by Dario Salvi

Over the weekend, the bells at Ibrahim Al-Khalil Church chimed for the first time. Its inaugural Mass will take place by Easter. Speaking to AsiaNews, the engineer who conceived and financed its construction calls for peace in Gaza, saying that the Church will be a place full of symbolism to "show the world" our Christian "identity”. Many now hope that it will draw pilgrims to “rediscover their land”.

Milan (AsiaNews) – Last weekend the bell chimed for the first time at the Ibrahim Al-Khalil Church, in Ur, Iraq. Its first Mass is expected during the Easter holidays, inaugurating the place of worship and its entire complex.

This is designed to lure back pilgrims to a place that made the history of religions and humanity, and encourage Christians to return to Iraq as well as mark Pope Francis’s visit three years ago.

The construction of the Church of Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is about to be completed, part of a much larger, pyramid-shaped complex rising in the desert.

In early March, a large polished clay bell was installed in the tower, while workers were busy putting the last touches to the building and cleaning its large windows.

In addition to being a symbol of interfaith dialogue, the church seeks to encourage Iraqi Christians whose numbers dropped considerably from around 1.5 million more than 20 years ago to a few hundreds of thousands today.

“Ur is a holy place, because of the birth of the prophet and it unites us to God,” said Adour Ftouhi Boutros Katelma, promoter of the project, speaking to AsiaNews from his office in Baghdad.

“Abraham is the father of all prophets, he is the shared by Christians, Jews and Muslims.”

Ur “is also the place where one of the earliest civilisations was born, where many of the sciences such as mathematics, physics, even music were born.”

This explains “the choice to build a church [after the pope's visit], because it is the place of Abraham and because we wanted to erect a building to show the world our identity."

Abraham’s church

Boutros Katelma, 79, is an engineer. A Christian originally from Mosul, he now lives permanently in Baghdad; he is the heart and soul of the church, the result of Pope Francis' visit to Iraq in March 2021, the first international trip after the lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, the papal visit appeared to deliver a courageous message of hope to a world that was struggling to reopen amid the global health emergency, as well as a courageous call to follow the path of interfaith dialogue.

It was a show of support for the Arab country as it started the slow process of rebirth after the war and sectarian violence triggered by the US invasion of 2003, such as the rise in 2014 of the Islamic State (IS) with its legacy of blood, deaths, and destruction.

The Church of Abraham is not only a place of worship, but also a religious, social, and cultural centre closely linked to Francis and his message on the shared affiliation of believers to the prophet of the three great monotheistic religions.

It is a further step in interfaith dialogue after the signing of the document on brotherhood in Abu Dhabi in 2019 with the Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb of al-Azhar, a spiritual leader of Sunni Islam, and the meeting, in Iraq, with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's highest Shia authority.

The complex has a round shape that "encloses" history facing east. Its three parts symbolise the Trinity, while the interior is accessed through a large staircase similar to a ziggurat according to a model inspired by transcendence, elevation, and the upward search for purity. White stone, a symbol of purity, was used in the construction to strengthen the message of spirituality.

Pilgrimage to Ur 

The church will not only serve the local Christian community, but is also meant to attract tourists from all over the world, especially Christian pilgrims.

"The Pope's visit to Iraq, especially to Dhi Qar Governorate and the ancient city of Ur, was of historical importance," said Shamil al-Rumaidh, director of antiquities in Dhi Qar province, where the ancient city of Ur is located.

The new church can become one of Iraq’s main tourist attractions, because it “was built... near the archaeological sites of the ancient city of Ur.” People will be able to learn and discover the past, as well as pray in a place of worship that refers to the present and the papal visit.

The complex includes a meeting hall for Christian pilgrims visiting the land of Abraham, created thanks to the personal commitment of the Chaldean engineer who oversaw the project and provided the necessary funds for its realisation.

“The first chime of the bells last weekend was a test to see if it works properly,” said Adour Ftouhi Boutros Katelma. “It was truly a fantastic, exciting moment, so much so that I cannot even express in words how happy I was. At the same time, I was also very proud to have completed the work.”

From Ur to Gaza, peace, and dialogue

With the church in Ur, “we wanted to remind everyone that Christians are originally from Iraq, so that they can return and discover their land, their past, their roots,” said the Chaldean engineer.

“Iraq has lost most of its Christian population, but there are many opportunities, especially in terms of business and development, above all in infrastructure, because much has been destroyed by the war. One can build and do business here.” Still, “at the social level, we must work for mutual understanding, and this is the right time to rebuild.”

This rebirth must be based on dialogue, people-to-people relations, on breathing new life into the social fabric that binds Muslims, Christians, and members of other minorities, whose ideal starting point was the pope's visit in March, three years ago.

“The pope's visit had great effect and represented the highest point in the history of Christianity in Iraq.” It also was of “great significance for the entire Middle East region,” said Adour Ftouhi Boutros Katelma.

“Even today it is talked about in the media and society. In Baghdad, for example, when talking about the Church, it is natural and automatic to associate her to the pontiff and his trip to Iraq” with his message of peace, dialogue, and outreach.

The latter is “very topical given what is happening in Gaza, a conflict that worries because there is great fear that it could spread to the entire region,” laments the Christian Iraqi. “Everyone wants to avoid such an escalation.”

"This is why the Ibrahim Al-Khalil church carries a message of peace for all religions, for all places, including Gaza. No more conflicts, there is no reason to wage war, everyone (Palestinian or Israeli) has the right to live in their own land and do so in peace.”

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• iraq
• ur
• church
• ibrahim al-khalil
• pope francis
• visit
• brotherhood
• chaldeans