Balamand Monastery

The Balamand Monastery (historically called Belmont, Bellimontis ultra Mare, or Bellus-Mons), is an monastery for the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch founded in 1157 in Balamand (Belmont), the Crusader County of Tripoli, now in the Koura District, in Northern Lebanon. It was originally started by Cistercian monks and maintained as such until the Mamluk conquest in 1289, then reestablished as monastery by Greek Orthodox monks in 1610, after a poorly documented period of three centuries.[1]

"Balamand" redirects here. For other uses, see University of Balamand and Balamand declaration.
Balamand Monastery, known as the "Pearl of the East."
Balamand Monastery (1921)
Balamand Monastery floor plan (1921)

On the grounds of the monastery has been established the University of Balamand, founded by the Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch in 1988, though the university claims to be secular and a distinct institution.

History

Local legend in Lebanon reports that when Bohemond VII of Antioch escaped Latakia after it was taken by Qalawun in 1287, he hid in the village of Toula, Batroun, in the Northern Lebanese mountains. Legend has it that he lived there for a while, and produced offspring, from which the Prince, Conte, Zeeni and Aboujaoude families claim descent. The Balamand Monastery in Batroun is reputed a gift of the Prince's family, and now hosts the major University of Balamand, Balamand being a local adaptation of Bohemond.

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-05-12. Retrieved 2017-11-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  • Louis J. Lekai: The Cistercians: Ideals and Reality, Kent State University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-87338-201-3.

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