Mary Queen of Peace (Homs)

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Cathedral of Mary Queen of Peace with war damage, 2017

The Church of Mary Queen of Peace or Church of Our Lady of Peace ( Arabic كنيسة سيدة السلام) is the cathedral of the Archeparchy of Homs of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Homs in Syria . During the civil war in Syria , the church served as the rebel headquarters from 2011 to 2014 and was badly damaged but restored in 2016 to 2019.

Location

The church is in the old town of Homs on Escada Street (اسكادا). It was built in a modern, "Western" style in the words of Father Abdullah Qamz, and is the largest and most striking church in Homs. It has a steep, cross-shaped roof that protrudes over the four gables. In the middle it has a dome on which a three-dimensional cross with three beams sits.

history

The church was built in 1970 under the guidance of Italian engineers. In 1986 and 1987 some icons and murals were added.

During the civil war in Syria , the building complex of the cathedral served as the headquarters of a rebel group in Homs from April 2011 to May 2014. In the archbishop's house and in the courtyard there was a field hospital where wounded Islamist fighters were treated. The Melkite Archbishop Jean-Abdo Arbach von Homs fled to the neighboring village of Zeidal . In early May 2014, the Syrian army recaptured the city center of Homs, and on May 8, 2014, the archbishop and a delegation visited the badly damaged church. A few minutes after the delegation left the church, a large time bomb containing 200 kg of TNT that had been installed inside the pulpit exploded. Nobody was injured in the process, but the foundations of the building suffered further serious damage.

The roof of the church had several holes 1 to 7 meters in size and the colored glass windows were destroyed. The walls with their paintings were black with soot, the icons stolen or destroyed. The church stalls served the rebels as heating material. The bones from the graves in the crypt were scattered on the floor. On the other hand, the church people found an almost intact field hospital and numerous medicines.

In 2014, the Melkite diocese of Homs was faced with the question of whether the ruins should be demolished and a new church should be built or whether the church should be restored. After detailed investigations, the decision was made to have a restoration. In 2016, first communion was celebrated in the church ruins for the first time. On December 1, 2017, the rebuilt altar was consecrated. In January 2018, after two years of construction with financial support from Church in Need (Aid to the Church in Need, ACN International), the building was largely finished. The artist Ayman Bitar was employed to restore the wall paintings and the icons. In November 2019, according to Father Abdullah Qamz, the interior work was 95% finished.

On December 20, 2019, the “ Choir of Joy ” from Damascus from the Melkite Church of Our Lady of Damascus performed in the church for the first time since the beginning of the civil war and performed Gregorian chants . In addition to the choir director Riad Moawad, the well-known founder of the choir, Elias Zahlawi , was also present.

Diocese and bishop

The Greek-Catholic cathedral of Homs is the seat of the Greek-Melkitschen Archeparch of Homs , in an extended form of the name Archeparch of Homs - Hama - Yabrud ( Archidioecesis Hemesena-Epiphaniensis-Iabrudensis Graecorum Melkitarum ), which is the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch with about 25,000 believers in 21 Paroch with 18 priests. Eparch has been Archbishop Jean-Abdo Arbach, born in 1952, since June 23, 2012 . Although the bishopric is located here at the Church of the Queen of Mary in Homs, a second cathedral (co- cathedral ) with the same archbishop is recorded in the archbishopric, namely the cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helena in Yabrud (but none in Hama).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Abdullah Qamz (Priest of "Our Lady of Peace" Cathedral for Melkite Catholics in Homs), in: Amal Farhat: The Church of "Our Lady of Peace" is once again a place for love and peace. Syria Times, November 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d Our Lady Queen of Peace, The Greek Melkite Cathedral - The Old City of Homs. ACN International, May 21, 2018.
  3. ↑ Syria: Cathedral of Hope. ACN International March 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ مثال جمول- أمسية تراتيل ميلادية لفرقة جوقة الفرح في كنيسة سيدة السلام بحمص. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), December 20, 2019.
  5. ↑ Greek-Melkite Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace - Homs, Syria. Gcatholic.org, May 19, 2020, accessed June 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Cathedral of St. Constantine and St. Helen - Yabrud, Syria. Gcatholic.org, May 19, 2020, accessed June 6, 2020.

Coordinates: 34 ° 43 '39.7 "  N , 36 ° 43' 8.4"  E