Saint George's Monastery (Humaira)
The Deir Mar Georges ( Arabic دير مار جرجس, DMG Dair Mār Ǧirǧis ) called St. George's Monastery is an Antiochene Orthodox monastery in the village of Humaira near Marmarita , a place in the Homs governorate , five kilometers northwest of Krak des Chevaliers Castle . It reports directly to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch .
The northwest Syrian "Valley of the Christians", Arabic Wadi an-Nasara (وادي النصارى Wadi al-Nasara ), where the monastery is located, has been a regional center of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch since the 6th century. 27 of its 32 villages are Christian , four mainly inhabited by Alawites and one - the village of Qalʿat al-Ḥuṣn ,which is located around the Krak des Chevaliers- Sunni - Muslim .
history
The monastery was, according to tradition in the 6th century by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I founded. However, there are no historical sources for this. It is first mentioned by at-Tabarī (839–923).
The monastery covers an area of 6,000 m². The modern church was built in 1857. The mostly older equipment of the monastery has been preserved and can be seen in an exhibition. Its entrance includes a triple arch and two supporting columns in the center of Byzantine origin . A large historical stone with Christian symbols stands at the south gate of the monastery. In the church there are two wooden iconostases with scenes from the life of Jesus Christ . Next to the main courtyard of the monastery is an older chapel from the 13th century with smaller iconostases, all of which are more than 300 years old. Their images show scenes from the life of St. George . This lower level also houses the entrance to the original monastery and several large amphorae . The monastery has numerous old sacred implements such as crosses and chalices as well as writings and books. It also has a manuscript in the hand of the Caliph Omar ibn al-Chattab , which deals with the relations between Muslims and Christians . The St. George Monastery was often heavily visited on pilgrimages for the feast of St. George (May 6) and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14).
In August 2013, the historic St. George's Monastery was attacked by Islamist extremists and severely damaged.
literature
- Monasteries of Antiochian Orthodox Patriarchate . University of Balamand Publications, El-Koura 2007, ISBN 9953-452-18-0
- Klaus-Peter Todt , Bernd Andreas Vest: Syria . (= Tabula Imperii Byzantini Volume 15). Vienna 2014, volume 2, p. 1192.
Web links
- St. Georges Al- Homeyra Patriarchal Monastery
- The Monastery of St. George of Al-Humaira
- Pictures of the monastery
- Information. Syria Gate, archived from the original on December 24, 2010 ; accessed on November 29, 2006 (English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1] ; Archived copy ( Memento of December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )