Mar Behnam Monastery

Saint Behnam Monastery
Entrance of the monastery
Shown within Iraq
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	36°08′16″N 43°24′23″E / 36.137778°N 43.406389°E / 36.137778; 43.406389Coordinates: 36°08′16″N 43°24′23″E / 36.137778°N 43.406389°E / 36.137778; 43.406389
Affiliation	Syriac Catholic
Architectural description
Completed	4th century

Monastery of the Martyrs Saint Behnam and his Sister Sarah (Syriac: ܕܝܪܐ ܪܡܪܝ ܒܗܢܡ ܘܡܪܬ ܣܪܐ), is a Syriac Catholic monastery in northern Iraq close to the town of Bakhdida.

The monastery was built in the 4rd century A.D. at the hands of an Assyrian king named Senchareb as a penance for killing his son Behnam and daughter Sarah after they converted to Christianity at the hands of Mar Mattai.^[1]

The monastery belonged to the Church of the East for at least 10 centuries attested by rare Turkic inscriptions from the 13th century left by Mongol pilgrims. before turning to the hand of the Syriac Orthodox Church when the whole region converted to Monophysitism and the monastery became the residence as well as the resting place of a number Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs.^[2]

The monks of the monastery established contact with Rome in the 18th century, which led to the gradual conversion of inhabitants of Bakhdida to the Syriac Catholic Church.^[2]

The monastery was renovated in 1986, and is visited by thousands of Christians and Muslims yearly.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} بهنام وسارة, الصرح والتاريخ, Bakhdida.com (Arabic)
2. ^ ^{a b} دير مار بهنام الشهيد في مدينة الموصل بالعراق, CopticCatholic.com (Arabic)