Balamand Monastery
Daughter monasteries
Monastery of St. John in Nemore Monastery of SS Trinitas de Refech Monastery Salvatio Beaulieu Abbey (Cyprus)
The Monastery of Balamand was initially under the name Belmont (or even Beaumont, Belli Montis ultra Mare, Bellus -Mons or Valmand ) by the Cistercians in 1157 as the first and most important abbey of the Order in the Orient in the former County of Tripoli about 15 km southwest of Tripoli in the founded mountains of Lebanon.
After about the time of the fall of Tripoli in 1289, the Cistercians left the abbey, the same site was used for a foundation of a Greek Orthodox monastery three centuries later, which still exists today. 1833 a theological seminary was established on the grounds of the monastery, from the University of Balamand in 1988 emerged.
- 3.1 Primary Sources
- 3.2 Literature
Geographical location
The monastery is situated in 275 m altitude on a plateau that falls heavily on three sides and is bounded on the southwest side of further rising mountains. The plateau offers in north views of the Mediterranean Sea and the coastal road between Tripoli and Chekka.
So appealing the situation may have been, it is still very unusual for a Cistercian abbey, as the Cistercian lonely preferred locations in valleys on running water. As this unusual choice of location came about is not known, but there are some hypotheses about. An important point that i.a. Camille Asmar emphasizes that safety might have been offered by the plateau of nature, and was also rather given near Tripoli and on the coast at the time of the Crusaders.
Another aspect has been possibly the acquisition of existing buildings. The unusual Cistercian architecture of the church and the north-east orientation, speculation given the space that the church might have been originally Byzantine. Another hypothesis of Camille Enlart brings the church to their construction with the Order of Grandmont in conjunction. Together, these hypotheses is the assumption that an existing, at the time of creation but unused infrastructure has to start so much easier that this outweighed the other drawbacks.
History
History of the Cistercian
Already in 1124 undertook Arnold Mori Moon Gründungsabt the fourth daughter monastery of Citeaux, a very controversial attempt to found a Cistercian abbey in the Holy Land.
In particular, Bernard of Clairvaux criticized in several letters that Arnold in the face of crises around the Abbey in Mori moon with his trip to Jerusalem in any manner took flight and still a group of German monks mitführte. In his letter to the Pope Calixtus II in December 1124 or January 1125 Bernard asked the question whether it would even make sense to set up abbeys, when there fighting soldiers were needed more than singing or weeping monks. 1125 Arnold returned with his monks unsuccessful back and died on January 3, 1126 in Flanders.
In the years 1129 and 1130 turned to Baldwin II of Jerusalem and William of Messines, who was appointed in 1130 to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, in several letters to Bernard of Clairvaux, with the request to support the founding of a Cistercian abbey in the Holy Land. This leaning Bernhard despite the gift of a relic of the True Cross from. The reasons are not included in the reply Bernard, but were delivered orally. However, it is considered likely that Bernard was put off by the great distance and the uncertain situation on the ground, especially since the rules of the Order undertook the abbots of mother monastery to visit each of their daughter monasteries in each year. Bernhard mediated instead founded by the Norbertine, which took place in 1141 in the vicinity of Jerusalem under the name of St. Samuel.
Time of the Cistercians
After the death of Bernard of Clairvaux in 1153, there was apparently no resistance against a foundation of the Cistercians in the Holy Land. Thirteen monks were sent by Mori Moon from across the Mediterranean to found an abbey in the mountains near Tripoli. The exact founding circumstances are not known, but May 29, 1157 was recorded as a founding date of Belmont, the daughter of the monastery Mori Moon in the diocese of Tripoli in the same county. It seems obvious that the contacts of some monks Mori Moon, who were already in 1124 together with Arnold in Jerusalem, have played an important role. This was the first foundation of a Cistercian abbey outside Europe. Only four years later, was also founded on the basis of Mori Moon Abbey Salvatio.
