الصليب - دير القمرسنة ١٩٢٩ قَرَّرَ الطوباويّ ّيعقوب الكبوشي بناء نُصُب الصليب على أعلى تلّة في دير القمر في محلّة كانت تُعرف بقلعة صور. وكان الهدف من البناء أن يُرفع صليب فوق مثوى من ماتوا دون جنازة في حرب سنة ١٩١٤، وأن يكون الصليب مواجهًا لبلدة بعقلين علامةً لحبّ المسيح لأبنائها ورحمته تجاههم على حدّ قول الأب يعقوب. وهَبَ الأرض لهذا المشروع ألمُثَلَّث الرحمات المطران أوغسطينوس البستاني رئيس أساقفة صيدا. إنتهت ألأشغال ببناء كنيسة صغيرة ترتفع عليها قاعدة يرتكز عليها الصليب، وقد تبرعت ١٤ عائلة من دير القمر ببناء مراحل درب الصليب تُحيط بالنُصب. وفي ١٤ أيلول سنة ١٩٣٢ تَمَّ تكريس المقام. تعرّض للتخريب خلال الحرب الأهليّة وأعيد ترميمه .The Cross - Deir el QamarIn 1929 Blessed Fr Jacob Haddad OFM, decided to build a cross on a hill called Qalaat Sour in Deir el Kamar. His ambition was lead by a desire to have a cross raised over all those who died in the war of 1914 without a proper burial, and that the cross would be facing the town of Baakline to be a sign of the Lord’s love and mercy towards its citizens. To accomplish this noble project, the bishop of Sidon Mgr Agustin el Boustany donated the land. A small chapel was built and over it the cross was raised. To help with the project, 14 families from the town donated to build the stations of the cross. The shrine was inaugurated and consecrated on the 14th of September 1932. The shrine was sabotaged during the civil war and restored during peace times.
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.
بُنيت الكنيسة سنة ١٩٤٦ وكرّسها المطران أغوسطينوس البستاني. بناؤها بازيليكيّ الطراز بثلاث أسواقٍ وحنية نصف دائريّة. رُمّمت الكنيسة بعد زلزال سنة ١٩٥٦، وأُضيفت إليها قبّة الجرس. تضمّ الكنيسة أيقونةً أورشليميّة عجائبيّة للسيّدة العذراء وهي التي حمت الأهالي خلال الحرب العالميّة الأولى.
The new Church of Our Lady - Sarba, South Lebanon.
The church was constructed in 1946 and consecrated by Archbishop Augustine el-Boustany. This basilical church features three naves and a semi-circular apse. Following the earthquake of 1956, the structure underwent restoration, and a bell tower was subsequently added to the church. Notably, the church houses an icon of the Theotokos from the school of Jerusalem, which is believed to possess miraculous properties. According to the local community, this icon protected the village during World War I, serving as a source of divine intervention and safeguarding.
Saint Takla Church - Smar Jbeil, Smar Jbeil, Lebanon
كنيسة مارت تقلا
Smar Jbayl
Batroun
North
كنيسة مارت تقلا - سمار جبيل هي كنيسة صغيرة بجوار كنيسة مار نوهرا الرعائيّة، مؤلّفة من سوق واحد ينتهي بحنية. بحسب التقليد المحليّ يعود وجود كنيسة لتكريم مارت تقلا بالقرب من كنيسة مار نوهرا، لأنّ شقيقة القديس نوهرا كانت تدعى تقلا، وقد تبعت أخاها في تبشيره، واستشهدت مثل شفيعتها ثم دفنت هي ايضاً في سمار جبيل. إلا أنّه لا دلائل تاريخيّة حتى الآن تثبت هذه المقولة. الكنيسة تعود لأواخر القرن الثامن عشر.
The church of St Thecla - Smar Jbeil
The church is a small chapel near the parish church of St Nohra. It consists of a single aisle ending with an apse. According to local traditions the church is dedicated to the patroness of St Nohra’s sister also called Thecla and also a martyr, yet no historical records show that. The church dates back to the late XVIIIth century.
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