The Metropolis of Byblos, Botris, and Mount Lebanon (Patriarchate of Antioch) has published a commemorative album dedicated to Saint Sofian of Antim, who painted the Church of Saint George at Deir el-Harf Monastery, near Broummana in eastern Lebanon.
The volume, printed in English, includes previously unpublished photographs of Saint Sofian of Antim and serves as a bridge between Romanian Orthodoxy and that of Lebanon.
Its contents include short biographies of Metropolitans Silouan (Moussi) and George (Khodr) — the current and former hierarchs of the Metropolis — a brief biography of Saint Sofian, the testimony of his Lebanese disciple, Father Daniel Bedran, and presentations of Deir el-Harf Monastery and the church in Broummana.
“This volume is a humble offering presented by His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan of Byblos, Botris, and Mount Lebanon of the Patriarchate of Antioch, to celebrate the canonisation that will take place in Bucharest on Tuesday, September 16, 2025,” the authors state in the preface.
“It is also a way to honour his artistic and spiritual legacy in Lebanon, where he left a lasting mark during his short but fruitful stay.”
In the 1970s, Saint Sofian, along with his disciple Father Daniel Bedran and the Morosan brothers, painted several churches and monasteries — among them two sacred sites in Lebanon: the church of Deir el-Harf Monastery and Saint George Church in Broummana (Mount Lebanon).
The frescoes at Deir el-Harf, painted in 1971–1972, were damaged during the Lebanese Civil War but restored in 1991 by Saint Sofian himself. According to the album, he revived Byzantine iconographic art, which had not been practised in the East for centuries.
“Preserving the great Byzantine tradition, his style shows a highly inventive spirit, with compositions displaying a particularly modern sensitivity. For a time, these frescoes were the only contemporary examples of mural iconography in the Near East,” the Metropolis representatives state.
“His presence in our country, though brief, was lasting. He left behind not only icons on walls but also impressions on souls — especially among the monks, priests, and faithful who served or worshiped in the churches he adorned,” wrote Metropolitan Silouan of Byblos, Botris, and Mount Lebanon in the album’s afterword.
The digital version of the album is available for download here.
Saint Sofian of Antim was canonised in 2024 by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, together with 15 other confessors and ascetics of the communist period. His local proclamation of canonisation took place on his feast day, Tuesday, September 16, 2025.
The year 2025 has been declared the Solemn Year of the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate.
Photo: Metropolis of Byblos, Botris and Mount Lebanon
