Saint George Maronite Cathedral ( ar, كاتدرائية مار جرجس للموارنة) is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the

Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut (in Latin: Archeparchia Berytensis Maronitarum) is an archeparchial seat of the Maronite Church immediately subject to the Holy See in Lebanon. As of 2012, there were 232,000 baptized. It is currently ruled b ...

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the city of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Its construction, with a Neoclassical facade, interior and plan inspired by the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

, began in 1884 and ended in 1894. The cathedral was heavily hit and shelled during the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

and was plundered and defaced. A number of works of art that were looted have since been recovered, including the famous painting by

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

representing

Saint 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 ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the cathedral and of the Archdiocese of the city of Beirut. The cathedral was restored after the end of the hostilities and was re-inaugurated by the

Maronite Patriarch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchat ...

Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir on 24 April 2000.

Construction

Saint George Maronite Cathedral turn of 20th century

The Cathedral of Saint George was built by

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Joseph Debs Joseph Debs (born 8 October 1833 in Raschiva, Lebanon - died on 7 October 1907 in Beirut, Lebanon) was an archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut. Life Joseph Debs was appointed and consecrated on 11 February 1872 by Maronite Pa ...

, the Archbishop of Beirut, on the site of an earlier church that was also dedicated to the same saint. The earlier structure was built in 1755 to serve the Maronites of Beirut. Work began in 1884 using Roman columns from the temple of Deir El Qalaa in

Beit Mery Beit Mery ( ar, بيت مري ; also Beit Mer, Beir Meri) is a Lebanese town overlooking the capital Beirut. The town has been a summer mountain resort since the times of the Phoenicians and later the Romans. The name derives from Aramaic and me ...

. The edifice was completed and consecrated on Palm Sunday in 1894. Built on the plan of a basilica with its nave and two lateral aisles separated by two rows of columns, the cathedral has a façade of neo-classical style designed by Italian architect Giuseppe Maggiore. The interior bears a general resemblance to that of

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

in Rome. The nave is covered with a coffered ceiling with gilded and a double wooden structure, covered with golden leaves on a beige background. The walls are decorated with stucco and marble. Above the main altar is a canopy four columns. At the rear, in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

, is the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

(bishop throne) of the Archbishop of Beirut, and the chair used by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

during his pastoral visit to Lebanon in 1997. orel, Elodie. "The places of worship in Down-Town: a gleam of diversity". iloubnan. Retrieved 2010-01-08./ref>

Architecture

Inspired by the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

of Santa Maria Maggiore in

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 ...

, Saint George Maronite Cathedral was built between 1884 and 1894, and inaugurated by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Youssef Debs. Prior to this, the

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

community of

had made use of a small

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 ...

that stood nearby and dated back to 1753. In 1954, engineer Antoun Tabet undertook restoration works inside the

. Originally planned in the shape of a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, its transept was shortened and arches added at either end. Badly damaged during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

(1975–1990), the cathedral was completely rehabilitated by 1997, recovering its original Renaissance cruciform shape. It was inaugurated in April 2000. Beneath the forecourt of the cathedral's annex, significant

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

remains have been unearthed and preserved. They include a Hellenistic structure, part of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Decumanus Maximus colonnaded street, and an Ottoman wall. On 19 November 2016, Beirut Archbishop Paul Matar inaugurated the new

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

which took a decade to construct. The campanile stands high; the original design envisaged a tall bell tower to match the height of the campanile of the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in Rome. According to the archbishop, the reduction in the campanile's height to stand equal to that of the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

s of the adjacent Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque aims to send a message of interfaith solidarity and harmony. On 4 August 2020, the cathedral was damaged in the Beirut explosions that ripped Beirut port. Beirut was a huge chaos back then, which left behind homeless families, scattered houses and unsheltered people. Specifically, the cathedral was highly affected by the blast. Doors and windows were burst and dispersed, stained glass along with their deformed frames were scattered all over the place. The cathedral also suffered from a damaged pitched roof where bricks were broken or misplaced and exposed cracks became visible in beams and marbling paints. The ceiling was also affected where some panels were out of place, suspended mid-air or completely fallen off. Electrical, lighting and sound fixtures were either damaged or disconnected. After the explosion, volunteers took prompt actions such as cleaning the place, mobilizing furniture as well as sorting the damaged elements and organizing the undamaged ones. The renovation process was launched due to the funding of many donors from Lebanon and other countries. Fortunately, despite the endless destructions the cathedral had been struggling with, there is always someone taking care of this historical and spiritual place and bringing back its main significant symbol of the presence of the Maronites in the Capital of Lebanon and their expansion throughout the Lebanese territory.

Location

The Church of Saint George is located in the downtown area of Beirut. It is one of the most important religious buildings of the city. Right next to her is the Sunni Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque. About eighty meters north is the Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the

Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

Timeline

1884–1894: Construction of the cathedral, which was inspired by the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. 1954: Restoration works inside the cathedral undertaken by Antoun Tabet. 1975–1990: Civil War badly damaged the cathedral. 1997: Post war rehabilitation of the Cathedral led to the recovery of its original Renaissance cruciform shape. Significant archaeological remains were unearthed and preserved. April 2000: Cathedral inauguration. 19 November 2016: Campanile inauguration. 4 August 2020: Beirut explosions damaged the cathedral.

Sources

* Kassir, Samir (2003) Histoire de Beyrouth, Fayard, Paris. , Les lieux de culte au Liban. Ministère du Tourisme, Beyrouth.

References

External links

* https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grabung_arch%C3%A4ologisches_museum_st_georg_beirut.jpg {{Maronite Church Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Lebanon Cathedrals in Beirut Catholic churches in Beirut Churches completed in 1894 1890 architecture 19th-century Maronite Church church buildings Maronite church buildings in Lebanon Maronite cathedrals 1890s establishments in Ottoman Syria 2020 Beirut explosion