Saint Catherine's Monastery facts for kids
General view of Saint Catherine's Monastery, looking down from Mount Sinai
|
|
 Location in Sinai
Location in Egypt
|
|
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai Greek: Ιερά Αυτόνομος Βασιλική Μονή Αγίας Αικατερίνης του Αγίου και Θεοβαδίστου Όρους Σινά |
| Other names | Monastery of Saint Katherine Moni tis Agias Aikaterinis |
| Order | Church of Sinai |
| Denomination | Greek Orthodox Church |
| Established | AD 565 |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Justinian I |
| Site | |
| Location | Saint Catherine, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt |
| Country | Egypt |
| Coordinates | 28°33′20″N 33°58′34″E / 28.55556°N 33.97611°E |
| Visible remains | Catherine of Alexandria |
| Official name: Saint Catherine Area | |
| Type: | Cultural |
| Criteria: | i, iii, iv, vi |
| Designated: | 2002 (26th session) |
| Reference #: | 954 |
| Region: | Arab States |
Saint Catherine's Monastery is a very old Christian monastery in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is also known as the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai. This special place is found at the base of Mount Sinai. It was built between the years 548 and 565. It is known as the world's oldest Christian monastery that has been lived in without stopping.
The Byzantine emperor Justinian I ordered the monastery to be built. It was made to surround what many believe is the burning bush that Moses saw. Many years later, the body of Saint Catherine of Alexandria was supposedly found nearby. Her relics (holy remains) were brought to the monastery. This made it a very important place for pilgrimage (religious journeys). Because of this, the monastery was later named after Saint Catherine.
The monastery is run by the Church of Sinai, which is part of the larger Greek Orthodox Church. In 2002, UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site. This was because of its special importance to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
The monastery also has the world's oldest library that is still used today. It holds very rare books and writings, like the Codex Sinaiticus and the Syriac Sinaiticus. It also has a huge collection of early Christian icons (religious artworks). This includes the oldest known picture of Jesus as Christ Pantocrator (Jesus as the all-powerful ruler).
Saint Catherine's Monastery is surrounded by three mountains. These are Ras Sufsafeh (which might be the Biblical Mount Horeb), Jebel Arrenziyeb, and Mount Sinai (also called Jebel Musa).
Contents
Why is Saint Catherine's Monastery Important?
The monastery was built around a spot believed to be where the prophet Moses saw the burning bush. This is a very important story in the Bible. The monastery also has the "Well of Moses." People believe Moses met his future wife, Zipporah, at this well. This well still provides water for the monastery today. The site is considered holy by followers of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Many centuries after the monastery was founded, the body of Saint Catherine of Alexandria was said to be found. It was in a cave nearby. Saint Catherine was a very popular saint in Europe during the Middle Ages. Her story says she was sentenced to death for defending Christianity.
The holy remains of Saint Catherine are still kept inside the monastery. This has made it a favorite place for pilgrimage. The monastery's main celebration day is the Feast of the Transfiguration.
-
Saint Catherine's Monastery with Willow Peak (thought to be Mount Horeb) in the background.
-
The monastery's old bramble plant is believed to be the biblical burning bush.
-
The "Well of Moses", where Moses is said to have met his future wife, Zipporah.
-
The skeleton of the monk Stephanos, dressed in his robe, in front of the ossuary.
A Look at the Monastery's Past
The first written record of monks living at Mount Sinai comes from a travel diary. It was written in Latin by a pilgrim named Egeria around 381-386 AD.
Emperor Justinian I (who ruled from 527 to 565 AD) ordered the monastery to be built. It was built around the Chapel of the Burning Bush. This chapel was first ordered by Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. It was built at the spot where Moses supposedly saw the burning bush. The actual living bush on the monastery grounds is believed to be the one Moses saw. The roof of the monastery is very old. Its main support beam system is the oldest known surviving roof truss in the world.
_p057_MT._SINAI_OR_JEBEL_MUSA.jpg)
During the First Crusade, Crusaders were in the Sinai until 1270. This made European Christians more interested in the monastery. More brave pilgrims visited it. The monastery was supported by its other religious houses in places like Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. For a long time, the monastery had monks from many different backgrounds. These included Arab, Greek, Syrian, Slavonic, and Georgian monks.
A mosque was built inside the monastery during the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171). It was made from an existing chapel. This mosque was used regularly until the 13th century. It is still used today for special events. During the Ottoman Empire, the mosque was in bad shape. It was fixed up in the early 1900s.