The development of the new monastery was very successful at the beginning, such as the traditional founding of two new houses occupy 1169 ( Monastery of St. John in Nemore ) and 1187 (Convent SS Trinitas de Refech ). The exact location of these two daughter houses is still unknown, but it is believed that they also were in the County of Tripoli.
Narrated is also the existence of two nuns Cistercian monasteries in Tripoli and Acre, both of which were named after St. Mary Magdalene. It is obvious that here was a certain amount of care by the Cistercians in Belmont.
On August 1, 1235 Cyprus, the establishment of another daughter house with the name Beaulieu. Lekai sees this as setting up a way to escape, as the decline had already been to guess at that time. The last evidence of the Cistercian monks from Belmont are the appointment of Peter the Germans on February 26, 1282 to the abbot and a report of an unusual public exhibition of a Cistercian monk in 1287 in Tripoli. It is likely that the last Cistercian order in Belmont in 1289 left her convent and the flight to Cyprus competed. There, the Cistercian remained until the end of the 15th century. In 1567 the remains of the monastery Beaulieu were used by the Venetians as a quarry for the construction of a new mounting system for Nicosia.
Transition of the monastery of the Cistercians of the Greek Orthodox Church
Regarding the change of ownership, there are two versions: from the Orthodox side is emphasized that the monastery property was handed over by the Cistercians in the Orthodox Church as part of its retreat to Cyprus. Documents from the time of the Mamluks to confirm the change of ownership of the monastery. In contrast, it is claimed by the side of the Cistercian that the monastery was never long uninhabited. So the monks are to be returned to the monastery after the Mamluk conquest again. Work will also include Aramaic nichtchaldäische monks at the invitation of the Cistercians, according to their final retreat, have inhabited the monastery. This thesis is represented by Western historians and based on manuscripts. The change of ownership of the monastery but today is not a point of contention between the Cistercians and the present monastery.
Dayr Al- Balamand as Greek Orthodox Monastery
With the flight of the Cistercians, the monastery was taken over by the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The name of the abbey Belmont was Arabized and is still known as Dayr Al - Balamand. In 1603 the monastery was built, using members of the zisterzienischen architecture have been incorporated in the building. The monastery then became a center of Orthodox Theology with a large library with many manuscripts and religious books. The monks copied manuscripts for other monasteries. Even today, the library includes manuscripts from five centuries.
The monastery was a protection facility for the people of the region in times of political conflict, epidemics and natural disasters.
In 1833, next to the monastery, a Theological Institute was established. In 1840, this institute was again closed by the Ottoman rulers. The school system was resumed in 1921, but closed again after a short time. Only since 1960, there is a continuous school operations. The Theological Seminary was established back in 1966 and since 1970 bears the name of St. John of Damascus. In 1988 was established from this seminar out the University of Balamand.
The monastery also houses a museum, in which the architectural history of the monastery and the sacred art is exhibited.
The monastery is located in present-day district of Al - Kura, which is known for its predominantly Christian Orthodox population, the Balamand serves as an important spiritual and cultural center. The importance of the Monastery of Balamand arises from the fact that it is directly subordinate to the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Antioch. Patriarch Ignatius IV was himself for a few years until 1966 Abbot of Balamand addition to his work as a bishop.
Declaration of Balamand
In the Theological College of the monastery was held from 17 to 24 June 1993, the 7th plenary meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. They were adopted on 23 June 1993, the Joint Declaration The uniatism - an outdated Union method - and the present search for full communion. The so-called uniatism, the " missionary apostolate " of among the members of the other church should the future be regarded as neither method nor as a model "for the desired unity of our Churches " one. The document includes a hand "for the future any proselytism and any expansion will of the Catholics to the detriment of the Orthodox Church " and recognizes at the same time on the other hand, that the Eastern Catholic Churches " have as part of the Catholic community the right to exist and to act as the spiritual needs of their faithful equivalent ".