The Monastery of Saint James the Mutilated is a 6th-century

Melkite Greek Catholic el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

monastery in

Qara, Syria Qara or Kara ( ar, قارة) is a Syrian city in the An-Nabek District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. It is located between the Qalamoun Mountains and the Eastern Lebanon mountains range, north of the capital Damascus on the road to the city o ...

. It is located north of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and east of

Al-Nabek An-Nabek or Al-Nabek ( ar, ٱلنَّبْك, an-Nabk) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the S ...

. The monastery is dedicated to Saint James the Mutilated.

Murals

The

National Museum of Damascus The National Museum of Damascus ( ar, الْمَتْحَفُ الْوَطَنِيُّ بِدِمَشْقَ) is a museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. As the country's national museum as well as its largest, this museum covers the entire range ...

holds a section from a

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

that once decorated the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

of the altar of the monastery's church. The fragment dates from the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

"The panel portrays a winged angel whose head is surrounded by a halo of light. His hair is long and his head is tied with a fillet. He wears white clothing and lifts his right hand in benediction, while holding a rope in his left hand. His gaze reflects piety and faith. The panel was executed in varying shades of brown and grey in addition to red, blue and green. Art historians note that the iconographic facial features are those of the
Archangel Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, one of the highest and most important of the angels. Indeed, the folds of the garments, the features of the face and the style of shading conform very closely to depictions on the third-layer paintings of the Monastery of Mar Musa al-Habashi (St Moses, the Ethiopian) which lies nearby and flourished contemporaneously."

Syrian Civil War

In 2013, as part of the Syrian Civil War, after the Al Nusra siege, the army of

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

broke the siege and saved the monastic community The monastery's website offers an eyewitness report of wartime events in the village of Qara.

References

External links

Monastery of Saint James the Mutilated website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monastery of Saint James the Mutilated Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Attacks on churches in Asia Eastern Catholic monasteries in Syria Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Syria An-Nabek District Buildings and structures in Rif Dimashq Governorate

Murals

Syrian Civil War

See also

References

External links