shia and 34% Sunni,[3] but the Christian communities, converted by Saint Thomas as early as the first century, are the direct heirs of the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia. Their presence, predating the Arab conquest, has continued uninterrupted since the early first millennium.

The Islamic State’s takeover of Mosul on June 10, 2014, triggered a mass exodus of Christians toward the Nineveh Plains, Kurdistan, or abroad. “As soon as they seized the city, jihadists’ voices echoed from mosque loudspeakers and megaphones to mock Christians, announcing that they must choose: conversion, exile, or submission under dhimmi status. Most fled with only their cars and what they wore,” recounts Monsignor Najeeb, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul.[4]
Over ten years later, barely twenty Christian families have returned to this city now burdened with painful memories. The Iraqi government has shown little investment in reconstruction, and only thanks to NGOs have some churches been renovated and now ring their bells again. Additionally, Christian-owned lands, shops, and workshops have been taken over by new owners, complicating the return of displaced persons, for whom no public policy exists. This uprooting is only the first step toward exodus.

Persistent Discrimination and Growing Anxiety

The near-systematic departure of Christians to the United States, Sweden, or Germany is driven by a socio-cultural Islamic environment hostile to them. Whether in education, job seeking, or access to public services, Christians face discrimination in every aspect of daily life. Numerous NGOs (SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, Christian Aid Program Northern Iraq, The Return, Hammurabi Human Rights Organization) working on the ground attest to this. Not belonging to the dominant ethnic groups or main political parties, Christians face greater difficulty obtaining jobs—particularly in public administration—and securing their rights to safety and political representation. “Today we are not equal,” laments Yohanna Yousif of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization.[5] “If you're not in a party, you won’t find a job. They have all the rights; we have none.” Roland, a project manager, shares his experience: “I applied online to be a teacher and received a positive response by email. But when the list of accepted candidates was published, my name had been removed because I’m a Christian. Similarly, in class, when a Christian student is top of the class, teachers give them lower grades so that a Muslim student can take the first place”.[6]

Although Daesh is no longer a direct threat, security remains precarious for Iraqis—especially for more vulnerable religious minorities. In federal Iraq, Shiite militias continue to harass and assault civilians. In Kurdistan, civilians are caught in ongoing clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Christian villages in this region are frequently bombed, forcing families to flee. In Miska, a border district in Duhok, the Assyrian church was destroyed, and 11 families were displaced. The community’s insecurity, the trauma of the jihadist invasion, and the feeling of being second-class citizens without protection keep Christians in a state of chronic anxiety about the future.
Dilan Adamat, from the NGO The Return, sadly notes that fear is pushing Christians to leave their ancestral lands: “Here, you always have to fight, and people are tired. There is deep exhaustion from all these security, legal, and social pressures”[7].

A Systematic Population Replacement

Christians are not only leaving in pursuit of a better future. They are being pushed out by various political and military actors who view this minority as an obstacle to their strategic goals. This is particularly true of the Shiite militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hachd al-Chaabi), which number between 140,000 and 238,000 fighters.[8] Supported by Iran, they form a powerful, largely uncontrolled faction within the Iraqi army, with growing political and military influence. In the Nineveh Plains, these militias are gradually taking over territory, checkpoints, and establishing Shiite settlements in traditionally Christian areas.
The Hammurabi Organization denounces this and proposes countermeasures: “We are witnessing a real demographic shift—they are distributing land to Shiites in Christian areas. We demand the creation of protected districts where land would be reserved for Christians!” Harassed and intimidated, Christians are often pressured into selling their land to the highest bidder. In Bartella, just twenty kilometers from Mosul, Christians now make up only a quarter of the population, whereas they were the majority in 2014. This plays into Iran’s project of establishing a Shiite crescent, in which Christians are merely obstacles to be moved aside.

Land issues are also present in the north, in the Kurdistan region, where authorities and locals have traditionally been more welcoming to Christians. In this clan-based society, a few powerful armed families dominate institutions. They expropriate Christians from their unused lands, even forging documents to justify these seizures. The confiscation of Christian properties by influential Kurdish figures or tribal chiefs is now one of the primary issues faced by Christians in the region. Prior to 2021, 223 families filed complaints in Erbil seeking restitution of their lands, but only around forty won their cases[9]. These land grabs, along with the difficulty of finding employment, are causing what Monsignor Najeeb calls a “true hemorrhage”: “We’re living almost like refugees in our own country.” He explains that Christians face a double persecution: “Like all Iraqis, due to the weak state and militia violence, and as a religious minority.” He also condemns a “heritage genocide,” as no institution recognizes the urgency of preserving the millennia-old Assyro-Chaldean cultural heritage.

Read here the ECLJ contribution to the UNSR. 

