Hajjeh, Lebanon

Hajjeh
Municipality
الحجة
Hajjeh Location in Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°28′41.4″N 35°22′51.5″E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	South Governorate
District	Sidon
Area
• Total	270 ha (670 acres)
Elevation	90 m (300 ft)
• Summer (DST)	EET

Hajjeh (Arabic: الحجة, also transliterated Hajje, Hajjeh, al-Hejjeh, al-Hijjeh, Alhaja, Hadja[1]) is a municipality located at the Zahrani River in the Sidon District (Saida Caza) of the South Governorate in Lebanon, about 56 kilometers South of the national capital Beirut.[2]

History

In 1875 Victor Guérin found the village to be located on the southern part of a valley, and inhabited by 350 Maronites.[3]

In June 2003, Chucrallah-Nabil El-Hage - who was born in Hajjeh in 1943 - was elected Archbishop of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre. In September of that year he was confirmed by the Holy See and his ordaination took place on 29 November 2003.[4]

In the July 2006 Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah the town bridge was destroyed in bombardments by the Israeli Air Force (IAF).[5]

In November 2020, the Synod of Bishops of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch announced that it accepted El-Hage's age-related resignation and that it had elected Charbel Abdallah as his successor. Abdallah was born in 1967 and hails from Hajjeh as well.[6]

Demographics

In 2014 Christians made up 96.26% of registered voters in Hajjeh. 89% of the voters were Maronite Catholics.[7]

Notable people

• Chucrallah-Nabil El-Hage (b. 1943)
• Maroun Ammar (b. 1956)
• Charbel Abdallah (b. 1967)

References

1. Arkin, William M. (2011). Divining Victory: Airpower in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-1105051470.
2. Localiban. "Hajjeh - Localiban". www.localiban.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
3. Guérin, 1880, p. 517
4. "Archbishop Chucrallah-Nabil El-Hage [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
5. Khoury, Ricardo (2007). Lebanon Rapid Environmental Assessment for Greening Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform - 2006 (PDF). Beirut: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lebanon. p. 111.
6. "From the Oriental Churches". press.vatican.va. Holy See Press Office. November 1, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
7. "التوزيع حسب المذاهب للناخبين/ناخبات في بلدة الحجة، قضاء صيدا (قرى) محافظة الجنوب في لبنان". إعْرَفْ لبنان.

Bibliography

• Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.