Saint Elijah Cathedral ( ar, كاتدرائية القدّيِس الياس), is an

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

( Maronite) church in Aleppo, Syria, located in the Christian quarter of al-Jdayde. It is named after the biblical

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

. The church was built in 1873, replacing an old Maronite church. It was renovated in 1914.

History

Prior to the current building of the cathedral, a small church from the 15th century has occupied the same area. The old church was mentioned by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

explorer Pietro Della Valle who visited Aleppo in 1625 and described it as one of the four churches that were built adjacent to each other in one yard with one gate, in the newly created Jdeydeh, the Christian quarter. The other three churches are the Forty Martyrs Armenian Church, the Holy Mother of God Armenian Church (the current ''Zarehian Treasury'') and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Dormition of Our Lady. The new building of the cathedral was completed in 1873. It has two magnificent belfries at its façade, while the marble entrance with yellow columns is situated under the high dome on the eastern side. In 1914, during the period of Archbishop Michael Akhras, the dome was entirely renovated. For that purpose, concrete was used during the reconstruction process for the first time ever in the construction history of Aleppo, with the assistance of experts from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. During the same period, the chiming clock that plays

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

every fifteen minutes, has been placed on the tower. In front of the main gate, the statue of Archbishop and poet Germanos Farhat (1670–1732) was erected in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death, and for his efforts in founding the Maronite library of Aleppo, the home of old valuable manuscripts. Since then, the surrounding area of the cathedral was called Farhat square. St Elias Cathedral Al Jdayde Aleppo 2016

St Elias Cathedral Al Jdayde Aleppo 2016

Saint Elijah Cathedral was heavy damaged during the Syrian civil war with its roof collapsing in 2013 after numerous explosions. The cathedral reopened officially and was re-consecrated in July 2020 after a multi year program of restoration and renovation.

References

External links

Arch Net
{{Maronite Church Churches completed in 1873 19th-century Maronite Church church buildings

Maronite cathedrals Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Syria Jdeydeh quarter

History

See also

References

External links