Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org
Parish leaders opened a new church on Thursday, September 20, in a city that became an icon for the resistance against the Islamic State (IS) in 2014.
“Afrin was destroyed, but with the help of God, and the permission of the administration in Kobani, we opened this place,” Zanî, a priest from Afrin who fled when Turkish-backed Islamist rebels took over in March.
“And our people will meet here and we thank the people of Kobani,” he told Kurdistan 24.
About six Christian families from Afrin fled to Kobani, where a total of approximately 300 Christians now live.
Farzad, project manager of the Christian NGO AVC International, which supported the opening, said this is the first time in recent memory a church has opened in the city.
“The last church [in Kobani] was destroyed 30 years ago and the last Christian meeting was 55 years ago,” he told Kurdistan 24.
Over the past three years, Christians in Kobani worshipped privately in home prayer groups.
A minute’s silence was observed for the fallen comrades. A church leader stated: “Today’s inauguration of the Church is a result of the resistance of Kobanê. Hundreds of daughters and sons of the Kurdish people and other communities in the region have lost their lives for Kobanê. This city is the key to the freedom in the Middle East. The brotherhood of the peoples and the communal life have begun in Kobanê.”
The first church service took place in the new building. Kobanê gained international fame in 2014 following the glorious victory of the Syrian Kurds over the ISIS terrorists.