St. Elijah Cathedral (, ), also called St. Elias Greek-Melkite Cathedral, is the

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", referrin ...

cathedral in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

, serving the Greek-Catholics of the

Byzantine rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

making up the majority of Christians in both Haifa and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. St. Elijah Cathedral is the cathedral of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka () is a diocese of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite, Arabic), directly subject to the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. Its cathedral episcopal see is St. Elijah Greek-Melkite C ...

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

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. 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 Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

References

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

See also

References