Ishtartv.com - shafaq.com
2026-03-30
War-related conditions have
confined Palm Sunday observances in Iraq to church services, replacing the
public processions and festive rituals that traditionally define the occasion.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning
of Holy Week in Christianity —the final period of Lent leading to Easter— and
commemorates the biblical account of Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, a
scene symbolizing humility, peace, and spiritual renewal as crowds welcomed him
with garments and tree branches.
Speaking with Shafaq News, Father
Martin Hermiz, Director of Media and Government Communication at the Endowment
Office, said the day reflects “inner peace, submission to God’s will, and the
triumph of faith,” while also carrying a strong social dimension through
collective worship and shared rituals.
Traditionally, families gather in
churches where children wear white garments and carry olive or palm branches.
These are later blessed and distributed as symbols of peace, with some
preserved on church altars and reused during religious ceremonies throughout
the year.
In the Nineveh Plain, where many
Iraqi Christians remain, Rita Emmanuel, from Al-Hamdaniya district, told our
agency, “Every year, there are processions to the churches, but due to the
current conditions, we are limiting the celebration to the mass only,”
expressing hope for stability and peace in Iraq and the world.
The Syriac Catholic Archdiocese
of Mosul and its affiliated areas announced, last week, the cancellation of
Easter celebrations and public displays this year, in solidarity with those
“suffering and affected” by the war, noting that Palm Sunday observances would
be limited to church attendance.
Iraq, a multiethnic country with
a Muslim majority, was once home to a large Christian population —estimated at
1.2 to 1.5 million before 2003, including Chaldean Catholics, Assyrians, and
Syriac Orthodox communities. Over the past two decades, their numbers have
declined to fewer than 250,000, according to church and humanitarian estimates.
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