SW News: In civil war-torn Syria, the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church His Beatitude Mor Ignatius Aphrem II blessed a new shrine dedicated to the holy girdle (Zunoro) of the Blessed Mother at the historic Umm al-Zinar Cathedral in the city of Homs last week. The head of the Church stressed the historic and spiritual significance of the holy relic enshrined in the cathedral, which itself is of great antiquity.

The ceremony was conducted in the presence of prelates, priests and the faithful. Patriarch Aphrem II also recited a special prayer to the Holy Virgin seeking her protection and heavenly graces on all present. On the following day after the blessing of the chapel, the patriarch held a Divine Liturgy in the cathedral. During the homily, he spoke about the Assumption of the Blessed Mother and sought her prayers to bring an end to the wars afflicting the world. After the Liturgy, he blessed grapes to be given to the believers present as a sign of benediction.

Although the cathedral dates back to the nineteenth century, its location has been a site of worship by ancient Christians from AD 59 onwards, say historians and local tradition. During the fighting between insurgents and government troops in 2012, this cathedral sustained damage.

The sacred Zunoro, as per tradition, was gifted to St Thomas the Apostle by the Virgin herself as she was being taken into heaven. It is said that St Thomas was late in arriving in Jerusalem from India to partake in the funeral of the Holy Mother. Upon finding the empty grave, he prayed to Her to give him a sign that She was assumed into heaven both body and soul. It was then that the saint received the sacred girdle, which he took with him back to India.

Later, in 394 AD, the holy girdle was brought to Uraha in modern-day Turkey and later taken to Homs. There, it was enshrined in the St Mary's Church of the Holy Zunoro. Centuries later, the whereabouts of the holy relic became unknown. On July 20, 1953, the then patriarch His Beatitude Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum discovered the reliquary containing the girdle from an altar in the church in the presence of Bishop Alexandros of the Greek Orthodox Church. Portions of it were later sent to different Syriac churches around the globe.