Masoud Barzani (Right), with the Patriarch Mar Awa III, Spt. 14. 2021. (Photo: Barzani Head Quarter)
Ishtartv.com - kurdistan24.net
Kurdish statesman Masoud Barzani stressed the importance of religious
coexistence and tolerance in the autonomous Kurdistan Region on Tuesday as he
received the new patriarch of the Assyrian Eastern Church at his office in
Erbil.
According to a statement from Barzani's office, the Kurdish leader
discussed various issues of the day with Patriarch Mar Awa III and his
accompanying delegation, which consisted of bishops and clergy.
Mar Awa III was recently appointed by a committee of church figures. His
predecessor, Mar Gewargis III Sliwa, had resigned because of medical reasons.
The event was attended by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, other
local officials, religious figures from around the world, and foreign
diplomats.
The statement indicated that Patriarch Mar Awa III, in addition to
citing historical relations between the Barzani family and the Eastern Assyrian
Church, expressed his “thanks to Barzani for supporting and protecting
coexistence and harmony between the national and religious components in
Kurdistan.”
For his part, Barzani gave congratulations to the patriarch, remarking
on the Kurdish leader's “happiness for the previous period in which the
patriarchal chair of the Assyrian Eastern Church moved to the city of Erbil,
stressing that the Kurdistan Region is the home of coexistence and harmony
among the components, and this coexistence must be preserved and enriched
further.”
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