National Evangelical Church, Homs

The National Evangelical Church of Homs is the Presbyterian congregation’s church on al-Abrar Street, on the western edge of the Old City. American Presbyterian missionaries bought the plot in the 1850s; the church building and a primary school, opened in 1855, date from those years. Its roof was destroyed in the war, and after repairs it reopened for worship in 2015.

Getting there

The church is on the northern stretch of al-Abrar Street, directly opposite the Jamal al-Din Mosque. Its immediate neighbour to the north is the Dhi al-Kala al-Himyari Mosque. The Church of Our Lady of Peace is about 100 m to the north, and the Jesuit Fathers’ Monastery is less than 100 m to the northeast; Frans van der Lugt is buried there. For anyone walking the Old City’s line of churches, it is a natural stop.

What to see

A plain building with a rectangular plan and a pitched roof. It runs north-south, parallel to the street. Taller buildings around it make it hard to pick out from the road. What gives it away is the small open bell tower on the southeast corner: square in section, patterned black and white in light and dark stone, with a three-barred cross on its flat top.

How long it takes

Twenty-five minutes. That covers the facade, the bell tower and, if the door is open, the hall inside.

The church’s story

The school became a secondary school in 1905; today’s National Evangelical School stands in a separate building 700 m south of the church. In 1920 the Presbyterian congregations of Syria and Lebanon founded the National Evangelical Synod, to which the church belongs.

On 26 February 2012 a rocket destroyed the roof. The library and all the woodwork, including doors, windows and the cross, burned; a member of the congregation saved the archive. While rebels held this part of the city, the building was used as a military registration office. It was rebuilt with support from Gustav-Adolf-Werk, a German Protestant aid agency, and the first service was held on 25 December 2015. The library, the school and the care home were repaired too, and the synod took on the rebuilding of 44 houses in the Old City. In October 2017 the congregation had about 500 members, and an average of 100 came to Sunday services.

Do not miss

The bell tower on the southeast corner. The rest of the building is plain and disappears among its neighbours; with its black and white courses and three-barred cross, the tower is the one way to recognise the church from the street.