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العربية
Location:
The monastery is located inside the current Patriarchate building along the road of Golgotha
History of Establishment:
Going back to the development of the current place of the Patriarchate, we will find the place was cemetery during the 7th century.
Then to a quarry during the reign period of Herod then to a crucifixion place at the top of Golgotha, and also it was part of a Aphrodite’s temple in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
When the Queen Helena came to consecrate The Church of Resurrection, she gave a piece of land to Pope Athanasius (20th Pope of the Alexandrian See).
St. Athanasius then built a church which was adjacent to the walls of The Church of Resurrection, which will can see until today.
The place was then reconstructed in the Abbasid era but then was demolished in the 11th century. The place was then reconstructed in the time of Al-Aziz Ebn Al-Hakim. With the entry of the Crusaders, The Augustinian Fathers took over the places and they built a door to The Church of Resurrection, the current entrance and St. Mar Yaacob’s Church.
Sultan Salah Al-Din Al-Ayouby then came and returned the place to the Copts and confirmed the ownership of the Coptic Church for the El Sultan’s Coptic Monastery.
During the period of St. Basil the Great, the current Patriarchal building, St. Anthony’s church and the bells and the dome were added.
At the moment, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem includes St. Antony’s monastery as well as Archbishop’s residence and also the Antonine College (which was added during the reigning period of Anba Yakobus in the early fifties of last century).
The Churches of the monastery
1. The Ancient Church of Mar Yaacoub
Upon your entry to the Patriarchate of the Coptic Orthodox, you will find on your right an entry to the old Patriarchate, which is the church of Mar Yaacoub which is part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was consecrated in 335 A.D. with the presence of His Holiness Pope Athanasius, Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.
The Church is built along the Golgotha on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on. It is a rocky land that as the site of a temple built by the Emperor Hadrian and named on the god Venus. Until now, there are some stones from this temple that are used in the building of the church since the 4th century.
The entrance that leads to the church has marble and stone pillars. On the left side, there is an outdoor area that leads to a large room which is above the area where our Lord was confined.
Upon our entry to the church, we find two cisterns for rainwater which are carved into the ground of the church and there is also an old cemetery which is carved in the stones but we do not know where it is until now.
There are also two corridors behind the church that connect the eighth and ninth stages of the entrance and exit of the sanctuaries. They are currently closed and have been closed since the era of Salah Al- Din.
Moreover, there is an old baptism which is believed to have been the baptism of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as mentioned by Friedrich Heyer as he said that the believers used to get baptised in the second week of Lent as St. Cyril of Jerusalem used to preach to them before they get baptised. The baptism was located on the north Holy Tomb.
On the southwestern side of the church, there is a wall that separates it from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from the side of where Jesus was confined. The lower part of the wall was built with large stones, which are the same as the original stones of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which are from the Byzantine era.
The church is built on four pillars and in the Crusader style. Three more pillars were added in order to support the buildings that were built over it.
The old altar of the church was covered by white and black mosaic that was used in the Byzantine era. There was also a Coptic style iconostasis which was inlaid with ivory. However, the church was destroyed in the days of Al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah and then was rebuilt in the Crusader era.
Between 1995-1996, the church was being reconstructed and restored including the entrance and the pillars. The church was then inaugurated on New Year’s Eve, during a Kiahk praises in the evening of 31/12/1999 and which was ended by the Divine Liturgy on the morning of 01/01/2000.
In the meantime, the Patriarchate is restoring and reconstructing the church, removing the dust and treating the moisture in the walls and removing all dust from the South-Western part that leads to the altar where our Lord was confined.
A small church inside the residence area of the monks. It is the place where St. Virgin Mary appeared in 1954 and the teachers in the Antonine College have seen her. They saw a bright light and have seen St. Virgin Mary. The light then moved from this place to the church of St. Anthony (which will be mentioned later). This was a great blessing to the monastery and all who were there. A church was then built in that place during the era of H.G. Bishop Yacoubus.
It is a big church that was built in the era of H.G. Bishop Bassilious. The church was then restored by the Bishops and Metropolitans that came after him which are H.E. Metropolitan Timothy, H.E. Metropolitan Yacoubus, H.E. Metropolitan Bassilious IV and H.E. Metropolitan Abraham.
The church has one altar on the name of St. Anthony. The walls of the church has many drawings and icons that explain the stages of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. The iconostasis is of a Byzantine style, which adds to the spirituality of the church.
At the back side of the church, there is a shrine of “St. Virgin Mary”, where she appeared at this place in 1954.
Also, H.E. the Metropolitan and the monks pray the midnight praises, offering of the evening incense and liturgies at the church on daily basis.
It is a small church in the monastery, with one altar on the name of St. Bishoy. It was originally a class in the Antonine College, however, during the era of Anba Abraham, this place was converted into a church on the name of St. Bishoy.
Also to note, the church has the special covering that covered the relics of St. Bishoy, which gives the church a unique spiritual environment.
On the right hand side of the door of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, and in front of El- Sultan’s Coptic Monastery, we will find the Church of St. Helena. The church is located next to St. Anthony’s monastery.
The door of the church is across El- Sultan Coptic Monastery (which was took over by the Ethiopians in 1970 and the Coptic Church is now attempting to restore it back), which is adjacent to the Patriarchate.
Where the church is located is where Queen Helena had used the well which is inside the church during the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the fourth century.
Neophytos, in his book “The Annals of Palestine” refers to this well in his manuscript on the events on 1835 and says:
The Copts during the processes of excavation over the Grotto of the Cross to build rooms for the Copts who visit the Holy City, they found the remains of a large church with stones which were well carved.
Under the altar, they discovered a water well, half of which was carved in the rock and the other half was built of stone. They have then lifted the stones and dust that was embedded in it and this processes costed a lot to undertake.
There is one altar in this church. H.E. Metropolitan Bassilious IV has expanded the church by combining the places behind the church to it. He also renovated the church and replaced the altar by a new marble altar. He also added a Coptic style iconostasis and added Coptic icons to the church. A compartment was also added to the church which has an icon of Queen St. Helena and her son St. Constantine.
Holy Liturgies are prayed throughout the year, and the road leading to the well was also facilitated to make it easier for visitors to visit the place.
The Well of St. Helena Inside the Church
The well of St. Helena is one of the most important, oldest and most wonderful places Jerusalem. St. Helena discovered it carved into a large rock where it was filled with rainwater in the fourth century.
It was the arrangements of God that this well became the only source of water needed to build the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The water was used for drinking by workers and soldiers at that time and until recently.
At the bottom of the well, there is a unique place which you will experience the voice echo, which gives a deep spiritual feeling during chanting the spiritual hymns and melodies.
