LEBANON: Lebanese monastery unveils Byzantine frescos dating back to Twelfth Century

Vivid Byzantine-style frescos dating back to the Twelfth Century line the walls of an ancient monastery carved deep into the rocky hills of Lebanon. Deep inside the hills, carved into the rocks, lies a church that has stood the test of time to tell its story. The story is of Deir Kaftoun, one of the oldest churches in Lebanon which dates back to the Twelfth Century. The church's neighbouring monastery, which was abandoned until 30 years-ago, is also home to one of the oldest frescos in Lebanon. Elaborate paintings of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, Angel Gabriel and John the Baptist were hidden under layers of soil and lime for many years until one day in 2003. Since then, the frescos have undergone several phases of restoration and although many parts have withered, those that have survived are considered by some art historians to be awesome. "This is one of the oldest churches in Lebanon, and the oldest one that is mentioned in written records. There is evidence in writing that the church dates back to the twelfth century. A Maronite text dates dates this church back to the year 1140 A.D., which means the mid-twelfth century," says Nada Helou, a professor of Art History at the Lebanese University. In 2003, Polish restorers from the University of Warsaw, slowly and meticulously, helped unveil the vivid frescos lining almost every wall of the Maronite-turned-Orthodox church. At the entrance of the church, its two saints, Sarkis and Bacchus, welcome the pious and the curious. What remains of their images indicates that the two saints from Lebanon were once warriors who fought paganism, Helou says. The sophisticated style of painting on some frescos proves that the painter came from Byzantium. Helou says many painters fled the Byzantine empire in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries when the Crusaders came to power. And the painter of the frescos somehow found his way to the hills of Batroun in northern Lebanon. "The painting is complicated and there are several layers of paint. From the interplay of light and shadow, you can see that the painter used many different techniques which did not exist in our East. Therefore we conclude that the painter must have come from Byzantium," says Helou. The Crusader invasion of the Middle East led to a wave of chruch-building in that era, evident in the abundance of churches in the region that date back to the same time. Writings in the Syriac, Greek and Arabic indicate the names of the saints and the angels on the frescos. What remains of the Arabic writing indicates that at least part of the paintings were commissioned by the then Greek Orthodox patriarch, although the writing falls short of indicating what year. Helou says that although Syriac and Greek languages were very popular in the Tweltfh Century, Arabic was not. And the fact that some of the church frescos bears some Arabic writing is a phenomenon, unseen anywhere else in Lebanon. "There is something different from the other frescos that were found in Lebanon that carried Syriac or Greek or both. Here we see something very strange. There is Syriac writing identifying the saints accompanied by Greek writing but there is also Arabic writing, and this is a first," says Helou, who added that there are some 30 similar churches in Lebanon in urgent need of restoration. The church and the neighbouring monastery are now home to some 15 nuns, mainly from Lebanon and Syria.

ITN Source | August 30, 2007

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