ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The Christians of the Kurdistan Region and those who have sought shelter here now have one of the biggest churches in the Middle East to go to for prayers and mass.

In Ainkawa on Thursday a church was opened that has been under construction for eight years and it can seat more than one thousand people at one time.

“When finished this will be one of the biggest such projects in the Middle East. It can accommodate 1,300 parishioners at one time.” Khalid Jamal, head of Christian Affairs department at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) religious affairs ministry told Rudaw.

The majority of the attendees at the opening ceremony were from Ainkawa, but also among them were Christian refugees from Mosul, Baghdad, Syria and the rest of Iraq.

“I’m a Syrian refugee,” Miriam Sileman, a woman from Syria told Rudaw. “I now live here. I’m very happy about this church and I’ll always come here to pray.”

The KRG religious affairs ministry laid the foundation stone of the church in 2009 and the necessary funds of 4 million dollars were released in 2013.

For now only the prayer hall has been completed, but when finished the church becomes home to Christians from across the region and Iraq as well as those whose churches and homes have been destroyed in Mosul and elsewhere.

“Building this church with support from the Kurdish government is a message that shows there is a link with and support for Christians,” Bishop Bashar Matti told Rudaw.