The Monastery of Saint John the Baptist of Hrach: Two Syriac Epigraphs

The 17th century monastery of Saint John the Baptist of Hrach 
was the first convent for nuns in Kesrouan. It was custom among 
the Syriac Maronites to have monasteries for religious men and 
women combined. After the Council of Louaizé in 1736 [1] 
convents and monasteries for monks would become separated. 
The monastery of Saint John the Baptist of Hrach however, since 
its foundation, was exclusively reserved for nuns.
In 17th century Kesrouan, it was also custom for churches and 
monasteries to be founded by feudal families such as the Khazen 
[2]. This was not the case for Saint John the Baptist of Hrach, 
established on land bought by Bishop Joseph of Aqoura in 1642 
[3]. After his election to the patriarchate in 1644, he built the 
monastery on this land and it was inaugurated in 1647. Instead of 
residing in the North at the patriarchal seat of Our Lady of 
Cannobin, he preferred to settle in the Kesrouan region, which 
was in full Christian expansion at the time. He made the 
monastery of Saint John the Baptist of Hrach his patriarchal 
residence and resided there until his death in 1648. He even 
convened a Syriac Maronite synod there on December 5, 1644 
[4]. From then on, the name of this monastery was intricately 
linked to that of patriarch Joseph Peter of Aqoura or Yaoseph 
Petros Ainqouroyo, as evidenced by the two Syriac inscriptions 
engraved on stone and the numerous documents found in the 
monastery.