When Bishop Neophytos Nasri al-Halabi publicly declared his adherence to the Catholic faith in Saydnaya, he became the target of Orthodox persecution. He was therefore forced to flee his episcopal seat and sought refuge in Lebanon in 1728. He settled near the village of Rechmaya, where he purchased a plot of land and built several rooms. Shortly thereafter, he traveled to Rome, leaving the monastery under the care of the Assyrian monastic order.
However, through the efforts of Patriarch Cyril Tanas and the members of the Melkite community in Rechmaya, and with the support of the Salvatorian monks, the Monastery of Saint Elias was returned to the monks of Deir al-Mukhallis in 1735.
In 1778, the main church of the monastery was built. It later witnessed the convening of the ecclesiastical synod in 1794, during which Cyril Siaj al-Mukhallisi was elected Patriarch of the Catholic community.
Today, the monastery consists of two floors, alongside a church built of gray stone blocks.
The Monastery of Saint Elias witnessed the earliest synodal assemblies, prior to the conversion of the Ain Traz school into a Catholic Patriarchal seat.
During the civil war, the monastery was burned. Subsequently, the Salvatorian Order undertook its restoration using the original stones, thereby preserving its architectural form and historic character.