Forty Martyrs Cathedral
| Cathedral of the Forty Martyrs Սրբոց Քառասնից Մանկանց Մայր Եկեղեցի |
|
|---|---|
 The bell tower of the Forty Martyrs Cathedral |
|
| Construction year: | 1429 |
| Style elements : | three-aisled basilica |
| Location: | 36 ° 12 '22.3 " N , 37 ° 9' 18.7" E |
| Location: |
al-Judaide Aleppo , Syria |
| Purpose: | Armenian Apostolic Cathedral |
The Forty Martyrs Cathedral ( Arabic كنيسة الأربعين شهيدا, DMG Kanīsat al-Arba'in Sahidan , Armenian Սրբոց Քառասնից Մանկանց Մայր Եկեղեցի ) in the Syrian city of Aleppo is an Armenian Apostolic church from the early 15th century in the old Christian quarter Dschudaide (Judeida). The three-aisled basilica is one of the oldest churches in the Armenian diaspora and the city of Aleppo. Its bell tower from 1912 is influenced by European neo-baroque .
During the civil war in Syria , the church and the associated building complex suffered severe damage from attacks in January and April 2015. Reconstruction work began in 2017 and the rebuilt church was reopened on March 30, 2019.
history
The Forty Martyrs Church, built in 1429, was mentioned in 1476 in the second edition of the book The Exploit of the Holy Bible by Father Melikseth in Aleppo.
It was built to replace a small chapel in the old Christian cemetery. The church was named in honor of a group of Roman soldiers who were martyred in the town of Sebastia in Lesser Armenia , and all were venerated in Christianity as the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste . By the end of the 15th century the church had a capacity of 100 people. From 1499 to 1500 the church was enlarged and a new prelate building (Armenian Prelature of Beria or Beroea) was built on the church premises , financed by a donation from an Armenian intellectual named Reyis Baron Yesayi. In the following years the church became the temporary seat of many Armenian Catholikoi of the Holy See of Cilicia .
During the first years of inauguration the church was surrounded with tombstones from the Armenian cemetery until 1579 the cemetery was reburied and only clerics and the elite of the community were allowed to be buried on the church grounds.
The church was renovated again in 1616 thanks to donations from the emir Khodscha Bedig Tschelebi and the supervision of his brother Khodscha Sanos Tschelebi. At the end of the year the church was reopened in the presence of the Catholicos Howhannes IV of Aintab (Hovhannes IV. Aintabzi) and Bishop Katschatur Karkarez.
.jpg)
In 1624, as a result of the growing number of Armenian citizens and pilgrims, the prelature began to build a new quarter near the church, which still retains its original name Hokedun (Spiritual House). The Hokedun was dedicated as a rest house with 23 large rooms that served the Armenian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem . It was built through the donation of Khodja Gharibjan.
The Italian explorer Pietro Della Valle , who visited Aleppo in 1625, described the church as one of the four churches built next to each other in a square with a gate in the newly built Christian quarter of Judaida. The other three churches are the Greek Orthodox Church of the Dormition of Our Lady , the Armenian Holy Mother of God Church (today's Sarehian Treasury ) and the old Maronite Church of Saint Elias .
The church had three altars , an upper floor built in 1874 and a baptismal font placed in 1888 . The church had no bells until 1912, when a bell tower was erected with a donation from the Syrian-Armenian philanthropist Rizkallah Tahhan of Brazil . On May 28, 1991, thanks to the donation of the Keledjian brothers from Aleppo, a Khachkar memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide was built on the site next to the church entrance .
On April 26, 2000, the Armenian community of Aleppo marked the 500th anniversary of the first enlargement of the church, under the auspices of Catholicos Aram I and in the reign of Archbishop Souren Kataroyan.
In January 2015, a projectile hit the dome during the civil war in Syria , which partially collapsed. In April 2015, significant parts of the building complex were destroyed; the church building itself also suffered further damage. After the Islamist rebels were driven out in December 2016, money and material resources were collected so that reconstruction work could begin in 2017. On March 30, 2019, the reconstructed church was reopened by the Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I. Keshishian.
