Mor Ephrem Monastery, Home of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch near Saidnaya

Near Maarat Saidnaya, some 30 km north-east of Damascus, stands the Syriac Orthodox Church’s monastery dedicated to Saint Ephrem. It is not a historic monument: it was consecrated on 14 September 1996. Its weight comes from being the church’s centre today. The patriarch lives here, the seminary is here, and the university the church founded is next door.

How the monastery was founded

Building work began ten years before the consecration. The monastery was consecrated on 14 September 1996, under Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, and on the same day the Mor Ephrem seminary moved here from the Bab Touma quarter of Damascus. The patriarch’s official seat is the Cathedral of Saint George in Bab Touma, but the patriarch lives at this monastery.

The seminary’s long journey

Patriarch Ignatius Ephrem I started the seminary in Zahle in 1934, and it opened in 1939. It then moved from city to city: Mosul in 1946-1962, Zahle in 1962-1968, Atchaneh in 1968-1978, Damascus in 1984-1996. Since 1996 it has been in Maarat Saidnaya.

What is inside

The main building has five floors and covers 4000 square metres. The ground floor holds the kitchen, the refectory and storerooms. The first floor has the reception, classrooms, a conference hall and a medical and dental clinic; the second has student dormitories and guest rooms for clergy. On the third floor are the patriarch’s apartment, the patriarchal library and an inner church named after Mor Ephrem; on the fourth, the monks’ cells.

Inside the walls there are also the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, a conference hall, a building for public visitors and religious education, and the house of the Mor Jacob Baradaeus nuns.

Does it receive visitors?

There is a separate building for public visitors, so the monastery is not closed to outsiders. It is still the patriarch’s residence, and no verified source gives hours or conditions for entry. Confirm with the patriarchate before you go, or at the gate.

Nearby

The Mar Elias al-Hayy shrine stands on a rock outcrop south of Maarat Saidnaya, above a cave chapel whose murals date from the 13th century. The two fit into one day.