The Mor Loʿozor Monastery was a

Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...

monastery in the vicinity of Mercimekli, the ancient ''Habsenas'', in the

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...

History

The monastery was named after Mor Lazarus the Edessan, who was an ascetic and bishop of

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

in the fourth century. There are two conflicting narratives regarding its foundation. According to the first, the monastery was founded by Mor Lazarus, who was at the time the bishop of Harran, while according to the second, it was founded by Mor Shemʿun d-Zaite ( Simeon of the Olives), who translated the bones of Mor Lazarus into the monastery. It is also possible that Shemʿun refounded the monastery during his time as bishop (between 700 and 734). The oldest parts of the monastery may go back to the 5th or 6th century. The monastery was located only around 300 meters from the village of Habsenas, indicating the close relation between the villagers and the monastery. The monastery seems to have continued

stylite A stylite ( () "pillar dweller", derived from () "pillar" and ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure ...

practices in the eight century, after the region had fallen under Islamic rule after 640, making it unique. The aims seems to have to continue this ascetic tradition and the monks of the monastery took turn to live as recluses on top of the columns. The monk Sergius of Hah created a copy of the ''Prayer Book of Monks'' at the monastery of Mor Loʿozor around the year 1500. In 1866 the monastery was renovated after having been ruined for many years.

Architecture

The monastery has a square plan, with structures in the west, north and east, and is surrounded by a three meter high wall. Its most distinguishing feature is the seclusion tower in the middle of the courtyard, which, though the upper section has collapsed, still is about seven meters high. This matches with the description of the vita of Shem'un, though the inscribed construction date does not match with the vita and might therefore have been built in the place of Shem'un's tower. Contrary to the column of

Simeon the Younger Simeon Stylites the Younger, also known as Simeon of the Admirable Mountain (, Arabic: مار سمعان العمودي الأصغر ''mār semʻān l-ʻamūdī l-asghar''; 521 – 596/597), is a saint in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox C ...

near Antioch which consisted of a monolithic column or the composite column of Simeon the Elder, the column is built of masonry, wider than most other columns and has a channel on the ground floor for collecting and discharging water.

Present state

The monastery has been abandoned and has been partially vandalised, including graffiti as well as illegal excavations. The deterioration of the building could result in the loss of the seclusion tower, the last surviving sample in the region. The monastery is tentatively listed with other ''Late Antique and Medieval Churches and Monasteries of Midyat and Surrounding Area (Tur ʿAbdin)'' by UNESCO since 2021.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Entry in Origines de Europa, including gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mor Lo'ozor Monastery Tur Abdin Buildings and structures in Mardin Province 8th-century religious buildings and structures Syriac Orthodox monasteries in Turkey Former Christian monasteries in Turkey