{"id":24821,"date":"2017-09-26T07:09:16","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T07:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=24821"},"modified":"2017-09-26T07:09:16","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T07:09:16","slug":"iraq-celebrations-mark-return-iraqi-christians-nineveh-john-pontifax-acn-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2017\/09\/26\/iraq-celebrations-mark-return-iraqi-christians-nineveh-john-pontifax-acn-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"IRAQ &#8211; Celebrations mark the return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh &#8211; John Pontifax \u00a0&#8211; ACN UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>IRAQ <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Celebrations mark return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">About 500 Christian families \u2013 up to 2,500 people \u2013 celebrated their long-awaited homecoming to Iraq\u2019s Nineveh Plains with ceremonies marking a fresh start in their old towns and villages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), the largest of Nineveh\u2019s Christian towns, priests and people holding olive branches processed through the streets chanting hymns in Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Protected by security personnel in armoured vehicles, the procession was headed by priests holding crucifixes aloft. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A service took place at the Immaculate Conception Syriac Catholic Church, in the town centre, a building desecrated and burnt by Daesh (IS) militants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">During the ceremony, <em>Aid to the Church in Need<\/em> Middle East projects\u2019 coordinator Father Andrzej Halemba called on people to forgive those who had forced them out of their homes and attacked their towns and villages. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fr Halemba told the returnees: \u201cOf course we cry when we see the violence that has been carried out but we should remove the anger in our hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThere should be no hatred in our hearts. We should reconcile with our neighbour.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Afterwards, Father Halemba, who organised the ceremonies in conjunction with local clergy distributed to each family olive trees symbolising the returnees\u2019 return to their roots \u2013 the communities <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buyamoxil-amoxicillin.com\/buycheapcipro.html\">buyamoxil-amoxicillin.com\/buycheapcipro.html<\/a> where they have lived for centuries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Another olive tree distribution ceremony took place earlier that day (Sunday, 10<sup>th<\/sup> September) at the Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church, Bartella, a largely Syriac Orthodox town, close to Qaraqosh. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At least 2,000 families \u2013 10,000 people \u2013 are reported to have returned to Qaraqosh, with at least another 500 families \u2013 2,500 people \u2013 expected by the end of the month (September).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ACN is repairing hundreds of homes in a number of Nineveh\u2019s Christian-majority towns and villages, where widespread destruction was carried out during and after the Daesh (IS) occupation of the region from August 2014 to October 2016. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The charity is also committed to repairing churches in both towns as well as in Teleskuf, where restoration of St George\u2019s Church is well underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanking the charity for organising the ceremonies and helping with the repair of homes, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Timotheos Moussa Al Shamany of Bartella said: \u201cThis was a wonderful way to mark the start of our return to our homes \u2013 the land where we belong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">More celebrations and processions are due to be held on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, an especially important feast in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>John Pontifax\u00a0 &#8211; ACN UK<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IRAQ Celebrations mark return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh &nbsp; About 500 Christian families \u2013 up to 2,500 people \u2013 celebrated their long-awaited homecoming to Iraq\u2019s Nineveh Plains with ceremonies marking a fresh start in their old towns and villages. In Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), the largest of Nineveh\u2019s Christian towns, priests and people holding olive branches&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>IRAQ - Celebrations mark the return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh - John Pontifax \u00a0- ACN UK - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2017\/09\/26\/iraq-celebrations-mark-return-iraqi-christians-nineveh-john-pontifax-acn-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IRAQ - Celebrations mark the return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh - John Pontifax \u00a0- ACN UK - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IRAQ Celebrations mark return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh &nbsp; About 500 Christian families \u2013 up to 2,500 people \u2013 celebrated their long-awaited homecoming to Iraq\u2019s Nineveh Plains with ceremonies marking a fresh start in their old towns and villages. 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