Church of Saint George, Lod


Church of Saint George is one of the two major shrines for the fourth-century Christian martyr Saint George. The church is located in Lod, Israel. The current church, built in 1870, shares space with the El-Khidr Mosque.

History

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem received permission from the Ottoman authorities to build a church on the site of a previous basilica. The church is built over a ruined 12th-century Crusader structure, and occupies the north end of the nave and left-hand aisle of the earlier church, from which two apses survive - which, contrary to the normal rule, face north rather than east.
The Ottoman authorities stipulated, that part of the plot be made available for a mosque. Mosque far older than rebuilt 19th century Greek church, is Mamluk from 14th century. Consequently, the current Church of St. George incorporates only the northeast corner of the Byzantine basilica. The remains of the Byzantine basilica including its are incorporated into the mosque; the Crusader church took a different, if adjacent, location. Some of it, too, is part of the mosque complex. The prayer hall of the adjacent mosque contains a column that once stood in the nave of the basilica.
The church crypt contains the sarcophagus of St George.

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