Photo: Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil
Ishtartv.com - aidtochurch.org
John Newton, 10 Sep 2025
“What once was meant to be
silenced has become a proclamation – Faith has survived, and hope is stronger
than death.”
Christians who survived jihadist
attacks in northern Iraq have come together to celebrate a major festival which
will proclaim that Faith is still alive in the region.
From 9-13 September 2025,
Christians from across the region’s different traditions – Assyrian Church of
the East, Chaldean, Syriac Catholic and Syriac Orthodox – are joining together
for an extended celebration of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda,
who has been working with leaders from other Churches to plan the events, told
Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) – which helped support the
celebrations – that this was a sign that the Faith was still alive. He said:
“The timing of the festival is deeply symbolic. A decade ago, Daesh sought to
erase Christianity from this land. Today, the very same communities will raise
the Cross high in public squares, in churches, and in joyful processions. What
once was meant to be silenced has become a proclamation – Faith has survived,
and hope is stronger than death.”
Islamist extremist group Daesh
(ISIS) controlled parts of the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq from 2014 until
2017. More than 120,000 Christians sought refuge in Erbil in Iraq’s
semi-autonomous Kurdistan region after fleeing their homes in August 2014. ACN
supported Christian refugees who fled in 2014, and following the defeat of
Daesh helped rebuild Christian towns and villages, to allow communities to
return to their homes.
Events are set to begin later
today (9 September) with a 2km candlelight procession in the Erbil suburb of
Ankawa from the Chaldean Shrine of St Elijah to the Assyrian Cathedral of St
John the Baptist, where a meal will follow prayers and a homily by the Assyrian
Church of the East’s Patriarch Mar Awa III. A packed programme will include
prayers, music, cultural events, sporting activities and competitions in the
lead up to the vigil of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 13 September.
The five-day festival is now set
to be an annual event in the Churches’ calendar, following ecumenical
celebrations in 2024. The 2025 festival builds upon last year’s activities
“aiming not only to repeat its success, but also to expand its scope, deepen
its content, and involve more youth and families from across the different
Churches.”
Archbishop Warda paid tribute to
the Joint Youth Committee, composed of 20 volunteers from all four Churches,
who have played a lead role. He said: “Young people from all Churches planned
the festival together – organising prayers, sports, marathons, concerts,
children’s games, and cultural events. Their collaboration became a visible
sign of a new future. Older generations watched with admiration as the youth
discovered that what unites them – their faith in Christ – is far greater than
what divides them. In their hands, the dream of Christian unity in Iraq is
already becoming a lived reality.”
The festival is seen as vital to
the future of Christianity in the country. According to Saddam Hussein’s last
census there were 1.4 million believers, but numbers have fallen to well below
a quarter of a million.
Archbishop Bashar Warda said: “The
Festival of the Cross 2025 is more than a local celebration. It is a message to
the global Church. From the land of Abraham, where Christians suffered exile
and persecution, comes a word of hope – we are still here. We are one in
Christ. The Cross has not been silenced, and in Iraq, a small and wounded
Church has shown the world the power of unity, the courage of faith, and the
joy of resurrection life.”
Photo: Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil
Photo: Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil
Photo: Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil
|
