Chapel of Ananias
كنيسة حنانيا
An underground chapel in the Christian quarter of Bab Touma, believed to be the site of the house of Ananias, who restored the Apostle Paul's sight and baptized him.
The Chapel of Ananias sits at the heart of the historic Christian quarter of Bab Touma in the Old City of Damascus, a small chapel several meters below the current street level, reflecting the cumulative rise in the city's ground level over thousands of years of repeated rebuilding atop older ruins.
The site is believed to have been the house of Ananias, one of the earliest followers of Christ in Damascus, who -- according to the account in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9 -- responded to a divine vision and went to lay his hands on Paul of Tarsus (who had been temporarily blinded after seeing a light from heaven on his way to Damascus). Paul then regained his sight and was baptized by Ananias, beginning from that moment his journey as one of history's most important preachers of Christianity.
Over the centuries the site was converted into a small chapel that retains its simple, spiritual character, containing an altar and wall paintings depicting the story of Paul and Ananias, and it draws large numbers of Christian pilgrims and visitors from around the world as part of the Christian pilgrimage route in Damascus.
The Chapel of Ananias is one of the oldest continuously used Christian worship sites in the world, and a living witness to the deep Christian roots of Damascus since the dawn of Christianity.
For the visitor
Location: 33.5114, 36.3175 · Open on the map
Photos: Frank Kidner — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
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