Rabban Hormizd Monastery ( syr , ܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܝܙܕ ܥܓ̰ܡܝܐ) is an important
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 ...
of the
Chaldean Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = Assyrian Church.png
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq
, abbreviation =
, type ...
, founded about 640 AD, carved out in the mountains about 2 miles from
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, 28 miles north of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
. It was the official residence of the patriarchs of the ''Eliya'' line of the
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول ...
from 1551 to the 18th century, and after the union 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 early 19th century, it became a prominent monastery of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The monastery is named after
Rabban Hormizd
Rabban Mar Hormizd ( syc, ܕܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܙܕ ) was a monk who lived in the seventh century in modern northern Iraq. ''Rabban'' is the Syriac term for ''monk''. "Rabban" is also the Aramaic word for "teacher". He founded the Rabban Hormizd Mo ...
(''rabban'' is the
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
for ''monk'') 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 ...
, who founded it in the seventh century.
History of the monastery
![Convent of Rabban Hormuzd (The Nestorians and their Rituals)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Convent_of_Rabban_Hormuzd_%28The_Nestorians_and_their_Rituals%29.jpg)
Because of the fame of
Rabban Hormizd
Rabban Mar Hormizd ( syc, ܕܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܙܕ ) was a monk who lived in the seventh century in modern northern Iraq. ''Rabban'' is the Syriac term for ''monk''. "Rabban" is also the Aramaic word for "teacher". He founded the Rabban Hormizd Mo ...
, the monastery he founded became extremely important for 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 ...
. It flourished until the 10th century. Already, before the end of the 15th century, the Rabban Hormizd Monastery served as the patriarchal burial site.
Yohannan Sulaqa
Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa ( syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܬܡܝܢܝܐ ܝܘܚܢܢ ܣܘܠܩܐ; la, Simeon Sulacha; also ''Yohannan d'Bēth Bello'' ( syr, ܝܘܚܢܢ ܕܒܝܬ ܒܠܘ), John Soulaqa, Sulaka or Sulacha; circa 1510–1555) was the first Patriarch ...
was monk of the Rabban Hormizd Monastery before his travel to
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 ...
to become the first Patriarch of the
Chaldean Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = Assyrian Church.png
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq
, abbreviation =
, type ...
.
![Rabban Hormizd Monastery - view from below (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Rabban_Hormizd_Monastery_-_view_from_below_%281%29.jpg)
Between 1551 and the 18th century, the monastery became the official residence of the patriarchs of the ''Eliya'' line 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 ...
, which was the oldest and largest patriarchal See of the Church of the East, the only one existing patriarchal line before the Sulaqa's 1553 split. Nine patriarchal graves, from 1497 to 1804, are still located in the corridor that leads to the cell of Rabban Hormizd.
[.] In about 1743, due to pestilence and the attacks of the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
, at the beginning of the
Ottoman-Persian War (1743-1746). After that, the monastery was left mainly unmanned.
In 1808, the
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
Gabriel Dambo (1775-1832) revived the abandoned monastery, rebuilt it, collected a number of pupils vowed to poverty and celibacy, and installed there a seminary. At first this initiative was opposed by
Yohannan VIII Hormizd
Yohannan VIII Hormizd (often referred to by European missionaries as ''John Hormez'' or ''Hanna Hormizd'') (1760–1838) was the last hereditary patriarch of the Eliya line of the Church of the East and the first patriarch of a united Chalde ...
, then Archbishop of Mosul, even if it was supported by the patriarchal administrator
Augustine Hindi
Mar Joseph V Augustine Hindi was the patriarchal administrator of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1781 to 1827. Since 1804 he considered himself Patriarch with the name of Joseph V and from 1812 to his death he actually governed both the patriar ...
. Patriarch
Joseph Audo
Joseph VI Audo (or ''Audu'' or ''Oddo'') (1790–1878) was the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1847 to 1878.
Early life
Joseph VI Audo was born in Alqosh in 1790 and in 1814 he became a monk of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd. He w ...
, before he was appointed the bishop of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, was himself a monk of Rabban Hormizd monastery.
Gabriel Dambo was murdered in 1832 by the soldiers of Mohammed Pasha, the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
emir of
Rawandouz. In 1838, the monastery of Rabban Hormizd and the town of
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
were attacked by the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
of
Soran and hundreds of Assyrian Chaldeans died
[David Wilmshurst, ''The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318-1913'', Peeters Publishers, 2000 ] and in the 1843 the Kurds started to collect as much money as they could from Christian villages, killing those who refused: more than ten thousand Christians were killed and the icons of the Rabban Hormizd monastery defaced.
The
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
of the convent of Rabban Hormizd was rich in
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
manuscripts. In 1828, many of these manuscripts were looted and broken up by Moussa Pasha, who had imitated the emir of Rawandouz in revolting against the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
. In 1868, 147 volumes, manuscripts and prints, suffered the same treatment from Ismael Pasha, the successor of Moussa Pasha. The monks went on anyway to buy and copy
manuscripts
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
, thus forming an important library.
Description of the monastery in 1890
E. A. Wallis Budge, who visited Rabban Hormizd Monastery in 1890, describes the monastery with these words:
The new monastery
The monastery of Rabban Hormizd was too exposed to attack to remain a functioning monastery, and was also a symbol of a turbulent time. Patriarch
Joseph Audo
Joseph VI Audo (or ''Audu'' or ''Oddo'') (1790–1878) was the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1847 to 1878.
Early life
Joseph VI Audo was born in Alqosh in 1790 and in 1814 he became a monk of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd. He w ...
decided to replace it, and in 1859, with financial assistance from the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, built a new monastery of ''Notre Dame des Semences'' (Our Lady of the Seeds) in a safer plain site near
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
, about one mile from the ancient monastery. The new monastery quickly replaced Rabban Hormizd as the principal monastery of the Chaldean Church, and most of the monks moved to the new location.
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
Photos and Article about the Rabban Hormizd monastery - Kaldaya.net
{{Authority control
Monasteries of the Church of the East
Christianity in Nineveh Governorate
Eastern Catholic monasteries in Iraq
Christian monasteries established in the 7th century
Chaldean Catholic monasteries
Cave monasteries