Saint Catherine Monastery
Set beneath the mountain where Moses is said lo have received the Ten Commandments.
Saint Catherine Monastery has been one of the world's great centers of religious pilgrimage for over fifteen centuries.
Within its imposing walls rests a citadel like no other, incredibly rich in important religious and historical structures. Among its treasures is a library of ancient manuscripts and icons second only to the Vatican.
The Monastery was named after
Saint Catherine who was tortured to death by her father. She succeeded in converting 50 of his followers to Christianity in 307 AD.
St. Catherine's has a rich history indeed. So rich that it is a sparkling example of an undiscovered jewel of travel. It has been called the oldest working Christian monastery and the smallest diocese in the world.
The Chapel of the Burning Bush was originally ordered built by Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, but the monastery itself was actually built by Emperor Justinian to protect the monks in the region and to honour the site of the Burning Bush. St. Catherine, whose body was reportedly carried away by angels, was discovered five hundred years later at the top of the peak that now bears her name. Her relics are stored in a marble reliquary in the Basilica.
Saint Catherine Monastery has been one of the world's great centers of religious pilgrimage for over fifteen centuries.
Within its imposing walls rests a citadel like no other, incredibly rich in important religious and historical structures. Among its treasures is a library of ancient manuscripts and icons second only to the Vatican.
The Monastery was named after
Saint Catherine who was tortured to death by her father. She succeeded in converting 50 of his followers to Christianity in 307 AD.
St. Catherine's has a rich history indeed. So rich that it is a sparkling example of an undiscovered jewel of travel. It has been called the oldest working Christian monastery and the smallest diocese in the world.
The Chapel of the Burning Bush was originally ordered built by Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, but the monastery itself was actually built by Emperor Justinian to protect the monks in the region and to honour the site of the Burning Bush. St. Catherine, whose body was reportedly carried away by angels, was discovered five hundred years later at the top of the peak that now bears her name. Her relics are stored in a marble reliquary in the Basilica.
Inside the monastery there is El-Mouta church "Church of the Dead". There are also 6 Wells, 4 springs and a large garden rich in fruit trees of different kinds.
Living amidst the isolation of the Sinai desert, St. Catherine's monks had plenty of time to develop their artistic talents, and no objects express their skill better than the thousands of icons they created through the centuries. For the monks, creating icons and mosaics was not only a pastime, but an integral part of expressing their devotion to God. Their efforts to this end were both beautifiil and extraordinarily prolific. Most of the icons native to St. Catherine were created between the tenth and fifteenth centuries, following a style which has come to be called the "Sinaitic School" of art. Rather than striving for realism, tlie imagery of this time period typically reflects a strong interest in the power of Sinai's biblical landscape. The school became so influential that many European artists incorporated elements of Sinai's mountainous terrain into their own compositions.
Though patronized during much of its history by the Russian Orthodox Church, it is now under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of its monks are also of Greek origin, though their ranks include an international flavour.
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