Jenjlaya – The church of Our Lady

House and the Church of St. God's grace (Neamtallah) Hardini Lebanese Maronite Order, Hardine, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  بيت وكنيسة القديس نعمة الله الحرديني

City:  Hardine

District:  Batroun

Governorate:  North

History: 

Hardine’s name is derived from the Syriac language meaning ‘pious’, Witness of justice, Ardent in faith and Square of religion.

It is located about 1100m. above sea level. A large area of very thick forests surrounds it and the following ruins of its inveterate past decorate its mountain terraces:

-The «rocky tile of Hardine» with its marine fossils and its unique length of 350 m along a slope to the west and its width of nearly l00m. Some one said, «The three most beautiful in Mount Lebanon are the valley of Kannoubine, The Palace of Beit Eddine and the tile of Hardine».

–The Temple of God Mercury With 30 majestic pillars built according to the rare ionic style. This temple known as «the roman Palace of Hardine». It’s a really fantastic one; it goes back to the time of Emperor Hadrian Augustus (117-137 A.D).

-“St Fawka’s” monastery (6th century)

-“Patriarchal monastery” since the Maronites came to Lebanon, known as “St. Sergios Alkarn”.

-“St John Alchakf” monastery, since the days of the Crusaders.

-“St Taqla” church in Beit Kassab square. It was the father of St Hardidni, who first started its renovation in the 19th Century.

-The church and hermitage of “St Stephan” in a hollow in a light rock over the Plain of Al Jawz River.

-The ruins of “St Richa’s” monastery, where the Syriac Diocese was moved between 1384 and 1598.

-The hermitages of “St Joseph”, “Ste Anne”, “St Ephram” the Syriac, “St Jacob Jesus’ brother” and “the pottery monastery” in the hollows of Kfarshira, and “the Lady of the Castle” in the hollow of the water spring.

-The Church of “St. Georges and Edna” which is distinguished Christian inscriptions (fish and cross).

-The churches of “St Elias”, “St Challita and Nohra” in the hollows engraved in the rocks, the old parish churches, like “St. Sergios and Bacchus” (rebui1t in 1932). “the Lady of deliverance” (rebuilt in 1948). The current one is St. Shayna” (1844), and finally the church of “St. Tadros” with its maronite alter, The two rebuilt churches of “St. Antonios of Padova” (1907), “St. Thomas” (1950) and the church of “Ste Theresa of the Baby Jesus” (1946).

-The monastery of St. Hardini» built with the donations of the people from Hardine in Lebanon and all over the world.

– Hardine is the hometown of one of Lebanon’s four saints, Saint Nimatullah Hardini (1808-58) who was canonised by Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II in 2004.

The village is naturally protected by the valleys and the rocky mountains around it making it an ideal place for the then new religion (Christianity) to flourish.

Legend has it that in 270AD, a Roman official imprisoned his daughter in Hardine for converting to Christianity. She converted many others in Hardine to the Christian faith.

Mar Moussa El Douar, Lebanon

Name in arabic:  دير مار موسى الحبشيّ

City:  Mar Moussa Ed-Douar

District:  Metn

Governorate:  Mount Lebanon

History: 

دير مار موسى الحبشيّ - مار موسى

بناء الدير يعود إلى سنة ١٦٥٦، سكنه أوّلاً رهبانًا عبّادا. إنضمّ هؤلاء الرهبان المتنسّكون سنة ١٧٥٧، إلى الرهبانيّة اللبنانيّة، وسلّموها الدير بموجب صكّ مكتوب، في عهد الأب العام جرجس قشّوع. كان للدير بعض أملاكٍ حين تسلّمته الرهبانيّة. أمّا بقيّة أملاكه فاتّصلت إلى الرهبانيّة بوجه الشراء من أعيان الطائفة الدرزيّة بعناية الأب العام إغناطيوس بليبل. في السنة ذاتها عقدت الرهبانيّة مجمعها في ربوعه وانتخب الرهبان الأب اقليموس المزرعاني رئيسا لهم على الرغم من معارضة البطرك طوبيا الخازن، وقد ادى هذا الإنتخاب الى انقسام الرهبانية الى بلدية وحلبية في العام ١٧٧٠ وكان دير مار موسى من نصيب الرهبانية البلدية التي تعرف اليوم بالرهبانية اللبنانية. اشترى الدير سنة ١٧٨٩ مطبعة نقلها من روما وعليها طُبعت الشحيمة وخدمة القداس الإلهي. تعرّض دير مار موسى الى النهب والحرق على يد جيش الحملة المصرية عام ١٨٤٠ ثم على يد الدروز اثناء مجازر الستين. عام ١٨٦٣ باشر الأب ليباوس المتيني ترميم الدير وبناء الطابق الثاني والكنيسة الحالية التي انتهى بنيانها عام ١٨٧١. على مرّ التاريخ، عرف الدير حقباتٍ زاهرةٍ. عيّنته الرهبانيّة ديرا للإبتداء، ثمّ مدرسةً للرهبان الدارسين. وعلاوةً على تعليم الفلسفة واللاهوت إعدادًا للكهنوت، كان الدير يؤمّن تعليم السريانيّة والعربيّة واللاتنيّة والفرنسيّة والحساب.

The monastery of St Moses of Abyssinia - Mar Moussa

The monastery was built in 1656, my contemplative monks. In 1757 the monastery was given to the Lebanese Order during the pontificate of Abbot Geryes Qashouh. The monastery had some lands when it was acquired, however most of its lands were bought from local Druze lords during the pontificate of Fr. Abbot Ignatius Bleibel. In 1770 the order had an assembly in the monastery and elected Fr. Abbot Clementis Mazraany against the will of Patriarch Tobias el Khazen, an election that lead to the split of the order into two: Lebanese and Aleppan. The Lebanese order acquired the monastery. The monastery housed a printing press in 1789 and printed the breviary and the missal. The monastery was devastated during the Egyptian campaign in 1840 and during the civil war of 1860. It was then restored by Fr. Abbot Lebaos el Mteiny in 1863 and a new church was built in 1871. During its long history, the monastery became a noviciate and a grammar school.

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.