Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus
| Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus الكنيسة المريمية |
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|---|---|
 Seat of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch |
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| Construction year: | ~ 200 |
| Location: | 33 ° 30 ′ 34 " N , 36 ° 18 ′ 41" E |
| Location: |
Damascus Damascus , Syria |
| Purpose: | Greek Orthodox Cathedral |
The Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus , also al-Mariyamiyeh Church ( Arabic الكنيسة المريمية, DMG al-kanīsa al-maryamiyya ) is one of the oldest Greek Orthodox churches in the Syrian capital Damascus and is also the cathedral basilica of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch . The church building complex is located on the north side of the Straight Street ( Via Recta ) near the Roman triumphal arch , about 500 m west of the east gate Bab Sharqi and about the same distance east of the Khan As'ad Pascha .
history
The church was built in the 2nd century AD. After the Muslim conquest of Damascus , the church was forcibly closed. It remained so until 706, when Caliph al-Walid I ordered the church to be returned to the Christians - in reparation for the Church of St. John the Baptist , which was converted into the Umayyad Mosque .
The Church of Damascus was destroyed several times in the following years under the Abbasids and Fatimids and in 1401 by Timur Lenk and then rebuilt. It was described by the traveler Ibn Jubair from Egypt at the turn of the 12th to the 13th century as follows:
“Inside the city is a church that is very important to the Romans . It is known as the Church of Mary. Its importance comes after the Church of Jerusalem. It is a beautiful building that contains amazing images that appeal to the mind and eye. It is in the hands of the Romans and nobody contradicts them. "
In 1342 the Patriarchal Seat of Antioch was transferred from the place of origin Antioch to Damascus, and the church has since served as the cathedral basilica of the Greek Orthodox Church for the entire east.
The cathedral, along with most of the city's Christian quarter, was once burned to the ground by Muslim and Druze crowds when the anti-Christian massacres spilled from Lebanon to Damascus in 1860 . It was not rebuilt until three years later. It was last renovated in 1953.
On December 17, 2012, Johannes Jasidschi (Youhanna Yazigi) was elected Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and took his bishopric in the Mariamite Cathedral.
The cathedral was severely damaged in a mortar attack on January 8, 2018.
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For Orthodox Christmas on January 7, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Syrian colleague Bashar al-Assad visited the Mariamite Cathedral.
building
Marienkirche
The great Church of Mary is the main building of the Mariamite Cathedral and dates back to the 4th century AD.
Chapel of Saint Tekla
The old chapel of St. Tekla was added to the church building complex after the extensive restoration of the cathedral in 1840. There is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch .
Catherine Chapel
The prestigious Chapel of Catherine was also added after restoration work. It contains a historical and religious museum that is dedicated to the long history of the Church as a whole, dating back to the 2nd century.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d e Daniel Demeter: Damascus - al-Mariyamiyeh Church. Syria Photo Guide, July 16, 2014.
- ^ The Travels of Ibn Jubayr . Ed. William Wright . 2nd edn, revised by MJ de Goeje , Leiden and London 1907, EJW Gibb Memorial Series 5th section on Damascus online. Digitization of the entire work
- ^ Election of Metropolitan John Yazigi Patriarch on the throne of the church of the great city of God, Antioch ( Memento of December 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Europe, December 17, 2012.
- ↑ Putin meets Assad. Surprise visit to Damascus. Tagesschau (ARD) , January 7, 2020.
- ↑ Here Putin and Assad laugh at Trump. Watson.ch, January 16, 2020.
- ↑ a b c Syrian government website (moi.gov.sy): الكنيسة المريمية - تاريخ الكنيسة (The Church of Mary - Church History) ( Memento from February 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive ).
