Saint Georgios Orthodox Cathedral
Saint Georgios Orthodox Cathedral is the largest historic church in Tripoli and an important example of nineteenth-century sacred architecture. It stands in the Christian quarter of Dabbagha, near Al Kanaes—Churches Street—at the meeting point of the old and newer parts of the city. Its importance within the Orthodox community has been compared with that of the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus, the seat of the patriarchate.
Construction began in 1863 and lasted ten years. An inscription above the doorway records the foundation and the name Sophronius.
Two side entrances and internal stairways lead to the upper gallery, which rests above the arches and overlooks the main hall. This level was historically used by women when men and women occupied separate areas during worship.
Inside, icons, carved woodwork and decorative details give the cathedral its character. Two distinctive wooden chairs, placed on the right and left, were reserved for the Russian and Greek consuls and recall the community’s ties with those churches.
The iconostasis was originally wooden. In 1900 it was replaced with Italian marble. A local tradition recounts how young men formed a line stretching approximately four kilometers from the port to the cathedral, passing the pieces of marble from hand to hand to bring them to the site.
The icons are arranged in two tiers. The large lower icons date to the cathedral’s foundation, and each carries the name of the Tripolitan family that donated it. Smaller icons in the upper tier were a gift from the Russian Church. Behind the iconostasis are three sanctuaries, an arrangement that emphasizes the cathedral’s considerable scale.
