St. Elijah Cathedral ( ar, كاتدرائية مار إلياس, he, קתדרלת אליהו הנביא), also called St. Elias Greek-Melkite Cathedral, is the

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...

cathedral in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, serving the Greek-Catholics of the

Byzantine rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...

making up the majority of Christians in both Haifa and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. St. Elijah Cathedral is the cathedral of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka (in Arabic: أبرشية عكا وحيفا والناصرة وسائر الجليل للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك) is an Eastern Catholic diocese of Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzan ...

(''Archieparchia Ptolemaidensis Melchitarum''), which was created by bull ''Episcopalis synodus'' of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. The cathedral was designed by architect Sammihom Atallah. The construction of the cathedral began in 1938 and ended in 1939. Since 1861 the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Akka was the church of the Virgin Mary in Haifa. After the Arab-Israeli war (between 1947 and 1949), most Melkites, who lived in the area, moved to the lower city of Haifa, and the bishop's chair was moved to the church St. Elijah (St. Elias). The front of the cathedral is crowned with a cross, which is a few meters away from a small bell tower. On the portal is the biblical story of the prophet Elijah.

References

{{church-stub Churches in Haifa Haifa ElijahCathedral Haifa ElijahCathedral Haifa ElijahCathedral Haifa ElijahCathedral

See also

References