A group of Iraqi Christians has raised a giant cross outside the city of Mosul on a village recently liberated from ISIS, Crux reports.
The cross was erected on a hill in Telekuf-Tesqopa located 17 miles from Mosul. The village is now rebuilding after being dominated by the terror group for more than two and a half years. The massive cross symbolizes the triumph of the Christian faith against jihadists.
According to Breitbart, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad Louis Raphael Sako visited the site and blessed the new cross. A group of Christians set off fireworks and shouted, “Victory! Victory! Victory!”
In his homily during the first Mass in Saint George Church after the village’s liberation, Sako said this event is “the first spark of light shining in all the cities of the Nineveh Plain since the darkness of ISIS, which lasted almost two and a half years.”
The Catholic Patriarch said the large cross represents the Iraqi Christians’ right to live and die in the land of their ancestors and they would do everything to preserve it for future generations.
Putting crosses has become a common gesture since the Iraqi Army started the fight against the extremists. On the Plain of Nineveh, freed villagers have made wooden crosses and have placed them on the roofs of churches and homes.
Sources:
Cruxnowcom. (2017). Crux. https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/02/24/iraqi-christians-erect-large-cross-area-liberated-isis/
Breitbartcom. (2017). Breitbart. http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/02/24/iraqi-christians-raise-giant-cross-land-liberated-isis/
