The Cathedral of Saint George, Hama

The Cathedral of Saint George is the cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Hama and its Dependencies, part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. The present building was completed in 1839. It is a cross-shaped church of pale stone, with a dome on a drum of 16 windows at the centre and a separate bell tower at one corner that narrows in stages.

Where it is

The cathedral stands south-west of the citadel mound in Hama. It is on a side street that branches west off Hawl al-Qalaa, the road that rings the mound, about 40 metres in from the main road. The Al-Hasanayn Mosque is in the same area, a few minutes away on foot.

What to see

The church is oriented east to west, and its arms are covered with rounded barrel vaults. The drum of the central dome has 16 round-arched windows, with a cross on top. The bell tower at the north-west corner is square in section and tapers upwards like a stepped pyramid; it stands apart from the body of the church. In photographs taken in 2008 the semicircular gables on the facades are filled with pierced stonework.

Who it belongs to

The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of the Antioch-based Greek Orthodox Church in Hama. Nikolaos Baalbaki, who became metropolitan here in 2017, was born in Damascus in 1957.

Visiting

This is a working church and service times vary. The door may be closed outside services; ask the attendant at the gate to go in. Hama has other Greek Orthodox churches too, so asking for “Mar Jirjis” avoids confusion.

Do not miss

Cross to the far side of the north-west corner. From there the free-standing bell tower and the dome fit into one frame, and the way the tower narrows floor by floor reads best from that angle.