St. George's Church is the oldest

Chaldean Catholic , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

church in

Ankawa Ankawa ( ar, عنكاوا, Ankāwā; , syr, ܥܲܢܟܵܒ̣ܵܐ) is a suburb of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is located northwest of downtown Erbil. The suburb is predominantly populated by Assyrian people, Assyrians, most of whom a ...

History

St. George's Church was probably built in 816, but parts of the church may date back to the fourth century. In 1995 the church building was restored. During the restoration, several carved stones were found. The engraving on one stone says that the church was rebuilt in 816 AD. A second stone mentions the death of Father Hormuz, a priest in Ankawa in 917 AD and the stone says Ankawa's name was then called Amku.

Patron Saint

The patron saint of this church is known as St. George. Before he became a Christian his name was Maherkoushap. St. George after was born in 576 AD in a branch of the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

royal family. The 20-year-old was baptized in 596. He became a monk at

Mt. Izla Mount Izla ( syr, ܛܘܪ ܐܝܙܠܐ ''Ṭūr Īzlā' ''),Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Izla — ܛܘܪܐ ܕܐܝܙܠܐ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified January 14, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/100. also Mountain of Nisibis or briefly ...

in northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and southern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. When the Persian king heard that George changed his religion, he arrested and killed George in 615. He is an important saint in the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

. On 24 April there is a feast for St. George and he is celebrated in Ankawa.

References

Ankawa Churches in Iraqi Kurdistan Chaldean Catholic churches {{EasternCatholic-church-stub