SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Co-president Bafel Talabani on Tuesday congratulated Mar Awa III on his appointment as the new Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.
Mar Awa Royel was inaugurated as the new patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East during a consecration ceremony in Erbil on Monday.
“We warmly congratulate you and Christian sisters and brothers in the Region, Iraq and the world,” Talabani said in a statement.
“We hope this will further deepen the spirit of reconciliation and peace between all nations and components, and further develop brotherhood and coexistence in our people,” he added.
“The PUK is eager to protect the beautiful image of coexistence of all nations, components and religions in the Region, and we will protect the culture of multicolored, coexistence and harmony.”
On Sept. 8, the Assyrian Church of the East elected Mar Awa Royel as their new patriarch in a ceremony held in St. John Baptist Church in Erbil’s Ainkawa neighborhood, after Mar Gewargis III Sliwa stepped down due to health reasons.