Icons
The church is rich in both ancient and modern icons, with more than 30 pieces:
- The Mother of God (canvas, 96 cm × 118 cm, 1663 by Der-Megerdich)
- Virgin Mary with Jesus (canvas, 115 cm × 145 cm, 1669 by an unknown Armenian painter)
- The baptism of Jesus (canvas, 66 cm × 90 cm, from the 17th century)
- The Adoration of the Magi (canvas, 112 × 134 cm, 17th century by an unknown Armenian painter)
- John the Baptist (wood paint, 39 cm × 76 cm, 1720 by Kevork Anania)
- St. Joseph (wood paint, 39 cm × 76 cm, 1720 by Kevork Anania)
- Virgin Mary with Jesus (wood paint, 46 cm × 126 cm, 1729 by Kevork Anania)
- The baptism of Jesus Christ (wood-paint, 86 cm × 105 cm, 1756 by Kevork Anania)
- Virgin Mary surrounded by the apostles (canvas, 70 cm × 80 cm, from the late 18th century by an unknown Armenian painter)
- The Last Judgment , one of the most famous icons of the Aleppine School (canvas, 400 cm × 600 cm, 1703 by Nehmatallah Hovsep)
With the initiative of Archbishop Souren Kataroyan, most of the symbols were renovated between 1993 and 1996 by the Armenian expert Andranik Antonyan.
Church of the Holy Mother of God
The old Church of the Holy Mother of God was built before 1942, at a time when the Armenian community was being reformed as the most meaningful communion with its own clergy, scholars and a prelate. This small church underwent several renovations in 1535, 1784, 1849 and 1955. The church remained active until the beginning of the 20th century when it was converted into a library. In 1991 the library building was converted into the Sarehian Treasury of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Aleppo, in memory of the Great House of Cilicia Catholicos Sareh I , who served as Archbishop of the Diocese of Aleppo before he became Catholic.
The Church of Our Lady in the Sulaymaniyah district, consecrated in 1983 , is regarded by the Armenian Apostolic Congregation of Aleppo as the successor church to the old Church of the Holy Mother of God in al-Judaide .
Current Status
The Forty Martyrs Cathedral is the seat of the Armenian Prelature of Aleppo and one of the oldest active churches in the city. It is also one of the oldest functioning churches in the Armenian diaspora. In 1991 the old Church of the Holy Mother of God was reopened as the Sarehian Treasury, as was the Museum of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Forty Martyrs Cathedral Complex. The old prelature building, located between the museum and the current church, is under renovation. The church complex also contains the Armenian Haygazian School, the Avetis Aharonian Theater, and the Nikol Aghbalian Branch of the Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Society. The current building of the prelature is only a few meters away next to the church.
gallery
North altar
Monument to the genocide of the Armenians in the church grounds
Baptism Front
The Armenian prelature in front of the cathedral
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Michael D. Danti, Cheikhmous Ali, Tate Paulette, Kathryn Franklin, Allison Cuneo, Lee Ann Barnes Gordon, David Elitzer: ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives (CHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria and Iraq. NEA-PSHSS-14-001 Weekly Report 39, p. 17 May 5, 2015.
- ↑ a b Krikor Amirzayan: Alep - La cathédrale arménienne des Quarante-Martyrs d'Alep fortement endommagée lors de la guerre est en rénovation. ( Memento of the original of July 13, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nouvelles d'Arménie en Ligne (Armenews), July 13, 2017.
- ^ A b Catholicos of Great See of Cilicia Aram I Consecrates Forty Martyrs Cathedral in Aleppo. The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, April 4, 2019.
- ↑ Manuscript No. 70, author: Movses Vardapet, found in April 2000, kept in Zarehian Museum-Treasury of the Forty Martyrs Cathedral
- ↑ Mentioned in an edition of the Holy Bible written in Aleppo by historian Simeon Lehatsi (Simeon of Poland), now exhibited in the British Library of London among the collection of Armenian manuscripts
- ↑ Nanore Barsoumian: Armenian Catholic Cathedral in Aleppo Bombed Hours Before Mass. The Armenian Weekly, January 10, 2015
- ^ Forty Martyrs Church of Aleppo destroyed. Armenpress, April 29, 2015
