St. Joseph's Cathedral, Ankawa

St. Joseph's cathedral in Ankawa, also known as Mar Yousif Cathedral, is the seat of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil (Latin: Archieparchia Arbilensis Chaldaeorum, Arabic: إيبارشية أربيل الكلدانية‎) created under the pontificate of Pope Paul VI. The cathedral follows the East Syrian Rite ("Chaldean Rite") of the Chaldean Catholic Church, one of the Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular churches that make up the Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome.

Construction on St. Joseph's church began on a 1000 sqm area in 1978 while Stephan Babaka was archbishop of Erbil. The church was built at government expense with volunteer labor from the people of Ankawa and consecrated in 1981. St. Joseph's church was designed in distinctive Babylonian style including a main gate modeled on the Ishtar Gate. Mar Yousif Church is an attractive church in its design, large yard, and its big gardens. It is located at the entrance of Ankawa. St. Joseph's church is the seat of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil. In 2014, St. Joseph became a shelter for refugees that fled from the violence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

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