Three crosses that were damaged when ISIS Islamists seized Iraq’s Nineveh Plains are to be added to an exhibition currently on show in Westminster Cathedral.
They will join other artefacts and Christian crosses being displayed in the cathedral’s “It’s Iconic!” exhibition, which opened last month.<br><br><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/westminster-cathedral-to-host-one-of-a-kind-exhibition-about-the-ultimate-icon/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Westminster Cathedral to host one-of-a-kind exhibition about humanity’s ultimate icon: the crucifix</mark></a></strong>
The crosses come from Chaldean and Syriac Catholic churches, which were targeted when the Islamist insurgent group took over the Nineveh Plains in the north of the country during the summer of 2014, <a href="https://acnuk.org/news/united-kingdom-crosses-damaged-by-jihadists-to-join-exhibition/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). <br><br>The Nineveh Plains, which lie to the northeast of the city of Mosul that ISIS occupied, heralding a period of terror and destruction for its inhabitants, is the only region in Iraq where a plurality of inhabitants follow Syriac Christianity.
Dr John Newton, ACN’s communications and research manager, and who helped source the crosses, said their addition would be a poignant reminder of the suffering of northern Iraq’s Christians.
“These crosses are a very timely addition to the exhibition,” Newton said. “It was exactly a decade ago that Daesh started its genocidal campaign of conquest in northern Iraq, attempting to eradicate Christians, Yazidis and others from their ancient homelands.
“And yet the cross is a perennial symbol of hope shining through suffering.”
He went on to explain how this hope is illustrated by the history behind the individual crosses, highlighting that one of the damaged items comes from Teleskuf, where ISIS devastated St George’s Chaldean Church. Yet by the end of 2017, ISIS had been driven out, St George’s had been repaired and Christians had started returning to the town.<br><br><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/iraqs-historic-christian-heartland-slowly-recovering-from-isis-occupation/#:~:text=Thousands%20of%20Christians%20have%20returned,ago%20from%20the%20ISIS%20takeover."><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Iraq’s historic Christian heartland recovering from ISIS occupation</mark></a></strong>
Lucien de Guise, who curated the exhibition, welcomed the war-scarred artefacts.
He said: “The remnants of Iraqi crosses are especially welcome as they convey the power of the crucifix in a different way due to their degraded condition.
“Christ’s suffering for humanity becomes even more apparent when his body is reduced to just an arm or a pair of feet.
“What’s concealed really can be more expressive than what’s revealed. These loans from ACN are also a reminder of how that suffering has continued among the people who were among the earliest to follow the message of Christianity.
“They are crushingly poignant. It’s also rare to have access to works from places where they are still filled with meaning.”<br><br>The crosses are not the only new items to be added since the exhibition opened three weeks ago. A rare monstrance belonging to Westminster Cathedral has also joined the display. The 1907 monstrance was created by Omar Ramsden, a leading exponent of Art Nouveau.
Mr de Guise expressed his gratitude to ACN for providing the crosses from the Nineveh Plains, noting that it is "not easy to assemble such material, and ACN handles the task with admirable dedicated and sense of purpose".
He concluded: “The message of the exhibition is the universality of the Catholic Faith. What could be more important than the presence of works from the cradle of Christianity?
“Just as Catholicism has spread around the world, it would be tragic to see it die where it was born.”<br><em><br>Photo: Cross from the Chaldean church in Teleskuf on Iraq's Nineveh Plains; screenshot from <a href="https://acnuk.org/news/united-kingdom-crosses-damaged-by-jihadists-to-join-exhibition/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">www.acnuk.org</mark></a>.</em>
<em>The ‘It’s Iconic’ exhibition at Westminster Cathedral is open Wednesdays through to Saturdays from 10.30 a.m. - 4 p.m.</em><br>
Three crosses that were damaged when ISIS Islamists seized Iraq’s Nineveh Plains are to be added to an exhibition currently on show in Westminster Cathedral.
They will join other artefacts and Christian crosses being displayed in the cathedral’s “It’s Iconic!” exhibition, which opened last month.<br><br><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/westminster-cathedral-to-host-one-of-a-kind-exhibition-about-the-ultimate-icon/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Westminster Cathedral to host one-of-a-kind exhibition about humanity’s ultimate icon: the crucifix</mark></a></strong>
The crosses come from Chaldean and Syriac Catholic churches, which were targeted when the Islamist insurgent group took over the Nineveh Plains in the north of the country during the summer of 2014, <a href="https://acnuk.org/news/united-kingdom-crosses-damaged-by-jihadists-to-join-exhibition/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). <br><br>The Nineveh Plains, which lie to the northeast of the city of Mosul that ISIS occupied, heralding a period of terror and destruction for its inhabitants, is the only region in Iraq where a plurality of inhabitants follow Syriac Christianity.
Dr John Newton, ACN’s communications and research manager, and who helped source the crosses, said their addition would be a poignant reminder of the suffering of northern Iraq’s Christians.
“These crosses are a very timely addition to the exhibition,” Newton said. “It was exactly a decade ago that Daesh started its genocidal campaign of conquest in northern Iraq, attempting to eradicate Christians, Yazidis and others from their ancient homelands.
“And yet the cross is a perennial symbol of hope shining through suffering.”
He went on to explain how this hope is illustrated by the history behind the individual crosses, highlighting that one of the damaged items comes from Teleskuf, where ISIS devastated St George’s Chaldean Church. Yet by the end of 2017, ISIS had been driven out, St George’s had been repaired and Christians had started returning to the town.<br><br><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/iraqs-historic-christian-heartland-slowly-recovering-from-isis-occupation/#:~:text=Thousands%20of%20Christians%20have%20returned,ago%20from%20the%20ISIS%20takeover."><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Iraq’s historic Christian heartland recovering from ISIS occupation</mark></a></strong>
Lucien de Guise, who curated the exhibition, welcomed the war-scarred artefacts.
He said: “The remnants of Iraqi crosses are especially welcome as they convey the power of the crucifix in a different way due to their degraded condition.
“Christ’s suffering for humanity becomes even more apparent when his body is reduced to just an arm or a pair of feet.
“What’s concealed really can be more expressive than what’s revealed. These loans from ACN are also a reminder of how that suffering has continued among the people who were among the earliest to follow the message of Christianity.
“They are crushingly poignant. It’s also rare to have access to works from places where they are still filled with meaning.”<br><br>The crosses are not the only new items to be added since the exhibition opened three weeks ago. A rare monstrance belonging to Westminster Cathedral has also joined the display. The 1907 monstrance was created by Omar Ramsden, a leading exponent of Art Nouveau.
Mr de Guise expressed his gratitude to ACN for providing the crosses from the Nineveh Plains, noting that it is "not easy to assemble such material, and ACN handles the task with admirable dedicated and sense of purpose".
He concluded: “The message of the exhibition is the universality of the Catholic Faith. What could be more important than the presence of works from the cradle of Christianity?
“Just as Catholicism has spread around the world, it would be tragic to see it die where it was born.”<br><em><br>Photo: Cross from the Chaldean church in Teleskuf on Iraq's Nineveh Plains; screenshot from <a href="https://acnuk.org/news/united-kingdom-crosses-damaged-by-jihadists-to-join-exhibition/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">www.acnuk.org</mark></a>.</em>
<em>The ‘It’s Iconic’ exhibition at Westminster Cathedral is open Wednesdays through to Saturdays from 10.30 a.m. - 4 p.m.</em><br>
