MAR MUSSA
Geography and History:
The ancient Syrian monastery of St.Mouses Abyssinian (Deir Mar Musa el-Habashi) overlooks a harsh valley in the mountains east of the small town of nebek,80 km north of Damascus . it is about 1320 meters above sea level.
Prehistoric hunters and shepherds first inhabited the area around the monastery attracted by the natural cisterns and pastures. Ideal for herding goats. Perhaps the Romans or Palmiriens built a
Watchtower here. Christian hermits later used the cave for meditation and, thus ,created the first small monastic Centre.
According to local tradition ,st.Moses the Abyssinian was the son of an Ethiopian king .
He refused to accept the crown, honours and marriage. Instead he looked towards the kingdom of God. He travellthe valleyed to Egypt and then to the Holy Land. He later lived as a monk in Qara, Syrian
And then as a hermit in the valley where the monastery is now situated and was martyred by Byzantine soldiers.tradition says that his family took his body but a miracle separated the thumb of his right hand and it was left as a relic-it is now conserved in the Syrian church of Nabek.
From Archaeological and historical evidence , we know that the monastery of st
Moses existed from the middle of the 6th century and belonged to the Syrian Antiochian Rite.
The present monastic church was built in the Islamic year 450(1058 AD),according to Arabic inscriptions on the walls ,which begin with the words: ‘’ in the name of God the Merciful, the compassionate”
The frescoes in the church date from the 11th and 12th centuries.
In the 15th century the monastery was partically rebuild and enlarged .the monastery was abandoned in the first half of the 19th century and slowly fell into ruin.
Nevertheless, it remained in the ownership of the Syrian Catholic Diocese of Homs,Hama ,and Nebek. The inhabitants of Nebek continued to visit the monastery with devotion and the local parish struggled to maintain it.
In 1984 , restoration work began through a coomn initiative of the Syrian state ,the local church and a group of Arab and European volunteers. The restoration of the monastery building was completed in 1994 thanks to co-operation between the Italian and Syrian states. This Italisn and Syrian school for restoration of frescoes was created at Deir Mar Musa in 1989 and will complete the restoration of the frescos in the context of Syrian European co-operation.
The new foundation of the monastic community started in 1991.
The church and Frescoes of Deir Mar Musa:
The church of the monastery was built in 1058 AD.
It is a square of about 10×10-metres and divided into two sections. The larger section is nave,with two aisles , illuminated by a high eastern window.the second section is the sanctuary containing the alter and the apse , it is separated from the rest of the church by a stone and wooden chancel screen.
To date ,three layers of frescoes have been revealed in the church. The first layer is from the middle of the 11th century AD,the second from the end of the 11th century , and the third from the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century.
The images of the most recent layer are fairly complete,and comprise of two integrated iconographic cycles . the first and largest -cycle focuses on the dimension of sacred history
The second, in the sanctuary, represents the Mystery of the eternal and present instant.
The first cycle begins with the image of the annunciation . Gabriel stands on the north side of the east window and the virgin mary stands on the south , the Immanuel , the infant jesus , the sun of justice , rises above . (this image was destroyed , together with other images , in 1983 but has been partially reconstructed out of pieces.)
Beneath the window , Jesus Christ with apostles and evangelists inaugurates the time of the church , which receives sustenance from the mystery of the temple , the holy of holiest . the nave of the church is decorated with saints : females on the arches and males on the pillars.
The four evangelists are painted above the four central pillars . they look upwards to a heavenly page which they copy with Syriac letters in there gospels . six martyred saints , painted as knights , on the highest part of the nave , ride towards the east fighting the good jihad of faith.
The second Cycle ,that of the actuality of Mystery. Starts from the door of the Temple.
The ten virgine of the Gospel of Matthew 25 were painted on the external face of the stone-part of the screen,at the door of the sacred space of the alter.very little remains of this painting but it has been partially reconstructed to show that five of the virgins had lights burning in their right hands and five had extinguished lights in their left hands.
Behind the alter stands the Holy Virgin ,her Child sitting on the throne of her womb.
Around her stand the Father of the Church.in the semi-dome of the apse,above the alter,we can still see something of the representation of Christ as son of the Man ,on his throne and surrounded by cherubim.Mary,the mother of the saviour, and John the Baptist are painted in the large are close to the throne, to act as intercessors.
The two cycles,one of history and one of sacrament, are linked together by a representation of the final judgement on the west wall of the nave. The top of the fresco is lost but probably represented Christ in his glory giving peterthe keys to the Kingdome.
(peter is still visivle,standing on the right side, with Paul to the left)
Beneth the west window, is the cross with the symbols of the passion of Jesus: nails, ladders ,and the crown of thorns. On the top of the throne , painted in the oriental fashion with cushions and carpets, is the white shroud ,symbol of his resurrection from the tomb. Sitting to the left and right of the throne are ten apostles and evangelists who act as judges. With Peter and Paul, they complete the number of twelve.
The rest of the representation is divided between the right (Paradise )and left (Hell).
In Paradise ,beneath the throne, Adam and Eve pray for their children. Beside them, the saved people are in the embrace of the Virgin Mary, Abraham, Issacs and Jacob.
Beneath them two angels play the trumpetsn of judgement,and the prophets ,Moses with Elijah ,and David with Solomon,stand together with the father of the church.
A niche which probably held the relic of st.Moses , is beneath them. Beside it , an angel of intercession pulls down the plate of good deed of the scales of divine justice. Close to him, Saint peter opens the little door of paradise with a white Key. The martyrs St. Stephen and St. James enter first ,together with four ancient Syrian monks and three nuns.
