MONASTERY
Mar Behnam Monastery
Khidr Ilyas · Syriac Catholic
- Locality
- Khidr Ilyas
- Tradition
- Syriac Catholic
- Type of place
- MONASTERY
- Coordinates
- 36.13852° N, 43.40549° E
- Identity
- Matched to a public listing
A brief history
The Monastery of the Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah stands in the village of Khidr Ilyas, close to the town of Bakhdida in the Nineveh Plains. It was a Syriac Orthodox house until the nineteenth century and has been Syriac Catholic since. On 19 March 2015 the Islamic State heavily damaged the tomb of Mar Behnam and defaced the exterior murals across the monastery’s buildings. Repair work returning the monastery and the tomb to their earlier condition was completed by early December 2018.
Saints & traditions
The house carries two names, not one: Mar Behnam and his sister Marth Sarah are remembered together as martyrs, and the monastery is dedicated to both.