Erbil (Iraq)
Special correspondence
This weekend, hundreds are taking their places in the pews of the Syriac Orthodox Mar Giorgis Church, in Karakoch, the largest Christian city in the plain of Nineveh, to attend the blessing of a 13th century fresco.e century recently restored.
This Byzantine wall painting was in the sanctuary of the rock-hewn Mar Giorgis church of Bakhdida (Syriac name for Karakoch), founded in the 6the century. It represents the baptism of Christ in the Jordan. It is the only work of this type known in Iraq. However, it owes its survival only to the inability of the diggers to overcome the sanctuary, doomed to destruction in 2005 to allow the construction of a modern church on its site. Since then, the fresco, which remained on the exterior facade of the building, was exposed to the weather and the crushing sun of the plain of Nineveh. During the two years of occupation of the city by Daesh, it suffered deep deterioration, the place being used as a laboratory for the manufacture of explosive devices.
“When it was rediscovered when the city was liberated, the work was in danger. We had to act very quickly.” explains Méliné Miguirditchian, one of the restorers. International organizations and institutions then took charge of the protection and then the restoration of the fresco. “The Iraqi people are our big brother, recalls Étienne Piquet-Gauthier, director of the Saint-Irénée Foundation in Lyon. We are honored to help restore its heritage.”
This work faced technical, but also logistical constraints. “Almost all the products come from Europe, explains the restorer. They were not found here, sometimes even prohibited. For example, acetone is not allowed for sale in Iraq, as it can be used in the manufacture of bombs. When we tried to bring some in, it was blocked for weeks by the customs department. »
The project aims to make Christians in the region aware of the value of their heritage. “Heritage embodies deep identity, in its most visible form, Abbonde Pascal Maguesyan, from the association Mesopotamia Heritage. This is why Daesh attacked it so much; it was a systemic way to break the link between the communities, their memory and their history”.
“Restoring this fresco is a way of honoring our ancestors, adds Mgr Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Syriac Orthodox archbishop of the region. It is through works like this that their thoughts, their faith and their culture have come down to us. » With this transmission in mind, four young graduates from the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Mosul were involved in the restoration work. They created a modern version of the work, displayed in the old cave church. Symmetry full of anachronism, it is in the nave of the new church, the very one for which it had almost been razed, that the Byzantine fresco will now be placed.
For Pascal Maguesyan, “The example of this work, which should have been destroyed by order of the parish to build a new building, and which was restored years later at the request of the religious authorities, is revealing. Daesh’s actions have reminded communities of the vulnerability of their heritage, and therefore of the importance of preserving and protecting it”.
The bet is bold as the Iraqi state devotes no budget to the reconstruction of places of worship in formerly occupied areas, preferring to focus on infrastructure and housing. “By rebuilding stones, we can also rebuild souls”, defends Bishop Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf. He knows how immense the challenge is. To date, more than five years after the liberation of the plain of Nineveh, it is estimated that only 60% of Christians have returned to live in their territory of origin.
