Mor Gabriel Monastery
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 Location within Turkey
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| Monastery information | |
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| Other names | Dayro d-Mor Gabriel Deyrulumur |
| Order | Syriac Orthodox Church |
| Established | 397 |
| Dedicated to | Mor Gabriel |
| Diocese | Diocese of Tur Abdin |
| Controlled churches | Saint Gabriel Church, Church of the Virgin Mary, Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Mor Samuel and Mor Simon |
| Abbot | Mor Timotheos Aktas |
| Site | |
| Coordinates | 37°19′18.4″N 41°32′18.6″E / 37.321778°N 41.538500°ECoordinates: 37°19′18.4″N 41°32′18.6″E / 37.321778°N 41.538500°E |
Dayro d-Mor Gabriel (Syriac: ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܓܒܪܐܝܠ; The Monastery of St. Gabriel), also known as Deyrulumur, is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. It is located on the Tur Abdin plateau near Midyat in the Mardin Province in southeastern Turkey. It has been involved in a dispute with the Turkish government that threatened its existence.
Dayro d-Mor Gabriel was founded in 397 by the ascetic Mor Shmu'el (Samuel) and his student Mor Shem'un (Simon). According to tradition, Shem'un had a dream in which an Angel commanded him to build a House of Prayer in a located marked with three large stone blocks. When they Shem'un awoke, he took his teacher to the place and found the stone the angel had placed. At this spot Mor Gabriel Monastery built.
The monastery's importance grew and by the 6th century there were over 1000 local and Coptic monks there. The monastery became so famous that it received contributions from Roman Emperors, such as Arcadius, Honorius, Theodosius II and Anastasius. Between 615 and 1049 the Episcopal seat of Tur Abdin was based here and from 1049 until 1915 the monastery had its own diocese.
In the 7th century, the monastery became known as Monastery of St Gabriel, who was famous for his ascetic life. In the fourteenth century four hundred and forty monks were killed by invading Mongols. In 1991, the remains of monks killed by Timur (Tamerlane) were found in caves underneath the monastery, dated to the year 1401. During the Assyrian Genocide the monks were massacred by Kurds and the monastery was occupied for four years until returned to the church in 1919.
The monastery is an important center for the Syrian Christians of Tur Abdin with around fifteen nuns and two monks occupying separate wings, as well as a fluctuating number of local lay workers and guests from overseas. It maintained a significant library however, almost nothing remains. The monastery is currently the seat of the metropolitan bishop of Tur Abdin. In its history the monastery has produced many high-ranking clerics and scholars, among them, four patriarchs, a Maphrian and 84 bishops.
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Wikipedia