Abdyn – The church of St Peter

Deir Saydet el Natour, Hraiche, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  سيدة الناطور

City:  Enfeh

District:  Koura

Governorate:  North

History: 

The convent’s ancient origin is attached to a legend. A rich man of the region committed adultery; filled with remorse, he attached a padlocked iron chain to his ankle and threw the key into the sea-shore and survived on the fish brought to him by local fishermen, who called him the guardian of the cavern. One day, a fisherman brought him a fish, in whose entrails the hermit found the key of the padlock. He knew then that God had delivered him from his suffering, and he built a convent above the cavern. He dedicated it to The Mother of God, but it also took the name of the Guardian.

The daily life of the convent is regulated by the flow of visitors who come to fulfill vows and make prayers. Sister Catherine al-Jamal is the principal resident of Dayr al-Natour, and she has done everything within her power to restore it.

According to the Crusader document, the Monastery of the Presentation of Our Lady Natour was built by Cistercians. Indeed, the Church interior resembles that of the Cistercian Church of Balamand, built in 1157. Otherwise, the history of Dayr al-Natour is hidden in obscurity, although it is said that the local Orthodox community took it over after the departure of the Crusaders. Its name is almost unmentioned by historical sources during the Mamluk and most of the Ottoman period, although it is reported that French corsairs attacked the Monastery at the beginning of the eighteenth century and killed a monk.

In 1838, the Ottoman authorities gave permission to the Monastery to be rebuilt. In the second half of the nineteenth century, it contained several monks and a superior, and it possessed fifteen dunums of land. During the First World War, it was bombarded by a Russian ship. A few years later, the Monastery lost its last Superior, Basilios Debs, who became Archbishop of Akkar. After his departure, monastic life ended at Dayr al-Natour.

During the twentieth century, the deserted monastery became a refuge for shepherds from the neighboring regions. In 1973, Sister Catherine al-Jamal moved to Dayr al-Natour and began to restore it from its ruin.

كنيسة القديسة صوفيا وبناتها, Haqlet El Tineh, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  دير سيّدة بكركي البطريركيّ

City:  Zibdine Jbayl

District:  Jbeil

Governorate:  Mount Lebanon

History: 

كنيسة القدّيسة صوفيا - زبدين

هي كنيسة صغيرة قائمة على أطراف البلدة. تاريخ بنائها مجهولُ، لكنّ هندستها تشير أنّها تعود للقرون الوسطى. الكنيسة عبارة عن قبو عقدٍ سريريٍّ ينتهي بحنية. تحوي الكنيسة على لوحة للمستشرق البولونيّ بول شلافاك تعود للقرن التاسع عشر.

The church of St Sophia - Zebdine

It is a small church in the village’s vicinity. The date it was built is unknown, yet its architecture is typical for the high middle ages.The church is a crypt with a crib vault ending with an apse. The church holds a painting by the polish orientalist Paul Shlavak.

كنيسة مار جرجس - القليعة Saint George Church - Qlaiaa, Marjaayoun - Bint Jbeil Road, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  كنيسة مار جرجس

City:  Qlaiaa

District:  Marjaayoun

Governorate:  Nabatieh

History: 

كنيسة مار جرجس - القليعة
هي كنيسة البلدة الرعائيّة. بُنيت سنة ١٩٠٠ بسعي الخوري عبدالله لاشين، وكرّسها المطران بطرس البستاني مطران صور وصيدا آنذاك. الكنيسة بازيايكيّة الطراز بثلاث أروقة، والعقد يجتمع بقبّة دائريّة مزيّنة بجداريّة المسيح الفادي محاطًا بالإنجيليّين الأربعة. اللوحة الأساسيّة من عمل داوود القرم. أمّا الكنيسة من الخارج فهي بالحجر المقصوب مزيّنة بلونين من الحجارة.

The church of St George - Qlayaa

The parochial church of the town, the church was built in 1900 with the efforts of Fr. Abdalla Lachin and dedicated by Mgr. Boutros el Boustany archbishop of Tyr and Sidon back then. The church follows a basilical floor plan with three naves, and a circular dome decorated with a fresco of Christ the Redeemer surrounded by the four evangelists. The main painting of St George is by Dawoud el Qorm. The facade of the church is a decorative alteration of two kinds of colored stones.