Nestled into a labyrinthine corner of Sidon’s Old Souk district, is one of the region’s oldest churches. Saint Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church stands strong still, a testament to the region’s waves and upsurges of history, conquests and golden epochs. Built in the eight century AD, the Church is located on the very spot where, according to the Bible (Gospel 27.3), Saint Paul and Saint Peter met King Julius in 58 AD, who then offered Peter friendship and protection during his sermonic tour of Antakya. A room at the entrance of the Church, just to your immediate right, bears witness to the historic event, highlighting a series of now defunct underground tunnels used by worshippers escaping rampant Roman persecution.

With centuries now placed behind it, the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was looking to revive its depleted structure with work done to rehabilitate the overall walls and façade, offering parishioners more comfort in times of ceremony and prayer.

“As you can imagine the Church was in dire need of restoration,” says Father Joseph El Khoury leading the way into the main hall. “It suffered from damp caused by humidity which was our main problem since it was eating into the walls, the pews and even the pulpit and icons,” he continues emphatically. Father Joseph has served the Sidon parish for close to seven years, a time which saw many pledges but no actual real-time donations. “This is when we approached the Jean & Charlotte Sarraf Foundation and, thankfully, work on the Church began almost immediately.”

Founded with the premise and promise of an expanded welfare relief effort, the Jean & Charlotte Sarraf Foundation (JCSF) runs dedicated education and health programs to help those most in need. Moreover, the restoration of the Saint Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church in Sidon is one of many concurrent projects to preserve Lebanon’s historic and religious sites.

To the naked eye and to those with a keen imagination, the walls of the Church still look very old. During the restoration process, careful attention was paid to inlaying large rocks into a mosaic pattern in order to preserve its original age-old feel. The arches now stand prouder and the new pews are altogether more inviting to worshippers. In a nod to modern technology, a series of dehumidifiers have been placed in strategic areas to expel traces of humidity in the enclosed space. With stonemasonry on the premises complete, the master-builder moved onto unifying the overlook appearance of the Church inside and out.

The renovations were unveiled in a mass conducted by Bishop Elias Kfoury, Greek-Orthodox Metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and surrounding areas, on Saint Nicolas Day on December 6, 2009; and which included the honoring of former Deputy Prime Minister General Issam Abou Jamra, Jacques Jean Sarraf, Chairman of Malia Group, and the family of the late Roger Tabet, Vice President for Malia Group and General Manager of the JCSF for their contributions in rehabilitating the Church.

“The Church took just over a year to complete,” explains Father Joseph, rounding off the tour with a walk through the meandering Souk, “but the positive effect it has on the parishioners and worshippers is, all in all, timeless,” he concludes.