Church of Saint Ahudemmeh, Tikrit

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Church of Saint Ahudemmeh
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Green Church in Tikrit
Religion
Affiliation Syriac Orthodox
Location
Location Tikrit, Iraq
Architecture
Type Church
Completed700 AD

The Church of Saint Ahudemmeh, also known as the Green Church, was a Syriac Orthodox church in Tikrit, Iraq. The church was destroyed by Islamic State militants on 25 September 2014. [1]

Contents

History

The church was constructed by Denha II, Maphrian of the East, in 700 AD, and was dedicated to Saint Ahudemmeh. [2] Denha II and his successors John II, Daniel, Thomas I, and Baselios III, were buried in the church. [2] Dinkha of Tikrit debated theology and philosophy with Al-Masudi at the church in 925. [3]

In 1089, the church was looted and destroyed by the governor of Tikrit, [4] but was restored in 1112. [5] Christians took refuge in the church during the Mongol invasion of Iraq in 1258, where they were slaughtered and few escaped. [2]

The church was excavated by the Iraqi Archaeological Service in the 1990s, [5] and several coffins were discovered, including that of Anaseous, Bishop of Tikrit. [2] In 2000, Saddam Hussein had the church restored due to its dilapidated condition. [6] On 25 September 2014, the church was destroyed by Islamic State militants with improvised explosive devices. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Mamoun, Abdelhak (25 September 2014). "URGENT: ISIS destroys 7th Century Church in Tikrit, Iraq". Iraqi News . Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Islamists Destroy 7th Century Church, Mosque in Tikrit, Iraq". AINA News . 25 September 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. Rassam (2005), p. 85
  4. Rassam (2005), p. 68
  5. 1 2 Hunter, Erica C. D. (June–July 2015). "Obliterating Iraq's Christian heritage" (PDF). The Middle East in London . Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. Considine, Craig (13 October 2015). "Why Celebrating Columbus Day Is Like Celebrating ISIS". Huffington Post . Retrieved 13 June 2018.

Bibliography