ROGERS PARK — Thousands of people mourning the death of Khanania Dinkha IV, the world leader of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, are expected to converge Wednesday at St. George Church in Rogers Park.
Dinkha, 79, died March 26 in Minnesota from a virus infection and pneumonia.
Ald. Joe Moore (49th) warned his constituents that parking and traffic would be prohibited from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday on Touhy Avenue, from Sheridan Road to Clark Street, and on Ashland Avenue, from Estes Avenue to Chase Avenue, near the church at 7201 N. Ashland Ave. Violators would be ticketed and towed.
He said church leaders were expecting thousands of mourners to attend the funeral.
The church "can only accommodate several hundred people," Moore said. "Officials expect those not able to enter the church will stand outside to view the funeral procession entering and leaving the church."
Dinkha, the 111th patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, led the church for 39 years. He assumed leadership after his predecessor was assassinated in 1976. Dinkha relocated the church's headquarters from the Middle East to the Chicago area after he was elected.
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