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Kadisha Valley |
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To make a Journey into Biblical
history, there is no place like Lebanon. Land of Amber and incense ; |
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It is the Holy Valley which
lies along 35 km; from the Cedars of the Lord to Tripoli. It was the refuge of
the Maronites who came in the Middle of the VIIth century and lived all
together, the Patriarch, the monks, the hermits, the people and the churches.
Everything in the Valley, recalls the struggle for the safeguard of the faith.
Before the Maronites came, the convent of Cannoubine was, in the VIth century,
a place where the hermits used to meet before they go to live in seclusion. It
was Theodore the Great (379-395) who founded this convent, and dedicated it to
the care of the Virgin Mary. The word Cannoubine is of a Greek origin and means
community life. |
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Cannoubine remained during four
centuries, the vivid center of the maronite community. The cells are graved in
the rocks and its church is under the patronage of the Virgin Mary as it was
since its foundation. We can find there icons of the XVth and XVIth centuries
and documents written in Syriac and Latin. |
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The Kadisha Valley includes
also the convent of St. Antoine Kozhaya which dates back to the XIIth century.
It is protected by the angels of the heavens. The turkish soldiers pillaged it
in 1866 and took all its possessions. However, we can find there some sacred
vestments weaved in golden and silver thread, a precious crozier and a mass
paten offered by the kings of France. We can read on the Paten the following
inscription: Offered to the convent of Kozhaya in 1100. The convent was
restored in 1926, just near the caves where the hermits lived. The church is
hewed out of the rock. |
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In this Valley the first printing machine in Lebanon was installed on 1610. |
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