Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani visited His Holiness Mar Gorgis III, the new patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East in Erbil today to congratulate His Holiness and to welcome the relocation of the seat of the Assyrian Church of the East from Chicago, USA, to Erbil.

Hi Holiness Mar Gorgis III was consecrated as the new patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East on Sunday, in a ceremony that also marked the relocation of the seat of the Church to Erbil.

The President lauded the decision to bring the seat of the Assyrian Church of the East to the Kurdistan Region, describing it as a significant and historic development that will positively contribute to peaceful co-existence in the region. The President said that there shall be no place for religious discrimination in the Kurdistan Region. President Barzani emphasized that the rights of Christians and all other religious and ethnic communities in Kurdistan will be protected.

For his part, His Holiness Mar Gorgis III welcomed President Barzani and expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the President and of the KRG for their support of the religious and ethnic minorities. He added that Kurdistan offers a notable example of peaceful co-existence in the Middle East. He also praised the bravery and sacrifices of the peshmerga forces in defending religious and ethnic communities in the fighting against ISIS terrorists.