Church of Our Lady (Latakia)

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The Church of the Holy Mother of God ( Arabic كنيسة السيدة العذراء مريم, DMG Kanīsat as-Sayyida al-ʿAḏrāʾ Maryam , Armenian Սուրբ Աստուածածին Եկեղեցի Surb Astwazazin jekeghezi ), Church of Our Lady ( Arabic كنيسة السيدة العذراء, DMG Kanīsat as-Sayyida al-ʿAḏrāʾ ) or Armenian Church of the Virgin Mary ( Arabic كنيسة السيدة العذراء للأرمن الأرثوذكس, “Church of Our Lady of the Virgin for the Orthodox Armenians”) is the Church of the Armenian Apostolic Christians in Latakia in Syria .

Location

The church is located in the "castle district" of Latakia ( al-Qalaa ,حي القلعة) in a residential area called Kidun , where many Armenians live, in a square north of Abdel-Rahman-al-Ghafiqi Street (شارع عبدالرحمن الغافقي), west of Maysaloun Street (شارع ميسلون), east of Al-Muthanna-Ibn-Haritha Street (شارع المثنى بن حارثة) and south of the eastern extension of the Suq al-Sagha (سوق الصاغة, "Goldsmiths Market").

history

The Armenian Apostolic Church of Latakia was completed in 1254. This makes it the third oldest surviving church in the city of Latakia after the Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of the Blessed Virgin . It was built by Armenian pilgrims who came through Latakia on the way from Asia Minor and Cilicia to Jerusalem . The khan was also built by the Armenians as accommodation next to the church. This khan still exists and is now used as a school. Church and Khan served as the monastery of St. Jacob of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem of the Armenian Apostolic Church . After the Armenian genocide , numerous Armenian refugees came to Syria, and many found shelter in the immediate vicinity of the Armenian Church of Latakia, where a small Armenian quarter was formed. The area was called Huki Dun (Հոգի Տուն, "House of the Soul") by the Armenians , resulting in Kidun (Գիտուն,كيدون) abbreviated or "Kidun the Armenians" (كيدون الارمن) was called. The monastery was converted into the Armenian St. Jacob School, where the students were taught in addition to Arabic, Armenian, English and French. In 1965 the school was named "School of Martyrs" (مدرسة الشهداء) and received special permission to teach Armenian in addition to the state-prescribed program. When Hafiz al-Assad was President of Syria, the church was renovated from 1995 to 1997 under the direction of the engineer Boghos Kazarian and the architect Hrach Moradian. Concrete elements and tiles were removed and the church was restored to its original state. During the reign of Bashar al-Assad , the dilapidated school was also restored.

After the predominantly Armenian-inhabited small town of Kessab on the border with Turkey was captured by Islamist terrorist groups supported by the latter , including the al-Nusra Front , on March 24, 2014 in the Syrian civil war , practically the entire population there fled, most of whom about 2000 people who came to Latakia. Many of them found accommodation in the church and in the school in the “Kidun of the Armenians”. Because of this, an Armenian parliamentary delegation led by Samvel Farmanyan came to Latakia. On June 15, 2014, the Syrian army managed to retake Kessab and the surrounding area, after which several families returned the next day. According to the mayor of Kessab, Sebukh Kurkcuyan, some Kessabtzis were still living in Latakia in 2016 , but he believed that most were planning to return.

architecture

The church, made of light sandstone , originally had a rectangular floor plan and a gable roof supported by stone arches. In the center is the bell tower with a hexagonal cross-section and pointed roof, which was added in later periods. With additions on the north and south sides, the church has taken on the shape of a cross. Above the entrance to the church there is a marble plaque that commemorates the completion in 1254 in Armenian .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c الكنائس في مدينة اللاذقية [Churches in the city of Latakia]. Yulian Tours & Travel, accessed June 9, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c Norayr Mangyan (نوراير مانجيان): كنيسة السيدة مريم العذراء للأرمن الأرثوذكس باللاذقية بعد 15 عاما من انتهاء الترميم [The Virgin Mary Church of the Armenian Orthodox Church after the end of the 15 years of restoration] in Latakia. Aztag Arabic, September 16, 2012.
  3. ↑ a b c d Norayr Mangyan (نوراير مانجيان): Church of Our Lady (Armenian, in Latakia) (كنيسة السيدة العذراء, in Arabic). Qenshrin.com to http://www.alepposuryoye.com (editor of the encyclopedia of churches and monasteries).
  4. ↑ Shadi Nasir (شادي نصير): "هيكيدون" .. البيت الروحي لطائفة "الأرمن" في "اللاذقية" [Huki Dun, the spiritual home of the Armenian community in Latakia]. ESyria, July 21, 2009.
  5. ↑ Armenian Lawmakers Meet Kessab Armenians in Latakia. Asbarez, March 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ Gerrit Hoekman: Rubbed on all fronts. Syria: Al-Nusra Front increasingly weakened. Hasty retreat from the small town of Kassab. Young World , June 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Syria recaptures border crossing. In: Irish Independent . Retrieved June 16, 2014 .
  8. ^ Valeriy Melnikov: Les Arméniens de Syrie survivent en défiant le terrorisme. Sputnik News , January 16, 2016.

Coordinates: 35 ° 31 '4.3 "  N , 35 ° 46" 54.6 "  E