![Interior view of the Meskinta Assyrian-Chaldean Church in Mosul](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Interior_view_of_the_Meskinta_Assyrian-Chaldean_Church_in_Mosul.jpg)
Mosul is known for its several old
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
es, some of which originally date back to the early centuries of Christianity. The ancient churches of the city are often hidden through labyrinthine alleyways behind thick walls and are therefore not easy to find. Some of them have suffered from poor upkeep due to a lack of attendance, and some of them were entirely destroyed during the battle for Mosul and the 4 years of ISIS control the city suffered through.
Historical churches and monasteries
Church of Shamoun Al-Safa
The oldest church in Mosul, Shamoun Al-Safa (
St. Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
), dates from the 9th century and is very difficult to find. It has a deep underground courtyard and a cemetery between high walls containing some ornate tombstones of
Maslawi merchants. Previously, it bore the name of the two
Apostles, Peter and Paul. It is considered a very important church due to its archeological value. It lies 5 m below street level. The church includes an
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
of Shammas Raphael Mazagi who established a Chaldean printing press and a Patriarchal
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
next to the church. After the latter has been transferred to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in 1960, the building was inhabited by the nuns of the
Sacred Heart
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...
.
Church of Mar Toma
![Mār Tōmā (Syriac Catholic) Church in Mosul](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/M%C4%81r_T%C5%8Dm%C4%81_%28Syriac_Catholic%29_Church_in_Mosul.jpg)
The exact time of its foundation is unknown, but it can be assumed that the
Syriac Orthodox
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg
, imagewidth = 250
, alt = Cathedral of Saint George
, caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...
Church of Saint Thomas dates prior to 770, since reference tell that Al-Mahdi, the Abbasid
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, listened to a grievance concerning this church on his trip to Mosul. Inside, dozens of bulbs produce a blaze of electric light. The
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
-cross as well as the altar-steps are brightly lit. There is an old
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
in
Syriac on a lectern and a lime-green one with dark blue borders. And, on one wall, a small illuminated and glass-fronted pigeon-hole in which are the
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s of St. Thomas as well.
Mar Petion Church
The Mar Petion Church is named after a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
of the same name who was educated by his cousin in a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
and died in 446. It is the first
Chaldean Catholic
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = Assyrian Church.png
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq
, abbreviation =
, type ...
church in Mosul, after the union of the
Church of the East
The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
with
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in the 16th century. It dates back prior to the 10th century and lies 3m below street level. This church suffered destruction and it has been reconstructed many times. A hall has been built on one of its three parts in 1942. As a result, most of its artistic features have been lost.
Ancient Tahira Church
Near Bash Tapia is the Ancient
Tahira Church (The
Immaculate
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
) which is considered one of the most ancient churches in Mosul. No evidence helps to determine its exact location. It could be either the remnants of the church of the Upper Monastery or the ruined Mar Zena Church. Al-Tahira Church dates back to the 7th century, and it lies 3m below street level. A last reconstruction took place in 1743.
Mar Ahudeni Church
Mar Ahudeni Church was named after Mar
Ahudemmeh
Ahudemmeh ( syr, ܐܚܘܕܐܡܗ, ar, مار احودامه) was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 559 until his execution in 575. He was known as the Apostle of the Arabs, and is commemo ...
(Hudeni) Maphrian of
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac language, Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Gover ...
who martyred in 575. Mar Hudeni is an old church of the Tikritans in Mosul, dating back to the 10th century. It lies 7 m below street level. First reconstructed in 1970, people can now get mineral water from the well in its yard. The chain, fixed in the wall, is thought to cure
epileptics.
St. George's Monastery
Located in the north of Mosul, St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis) was named after
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
. Most probably it was built late in the 17th century. Pilgrims from different parts of the north visit it annually in spring, when many people travel to its surrounding areas on holiday. It is about 6 m below street level. When a modern church was built over the old one in 1931, much of its archeological significance was lost. The only monuments left are a marble door-frame decorated with a carved Estrangelo (Syriac) inscription and two niches which date back to the 13th or 14th century. The church was completely destroyed on 2014 by ISIS militants.
Mar Matti Monastery
Mar Matti Monastery
Dayro d-Mor Mattai ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ;''The Monastery of St. Matthew'', Arabic, دير مار متى) is a Syriac Orthodox Church monastery on Mount Alfaf in northern Iraq. It is located 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Mosul ...
is a famous monastery situated about 20 km east of Mosul on the top of
Mount Alfaf
Mount Alfaf ( syr, ܛܘܪܐ ܕܐܠܦܦ, ṭūrāʾ Alfaf), also known as Mount Maqlub (جبل مقلوب in Arabic), is a mountain in the Nineveh Plains region in northern Iraq. The mountain lies 30 km to the northeast of Mosul and some 15&nb ...
(Mount Maqloub). It was built by
Mar Matte
Dayro d-Mor Mattai ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ;''The Monastery of St. Matthew'', Arabic, دير مار متى) is a Syriac Orthodox Church monastery on Mount Alfaf in northern Iraq. It is located 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Mosul ...
, a monk who fled with several other monks in 362 from the Monastery of Zuknin near the city of
Amid (Diyar Bakir) in the southern part of Asia Minor (present-day
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
) and the
north of Iraq during the reign of Emperor
Julian the Apostate
Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplato ...
(361-363). It has a library containing Syriac scriptures.
Monastery of Mar Behnam
![Mar Behnam Monastery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Mar_Behnam_Monastery.jpg)
The
Monastery of Mar Behnam
Monastery of the Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܒܗܢܡ ܘܡܪܬ ܣܪܐ, ar, دير مار بهنام, ''Mar Behnam Monastery''), is a Syriac Catholic monastery in northern Iraq in the village Khidr Ilyas close to ...
is also called Deir Al-Jubb (The Cistern Monastery). Situated in the
Nineveh Plain near Nimrud about 32 km southwest of Mosul, it was built in the 4th century and expanded in the 12th or 13th century. The monastery is a great fort-like building rising next to the tomb of
Mar Behnam
Saints Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs were 4th-century Christians who suffered martyrdom during the reign of Shapur II. They are venerated as saints in the Oriental Orthodox Church.
Biography
According to their hagiography, Behnam and Sara ...
. This was a prince who was killed by the Sassanians, perhaps during the 4th century. A legend made him a son of an Assyrian king.
Other Christian historical buildings
* The Roman Catholic Church (Built by the Dominican Fathers in Nineveh Street in 1893).
*
St. Elijah's Monastery (the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, dating from the 6th Century)
* Mar Michael
* Mar Elias
*
Mar Oraha Monastery
Dayra d'Mar Oraha ( syr, ܕܲܝܪܵܐ ܕܡܵܪܝ ܐܲܒ݂ܪܵܗܵܡ) (Saint Abraham Monastery) is a Chaldean Catholic monastery in northern Iraq close to the town of Batnaya.
The monastery is traditionally attributed to Mar Oraha, who was forced ...
*
Rabban Hormizd Monastery
*
Al-Aqiser
Al-Aqiser ( ar, الأقيصر, lit=Mini Palace) is an archeological site in Ayn al-Tamr near Karbala in Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq ...
See also
*
Mosques and shrines of Mosul
The Islamic monuments and historical buildings of Mosul, Iraq are of varied ages. They are usually mosques and shrines, but there are also Hussainiyahs, fortresses and madrasahs. Muslims of Mosul are predominantly followers of Sunni Islam, with a m ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Churches And Monasteries In Mosul
Christianity in Nineveh Governorate
*
Mosul