Elias Church of al-Quseir
The Eliaskirche or Church of St. Elias ( Arabic كنيسة مار الياس or كنيسة القديس إلياس) is the Church of the Melkite Christians in al-Qusair in Syria . During the civil war in Syria in 2012 and 2013, the church served as the rebel headquarters and was badly damaged but restored after 2014.
history
In the 1940s, the Melkite bishop of Homs, Hama, and Yabrud noted that the growing Melkite congregation in al-Quseir needed a new, larger church. Centuries-old bricks were collected from the remains of a cathedral near al-Qusair, which were used as building material for the new church. In 1948 the Elias Church was inaugurated.
Before the civil war in Syria , al-Qusair had around 40,000 inhabitants, the majority Sunni Muslims and around 10,000 Christians , mostly members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church . On February 24, 2012, the insurgents' Free Syrian Army had al-Quseir completely under control after the last 80 government soldiers had fled. At the beginning of June 2012, around 1,000 Christians out of 10,000 were still living in the village. On June 2, 2012, the local Islamist military leader and preacher Abdel Salam Harba gave the Christians an ultimatum to either fight for the rebels or to leave the place. The announcement came from the loudspeakers of some mosques: “Christians must leave al-Qusair by Friday.” At the beginning of July, the building of the Elias Church became the headquarters of the Islamist rebels. To do this, the doors were broken open and the bells were rung in a public celebration, the icons and other objects from the church were mocked and destroyed. On October 12th, Abdel Salam Harba repeated his request. Now almost all Christians left the place and had to stay with relatives or friends in Damascus or elsewhere in Syria. Very few, mostly old people, stayed behind. The Eliaskirche, now the rebel headquarters, was set on fire by the government forces and damaged on the roof and on the walls during the following fighting, which was most intense from the beginning of April to the beginning of June 2013. In the opinion of the congregation, the damage from looting and wanton destruction was the greatest, because it was worse in this church than in all other churches that were not completely destroyed. On June 5, 2013, with massive support from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah , the government army completely retook al-Qusair.
After the expulsion of the Islamist rebels, the Eliaskirche was rebuilt with funds from Church in Need (ACN International) so that services can take place.
architecture
The east-facing church has a rectangular, almost square floor plan and a cross-shaped, semicircular arched roof with a dome in the middle. The apse is on the east side, the main entrance on the north. The open bell tower with a square cross-section stands on the northeast corner of the building and has a small dome. A three-dimensional cross with three bars stands on each of the domes, the larger one on the central dome. The church was built from old stones from an earlier church that was destroyed long ago.
Church celebrations
Every year the Church celebrates St. Elias on July 20th and the Assumption of Mary on August 15th.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b كنيسة مار الياس - القصير . [Elijah Church al-Qusair], al-Bishara, accessed June 6, 2020.
- ↑ a b Saint Elijah (Mar Elias) Greek Melkite Church in Al-Qusayr. Aid to the Church in Need , ACN International. Christians of Syria, ACN Syria, February 17, 2015.
- ^ Tom Coghlan: Defectors turn the tide against Assad forces. The Australian , February 24, 2012.
- ↑ Ultimatum to Christians: "Leave Qusayr". Agenzia Fides, June 9th 2012.
- ↑ Chris Irvine: Syria: Assad forces take control of Qusayr in major breakthrough. The Daily Telegraph , June 5, 2013.
- ^ Syrian civil war: Bashar al-Assad's forces take strategic town of Qusayr. ABC, June 5, 2013.
- ↑ Oliver Maksan, Amanda Bridget Griffin: Syria - Concern for the coming winter. Aid to the Church in Need , ACN Canada, September 9, 2015.
Coordinates: 34 ° 30 ′ 24.9 ″ N , 36 ° 34 ′ 43 ″ E