Ghosta – Ain Warka Monastery

Monastery of our lady of deliverance- El Cherfeh DAroun harissa, Harissa, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  دير سيّدة النجاة الشرفة - درعون

City:  Daraaoun

District:  Keserwan

Governorate:  Mount Lebanon

History: 

كانت قمّة الشرفة تخصّ مشايخ آل خازن. وقد باعوها عام ١٧٥٤ إلى القس يوسف مارون الطرابلسي بشرط أن يبني مدرسة. بعد إنتخابه بطريركًا سريانيًّا في ماردين وهربه من الإضهاد إثر إعلانه الشركة مع الكنيسة الكاثوليكيّة، إشترى البطريرك إغناطيوس جروة دير الشرفة عام ١٧٨٦ وجعله كرسيًّا له ونقل إليه أيقونة سيّدة النجاة المقدسيّة التي رافقته في ترحاله. يُعدّ هذا الدير المقر البطريركيّ للسريان الكاثوليك، كما ويضمّ مدرسة لتعليم الأولاد وإكليريكيّة.

The hill of Sharfe was a property of the Khazen feudal lords. In 1754 the parcel of land was sold to the monk Joseph Maroun from Tripoli to build a school. After he was elected Syriac patriarch in Mardin, Mor Ignatius Jarwe proclaimed communion with the Roman Catholic Church. For this, he was then persecuted and obliged to leave his homeland. He finally settled in Charfe and bought the old school transforming it into a patriarcal seat bringing in an icon of Our Lady of Deliverance from Jerusalem. Since then the monastery became a patriarcal seat with a school and a seminary.

Saint Moura, Ehden, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  دير مارت مورا

City:  Ehden

District:  Zgharta

Governorate:  North

History: 

دير مارت مورا - اهدن

بحسب البطريرك الدويهيّ بني الدّير سنة ١٣٣٩. كان دير مرت مورا أوّل كرسي لمطرانيّة إهدن، قبل انتقالها إلى دير مار سركيس رأس النهر. سنة ١٦٩٥ أعطى البطريرك الدويهيّ الدّير لمؤسسي الرهبانيّة الحلبيّة اللبنانيّة ليختبروا قانونهم الجديد وحياتهم المشتركة، فانضمّ إليهم آخر ناسك عاش فيه وهو أنطونيوس الإهدني. سنة ١٦٩٨ انشقّ بعض الرهبان عن القرعلي وأسسوا رهبانيّة جديدة مع جبرايل حوّا في مارت مورا لم تدم طويلًا. يتألّف الدير من كنيسة ذات عقد سريريّ، وغرفة كبيرة ملاصقة. رُمّم الدّير سنة ١٩٨٣.

The monastery of St Moura - Ehden

According to Patriarch Doueihy the monastery was built in 1339, and was the first seat for the bishops of Ehden before they moved tho St Serge’s monastery. In 1695 Patriarch Doueihy gave the monastery to the newly founded Alepan Lebanese Order, so the founding fathers could experience their new monastic rule and communal life. The last hermit of the monastery Antonios el Ehdeny joined the order. In 1698 the first split in the order happened and some monks decided to start a new order with Gebrayel Hawa in Mart Moura. This second order didn’t persist. The monastery consists of a crib vaulted church with an adjacent room, and was restored in 1983.

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.