by
Charles Clermont-Ganneau Byzantine establishment The church of Saint George was first established in Lod by the
Byzantines and stood in the 5th-7th centuries. It was probably shaped as a
basilica whose three aisles terminated at the east end in semi-circular
apses. Beside the basilica, the complex also contained a second, smaller church, to its southwest.
Crusader cathedral The
Crusaders established their cathedral at the exact site of the medieval Byzantine church, reusing some of its surviving masonry, and having the same internal measurements of east to west, and north to south. The three-aisled basilica also terminated in three semi-circular apses, with the second of five
bays forming the
transept. In 1177, a detachment of
Saladin's army attacked the town and the inhabitants survived by taking refuge on the roof of the fortified church, which seems to indicate that by this time it had a stone roof.
Mamluk mosque During the Mamluk period, the ruined western part of the Crusader church was converted into a congregational mosque, the earliest mention of which comes from the early 15th century.
19th-century church The current Church of St. George incorporates only the northeast corner of the original site. During the second part of the nineteenth century, the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem received permission from the
Ottoman authorities to build a church on the site of the medieval ruins. The 19th-century church was built over the remains of the 12th-century Crusader structure, occupying the east end of its
nave and northern aisle, from which the corresponding two apses survive. The southern part of the Crusader church dictated the shape of the mosque courtyard.. The church crypt contains a
sarcophagus venerated as a symbolic tomb of St George. ==Gallery==