Arabic letter N painted on church door

August 1, 2014
By Bill Robinson
Register Editor

RICHMOND — Throughout its history the Roman Catholic Church has been associated with Latin language and lettering, so passersby on West Main Street were surprised Thursday to see a strange symbol emblazoned on the church’s door.

Some were even more surprised to learn it was an Arabic character. It is the Arabic character for N, which stands for Nazarene, explained the Rev. James Sichko, St. Mark pastor.

The large character was posted to show the church’s solidarity with the Christians of Iraq, especially in the city of Mosul, who have come under attach by the extremist group ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, he said.

“Members of ISIS have been marking Christian homes in Mosul with the Arabic character N, which stands for “Nazarene,” meaning Christian, Sichko said. “It is reminiscent of the Star of David that marked Jews in Nazi Germany.” - See more at:

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