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Origin and history

The Saint John the Theology Chapel, also known as the Maladière Chapel, is a religious building located in Dijon, Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Originally, it was part of a leprosy built before the 12th century, transformed into a 13th century farmhouse. The site, located outside the city walls on the road to Ruffey-lès-Echirey, housed a church dedicated to Saint Lazarus, Saint Martha and Saint Mary of Bethany, protectors of the sick. The nave of the medieval church was destroyed in the 18th century, leaving only the choir and transept, now integrated into the present chapel.

Leprosy, founded in the 12th century, reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, also serving as a refuge for pestifers. In 1512, during the siege of Dijon by the Swiss, the maladier was demolished by order of the governor, with the exception of the chapel. It was attached to the General Hospital in 1696. In the 14th century, the home of the sick, originally made up of huts, was replaced by a hard-walled building, including a wing reserved for the sick. The adjacent farm included a barn, a sheepfold and a hall. The chapel, in Romanesque style, preserves elements such as the interior cornice and the bases of the pilasters of the transept.

Since 1977, the chapel has belonged to the Coptic Orthodox community, which celebrates the liturgy of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. The monument, listed as a historical monument in 1947, houses a bell from the Saint Nicholas Tower. Its architecture combines medieval remains (chœur, transept, bell tower) and later additions, such as an 18th century wooden barn. The site, owned by the city since 1935, bears witness to the hospital and religious history of Dijon, from the lepers of the Middle Ages to the faithful Coptic contemporaries.

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