Metropolitan of India and UAE (Patriarchal Vicar) His Beatitude Dr Mar Aprem will open the 10th anniversary in the UAE of the Mart Mariam Parish of Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, in Dubai on Friday. The anniversary celebrations will be held at Dubai Abjar Grand Hotel in the evening followed by a service at the Emirates National School compound early on Friday morning. The meeting will be addressed by, in addition to Dr Mar Aprem, Mar Yohannan Yoseph and Mar Awgin Kuriakose, Convener Blessen Antony said in Dubai on Thursday. Dr Mar Aprem discussed briefly the history of the church which came into being as early as 33AD. Mar Aprem is travelling to Northern Iraq where the Kurds have an upper hand and he will stay there until a new patriarch is voted in an election from the remaining 14 members of the supreme council. It is also widely believed that the current Patriarchal Vicar Dr Mar Aprem will be elected as the supreme leader of the Church, thereby becoming the first Keralite to become the supremo of Assiri Church. The 75-year-old also referred the church to the unearthing of ancient artifacts on the church from the UAE island of Sir Binyas, thereby becoming part of the history of this nation. The UAE hosts only just over 300 Assiri Christians from India, but there are some believers from other countries like Syria and Iraq living here, he said. "Most of our members are living as Diaspora due to several reasons and we are trying to unite them. But I do not know how far it will succeed," the septuagenarian said.