- Saint George Monastery (Homs)
Saint George Monastery or Deir Mar Jirjis ( _ar. دير مارجرجس) is a historic Antiochian Orthodox
monastery located in northwesternSyria 's "Valley of the Christians" (وادي النصارة, "Wadi al-Nasara") in the town of Meshtaye, a village belonging to theHoms Governorate , just a few kilometers north of the famouscastle Krak des Chevaliers . Thevalley is a regional center of the Greek Orthodox Christianity since the 6th century. 27 of its 32 villages are today Christian, four are mainly populated byAlawi Muslims and only one, Al Qal'a just under the Krak des Chevaliers, isSunni Muslim.History
It is said that the monastery was built over remains of an ancient statue of the god
Homerus by theByzantine emperorJustinian I sometime in the 5th century. The monastery occupies a 6,000 m² land and was built entirely from Byzantine styled stone.The modern church was rebuilt in 1857. Most of the older monastery's items are preserved and displayed in the monastery. Its entrance features a triplearch and two central supportingcolumn s of Byzantine origin. A historical big stone with religious carvings can be found in the monastery's southern gate. Thewood eniconostasis found inside the church are decorated with impressive carvings and are magnificent presentations of art, itsgold paintedicon s depict various scenes from the life of Christ. Beneath the monastery's main courtyard there is an older 13th century chapel with a smaller iconostasis, older than 300 years, its icons depict scenes from the life ofSaint George (a popularsaint amongMiddle East ern Christians). At this lower level there is also an entrance to what is believed to be the original 6th century monastery and several largeamphora s. The Saint George Monastery also displays many other ancient items like crosses, writings, books, carvings, goblets, and other tools. It is also home to amanuscript written by thecaliph Omar bin al-Khattab, which discussed the relationships betweenMuslim s and Christians.The monastery is busiest during
pilgrimage s at the feast of Saint George (May 6 ) and the feast of the elevation of theHoly Cross on (September 14 ).References
*cite web | url =http://www.syriagate.com/Syria/about/cities/Homs/marjurjus.htm | title =Information| accessdate =2006-11-29 | publisher =Syria Gate | language =
*cite web | url =http://www.marmarita.com/nuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4586 | title =Mar Jurjus| accessdate =2006-11-29 | publisher =Marmarita | language =Arabic
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