 [1] Iraq – Country Profile 2024, Open Doors France, https://www.portesouvertes.fr/persecution-des-chretiens/profils-pays/irak
  [2] Shlama Foundation. “Population of Assyrians in Irak.” Shlama.org, 2025. https://www.shlama.org/population 

 [3] Humanists International, Freedom of Thought Report, 2024, https://fot.humanists.international/countries/asia-western-asia/Irak / 

      [4] Interview of the ECLJ with Archbishop Najeeb, May 8, 2025.
      [5] Interview of the ECLJ with the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, May 20, 2025.
      [6] Interview with Roland (name has been changed), May 13, 2025.
      [7] Interview of the ECLJ with Dilan Adamat from the NGO The Return, May 12, 2025.
    [8] Mohammad Salami, EISMEA, “Analysis of the Impact of Militias in Iraq: Strategies to Mitigate Their Influence,” February 21, 2024, https://eismena.com/article/analyse-de-limpact-des-milices-en-irak-strategies-pour-attenuer-leur-influence-2024-02-21 

   [9] Kurdish Gov’t missing in action – Hectares of Christian land swallowed up by trespassers, KirkukNow, 24 mai 2021, https://kirkuknow.com/en/news/65618.

President Barzani reiterates support for safeguarding Christian endowments

By Rudaw

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday reaffirmed the Region’s commitment to protecting religious and ethnic diversity, calling for legal safeguards for Christian endowments and rights during a speech at the Catholic University of Erbil’s annual conference.

“The topic of managing endowments and church properties, which is being discussed at this conference, is of great importance. Christian endowments are not just property but are part of important and valuable heritage and civilizational, cultural, and spiritual wealth of this region, as well as a guarantee for the continuity of Christians and their living role in Kurdish and Iraqi society,” President Barzani said during a speech at the Church Endowments Administration Conference, hosted by the Catholic University in Erbil.

“From this perspective, we reaffirm our full support for expediting the passage of a law specific to Christian endowments, in a way that aligns with the spirit of the Iraqi constitution and these properties are protected from any interference or encroachment,” he added.

Archbishop Bashar Warda told Rudaw on Monday that “the management of Christian endowments is a constitutional demand of Iraq and is clarified in Article 43 that every religion and sect is free in its management.” According to Warda, the importance of passing this law lies in the fact that “first the property of churches and then all Christians will be protected.”

Warda said Iraq currently has no law to protect church endowments and Christian properties.

Without such a law, “a mixture of concepts is created, and other laws might be misused, or Christian properties might be seized and sold due to migration and displacement,” Archbishop Warda said. “Therefore, if there is a law, church and Christian wealth will be protected, and the property will be secured.”

Archbishop Warda explained the current legal gap leaves Christian properties vulnerable, especially amid displacement and migration affecting Christian communities in Iraq. The proposed law would offer legal clarity and safeguard against potential seizure or unauthorized sale of Christian properties.

During his speech, Barzani said protecting this heritage - land, property, or wealth - provides assurance for their future and sends a clear message to Christians that the legacy of their ancestors is safe in this country.

“I want to emphasize again that Christians and other components, from whatever religion and ethnicity they may be, are not guests in Kurdistan, but rather owners, partners, and an essential and authentic part of this land and this homeland. We assure everyone that Kurdistan, which has embraced everyone throughout history, will forever remain a country of diversity, tolerance, and freedom,” Barzani emphasized.

“Kurdistan is the homeland of all of us. Without discrimination, it brings us all together under its sky and on its soil. It has rights over all of us, and we all have rights in it. We must protect and defend it. This land is recognized by bringing together all religious and ethnic components, through mutual acceptance and peaceful coexistence that has existed among all components for thousands of years,” President Barzani said during a speech at the Church Endowments Administration Conference, hosted by the Catholic University in Erbil.

The Kurdistan Region is home to a diverse range of ethnic and religious communities that have long coexisted in peace and mutual respect, despite the turmoil and challenges the region has faced.

The Kurdistan Region is predominantly Muslim but takes pride in its commitment to religious freedom. In addition to its Muslim population, the region is home to diverse faith communities, including Christians, Yazidis, and Kakais.

“The diversity and existence of religious and ethnic components has become a source of strength, wealth, and stability for Kurdistan. Therefore, we remain forever loyal and devoted to this authentic culture,” emphasized Barzani.

He also said that when violence erupted in Iraq in 2003 and the Islamic State (ISIS) attacks devastated areas like Shingal (Sinjar), Mosul, and the Nineveh Plains a decade later, Christians, Yazidis, and other religious groups faced severe hardship. During this time, “the Kurdistan Region stood as a safe haven for those seeking freedom, dignity, and safety.”

ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions.

Recognizing the significance of preserving cultural and religious heritage, President Barzani emphasized the crucial role of managing Christian endowments and church properties.