Beithabbak

Beithabbak (Aramaic-Syriac name), is a small village in the district of Byblos in Lebanon. It is located on a small hill, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) northwest from Byblos at an altitude of 540 metres (1,770 ft), just above Amsheet and Gherfine and before Abaidat.

Beit Habbak
Beit Habbak
Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 34°9′50″N 35°42′31″E
Country Lebanon
GovernorateMount Lebanon Governorate
DistrictByblos District
Beithabbak in Phoenician

History

The family's presence in Beithabbak dates from early times when their ancestors and their fathers established themselves. Six main families in the village of Abidaoud,[1] Ferjan, Akl, Osabios and Jbeili. The Sakr family recently immigrated from Ghalboun village. The Hobeika, Habbaki family and Azar families left Beithabbak sometimes in the early 17th century.

Other names include Beit Habbak, Habbaki, Habbak, Hebbaki, Hebbak, Hibbak, Hibbaki, Hbaika, Hbeiki, Hbeikati, Habbeikat, Hbbak, Hobeika.

Excavation

In 2019, Church of Apostles unearthed by El-araj excavations team during the fourth archaeological works at the site of Bethsaida-Julias, Beithabbak (El-Araj), near the Jordan River armlet, on the northern shore of Sea of Galilee. The excavation was carried out by Prof. Mordechai Aviam and Prof. R. Steven Notley. This Byzantine period church is believed to have been built over the house of apostle brothers named Peter and Andrew. Only the southern rooms of the church were excavated. A well-protected ornamental mosaic floor, glass tesserae gilded in gold and marble chancel, decorated with a wreath have been found in some of the excavated room.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

“We have a Roman village, in the village we have pottery, coins, also stone vessels which are typical of first century Jewish life, so now we strengthen our suggestion and identification that El-Araj is a much better candidate for Bethsaida than e-Tell,” said professor R. Steven Notley.[4]

Demography

There are 310 inhabitants in the village. The inhabitants are Maronite Christians. Some part of the population has emigrated to Latin America Brazil, France, Canada, Switzerland, Lithuania and United States. Many are currently resident in Canada and Brazil.

Schools

There is one school in the village, the Missionary Sisters of the Very Holy Sacrament school.[10]

Churches

There are Six chapels in the village:

  • Saint Antonio, a small grotto chapel located inside cliff monastery in the eastern part of the village.
  • Saint Mary, a small main church which can host 80 persons, located in the central square of the village.
  • Saint Sarkis a small chapel near village Christian events hall and cemetery.
  • Missionary Sisters of the Very Holy Sacrament Chapel located inside the school.
  • Saint Simon, a small grotto chapel located between Beithabbak and Abaidat inside cliff monastery
  • Akl family small private chapel built earlier by their member Bishop Akl.

The chapels of Saint Antonio and Saint Simon dates from the beginning of the 19th century. One can notice its small entrance doors which are typical of churches in the area. These were designed to prevent Ottoman cavaliers from bursting inside with their horses.

The priest responsible for the Beithabbak Churches is newly assigned Father by Bishop of Byblos, based in Amsheet.

See also

References
  1. http://surnames.behindthename.com/name/abidaoud/submitted
  2. "Elaraj". Elaraj. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  3. Criss, Doug (2019-07-31). "Archaeologists have searched for the Church of the Apostles for years. They say they've found it near the Sea of Galilee". CNN Travel. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  4. WEIZMAN, Stephen. "Ancient Galilee church unearthed, said to be home to apostles Peter and Andrew". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  5. Schuster, Ruth (2019-07-18). "Church of the Apostles Found by Sea of Galilee, Archaeologists Claim". Haaretz. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  6. Origins, Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian. "The Church of the Apostles Discovered at Bethsaida, Says CSAJCO". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  7. Rogers, James (2019-07-30). "Church of the Apostles discovered near Sea of Galilee, archaeologists say". Fox News. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  8. "The Church of the Apostles Discovered at Bethsaida, Says CSAJCO". www.abc-7.com. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  9. enquiries@thetablet.co.uk, The Tablet-w. "Church of the Apostles found, say archaeologists". The Tablet. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2016-01-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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