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saint phocas church
(mar fawqa)
St. Phocas, or Mar Fawqa, was built by local architects during the Crusader period. The entire interior of St. Phocas is covered with paintings of the 12th and 13th centuries. One of the frescoes represents Christ descending into hell and holding out a helping hand to Adam and Eve. On the pillars are painted figures of Christ, Saint Phocas, Simon Stylites and other saints.
Saint Phocas, sometimes called Phocas the Gardener or Phocas of Sinope, is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Christian tradition states that he was a gardener who lived at Sinope, on the black Sea, who used his crops to feed the poor and also aided persecuted Christians. During the persecutions of Diocletian, he provided hospitality to the soldiers who were sent to execute him. The soldiers, not knowing that their host was their intended victim, agreed to his hospitality. Phocas also offered to help them find the person who they sought. As the soldiers slept, Phocas dug his own grave and prayed. He made arrangements for all his possessions to be distributed to the poor after his death. In the morning, when the soldiers awoke, Phocas revealed his identity. The soldiers hesitated and offered to report to their commander that their search had been fruitless. Phocas refused this offer and bared his neck. He was then decapitated and buried in the grave that he had dug for himself. The church was built on the remains of a pagan temple, the foundations of which are still prominent, and you can see pieces of the circular pagan temple columns used in the construction of the church walls. Patriarch Estephan Al-Douaihy spoke about this church in one of his documents, as some believe that the current Church of Saint Fawka is the same as the old church based on the name of the leader Murreeq. The townspeople also say, according to the news inherited from the ancestors, that King Justinian was buried in the Church of Saint Above with his scepter, sword and ring made of gold. However, the Crusaders, after the devastating earthquake that destroyed the church and the monastery in 1157, restored the church in the name of Saint Focus, in addition to the murals that they painted over the old destroyed ones, and assigned one of the icons to the new intercessor of the church. However, the greatest tragedy that befell the Church was the last earthquake that destroyed a part of it in 1918. After that, the looting and theft by the French mandate authority occurred shortly after it was discovered by the French C. Virollaud for the first time in 1922, and then between 1924 and 1925 on The French Maurice Dunand under the pretext of restoring what was destroyed by the earthquake. The church is 13.20 m long and 11.50 m wide. It was built in the style of a vault in the center, with a width of 4.5 m. It is supported by four rectangular columns in the middle of the church, connected by arches. On either side of this vault, two ceilings are also raised in the style of a vault, but they are less wide than those in the middle, as the width is 2.10 m. This church is famous for its ancient frescos, where we find in the eastern apse of the church icons of King David and his son Solomon, and the resurrection icon in which Christ appears pulling Adam from the tomb, and Eve and Abel are behind him as well. Below are the icons of the Twelve Apostles, with Christ centered on them. And other icons on the walls of the church and on the pillars in the center of the Prophet Abraham, the holy Prophet John the Baptist, an icon of the face of Christ and another of the saint above. The Church was exposed to many calamities and calamities, and was destroyed, burned and stolen, leaving none of its ancient contents except for its mural icons. Another icon depicted on wood of the saint above, has traces of severe burns that made it lose its original features, as well as some primitive restoration touches, and it is said that the French team that oversaw the restoration of the church in 1925, repaired it in this way. And the people of the neighborhood talk about a shrine close to the church named "Saint Gerges Al-Hinnia", which no longer exists today. |
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