A consecration mass was conducted in Chaldean, a language related to Aramaic. Hugh Sykes
ishatrtv.com - bbc.com
By
Hugh Sykes, Irbil
25
December 2016
"When
you treat a cancer, you have to use unfortunate measures," said Bashar
Warda, Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Irbil, when I asked him if it was right
to kill members of the so-called Islamic State (IS).
"They
consider us blasphemers and infidels," he went on, "when they refuse
to negotiate, refuse dialogue, refuse your right to exist - when they don't
consider you as a human being, and try to terminate you. What other option do
you have to eliminate their violence?"
There
was applause and ululating in the cathedral church of St Joseph in Irbil when
Archbishop Bashar made the same argument at a mass of consecration at the
cathedral after extensive renovation and modernisation.
More
than 1,000 Iraqi Christians attended the mass, which was a superbly rehearsed
and performed piece of Catholic theatre.
There
was sublime chanting from a choir of men and women in smart cream uniforms.
Altar
boys and girls in red and white vestments attended the archbishop as he
conducted the mass.
The
air soon grew thick with smoke from incense burning in a censer swung by a
priest at the head of a procession of priests in white, led by one holding a
staff with a silver crucifix at its top.
The
language of the mass is Chaldean, which is related to Aramaic - the language
spoken in the Middle East at the time of Christ.
The
congregation spoke the Lord's Prayer in Chaldean.
The
church has new murals decorated in red and gold, depicting the baby Jesus with
Joseph and Mary.
Mary
- Mariam in Arabic - is a particular figure worshipped here. Jesus is also
venerated in Islam, and she as his mother.
Indeed,
there were several Muslims in the congregation.
I
first met Bashar Warda 11 years ago, when he was a parish priest in Baghdad, at
the Church of St Ilya, right next to a Shia mosque.
Muslim
women were praying at a statue of the Virgin Mary in the church courtyard.
Father
Bashar showed me his primary school, for more than 400 Christian - and Muslim -
children (60% and 40% respectively).
There
was no religious instruction, he told me, "just to learn to live together,
study together, accepting each other."
Father
Bashar concluded his remarks with "it's the Iraqi way of living
together." That was in 2005.
The
violent years that followed profoundly undermined that Iraqi way.
How
big is the Christian community in Iraq?
Before
the 2003 invasion and occupation, there were approximately 1.5 million
Christians in Iraq
Now,
they are believed to number between 200,000 and 400,000
About
a million Iraqi Christians have either left the country or have been killed
Prince
Charles recently used his Thought
For The Day message on BBC Radio 4 to highlight warnings of the end of
Iraq's Christian community
Several
priests have been killed - one beheaded and dismembered. A previous archbishop
of Mosul died after being kidnapped, and a priest in Baghdad was kidnapped and
released only when a ransom was paid.
Dozens
of Christians have died in bomb attacks on their churches during Mass.
Al-Qaeda
in Iraq and its successor, IS, have killed hundreds of Christians, and menaced
many more out of their homes.
But
this Christmas coincides with some relief, at last, for thousands of Iraqi
Christians.
Several
of their towns and villages around Mosul have been liberated from occupation by
the violent and uncompromising religious zealots of IS.
The
new altar in St Joseph's contains pieces of broken stone which Archbishop
Bashar recovered from the altars of two churches that IS destroyed in two
Christian villages near Mosul.
The
mass of consecration in Irbil was followed by fireworks, a cake baked in the
shape of the church with its new red cross on top - and the choir singing a
wistful, nostalgic song - Auld Lang Syne - In Arabic.
But
the same tune, and the same words and meaning, "times gone by".
One
of its lines is: "Our voices all combine in sweet accord to thank our
Lord."
One altar boy was charged with looking after the archbishop. Hugh Sykes
Archbishop Bashar Warda was appaluaded by the congregation with hand clapping and ululating. Hugh Sykes
The Christian population in Iraq has fallen dramatically in recent years. Hugh Sykes
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