Moussa
Dib
Portrait of
Patriarch Mikhael Fadel, c. 1795, oil on canvas, 135 x 90 cm,
signed 'the Priest Moussa Dib', and inscribed in Arabic in vignette.
'This is the picture of Holy Mikhail Fadel, Patriarch
of Antioch; happy is his memory, who was chosen by the Father
of Lights, Doctor of the Congregation, Light of the Maronite community,
departed on the seventh day of the Month of May, 1795.'
Convent of Mar Youhanna Hrach.
In 1754, this Patriarch converted Amir Ali Haydar
Shihab to Christianity, the first of the Shihab Amirs to be converted.
He was consecrated Bishop of Tyre in 1762 by Patriarch Toubia
El Khazen who appointed him Patriarchal Vicar until his election
as Bishop of Beirut in 1781. Compelled to seek refuge in the Convent
of Hrach following the excessive demands of Ahmad Pasha Jazzar
(1775-1804), he was elected Patriarch in 1793. A scholar, he was
bestowed the title The Star of the Levant. He died in 1795 at
Dayr Mar Youhanna Hrach where he was buried.
The convent of Mar Youhanna Hrach was founded in
1634 by the Hobeiche Cheikhs of Kesrouan who intended it to serve
as a school and a seminary. The political disturbances of that
time prevented the project from succeeding. In 1642, Bishop Youssef
Ibn Halib Al Aquiri bought the convent. It is the second convent
built in the Kesrouan. It served as the Patriarchal Seat under
the brief rule of Patriarch Mikhael Fadel (1793-5).
NB: This is possibly the oldest
known signed painting in Lebanon. It has been restored in London.
Portrait of
Archbishop Mikhael Harb El Khazen, 1787, oil on canvas, 100x70
cm, Latin inscription bottom.
'Michael Cazenus Archiep Cesariesis ei Vicarius Antiocensis Annum
1787'.
Church of Ram Bou-Daqn, Shayleh.
'Ram' in Aramaic means 'Place'. Bou-Daqn means in
colloquial Arabic 'the bearded one'. Dayr Ram Bou-Daqn, also called
Our Lady of Gifts, was founded around 1740. In 1796, it sheltered
a conclave of Bishops. It belongs to the Waqf of the El-Khazen
family, one of the 17th Century. (The Waqf is a religious or family
trust with special jurisdiction dating from Ottoman Empire).
Born in Ajaltoun, Mikhael Harb El Khazen was elected
Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine on November 15th 1767. He was
later appointed Bishop of Damascus. On July 17th 1779, he was
appointed Patriarchal Vicar by the Pope in the absence of Patriarch
Youssef Estephan who was implicated in religious intrigues. He
held this post until the return of the Patriarch on September
21st 1784. He died at the Convent of Ram Bou Daqn where he was
buried around 1787.
NB: This is one of the oldest dated paintings.
It must have been painted shortly after the death of the Archbishop.
It has been restored in London.
