Church of Saint Thomas | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Syriac Orthodox |
Location | |
Location | Mosul, Iraq |
Geographic coordinates | 36°20′27″N43°07′31.5″E / 36.34083°N 43.125417°E [1] |
Architecture | |
Type | Church |
The Church of Saint Thomas is a Syriac Orthodox church in Mosul, Iraq. [1]
The church is dedicated to Saint Thomas the Apostle and is believed to have been constructed on the site of the house that the saint resided in during his stay in Mosul. [2] The church is first mentioned in 770 as part of a grievance to Caliph Al-Mahdi. [2] The current structure suggests it was built in the 13th century. [2] The church was damaged during Shahanshah Nader Shah's siege of Mosul as part of the Ottoman–Persian War of 1743–1746, and was subsequently renovated in 1744 by Cyril George, metropolitan bishop of Hattakh, with the permission of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud I. [3] It was later renovated again in 1848. [4]
Amidst restoration work in 1964, the finger bones of Saint Thomas were discovered in the church. [5] [6] On 23 December 2009, a bomb damaged the church, killed two men and injured five people. [7] In the aftermath of the Fall of Mosul, the relics of Saint Thomas were taken from the church by Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul, [5] and transferred to the Monastery of Saint Matthew on 17 June 2014. [8] The church was used as a prison by Islamic State insurgents until the city's liberation in 2017. [5]
Dayro d-Mor Mattai is a Syriac Orthodox Church monastery on Mount Alfaf in northern Iraq. It is located 20 kilometers northwest of the city of Mosul, Iraq. It is recognized as one of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence and was famous for the number of monks and scholers and for its large library and the considerable collection of Syriac Christian manuscripts. Today, it is a center of an Archbishopric and the current Archbishop is Mor Timothius Mousa A. Shamani.
Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum was the 120th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1933 until his death in 1957. He was consecrated as a Metropolitan and as a Patriarch at a very hard time for the Syriac Orthodox church and its people and parishes and he worked very hard to re-establish the church initiations to where his people moved. He researched, wrote, translated, scriped, and published many scholarly works that included books on the saints, tradition, liturgy, music, and history of Syriac Orthodox Church.
Ignatius Isaac II was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1709 until his resignation in 1723.
Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1445 until his death in 1454.
Ignatius Jacob I, also known as Jacob al-Khuri or Jacob of al-Nabk, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1510/1512 until his death in 1517/1519.
Ignatius Noah of Lebanon, also known as Nūḥ Pūnīqoyo or Nūḥ al-Bqūfānī, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1493/1494 until his death in 1509.
Ignatius Hidayat Allah was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1597/1598 until his death in 1639/1640.
Marutha of Tikrit was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 628 or 629 until his death in 649. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Athanasius IV Salhoyo was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 986/987 until his death in 1002/1003.
Ignatius II was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 878 until his death in 883.
Ignatius Abraham bar Gharib was the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Mardin from 1381 or 1382 until his death in 1412.
Ahudemmeh was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 559 until his execution in 575. He was known as the Apostle of the Arabs, and is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Ignatius George II was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1687 until his death in 1708.
Basil Solomon was the Maphrian of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 1509 until his death in 1518.
Basil Matthew II was the Syriac Orthodox Maphrian of the East from 1713 until his death in 1727.
In the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Archbishop of Jerusalem today bears the additional title of Patriarchal Vicar of the Holy Land and Jordan. The see is currently vacant following the death of Gabriel Dahho. Anthimos Jack Yakoub was appointed as the patriarchal delegate for the archdiocese until a successor is elected and appointed.
Denha I was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 649 until his death in 659. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Martyrology of Rabban Sliba, and his feast day is 2 October.
Samuel was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 614 until his death in 624.
Ignatius Ismail was the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Mardin from 1333 until his death in 1365 or 1366.