St. George (Lod)

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The synagogue, the minaret of the mosque and on the right St. George in Lod
St. Georg, view through the nave
The sarcophagus of St. George in the church

St. George is a Greek Orthodox church in Lod , Israel . It represents the partially reconstructed Cathedral of the Crusaders , which was built over the tomb of St. George .

history

The Cathedral of the Crusaders was preceded by a Byzantine sacred building on the presumed site of the martyrdom of St. George, who was destroyed by Caliph al-Hakim in 1010. After the conquest of the region by the crusade army in 1099, a double diocese was established in Lod under the name Lydda and in Ramla. The bishop's seat was not the newly built St. John's basilica in Ramla , but the new St. George's Church in Lod.

St. George was built as a three-aisled basilica with four bays and a subsequent choir bay; it received its final form in the 12th century. George's grave was in front of the middle main apse. The two side aisles closed with smaller side apses. The head of the choir was closed in a straight line on the outside. The basilica was designed as a fortified church and withstood a siege by the Ayyubids in 1177 . After Saladin conquered Lod in 1191, the western yokes of the church were destroyed. The inner courtyard of a mosque is located in its place to this day.

In 1870 there was a dispute between Franciscans and Orthodox about who should have the rights to the church. The Ottoman authorities finally awarded St. George to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Georgskirche was partially reconstructed. The main apse and parts could be included in the new church from the ruins of the Crusader church of northern sides apse and transept. Today's church is a reconstruction of the four north-eastern bays of the Crusader Church, i.e. the last bays of the nave and north aisle and the corresponding choir bays. There was no room for a more extensive reconstruction because of the neighboring mosque.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bernard Hamilton: The Leper King and His Heirs. Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 134.

literature

  • Denys Pringle: The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Volume II (L-Z). Cambridge 1998.

Web links

Commons : St. Georg (Lod)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 31 ° 57 ′ 11.1 "  N , 34 ° 53 ′ 58.1"  E