Baalbek – The presbytery of our Lady of Perpetual Help

Monastery of Our Lady of Kaftoun, Kaftoun, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  كنيسة مار سركيس وباخوس - كفتون

Year built:  950

City:  Kaftoun

District:  Koura

Governorate:  North

History: 

كنيسةٌ صغيرةٌ مبنيّةٌ على ضفاف مجرى نهر الجوز، تابعةّ لدير كفتون. بُنيت في القرن العاشر وبقيت مُهمَلةً لقرون، مُهدَّدةً بالانهيار. بدأت عمليّة الترميم سنة ٢٠٠٤ واكتُشفت خلالها جداريّات فريدة من القرن الثاني عشر، وهي الشفاعة والبشارة والرسل وأربعة فرسان قدّيسين: سركيس وباخوس جرجس وتاودوروس. الفريد في الكنيسة الكتابة على الجداريّات باللغات: السريانيّة واليونانيّة والعربيّة للمرّة الأولى في كنيسة مسيحيّة من القرون الوسطى.

A small church on the riverbank. It is a dependency of Kaftoun’s monastery. The church was built in the Xth century, yet it was in ruins for a long time. Restorations started in 2004 and uncovered unique byzantine frescoes: The Deisis, the Annunciation, the Apostles, and the Four Knights: Sts George, Sergius, Bacchus, Theodore. The fact that makes the frescoes unique is the trilingual writing on them: Syriac, Greek and for the first time in a medieval church Arabic. 

Hermel, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  دير مار مارون على نهر العاصي

City:  Hermel

District:  Hermel

Governorate:  Baalbek-Hermel

History: 

The monastery of St Maroun on the Orontes - Hermel

The monastery was originally a natural cave consisting of three sections, it was expanded by Roman builders working in nearby stone quarries. It is situated above Ain El Zarqa, one of the sources of the Orontes River, and connected to the river via a corridor carved into the mountainside. This was used to fetch water and provide a hiding place during enemy attacks. In the VIth century, Maronite monks sought refuge in the cave after facing persecution in northern Syria, where their monastery was destroyed and its contents dispersed. The monks expanded the cave and carved an altar, turning the cave into a new monastery. This marked the beginning of the Maronite migration to the mountains of Lebanon along the Orontes River. Over time, the monastery was neglected and became an abandoned farm. In 2011, it was visited by Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi and has since been restored in 2018, returning to the Maronite Church. The monastery serves as a testament to the spread and perseverance of the Maronite Church in the Levant.

Maronite Eparchy Of Jbeil, Aamchit, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  كنيسة تلاميذ مار مارون مطرانيّة جبيل المارونيّة

City:  Aamchit

District:  Jbeil

Governorate:  Mount Lebanon

History: 

كنيسة تلاميذ مار مارون مطرانيّة جبيل المارونيّة - عمشيت

في ٢٥ حزيران سنة ١٨٩٢ أوقف فارس جبوّر كرم بيته وأرزاقه لنيابة جبيل البطريركيّة، لتكون مركزًا للنائب البطريركيّ. سنة ١٩٠٨ كُرّست الكنيسة في الطابق السفليّ على اسم الشهداء الثلاثمئة والخمسون تلاميذ مار مارون. الكنيسة كناية عن قبوٍ طويل فيه مذبح خشبيّ. رمّم البناء سنة ١٩٩١ وأصبح مقرًّا لأبرشيّة جبيل المارونيّة.

The church of the disciples of St Maroun in Jbeil’s episcopal seat - Aamchit

On the 25th of June 1892, Fares Jabbour Karam donated his estate to the patriarcal vicariats of Jbeil to become a headquarter for the patriarcal vicar. In 1908 a small church dedicated to the 350 martyrs disciples of St Maroun was consecrated in a vault on the groud floor. The church has a wooden altar and tabernacle. The structure was renovated in 1991 and became the seat of the newly created Maronite Bishopric of Jbeil.