Our Lady of Saidnaya

Marian vocation of Saidnaya (Syria)

La tradition places the origin of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Saidnaya (Sednaya) in the times of the emperor Justiniano I (6th century). According to legend, during a hunt towards the year 547the emperor would have been lost in the mountains near Damascus and, on the brink of death by thirst, a gacela I would have guided him to a source where he saved his life. Later, the Virgin would have appeared to her in dreams, indicating the exact place and the form of the monastery she was to build in her honor. For this reason, the sanctuary would have received the title "Our Lady of the Hunt" in some devout versions.

Main data

Origin and history

La tradition places the origin of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Saidnaya (Sednaya) in the times of the emperor Justiniano I (6th century). According to legend, during a hunt towards the year 547the emperor would have been lost in the mountains near Damascus and, on the brink of death by thirst, a gacela I would have guided him to a source where he saved his life. Later, the Virgin would have appeared to her in dreams, indicating the exact place and the form of the monastery she was to build in her honor. For this reason, the sanctuary would have received the title "Our Lady of the Hunt" in some devout versions.

From the perspective of the documented history, el Monastery of Our Lady of Sednaya is recognized as one of the oldest Marian shrines in the East, founded in the 6th century and traditionally dated in 547 d.C., during the reign of Justinian, data repeated by various historical and outreach sources. It is located in the city of Sednaya, about 30-35 km north of Damascus, in a region where the use of Aramaic is still preserved. In the time of the Crusades, the sanctuary became one of the most important pilgrimage centers in the East after Jerusalem, famous for the miracles associated with the image of the Virgin.

The monastery has remained in the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and is attended by a community of nuns. It has been a meeting place for Christians of various faiths and also for Muslims who come to venerate Mary. During the Syrian war, especially since 2011, the area suffered the effects of the conflict and various sources point to serious damage to the monastic complex and its surroundings; some testimonies speak of partial destruction of the sanctuary by jihadist groups, although the monastery continues to stand and active as a place of worship.

The image and the sanctuary

Devotion focuses on a Marian icon preserved in the monastery, traditionally attributed to Xingelist Luke. This icon is considered one of the few "lucan" portraits of the Virgin venerated in the East and is recognized as a miraculous character. The main iconography is that of the Virgin with the Childand several ancient sources mention that it would be a representation of the Infant Virginwhich was why many mothers, Christians and Muslims, came to pray for the health and food of their children. The memory of a size or an icon of wood from the 11th century, from Constantinople, is also preserved, especially venerated in the times of the Crusades.

The main sanctuary is the Monastery of Our Lady of Sednaya (en arameo, Seyda Naya, "Our Lady"), a great fortified convent located on the top of the hill that dominates the city. The monastic church houses the chapel where the main icon is venerated, along with other ancient icons, some attributed to the V and VII centuries. The complex is part of an important religious complex, with other monasteries and churches in the area (such as the Sofia and Sherobim convents), which highlight the antiquity of the local monastic tradition. It is not known that the monastery has the title of minor basilica nor a formal declaration as a national sanctuary in Catholic key; it is a Orthodox monastery of great historical and spiritual prestige, recognized de facto as a Marian sanctuary of Pan-Eastern relevance.

Sponsorship and coronation

Sednaya is considered one of the most famous Christian cities in Syriaand the monastery of Our Lady of Sednaya functions in fact as principal Marian shrine of the region, with irradiation throughout the country. The very name of the town -Sednaya, of Seyda Naya, "Our Lady" - reflects the Marian patronage of the city and its inhabitants. Various sources describe the monastery as one of the main Christian pilgrimage centers in Syria and the Middle East.

As for a canonical coronation in the Roman Catholic style, does not contain a documented canonical coronation of the icon or image of Our Lady of Saidnaya by a Pontiff or a delegate of the Holy See. Since it is a sanctuary of the Greek-Orthodox Orthodox rite of Antioch, the tradition of canonical coronations according to Latin canon law is not part of its devotional history, although it is imposed the maximum liturgical and popular veneration in the Orthodox field.

Party and devotion

The main day of pilgrimage in the sanctuary is the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, el September 8when many faithful come to the monastery to participate in liturgical celebrations and various devotional practices. It is traditionally considered that around that date the influx of pilgrims makes Sednaya one of the most popular spiritual centers in Syria, with the presence of Christians of various rites (Orthodox, Catholic, Syriac, etc.) and also of Muslims who venerate Mary as the mother of Jesus.

The devotion to Our Lady of Saidnaya is characterized by a strong dimension of intercession for healthespecially children and mothers, as well as the of protection and peace in the midst of the political and military difficulties of the country. The accounts of miracles and cures associated with the icon contributed from the Middle Ages to the fame of the sanctuary, to the point of being considered the most important Marian pilgrimage center of the Christian East after Jerusalem. The, called in French by the Crusaders, "Notre Dame de Sardeneye" appears in chronicles and legends of medieval pilgrims, who spread their prestige in the West.

Link to the Rosary

No consta una specific historical link of the advocation of Our Lady of Saidnaya with the prayer of Rosary in the Latin sense, both for the geographical context (Syria) and for the belonging of the sanctuary to the Orthodox traditionin which the Rosary, as it is prayed in the Roman Catholic Church, is not a practice of its own. In the eastern context, Marian prayer is most often expressed by hymns, akatystos, paraklesis and the repetition of invocation such as the "Hail Mary" and the prayer of Jesus, with the use of the komboskini or prayer rope.

However, from a Marian Catholic perspective, the Rosary can be a privileged way of unirse espiritualmente to the faith of the Christians of Saidnaya and to intercede for the peace in Syria and throughout the Middle East. By contemplating in the mysteries of the Rosary the Incarnation, the Cross and the Resurrection, Marian devotion in the West enters into deep harmony with secular veneration to the Mother of God in this eastern sanctuary, considered one of the oldest dedicated to the Virgin. Thus, the prayer of the Rosary can accompany and support the memory of Our Lady of Saidnaya, offering a chain of continuous prayer for the persecuted Christian communities and for the coexistence between Christians and Muslims that this sanctuary has historically symbolized.