On the left ,beneath the thrones of the apostles , groups of bishopps suffer the pain of fire and cry bitter tears. Beneath them sinners belonging to many cultures and religion suffer from a heavy rain of fire . Under them, beside a terrible Satan strangling an impious individual , monks and nuns burn in hell. Lower still a small devil, with a red tongue of scandal and lies. Pulls the left plate of the balance,the one of bad deeds. Close to him are represented four sinners bound like mummies, with the symbols of their sins tied to their necks. The first worshipped money ,the second was violent ,the third. Perhaps , was a usurer and the fourth a dishonest traderwho cheated with his balance .in the end ,a line of naked men and women tied with chain, with snakes entering their bodies through the doors of senses, represent the condemnation of adultery and forication.
At the bottom ,is a painted base of coloured marble, perhaps indicating the final crystallization of the material world.
In the second layer of frescoes ,in the northern aisle near the baptistery ,rests an image of the baptism of Jesus with an angel serving as a deacon and St. Simon Stylites sitting atop his column.
On the southern wall of the nave , on top of the first pillar ,we admire an an Elijah from the first layer, ascending in his chariot.
Other frescoes , especially older ones ,are likely to be revealed in future restoration. The Syrian General Directorate of Monuments and Museums, together with the Central Institute of Restoration of Rome, will continue to collaborate in future restoration in the growing context of Syrian European co-operation programmes.
The Environmental ,Agricultural, and Social Dimension
The monastic community of Deir Mar Musa and the inhabitants of the surrounding region lived in a manner which, though rough and difficult, was substantially balanced.
The vegetable and animal species have adapted to the presence of humans for many millennia. The presence of humans has changed the environment but not caused drastic upheaval. For example ,the traditional methods of gathering and distributing water for agriculture and framing have caused little environmental degradation.
Since the 19th century , however ,the balance between humans and the environment has gradually deteriorated, with the resulting problems worsening in the twentieth century.
The Region has witnessed a strong desertification and the beginning of pollution.
A rare exception has been the valleys surrounding the monastery ,which have provided a precious refuge for plants and have animals .Unfortunately the valleys are also at risk from the impact of this general environmental decline.
A very large increase in population density together with a resumption of agricultural and farming activities as a result of the economic crisis caused by the Gulf War,has renewed yhe urgency of the environmental question. With so many people and so few resources, this question in no longer a philosophical one, but one which truly effects ordinary individuals at both an economic and social level. We are in need of strategies, didactics , and solidarities. Thus ,our social Community of Deir Mar Musa , composed of monks, nuns , employees and guests , has made this environmental question an integral part of its vision. To have chosen not to -and allowed the environment to continue to decline – would have endangered the very possibility of the monastery existing as a place of spirituality and meditation with a positive social impact. For us, our environment has to be protected and also valued: spiritually, aesthetically , biologically, socially and economically.
At Deir Mar Musa, we are nurturing the following projects:
- A scientific interest in the characteristics of this natural context
- Programs for the reintegration of flora and fauna
- The experimental development of sustainable goat farming
- The sustainable development of agricultural activities, particularly fruit trees,
- The gathering of water sources through various project ,particularly the building of a small dam.
Recently the monastery has collaborated with a number of local and international institutions. We are working towards establishing a protected environmental area in the valley of the monastery, so as to create an oasis of silence and beauty available to everyone.
We hope to realize alarger project for the entire region,with local stakeholders actively participating , beginning with transforming the waste heap on the road to the monastery into a biodiversity garden.
On a social level, the community of Deir Mar Musa works to develop service with facilitate inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue and harmony.However , continued immigration abroad, particularly of Christian families from towns nearby ,puts this dialogue at risk. We feel that the cultural pluralism of this region must br kept and valued.
In the past ,this area maintained a tradition of common life, and we would like to build on this tradition.
The monastery also helps to restore traditional houses and to build housesfor some young families in the local parish.it is difficult at the moment for the young to afford to buy or rent a house in order to marry.
There is an urgent need to discern and to offer positive ,strong cultural and moral reasons for local Christians not only to stay ,but also return.
The community of Deir Mar Musa is deeply engaged, together with Muslim and Christian intellectuals from this region, in the important work of making sense of a pluralistic society in which the majority and all minorities are able to not only live together but positively and dynamically interact as well.
Deir Mar Musa , a Monastic Commmunity Devoted to Inter-religious Communion.
In 1982 , during a period of suffering in this region , a Roman young Jesuit student of Arabic travelled to the ruins of Deir Mar Musa. Here in the mountains east of Nebek,Fr.Paolo remained for a ten -day spiritual retreat. Through contemplation, he discovered three priotities , within the horizon of Islamic-Christian communion.
In 1984 , he was ordered a priest in the Syrian rite. On the basis of his three priorities, summer camps of work and prayer were established at the monastic .
On the same basis he, together with Deacon Jacques from Aleppo,initiated a monastic community in 1991.
The first priority is the rediscovery of spiritual life as an absolute. Prayer and contemplation are not instruments or a means to an end,they are an end in themselves in fullgratuity . the ruined monastery offered a strong witness to the value of spiritual life in this region and, paradoxically , showed the risk of losing this value.
It must be emphasized that the ancient oriental monastic life is an essential element of both the Christian local soul, and of the cultural , symbolis and mystical word of Islam.
Therefore, the community of Deir Mar Musa must first and foremost create an ambience of silence and prayer for both the personal and social life of its monks, nuns and quests.
The second priority is that of evangelical simplicity, a way of living in harmony and full responsibility with Creation and the society around us.
This necessitates a rediscovery of the value of manual work together with that of the body and of material things in an aesthetic of Justice and gratuity.