Saint Nicholas Monastery, Jaffa
Saint Nicholas Monastery Սուրբ Նիկողայոս Վանք Հայոց מנזר ניקולאס הקדוש | |
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Religion | |
Affiliation | Armenian Apostolic Church |
Location | |
Location | Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel |
Architecture | |
Style | Armenian |
Saint Nicholas Monastery (Armenian: Սուրբ Նիկողայոս Վանք Հայոց, Hebrew: מנזר ניקולאס הקדוש) is an Armenian monastery built in the first millennium AD. Located in Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel, near the harbour and facing the Mediterranean, the monastery consists of a large multi-story complex that includes an Armenian church and living quarters. The monastery is under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem who rents out parts of the complex for residential and commercial purposes.
The monastery is the setting of the Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa painting by Antoine-Jean Gros depicting Napoleon visiting his sick soldiers in the monastery's courtyard.[1]
History[]
Founded before AD 1000, the monastery was named for Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The church gave shelter to pilgrims and seamen looking for a rest on their journey for many centuries. In the 18th century, the monastery was expanded and fortified.[citation needed]
During the Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt, the French army requested the aid of the Armenian priests at the monastery. The clerics used their secret medicines to cure some of the soldiers. Napoleon personally thanked the Armenian patriarch and gifted him with his own tent and sword. His visit to the monastery was depicted in the Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa painting by Antoine-Jean Gros.[citation needed]
Gallery[]
The stone plaque at the entrance to the church gives information in four languages
The waterfront facade of the complex
The monastery courtyard situated at the upper floor level
The khachkar (lit. "cross-stone") in the courtyard
Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa, by Antoine-Jean Gros
References[]
- ^ Zafran, Eric; Resendez, Sydney (1998). French Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Artists born before 1790. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Boston. p. 189. ISBN 0878464611.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Nicolas Monastery in Jaffa. |
- Armenian Apostolic churches in Israel
- Churches in Tel Aviv
- Oriental Orthodox monasteries in Israel
- Old Jaffa
- 1st-millennium religious buildings and structures