Dozens of worshipers celebrated, Saturday, in Mosul, the first mass in the “Mar Toma” church, which was restored following it was vandalized by the terrorist organization “ISIS” and was damaged during the battles to liberate the major city in northern Iraq.
Last September, while the nineteenth-century Mar Thomas Syriac Catholic Church was still undergoing restoration work, a bell weighing 285 kilograms was installed, made in Lebanon and transported to the city by plane, thanks to donations from the non-governmental “fraternity in Iraq” organization. French government.
Accompanied by the organ, the voices of the worshipers resounded, Saturday, in the church that crowded them, according to Agence France-Presse.
The altar of the church, built in white and gray marble, regained its former splendor, with its ornate columns and arches, and the small circular windows were decorated with new stained glass. As the church bell rang, the “ul-salouds” sang, expressing joy.
On this occasion, Father Pius Afas, aged 82, said: “This is the most beautiful church in Iraq. The reconstruction was quite radical, as he contributed to restoring the church as it was built by its builders 160 years ago.”
In the churchyard, the upper floors of neighboring buildings still await restoration and the replacement of broken windows.
During ISIS’ control of the church, it is believed that extremist elements of the organization turned it into a prison or court. During that period its crosses and all other religious symbols were looted, while a mortar shell penetrated one of the cellars of the building.
The Fraternity in Iraq organization said in February that “the marble that had been burnt, polished and renewed, had to be removed, the ground was dug to reinforce the cement, the cleaned marble was placed, and it was completed with new marble pieces.”
Mosul and the Nineveh Plain region historically constituted an important seat for Christians, and it is still struggling to restore its normal life following the defeat of ISIS by the Iraqi army with the support of the international coalition.
The monasteries and churches in the area are being restored, but slowly, while the tens of thousands of Christians who fled following the group’s takeover in 2014 have not yet returned.
Many Iraqi Christians were also forced to emigrate, due to wars, conflicts and deteriorating living conditions. There are only 400,000 Christians left in Iraq today among its 40 million residents, down from 1.5 million in 2003 before the US invasion.
In this regard, Sana Abdel-Karim, a 50-year-old employee who lives in Dohuk in the Kurdistan region, considered that “this reconstruction is an encouragement for Christians to return.”
She added, “We are original in this region, this is our region, our parents and grandparents are here, and we want to live in this region.”