In the seventh century, Christian hermits living alone in the Sinai were removed. Only the strong, fortified monastery remained. The monastery is surrounded by huge walls that have protected it. Until the 1900s, people could only get in through a door high up in the outer walls.
On April 18, 2017, there was an attack by the Islamic State group. It happened at a checkpoint near the Monastery. One police officer was killed, and three were hurt.
Amazing Books and Artworks
The library at Saint Catherine's Monastery was started between 548 and 565 AD. It is the oldest library in the world that has been used continuously. This monastery library has the second largest collection of old books and manuscripts (handwritten texts) in the world. Only the Vatican Library has more. It contains books in many languages, including Greek, Syriac, Arabic, and Latin. It also has very rare Hebrew and Coptic books.
In the 1800s, a researcher named Constantin von Tischendorf visited the monastery. In 1859, he found the Codex Sinaiticus. This book dates back to the 4th century. At the time, it was the oldest almost complete copy of the Bible. This important book left the monastery for Russia. In 1933, it was sold to the British Museum and is now in the British Library in London. In 2009, a new piece of the Codex Sinaiticus was found in the monastery's library.
In 1892, Agnes S. Lewis found a very old palimpsest manuscript of the Gospel (part of the Bible). It is now known as the Syriac Sinaiticus and is still at the monastery. A palimpsest is a manuscript where the original writing was erased, and new writing was put on top.
The monastery also has a copy of the Ashtiname of Muhammad. This document is said to be a promise from the Islamic prophet Muhammad to protect the monastery.
Most of the important manuscripts have been filmed or digitized. This means scholars can now study them easily. The library was greatly improved and reopened at the end of 2017.
Uncovering Hidden Texts: The Sinai Palimpsests Project
Since 2011, a group of scientists and experts have been working on the Sinai Palimpsests Project. They photograph and study the library's collection of palimpsests.
Palimpsests are special because their parchment (animal skin used for writing) was reused. Since parchment was expensive, monks would erase old texts. They used things like orange juice or scraped the surface. They then wrote new texts over the old ones. People once thought the original texts were lost forever. But scientists now use special imaging tools. These tools can show faint ink marks and tiny grooves on the parchment. These images are now available online for researchers.
By June 2018, over 160 palimpsests were found. More than 6,800 pages of hidden texts were recovered. Some new finds were discovered in a hidden storage area in 1975. These finds include old Greek poems and the oldest known recipe by the Greek doctor Hippocrates. They also found more parts of the Old Syriac Gospels. Some texts are in languages that were almost lost, like Caucasian Albanian.
Art Treasures of the Monastery
The monastery holds priceless works of art. These include mosaics and the best collection of early icons in the world. Many of these icons are made with encaustic, a painting method using hot wax. There are also many religious objects, cups, and containers for holy relics. The church buildings themselves are also works of art. The large icon collection includes some from the 5th and 6th centuries. These are very rare because the monastery was never attacked or looted. It was also not affected by Byzantine iconoclasm, a time when many religious images were destroyed. The oldest icon showing a scene from the Old Testament is also here.
Iconic Artworks
-
Saint Peter shown in a 6th-century hot wax icon.
-
An icon from the 6th century showing the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus with saints and angels.
-
The oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator, painted with hot wax on a panel.
-
The Last Judgement, from the 11th-12th century, by John Tokhabi.
-
A 13th-century icon showing the Crucifixion.
-
The Holy Doors.
-
Madonna and Child, from the 13th century.
-
A 13th-century Byzantine icon of Saint Michael the Archangel.
-
The Transfiguration, from the 12th century.
-
The Ladder of Divine Ascent icon.
-
An icon of Emperor John VIII Palaiologos.
-
An icon of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
-
An 18th-century icon of the monastery.
-
Christ as the Ancient of Days, from the 7th century.
-
A 12th-century icon of Saint George and David IV of Georgia.
.jpg)
Historical Images
-
An image by Carsten Niebuhr from 1762.
-
A drawing from Description de l'Égypte (1809).
-
A painting by David Roberts (1839).
-
An image by Ernst Keil from 1861.
-
A painting by Adolf Meckel von Hemsbach (1892).
.jpeg)
_b_060.jpg)
Panoramic View
More to Explore
In Spanish: Monasterio de Santa Catalina del Monte Sinaí para niños
- Archbishop of Mount Sinai and Raithu
- Ashtiname of Muhammad
- Codex Sinaiticus
- Desert fathers
- Ladder of Divine Ascent
- Oldest churches in the world
- Syriac Sinaiticus
