Kurdistan opens massive church for displaced Christians
Christians in the Kurdish town of Ainkawa will now be able to attend mass after the government opened a massive church that can seat more than 1,000 people at a time.
The Church of St. Petrous and Pols, one of the largest churches in the Middle East, was opened on Thursday after about eight years of construction.
While the church is not completely finished, and while only the prayer hall has been completed, it is expected to accommodate as many as 1,300 people.
"When finished this will be one of the biggest such projects in the Middle East. It can accommodate 1,300 parishioners at one time," said Khalid Jamal, head of Christian Affairs department at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) religious affairs ministry.
According to Kurdish new site Rudaw, the opening ceremony was mostly attended by Christians from Ainkawa, but refugees from Mosul, Baghdad, Syria and other parts of Iraq were also present.
"I'm a Syrian refugee," said Miriam Sileman, a woman from Syria. "I now live here. I'm very happy about this church and I'll always come here to pray," she added.
The foundation stone for the church was laid in 2009, and the necessary funds for the construction of the church amounting to $4 million were released by the KRG religious affairs ministry in 2013.
"Building this church with support from the Kurdish government is a message that shows there is a link with and support for Christians," said Bishop Bashar Matti.
The new church reportedly has rooms for the sick, dressing room for bride and groom, cafeteria, offices, conference halls, training grounds and a baptism pool.
The advocacy group International Christian Concern commended the Kurdish government for opening the massive church.
"This church will be a place where Christians who have lost their homes and churches can feel welcomed," a statement on the group's webpage read.
"It also shows the Kurdish government's support for the Christian community. After so much pain, Christians with no place to go see a home in the Kurdistan region," it continued.
In May, Rudaw reported that there were 127 churches and 34 shrines in the Kurdistan Region, and there are plans to increase the number in the coming years to accommodate Christians from Baghdad and Nineveh Plains.
Kurdish authorities said that there could be as many as 200,000 Christian refugees in the Kurdistan Region, with the majority of them living in Ainkawa and Shaqlawa, north of Erbil.
There are also plans to complete the construction of the headquarters of the Assyrian Church, which was relocated from the U.S. to Erbil two years ago. The headquarters was moved to Chicago in 1940 due to political tensions and violence, and it has remained in the U.S. city since then.