Shatana Parish
Shatana is a small village with a population of approximately 150 and located about 70 kilometers from Amman. In 1865, Shatana was a small village with only one Greek Orthodox Church. There were three family groups in the village, the Qandah who were Latin Catholic, the Sawaqed who were Melkite and the Dahabeh who were Greek Orthodox. The Catholics wanted their own priest and church. However, the Latin Patriarch did not have enough priests at that time. Eventually, he managed to find a Maronite priest in Lebanon who was able to come to the village. He began by renting a small room, which was used as his living accommodation, church, and schoolroom. After a while, he acquired some land and built a small church.
Infrastructures of the Latin Patriarchate
Between 1921 and 1927 there were three schools in the village. By 1927 there were 28 pupils in the Latin school, the building continued to serve as a church, school, and priest’s house. Without furniture, the only table was used as an altar, then covered when the room was in use as the schoolroom. This continued until about 1932 when the priest acquired some land and began the construction of a small church. A house was built for the students with two classrooms underneath their living accommodations. Soon the numbers of children in the school declined and they had to travel to a Government School in nearby Husson. This created problems as the school in Shatana did not follow the same curriculum as Government schools. In 1972, it was necessary to close the school completely. Prior to immigration to Zarqa, the population of the village had been 600 to 800. Now it is only about 200 and all the children in the village go to schools in Husson.
