Church Of St. John Of Damascus

Location of the church: Once we pass the historical gate of Bab Touma, ascend inside the old city inside the wall towards the Eastern gate, then turn right to the Loggers Avenue, then wind left to Dawamneh and Assiya avenues, we reach the church of St. John of Damascus. The church: Building of the church can be distinguished from the typical buildings of this neighborhood in old Damascus inside the wall by the portico in its front facade with the arches that bear the second floor. Behind the portico the scene is different. Alternate black and white rows of stones make the eastern wall where there are two doors; the left one is the main entrance of the church. Between the two doors there is a marble board with the following inscriptions: Church of St John of Damascus of the Roman Orthodox built in 1864 during the tenure of Archbishop Erothius The church, then, is about 150 years old. The main portico is linked to two secondary ones covered with logs of poplar trees.

The inside: Once you are inside, you feel as if you have flown over a magic carpet to a wonder world of arts that combines heritage with modernism: two rows of columns and pillars bearing arches along its courtyard directed to the east dividing the courtyard into three parts built on the basilical style and end with the iconostasis made of dark brown walnut tree wood and carved with herbal designs. The lower part of it is ornamented with large icons, the oldest one to the right is the Icon of the “Good Patron “ under which is written: “Made by Nichola Theodore the Jerusalemite in 1866). There are other icons for “John the Baptist”, “St. Nicholas”, and “The Lady Entering”. To the left: “The Guide Lady” (dated 1866)…The upper row has 26 small size icons with the icon of “The Lord” and the twelve apostles in the middle, then five icons on each side representing feasts of the Lord..From the frescoes of the apostles, dangles eleven pigeons bearing silver lanterns in their beaks. The altar includes the sacred banquet topped by a very beautiful large 240X 200 cm iconography of the Last Supper painted on leather with the caption: “Painted by the humble Nichola Theodore the Jerusalemite on June 7th of 1867”. In 1999 walls of the church were unplastered and stones revealed. History of the church: In his book ‘The Splendor of Paradise /al Rawda al Ghannaa” Numan Qasatli wrote: “the church was built by archbishop Ewanicus of Damascus, the Roman Catholic who converted to the Orthodox church with the encouragement of Russia after the incidents of 1860. Before that it was home of the Russian Consul.

When Ewanicus converted again to the church he had left, the Roman Orthodox returned the church with an order from the High Commissioner with the mediation of Antoun of Lattakia and others, just a short time after its devotion. Now a small church adjacent to the school of the Roman orthodox was built by archbishop Erotheus.” Curate Ayyoub Sumayya (alNima magazine-May 1962, the Straight Street, page 59-60) said: “in 1861 Archbishop Erotheus named John son of Habib to be a metropolitan under the name Ewanicus of Erinopolis (today Salamiya of Hama), and appointed him as his deputy in the bishopric in Damascus. In 1862 Ewanicus wanted to do something that eternizes his name He started building the church.. Behind the Assiya school there was a small shrine of John of Damascus. The community had no right to build a church under that name at that time in Damascus. It is believed that Archbishop Makarios of Aleppo founded this shrine in that place which was part of the endowment of the community. When restoration works were finished after the incidents of 1860, the archbishop started building the church from his own money over the same shrine. When Ewanicus resigned from the Orthodox church he returned to the Roman Catholic church in 1864. A suit was processed by the orthodox community to regain the rights of ownership of the church, so the Sultanate in Istanbul issued a fatwa based on the  wooden grids or iron bars. Glass panel windows were used in Damascene houses in 1850s. Outdoor walls are built of alternative black and lime white rows called al Ablaq”. * A pond in the guest room (AlAzem Palace): “Marble ponds were built in the thresholdsof large rooms to enjoy their wonderful designs and to cool the room temperature by the act of evaporation“.

* An upper window (Beit Jabri):”After crossing the threshold of the room, eyes gradually get used to the light shade where the magic of decorations dazzles and attracts the sight, something that could be seen only in the manuscripts of the Middle Ages”. These pictures are just samples from the arts of the 18th century craftsmen, not only of Damascus, but of Aleppo, Hama, Sweida and the coastal cities of Syria. The Damascenes realized how precious and valuable their houses are, so they tended to change them into luxurious restaurants frequented by tourists as well as local people. To see more of these portraits see Gerard Rubin’s book “Palaces and Houses of 18th Century Damascus” sponsored by the French Institute of Arabic Studies and published by the Ministry of Tourism in 1990. * Western facade of Beit Sibai. J. Marki in his book “Islamic Arts” 1946 says: “Light falls on large areas to enflame the brilliant colors….the simple naked faÁades, and the little protrusions lightly inlaid with mother of pearl or marble and the complex stalactites form typical decorations for columns and arches.” * A facade with an iwan:(A section from Beit Nizham) A portrait of Rawana Pioneh from an iconographic study of Beit Nizham 1988.: “A corridor leads to a marble tiled court and an iwan, covered with kelims, with a pit formed like a Gothic arch where water pipes, coffee cups, rose water jars and a censer..are displayed” * A corner in a courtyard (Beit Khattab-Souk Sarouja) scholar Valerie says: “We passed a corridor to reach a corner in the courtyard where there is a well. Only those excellent in decoration can create such wonderful designs..” * The marble floor and pond (Beit Jabri) “Ground floors of the rooms are usually of two levels separated by a 50 cm step.

The higher level is called ‘tazar’ covered with mats and carpets where as the lower part is called the threshold.It is tiled with mosaic marble and pieces of colored stones, and in the midst of which there is a marble pond”. * Guest room entrance (Beit alShami – Souk Sarouja) “Doors are small and low, toptopped with decorations that fit the inside decorations. Rooms have only one door. Outdoors are part of the quarter’s general style.” * A window looking at the courtyard (Beit Khattab): ”Most windows looking at courtyards are fitted with lilac approach Damascus gardens become wider….water flows among stones glittering like a crystal veil…. No other oasis can stand to that of Damascus all round the world. From the top of Mt. Qassyoun we see Damascus as elegant as always, flat roofs, and protruding minarets in the midst of a green carpet with a small emerald green lake….” * Portrait of a house facade (A typical drawing). In his book From Old Damascus of the Thirties_ Salesmen Calls) Dr. Cossio Glo says:” There are no facades, just very high walls with latticed windows and low gates….Artist Ch. Runo in his book (From Athens to Ba’albak) says: “The inner courtyard is very interesting. In the middle, it has a marble mosaic pond with citrus and jasmine trees…so that the Damascene man can enjoy smoking his water pipe….” * Northern facade of Beit Nizham. Dr Nadia Khost in an article of 1988 says: “These arts made the house larger….with an iwan…and the carpet-like marble ground floor fit harmoniously with furniture. Chairs are inlaid with mother of pearl, embroidered cushions, food served on carved copper trays..plates made of silver plated brass, and the clothes are made of embroidered tissues and normally kept in Arabesque wooden wardrobes.”

Haifaa Mafalani