Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt

Saint Mary of the Holy Belt Cathedral
Religion
AffiliationSyriac Orthodox
Year consecrated59 AD
Location
LocationHoms, Syria
Geographic coordinates34°43′45″N 36°43′12″E / 34.7293°N 36.7200°E / 34.7293; 36.7200
Architecture
TypeChurch

Saint Mary of the Holy Belt (Um Al Zennar) Cathedral[1] (Arabic: كاتدرائية السيدة العذراء أم الزنار, shortened to كنيسة أم الزنار; Um az-Zinnar) is a historical Syriac Orthodox cathedral in Homs, Syria. It is the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Homs and Hama.

This is one of the prominent church of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church which is also a Marian Pilgrim Centre. The present structure dates from 1852[2] under Bishop Julius Peter. But the site over which the church is built is claimed to have been one of Christian worship since 59 AD. The church once served as the headquarters of the universal church. [3] According to Ross Burns, the church may rest on Byzantine foundations.[4] According to Joseph Nasrallah, the existence of a church dedicated to Mary in Homs is attested as early as 478.[5]

The church contains a venerated Holy Girdle that is supposed to be a section of the belt of Mary, mother of Jesus.[6] The church was damaged during confrontations between the armed opposition and the security forces in the 2011–2012 Syrian unrest.[7]

In 2012, reportedly confrontations caused extensive damage to the exterior of the church.[8] The church was restored by an extensive effort of the faithful and the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in 2014[9].

Other relics

This is the Syriac church's equivalent of the Cincture of the Theotokos of the Greek Orthodox Church and Girdle of Thomas of the Catholic Church.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Saint Mary of the Holy Belt (Um al Zennar) – Christians of Syria. Christians in Syria. ACN Syria – Aid to the Church in Need in Syria". Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  2. ^ https://syriacorthodoxofhoms.org/cathedral-of-the-virgin-mary/
  3. ^ Andrew Beattie; Timothy Pepper (2001). The Rough Guide to Syria. Rough Guides. p. 155. ISBN 9781858287188.
  4. ^ Ross Burns (2009). Monuments of Syria: A Guide. I.B.Tauris. p. 171. ISBN 9780857714893.
  5. ^ Joseph Nasrallah (1972). Marie dans l'épigraphie, les monuments et l'art du patriarcat du IIIe au VIIe siècle (in French). Vol. 1. Beirut. p. 65.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Biographie de Sainta Marie". Syrian Orthodox Archbishopric of Homs and Hama. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  7. ^ Gallagher, Tom (29 March 2012). "Christians in Syria struggle amid violent clashes". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  8. ^ "كاتدرائية "أم الزنار" في حمص تتعرض لدمار جزئي". Linga.org. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  9. ^ https://soc-wus.org/page.php?id=109


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