Chaldeans in Europe: Part II: France
By Dr. Adhid Miri, PhD
Chaldean immigration out of Iraq to European countries at the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty first century Europe is considered recent compared to the early immigration wave of the last century to the Americas. The reasons remain the same, mainly religious persecution, famine and instability.
The Christian population of the Middle East has been threatened for centuries with war and persecution. To this day, Chaldeans still live with the dilemma of staying or leaving their homeland. The poignant current situation is Chaldeans live with their heads in the diaspora, but with their hearts in their homeland.
Chaldean people link their homeland to their identity, culture, language, faith, and traditions. They attach great importance on linking their homeland to their identity, because it is what identifies them, together with their Christian faith.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the war unleashed by the terrorist groups there, the number of Chaldeans in Iraq has shrunk further. Chaldeans in the 21st century are spread over all the continents of the world.
We find Chaldean communities in France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and Greece. An estimated 550,000 Chaldeans now live in Europe.
Chaldeans in France
The Assyro-Chaldean community has history in France dating back to the First World War, with most arriving in Marseille during the 1920s when some Assyrians fleeing genocide found refuge there.
Others arrived from rural southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq as a result of the Kurdish –Turkish conflict in the 1960s and 70s. Their numbers swelled after the Iraq War in 2003, with an influx of refugees arriving from beleaguered Iraqi cities.
Around 10,000 of the 16,000 Assyrians currently in France are mainly concentrated in the northern French suburbs of Sarcelles, where several thousand Chaldean Catholics live, and also in Gonesse and Villiers-le-Bel. They are generally compared to French Jews, who are seen as inward-looking, conservative and well-integrated in the French society.
Chaldeans that have made their home in France come from Iraq, Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries. The first community was formed around fifty years ago; it is composed of priests and lay people who wish to keep alive the historical, cultural, liturgical and linguistic traditions of their ancient Eastern Catholic Church.
Most of the faithful live in Paris and Sarcelles, but about 130 Chaldean families live in Marseille, in southern France. There are many Chaldean Churches in Paris, its suburbs and in Marseille.
Chaldean Church of Sarcelles in Ile-de-France
The community built a large new church dedicated to St Thomas the Apostle in the little town of Sarcelles, Ile de France. The foundation stone was laid in 2001. It is the largest Chaldean Church in Europe dedicated to the Eastern Christian community. Built in the Babylonian style, true to Chaldean tradition, it seats 1,000 people. Inaugurated by Bishop Bidawid, the building is located on a large plot of land outside Paris, yet it is not large enough for the crowds that come to pray every week. Many believers listen to the Mass while standing inside the corridors of the church or outside in the large yard behind the church.
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the spiritual father of the Chaldeans in France, consecrated the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle with Archbishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Bishop of Detroit, who came from the United States. The mass was celebrated in the Aramaic language with a series of eastern rituals. Families came in their most beautiful clothes and clouds of incense spread throughout the church, blessing the walls and the altar.
Various meetings are held in the Church of Saint-Thomas-Apostle, or in the Church of Saint-Hanna in the new Saint-Jean-d'Arnouville district, which opened recently near Sarcelles.
Most young Chaldeans in France immerse themselves in the Chaldean culture from birth. Their parents came from Turkey in the 1970s, or more recently from Iraq, but they brought their traditions and beliefs with them. Chaldean youth in France is engaged in their faith, not just by committing to attend Mass but also in group activities for university and high school students. There is also the catechesis, meetings of young clergymen appointed to serve mass, or regular film screening followed by spiritual discussion.
The Notre-Dame de Chaldée
The Notre-Dame de Chaldée Chaldean Church is in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Construction on the four-floor structure began in 1987 and was completed in 1992. In a sad twist, the architect, a Chaldean engineer, was killed in Turkey during a visit to his deported family during Saddam’s war against the Kurds.
The church receives Chaldean parishioners from Iraq and Turkey, Chaldean and Assyrian refugees from Syria. Parishioners may also come to learn French, except on Sunday, when mass is held.
Every Sunday at the eleventh hour, the parish comes to participate and listen to the ritual of the mass that is recited in both Chaldean and French languages. Afterwards, tea, coffee and biscuits are distributed to the attendees on the ground floor. Once a month, the parishioners gather for lunch, and everyone brings an Iraqi dish.
The Church of Saint John the Apostle
The Church of Saint John the Apostle was inaugurated in Arnoville on March 6, 2016. The Chaldean patriarch Cardinal Louis Sako came especially from Iraq to dedicate the third Assyro-Chaldean church in France. The French minister of Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve, attended the ceremony with the Cardinal of Paris, Monsignor André Vingt-Trois.
The Chaldean community in Sarcelles
With 8,000 members in Sarcelles, the Chaldean community is well established in the Val-d'Oise region. But more and more members are concerned about the future of their faith. "It's a huge fear on a daily basis," says Jocelyn Zerrin, one of the leaders of the parish choir. She regrets the lack of cultural transmission to young people. “The problem is that the new generation is fully integrated into French culture, at the expense of our Chaldean culture and customs. Children begin to speak French before Aramaic, which is good for integration in France. But we do not want our culture to disappear!”
Christophe Yalbir, a 22-year-old devout Christian, understands this danger. Born in France to parents who arrived in Paris in 1991, he feels that his religion and culture are threatened. “I speak French more than Aramaic," admits the young man.
Hence the need to teach Aramaic to young people, says Father Narsai Soli, himself a second-generation immigrant. “Aramaic is a precious language; it is part of the transmission challenge we face towards young people,” explains the 35-year-old pastor. “Young people are essential. Without them there might be a missing link.”
Bernadette Yildiz, 28 years old, strictly exercises her faith. "For us, going to mass is just like going to work," the young woman says. "It's normal." In the church front yard, Bernadette speaks and discusses religion with other practicing youth. They were all born in France and know each other directly or indirectly. They participate in the survival and continuation of their sect in terms of religion and culture and the traditions that they learned within their families.
"Our role is to help our society maintain its roots," says Zeren. "This goes through many little things in everyday life. For example, learning to cook a traditional dish." This 30-year-old volunteer has two children from the third generation of immigrants. A new wave, according to Jocelyn, must be learned by young people themselves. "We are kind of a bridge between old and young. We need to integrate them as best we can into society."
Chaldean Churches in France
* Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Sarcelles
* Church of Our Lady of the Chaldéens Notre-Dame de Chaldée in Paris
* The Church of Saint John the Apostle in Arnoville
* Holy Trinity Church in Sarcelles-Lochères
* Church of Saint François d'Assise in the région of Junes
* Church of John XXIII in Clichy-sous-Bois
* The Assyrian Chaldean Church (Notre Dame Chaldean - Saint Mark) -Eglise Assyro-Chaldéenne Notre-Dame de Chaldée-Saint-Marc in Marseille (12th arrondissement)
* The Chaldean Church of Saint Ephrem in Vau or Flan (Église Saint-Éphrem des Chaldéens à Vaulx-en-Velin)