Reporting of Federici Studies Center
Gaza, the oldest monastery in the Holy Land will be saved
Thanks to international funds, A two-year plan to restore St. Hilarion Monastery and Jabaliya Church has been initiated, monuments from the Byzantine era. With positive repercussions for Palestinian civil society.
The Palestinian enclave of Gaza hides a priceless cultural treasure, especially Christian, too little known and protected, often threatened by time, climatic events, sand, negligence, uncontrolled urbanization and recurring conflicts (three in the last decade alone). It took little for one of the most important early Christian testimonies of the Holy Land to disappear. A Nuseirat, about ten kilometers south of the city of Gaza, near the coastal dunes, the oldest monastery in the Holy Land is located, dedicated to Saint Hilarion and dating back to the 4th century.
Excavations in the monastery began in the 1990s and since 2012 it is included in the World Monuments Fund's list of the most threatened sites in the world. Also the Byzantine church of Jabaliya, discovered in 1996 a few kilometers north of the city of Gaza, risks the same fate. Resting place for pilgrims, it is known for a rich mosaic, damaged during the war 2012. (…)
The monastery of Saint Hilarion (Tell Um el-Amr, in Arabic) It takes its name from the 4th century hermit monk considered the founder of monasticism in Palestine. The story of Hilarion's life has been passed down to us by Saint Jerome over the years 386-391. Of Greek origin, Ilarione would have been born in 291 a Tabatha, a sud in Gaza, at the time under Roman protection. He studied in Alexandria and became a Christian at fifteen. He was a disciple of Saint Anthony of Egypt (Saint Anthony the Abbot) and lived with him in the wilderness. Returned to Palestine in 306 would have founded in 329 the first Palestinian monastery, which developed rapidly. He later sought a hermit life in Egypt, he finally died in Cyprus in 372 and his remains were brought back to Gaza.
An exceptional site
The monastery covered an area of 15 thousand square meters and had a property of 10 hectares, it included a church with a large crypt, baptisteries, that, a refectory, as well as a hostel and baths for pilgrims. The church was rebuilt three times. It is likely that the complex dates back to the Umayyad and then Abbasid periods (7th and 8th centuries) has enjoyed a renaissance around baths and wells. Today the stone walls remain, marble floors, scale, column, Corinthian capitals, baptismal fonts and blue-hued mosaics, red, verdi, yellow and ocher wonderfully intact and showing geometric patterns, floral, but also peacocks and other birds, equids and felines. In the 2003 an inscription mentioning Hilarion and his tomb were found. It is the only archaeological site in Gaza open to the public and visited by many students.
A long-term humanitarian impact
The funds for the restoration promised by the British Council are around 2 million euros. The work is expected to last 26 months and involve at least 75 people, between local and foreign experts, archaeologists, students of Palestinian universities. The NGO Pui would like to enhance the long-term humanitarian impact, through free training (theoretical and practical) of Gazans in the restoration of monuments and thus promote the valorization of Palestinian heritage. A heritage that also has economic potential. Therefore, around fifty students and recent graduates in archeology or architecture will be involved, also with the aim of raising awareness among the local population.
