كابيلا سيّدة الآلام - بزمّار
في القرن السادس عشر زار البطريرك ارزيفيان روما والتقى البابا بنديكتوس الرابع عشر، وأهداه أحد الكرادلة لوحة لسيّدة الآلام، منسوبة لمدرسة رافاييل تعود لرافاييل سانزيو أو الى غيراريو بار بيري. في رحلة العودة تعرّضت السفينة لخطر الغرق فرُميت اللوحة في البحر ووُجدت تطفو على المياه بشكلٍ عجائبيّ. بعد هذه الحادثة وُضعت اللوحة في كنيسة الدّير فوق العرش البطريركيّ.عام ١٨٠٢ ضربت الصاعقة الكنيسة، وسقطت على العرش البطريركيّ حيث كانت صورة العذراء، من دون الحاق الضرر بالعرش، ولا باللوحة، فبُنيت على إثر المعجزة كابيلا صغيرة ملاصقة للدّير وهي مزار للمؤمنين طالبين نِعم سيّدة الآلام. زارها قداسة البابا بنديكتوس السادس عشر سنة ٢٠١٢.The chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows - BzommarIn the XVIth century, the Armenian Patriarch Arzivian visited Rome and met pope Benedict XIV. He was gifted an icon of our Lady of Sorrows from an Italian cardinal. The painting is from Raphael’s school and is attributed to Raphael Sanzio or Gerario Parperi. On the way back the ship was in danger of shipwreck, and the painting was thrown in the sea with other furniture. It was rediscovered miraculously floating several days later. After the incident it was put over the patriarchal chair in the main church of Bzommar.In 1802 a lighting bolt hit the throne and the painting fell down, yet even the glass that was on it was miraculously preserved. A chapel adjacent to the monastery was erected to enshrine the miraculous icon. The chapel was visited by pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
The 3rd Patriarchal seat from 1120 to 1440 AD. This beautiful, small church dates to 1121 AD. There’s a tradition that the Monastery of Our Lady of Elij took the place of one of the train stations of the Roman road from Baalbak and the banks of Al Assi River to the North coast of Phoenicia. The apostles used this road during their trips between Antakya and the beaches of Palestine, and turning the place into a Christian one is attributed to them. (The apostles and students of St. Lucas).
The name of Elij is derived from the word “Eel”, from the Aramaic language, and it means “God of soft valley”. But from the Greek, it is derived from the word “Ellios” meaning “Goddess of the Sun”.
According to a Syriac inscription on the church wall (1277 AD.): “In the name of the eternally living God, in the year 1588 of the Greek era, this Jacobi temple was built for the Mother of God who prays for us, by the bishops Mark and John, in 1588 of the Greek era.” A cross was also engraved with a Syriac state “In You we conquer our enemy and in your name, we tread our haters”. There’s Syriac writing on the monastery’s wall: “In the name of the living God, in 1746 A.D, the two monk- brothers Amoun & Ming. It was established by four patriarches Botros, Ermia, Yaacoub, and Youhanna in 1121 A.D”.
The church is known for its ”Elij” icon of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ: while restoring it in 1985, Sisters of karlmalite-Harissa, researchers had found 10 different layers of paint, and the oldest one backed to the 10th century (every layer is over 100 year).
This monastery is the fourth oldest belonging to the Maronites. It is one of the most ancient Episcopal seats in Lebanon. It was built on the ruins of a pagan temple as mentioned before. It had witnessed all types of persecution and martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ, in addition to the history and faith, in what it spared miracles and glorification of Virgin Mary. It is not an edifice, but it looks like a grotto, built in the valley amidst old trees, between the mountains and the rebellious course of two rivers, of soil-colored dabachi stones which cannot easily be seen under the walnut trees…
What is left of the monastery today are two floors. The church occupies the greatest part of the ground floor while the first floor contains a small loft and a wide hall. The patriarch lived on the upper floor, in the small loft, which can be reached either by an internal flight of stairs within the church, or by external stone stairs. There is also a secret access from the patriarch’s room to another hidden room or to the outside. A small window was opened in the patriarch’s room facing the Holy Sacrament and the icon of Our Lady of Elij over the main altar. Next to the church on the first floor, there are two rectangular rooms with low curved ceilings, open to each other by a small path on the west side, inside the separating wall.
The church is distinguished by its “Bema” (the throne in Greek), with stairs leading to it on the western side. The bema is a high tribune in the church where the first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, is celebrated, where the Patriarch sit with bishops. It is the only church in Lebanon that still keeping a bema. There are a number of basements (narrow tunnels) inside the walls used to hide and run during persecution, invasion and war. There is a library containing souvenirs: religious relics, photos, books, documentary, local products.
يعود بنا هذه الكنيسة إلى القرون الوسطى وتتألف من كنيستين: الكنيسة القديمة جدرانها مكسوة بالجداريات. هي من النوادر في العمارة الكنيسة لأن فيها حنيتان يتوسطهم رسم المصلوب. مواضيع الجداريات: الشفاعة، العذراء على العرش محاطة بمار بطرس وبولس، ذبيحة النبي ابراهيم، آثار لجدرانيات أخرى باتت مندثرة. اما الكنيسة الثانية فهي أحدث عهداً ملاصقة للأولى، مبنية على النمط البازيليكي بثلاث اسواق، وامامها رواق بالحجر المعقود. بقيت الكنيسة مستخدمة الى القرن التاسع عشر حين نزح آخر موارنة البلدة. ومنذ عام ٢٠١٢ انطلق مشروع ترميم الكنيسة.
This church is built in the medieval ages, and is composed of two parts: The old church has walls filled with frescoes. It is one of the very rare churches in which you can see the crucified drawn between two naves. The drawings are as follows: The Deisis, Mary the throne of wisdom, surrounded by Saints Peter and Paul, Abraham's sacrifice, in addition to different frescoes that are damaged and can hardly be seen now. The second church is just next to the first, but built in a later era, in a basilical form with three aisles. The church was still in use by the maronite community until the 19th century. Since 2012 a project to renew the church was launched.
بنيت الكنيسة الحاليّة سنة ١٧٦٣ على أنقاض برجٍ صليبيّ. تتألف الكنيسة من صحنٍ كبير ينتهي بالحنية والمذبح، وعلى جهة الجنوب صحن آخر أعلى من مستوى الكنيسة ينتهي بمذبح مكرّس للقدّيسة تقلا. تحوي الكنيسة أيقونة مارونيّة للسيّدة تعود للقرن السابع عشر، أمّا لوحة مار جرجس فهي غربيّة الصنع.
The church of St George - Baskinta
The current church was built in 1763, over an old crusader’s tower. The church consists of a great nave ending with the apse and the altar. A smaller nave on the southern side is higher than the church ending with a small altar dedicated to St Thecla. The church holds a XVIIth century Maronite icon of the Madona, and a European painting of St George.
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