List of churches and monasteries in the Iraqi governorate of Ninawa

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The city of Mosul and the surrounding Iraqi province of Ninawa has the highest percentage of Christians of any region and contains several ancient churches , some of which are originally from the early centuries of Christianity. The old churches are often hidden and their entrances behind thick walls are not easy to find. Some of them have suffered from poor maintenance.

Historic churches and monasteries

Shamun as-Safa Church

The oldest church in Mosul, Shamun as-Safa (St. Peter), dates from the 9th century and is very difficult to find. It has a deep underground courtyard and a cemetery between high walls, as well as some ornate tombstones of Maslawi merchants. It used to be named after the two apostles Peter and Paul. It is a very important church because of its archaeological value. It is 5 m below street level. The church contains a funerary inscription by Schammas Raphael Mazagi, a Chaldean printing press and a patriarchal seminary which was established next to the church. After it was moved to Baghdad in 1960, the building was inhabited by the nuns of the Sacred Heart.

Mar Toma Church

The exact time of its founding is unknown, but it can be assumed that the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Thomas (Mar Toma) dates before the year 770, as evidence suggests that al-Mahdi , the Abbasid caliph, was on his journey after Mosul, heard a complaint about this church. The altar cross and the altar steps are brightly lit. There is an old Bible in Syriac painted in Arabic on a lectern and a lime green one with dark blue borders. And on one wall is a small, lighted dove, covered with lass, in which the relics of St. Thomas stand.

Mar Petion Church

The Mar Petion Church is named after a martyr of the same name who was raised in a monastery by his cousin and who died in 446. It is the first Catholic church in Mosul after the unification of the Church of the East with Rome in the 16th century. It dates from the 10th century and is 3 m below street level. This church suffered destruction and has been reconstructed several times. In 1942 a hall was built on one of its three parts. As a result, most of the artistic characteristics have been lost.

Ruin of the Tahira Church

Near Basch Tapia is the ancient Church of the Immaculate (Tahira) which is considered to be one of the oldest churches in Mosul. No evidence will help determine their exact location. It could either be the remains of the church of the upper monastery or the ruined Mar Zena church. Tahira Church dates back to the 7th century and it is 3 meters below street level. The last reconstruction took place in 1743.

Mar Ahudeni Church

Mar Ahudeni Church was named after Mar Ahudemmeh (Hudeni) Maphrian of Tikrit, who died a martyr's death in 575. Mar Ahudeni is an old Tikritan church in Mosul, from the 10th century. It is 7 m below street level. It was restored for the first time in 1970. A chain attached to the wall is said to cure epileptics.

Mar Matti Monastery

The monastery Mar Matti is a famous monastery, about 20 kilometers east (also called mountain Maqlub) of Mosul on the top of the mountain Alfaf. It was built by Mar Matte, a monk who fled in 362 from the Zuknin Monastery near the city of Amid (Diyar Bakir) in the southern part of Asia Minor (now Turkey ) and to the north of Iraq with several other monks during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostates (361-363). It has a library with Syrian manuscripts .

Mar Behnam Monastery

The monastery of Mar Behnam is also called the Cistern Monastery (Deir Al-Jubb). Located on the Nineve Plain near Nimrud about 32 km southwest of Mosul, it was built in the 4th century and expanded in the 12th or 13th centuries. The monastery is a large fort-like building that rises next to the tomb of Mar Behnam. This was a prince who was killed by the Sassanians, perhaps in the 4th century. A legend made him the son of an Assyrian king.

Other Christian historical buildings in the area