The Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus, also known as the Maryamiyya Church (), is one of the oldest Greek Orthodox churches in Damascus, Syria and holds the seat of 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 ...

. The church complex is located on the Street Called Straight.Daniel Demeter:
Damaskus – al-Mariyamiyeh Church.
' Syria Photo Guide, 16 July 2014.

History

A first church was built at an unknown time. After the Muslim conquest of Damascus the church was closed until 706 AD when al-Walid ordered that it be returned to the Christians as compensation for the Church of John the Baptist which was turned into the Umayyad Mosque. The church was destroyed and rebuilt several times in later years. It was described by Ibn Jubayr as: In 1342, the Patriarchal See of Antioch was transferred from Antioch to Damascus and the church served as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church in the East. The church was burned down by mobs, along with most of the Christian quarter, when the 1860 Druze-Christian conflict in Lebanon spilt over into Damascus, and was rebuilt three years later. It was last renovated in 1953.

Sections

Church of Mary

The Church of Mary is the main church building, and dates back to the late 4th century.الكنيسة المريمية - تاريخ الكنيسة ‎ (Mariamite Church – Church History)

Chapel of Saint Tekla

The chapel was added to the complex after the restoration of the cathedral in 1840. It comprises the patriarchal seat of the

Chapel of Catherine

The chapel was added after restoration works. It contains a small museum dedicated to the history of the church.

Gallery

File:Damascus Greek Orthodox Patriarchate 1573.jpg, Mariamite Cathedral, Damascus, with the 'Umariyya Minaret at the front, to the right File:Damasco cattedrale ortodossaHPIM3223.JPG, Façade of the cathedral in 2010 File:Damascus Mariamite Cathedral the belfry.jpg, Belfry of the cathedral

References

2nd-century churches Mariamite Cathedral Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Syria 2nd-century establishments in the Roman Empire 7th-century disestablishments in the Byzantine Empire 1860 disestablishments in Ottoman Syria 1863 establishments in Ottoman Syria {{orthodox-church-stub