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This Greek-Catholic church is located inside the wall of the Old City, south of the street called Straight of Biblical fame, and near the East Gate (al-Bāb aš-Šarqī).
Originally a Karaite synagogue, the building was sold by the last surviving member of this Jewish sect in Damascus in 1832 to be converted into a church under the protection of Patriarch Maximus Mazloum and with financial support of Ḥannā Bey Baḥrī, Ibrāhīm Pāšā's lieutenant in Syria during the Egyptian domination in the 1830s.
The church was devastated during the 1860 Massacre. It was reconstructed in 1863 thanks to private donations, foreign funding, and generous contributions from Mitrī Šalhūb and ʾAnṭūn aš-Šāmī.
A private house was assigned to the patriarchate in 1873 along with a priests' seminary and school. A boy's school was also added in a courtyard house.
The edifice is extant and in good condition.
Photo credit: Weber 2005 (on the left is a view from the west and on the right the north aisle).
Stefan Weber. Damascus, Ottoman Modernity and Urban Transformation. Proceedings of the Danish Institute in Damascus V 2009.
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