The Balamand Monastery (historically called Belmont, Bellimontis ultra Mare, or Bellus-Mons), is a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

for the

Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rum (endonym), Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider ...

founded in 1157 in Balamand (Belmont), the Crusader

County of Tripoli The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was one of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria. When the Crusades, Frankish Crusaders, mostly O ...

, now in the

Koura District Koura District (, from ) is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. Koura is one of the 26 districts of Lebanon, particularly known for its olive tree cultivation and olive oil production. It comprises a total of 52 villages, and its ca ...

, in Northern Lebanon. It was originally started by

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks and maintained as such until the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

conquest in 1289, then reestablished as monastery by Greek Orthodox monks in 1610, after a poorly documented period of three centuries. On the grounds of the monastery has been established the

University of Balamand The University of Balamand (UOB; ) is a private institution, secular in its policies and approach to education. It welcomes faculty, students, and staff from all faiths and national or ethnic origins. The university is located in the northern di ...

, founded by the Orthodox

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Ignatius IV of Antioch Patriarch Ignatius IV ( ; born Ḥabīb Hazīm ; April 17, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All The East from 1979 to 2012. Life Habib Hazim was born on April 4, 1920, in the village o ...

in 1988, though the university claims to be secular and a distinct institution.

History

The Balamand Monastery, originally known to Crusaders as Belmont (“beautiful mountain”), was founded in 1157 by French Cistercian monks in the Crusader County of Tripoli (modern-day northern Lebanon). Constructed between 1157 and 1169, the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

flourished for over a century. The monastery remained under Cistercian control until the Mamluk conquest of Tripoli in 1289. After this, the site was abandoned; archaeological surveys show little Mamluk-era occupation. However, occasional hermitic presence persisted in the late 15th century, as suggested by Syriac–Arabic manuscripts from around 1492. In 1603,

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

monks, led by Youwakim, metropolitan of Tripoli, and with support from local Muslim officials, officially restored the monastery. By 1610, it had been re‑endowed as a

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

and repopulated by a dozen monks, replanting vineyards, olive groves, and livestock. The monastery prospered thereafter, becoming renowned for its hospitality and continued religious life through the

Ottoman period The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. The English traveler Henry Maundrell, who stayed there in 1697, noted about forty monks and praised their industriousness despite their simplicity. In 1988, Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch founded the

on and around the historic monastery lands. Recognizing the site's long-standing role as a scholarly and printing center in

North Lebanon North Lebanon () is the northern region of Lebanon comprising the North Governorate and Akkar Governorate. On 16 July 2003, the two entities were divided from the same province by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The division was known as Law ...

, he envisioned a secular yet culturally rooted institution promoting dialogue among Christians and Muslims.

References

* Louis J. Lekai: ''The Cistercians: Ideals and Reality'', Kent State University Press, 1977. .

External links

Official page

Official page
Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Lebanon Greek Orthodox monasteries Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch 1157 establishments in Asia Cistercian monasteries County of Tripoli Christian monasteries established in the 1150s 1150s in the Crusader states {{Orthodox-monastery-stub

History

See also

References

External links