Thousands of Iraqis have greeted the arrival of the "Holy Fire" transported from Christianity's holiest location in Jerusalem to mark Orthodox Easter with joyful ululations for the first time.

Excited throngs gathered Saturday night at the Syriac Christian Orthodox Mar Matta monastery of Saint Matthew, about 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the war-torn city of Mosul in northern Iraq, to celebrate the flame's arrival with chanting and prayers.

"It's a message of love and peace for everyone... a message of resurrection for this battered country, so that it might rebuild its power, stability, and peace," Mar Matta monastery's Bishop Timathos Moussa Shamani told AFP.

The torch was removed from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem earlier on Saturday, where Christian tradition claims Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected.

On the eve of Easter, believers believe that fire drops from heaven as a symbol of Christ's Resurrection.

It was flown to Iraq after being taken to Jordan in a special lantern, a process that is utilized every year to transport the light to various Orthodox communities, including Greece.

For the first time, the flame reached Iraq directly. The lamp was brought inside the monastery's church by a bishop to the sound of "halleluia" and the clanging of cymbals.

'Historic' -Crowds gathered in the courtyard and monastery church to kiss the lantern and receive the blessing they think the fire bestows. Worshippers, monks, and priests leaned forward to kiss the lantern and receive the blessing they believe the fire bestows.

The throng then used the flickering flame to light candles, flooding the chapel with light.

"It's a momentous day," a 60-year-old instructor, Saad Youssef, said.

The region is home to one of the world's oldest Christian communities, but hundreds of thousands of Christians have been forced to escape due to the Islamic State's (IS) onslaught.

After three years of jihadist occupation, which ended in 2017 when an Iraqi force supported by US-led coalition air strikes pushed them out, Nineveh province, which surrounds Mosul, was left in ruins.

Iraq's Christian population has dwindled to less than 400,000 people, down from 1.5 million prior to the 2003 US-led invasion that deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.

However, monasteries and churches are gradually being restored, and Pope Francis paid a historic visit to the area last year.

"What I feel is the best emotion in the entire universe," said one of the faithful, Ferial, a homemaker in her fifties.