Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral ( consecrated 1764, ar, كاتدرائية القديس جاورجيوس للروم الارثوذكس) is the seat of the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut and its dependencies. It is the city's oldest extant church: it has been built over the disappeared ''Anastasi Romano-Byzantine Cathedral''.

History

The establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut is attributed according to the

tradition to the

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Quartus of Berytus, one of the

Seventy disciples The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomik ...

, who served as Beirut's first bishop.

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

issued a decree AD elevating the bishop of Beirut Efstathius to the rank of

. The city was until then a diocese of the

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

of Tyre. The Anastasis cathedral was the first church to be built on the site of the Saint George cathedral. It was built by Efstathuis in the fifth century AD and bordered the

auditoria An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

of Beirut's Roman law school. The church influenced the teachings of the school as law scholars worked to reconcile the texts of Roman law and the teachings of Christianity as attested by Severus of Antioch, who visited the city in the fifth century AD. In 551 AD a massive earthquake destroyed the whole of Beirut including the "Anastasis cathedral". In the 12th century a cathedral was built in the same location. The structure was badly damaged by a 1759 earthquake and was pulled down to be built anew. Construction started in 1764 and the new, larger structure, with one nave and a vaulted ceiling, was completed in 1767. However, the ceiling collapsed killing 90 people, due to the lack of supporting pillars. In 1772 the church was rebuilt on a cruciform plan with three naves, a new portico was added to the north facade, the main western facade was enlarged and a new bell-tower was built on the north-western corner. In 1783 the cathedral underwent a series of modifications, including the addition of the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

to the western facade and the enlargement of the apse to fit the central axis of the cathedral's main altar. That same year Younes al-Jbeily offered the church its ornate gilded wooden iconostasis. The last modifications to the cathedral were made in 1910, with the addition of a vaulted portico to the south facade, the cathedral was further enlarged to the east and the bell tower was moved to the south-east corner. The interior of the cathedral was decorated with ornate frescoes offered by Ibrahim Youssef Saad. In 1975, following the outbreak of the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, the cathedral was shelled and vandalized and its elaborate frescoes were left to decay. Most of the icons and part of the iconostasis were stolen; parts of the 18th century iconsostasis were also set on fire. The

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

undertaken under the cathedral during 17 months in 1994–1995 covered and revealed many archaeological layers that allowed a historical timeline of the church and its surroundings to be constructed. On 10 October 1995

Metropolitan Elias Audi Metropolitan Elias Audi ( ar, المتروبوليت إلياس عوده; born 1941, Enfeh, Koura) is the current Metropolitan bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch for the Archdiocese of Beirut in Lebanon. Elias Audi was born during 194 ...

announced plans to restore the war-torn cathedral. The first phase of restoration began in 1998, under the supervision of a committee headed by

Ghassan Tueni Ghassan Tueni ( ar, غسان تويني‎; 5 January 1926 – 8 June 2012) was a veteran Lebanese journalist, politician and diplomat who headed ''An Nahar'', one of the Arab World's leading newspapers. He was often referred to as the "Dean ...

. The cathedral reopened its doors on 15 December 2003. The cathedral was badly damaged in the Beirut explosions of 4 August 2020.

The archaeological crypt museum

In 1994, archaeological excavations undertaken within and in the vicinity of the Saint George cathedral before the initiation of restoration works unveiled a number of artifacts and vestiges spanning the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval and Ottoman eras. The aim of the excavation was to locate the Byzantine Anastasis cathedral in relation to the standing cathedral and ultimately triangulate the location of the ancient

Law School of Beirut The law school of Berytus (also known as the law school of Beirut) was a center for the study of Roman law in classical antiquity located in Berytus (modern-day Beirut, Lebanon). It flourished under the patronage of the Roman emperors and functi ...

. The excavations also revealed the sequence of continuous religious use of the site. A committee was formed under the patronage of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut to oversee the excavations and the creation of the Saint George archaeological crypt museum. The founding committee was headed by archaeologist Leila Bader who served as the director of the American University of Beirut Archaeological Museum and included Nabil Azar, Yasmine Macaron Bou Assaf, Katia Neeman Salha and Rita Kalindjian. The creation of the museum was funded by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut with a donation from the Jacques and Naila Saadé foundation. The museum was inaugurated on 3 December 2011. The museum consists of a crypt running under a part of the cathedral where visitors walk through 12 stops showcasing the different archaeological and historical layers. The museum has a surface area of , it is accessible through a breach in the cathedral's foundation wall and a stairwell built in front of the church's northern side. Towards the end of the circuit, the crypt opens up to a glass partition giving views to the cathedral's altar. The display includes a number of finds such as oil lamps, smoking pipes, pottery, statuettes and Christian vessels and ornaments. Other vestiges kept in-situ include parts of the older churches' altars and apse, mosaics, stone engravings, tombstones and columns, some of which belong to the old city's

Cardo maximus A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street ...

. The excavated area also includes a necropolis where 25 burials were opened. The tombs were oriented on an east–west axis, with the head facing west. These graves consisted of a single sandstone course overlaid by large stone slabs. A large quantity of iron nails were uncovered in the necropolis suggesting the use of wooden coffins in the funeral customs. Among the uncovered tombs was a one containing the skeleton of a man wearing a bronze tiara, with an iron arrowhead and three bronze amulets placed over his chest.

References

{{Roman Archaeological sites in Beirut & Lebanon Cathedrals in Beirut Greek Orthodox churches in Lebanon Museums in Beirut Churches completed in 1772 Greek Orthodox cathedrals in Asia 1770s establishments in Ottoman Syria 2020 Beirut explosion

History

The archaeological crypt museum

See also

References