announced the head of the Iraqi Association of private banks and depositary Handal, on Friday, initiating the rehabilitation of the Church of the Virgin Mary , the oldest church in the capital Baghdad , in cooperation with the Central Bank of Iraq and the Community Initiatives Fund "Enable." 

"The Central Bank of Iraq and the Association of Iraqi Private Banks have decided to rehabilitate the Church of the Virgin Mary in the central area of ​​Baghdad," Wadih al-Hanal said in a press statement. "The Central Bank and the Association of Banks support projects that Serving the beautiful Iraqi mosaics without looking at the sectarian or national background. "

"The church, which was established in 1693 AD, suffers today after 380 years of erosion in its urban structure, so it is our moral and humanitarian duty to rehabilitate it according to the global architectural methods," he added. In the Church through the use of high-quality materials. " 

He pointed out that "the work is currently underway in the church 24 hours and will be the first opening of the church at the end of this month and the presence of figures representing the spectrum of Iraqi society." 

"The Central Bank and the Association of Banks have decided to play a prominent role in supporting Iraqi society through community, cultural and humanitarian initiatives, including the restoration of the houses of Allah ," the statement quoted Central Bank spokesman Bassem Abdul Hadi as saying.The Church of the Virgin Mary, which is about 400 years, "noting that" the central bank is very keen to preserve the heritage of Baghdad, " 

While praised the Director General of the Department of Christians Affairs Agency in the Office of Awqaf, Chairman of the Committee charged with overseeing the Church by the Armenian community, sulfur Mnascan Armanak the efforts of the Iraqi Central Bank and the Association of Iraqi private banks to rehabilitate the Church of the Virgin Mary. 

he Armanak, according to the statement, "we thank the Central Bank and the Association of Iraqi private banks initiative to rehabilitate the church and represents a surprise to us through the attention edifice of heritage," noting that " All the Measures to rehabilitate the church were done without any complexity. "