Saint Nicholas Monastery, Jaffa

Saint Nicholas Monastery (Armenian: Սուրբ Նիկողայոս Վանք Հայոց, Hebrew: מנזר ניקולאס הקדוש‎) is an Armenian monastery built in the first millennium AD. Located in the old city of Jaffa, Israel, near the harbour of that ancient Mediterranean port city, the monastery consists of a large multi-story complex that includes an Armenian church and living quarters. The monastery is under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem who rents out parts of the complex for residential and commercial purposes.

Saint Nicholas Monastery
Սուրբ Նիկողայոս Վանք Հայոց
מנזר ניקולאס הקדוש
Entrance to Saint Nicholas Monastery
Religion
AffiliationArmenian Apostolic Church
Location
LocationJaffa, Israel
Architecture
StyleArmenian

The monastery is the setting of the Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa painting by Antoine-Jean Gros depicting Napoleon visiting his sick soldiers in the monastery's courtyard.[1]

History

Founded before AD 1000, the monastery was named for Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The church gave shelter to pilgrims and seamen looking for a rest on their journey for many centuries. In the 18th century, the monastery was expanded and fortified.[2]

During the Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt, the French army requested the aid of the Armenian priests at the monastery. The clerics used their secret medicines to cure some of the soldiers. Napoleon personally thanked the Armenian patriarch and gifted him with his own tent and sword. His visit to the monastery was depicted in the Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa painting by Antoine-Jean Gros.[2]

References
  1. Zafran, Eric; Resendez, Sydney (1998). French Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Artists born before 1790. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Boston. p. 189. ISBN 0878464611.
  2. "Почему Наполеон просил помощи у армянского патриарха в Яффо?". Armeniasputnik.am (in Russian). 24 June 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
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