Located at the foot of
Mount Moses, St. Catherine's Monastery was constructed by order of the
Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565. It is built around what is
thought to be Moses' Burning Bush, which has a chapel built atop it. It is a
spectacular natural setting for priceless works of art, including Arab mosaics,
Greek and Russian icons, Western oil paintings, paintings on wax, fine
sacerdotal ornaments, marbles, enamels, chalices, reliquaries, including one
donated by Czar Alexander II in the 19th century, and another by Empress
Catherine of Russia in the 17th century. But of perhaps even greater
significance is that it is one of the largest and most important
collection of illuminated manuscripts in the world (The Vatican has the
largest). The collection consists of some 4,500 volumes in Greek, Coptic,
Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian and other languages.
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 honor 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.
St. Catherine's is also a
formidable fortification, with granite walls measuring 8 to 35 meters tall,
surrounded by gardens and cypresses. Prior to probably the twentieth century,
the only entrance to St. Catherine's was a small door 30 feet high, where
provisions and people were lifted with a system of pulleys, and where food was
often lowered to nomads. It has withstood numerous attacks over its 14 hundred
year existence, thus protecting a rich store of art. Today, while it is one of
the oldest monasteries in the world, its original, preserved state is
unmatched.
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
flavor.