Forty Martyrs Cathedral of Homs

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The Forty Martyrs Cathedral ( Arabic كنيسة الأربعين شهيدا, DMG Kanīsat al-arbaʿīn šahīdan ) is the cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church in Homs in Syria . The church was badly damaged during the civil war in Syria.

Location

The church is in the old town of Homs on al-Ghassani Street (شارع الغساني). Directly to the south is the Greek Orthodox Archbishopric (مطرانية الروم الأورثوذوكس). The Syrian Orthodox Cathedral and St. Mary's Church of the Holy Belt are 100 m to the northwest , and the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elian is 300 m to the east .

Patronage

The church is named in honor of forty Christian Roman soldiers who were martyred on March 9th around the year 320 in the city of Sebasteia in Asia Minor (Roman theme Sebasteia ). They are venerated in Christianity as the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste . The Armenian Apostolic Church has a cathedral of the same name in Syria with the Forty Martyrs Cathedral in Aleppo .

history

A church dedicated to the Forty Martyrs in Homs was mentioned as early as the 15th century by Joos van Ghistele . In 1914 there was already a “big bell” in the church that had been donated by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In the civil war in Syria since 2011 , the cathedral suffered severe damage from the fighting and wanton destruction. Both the roof and the walls were badly damaged by bombs. The walls are littered with gunshot holes. The faces of the icons were deliberately destroyed. The head of a bronze statue of the former bishop Athanosis was cut off. According to the Church in Need (Aid to the Church in Need, ACN International) from 2018, the church can be repaired. However, Church in Need emphasizes that many people were killed in this place that no one can bring back.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AGB Schayes: Notice sur un Ouvrage Flamand, rare et curieux, intitulé “Voyage van Mher Joos Van Ghistele” (Notice sur le voyage de Van Ghistele) . In: Messager des sciences et des arts de la Belgique, Gent 1836, pp. 1–30, here p. 16f.
  2. ^ William Shedd Nelson: Silver Chimes in Syria. Glimpses of a Missionary's Experience . Westminster Press, Philadelphia 1914. p. 170 ( digitized ).
  3. ^ Forty Martyrs, Greek Orthodox Cathedral. ACN International, May 17, 2018.

Coordinates: 34 ° 43 ′ 42.8 "  N , 36 ° 43 ′ 15.4"  E