NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

Saint Catherine's Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai, in Egypt is probably the oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. st. ... st. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Monastery of St. ... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ...

History

The monastery was built by order of the Emperor Justinian I between 527 and 565 enclosing the Chapel of the Burning Bush ordered built by Helena, the mother of Constantine I, at the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the burning bush; the living bush on the grounds is purportedly the original. The site is sacred to three major world religions - Islam , Christianity, and Judaism. Justinian I depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale. ... This article is about the year. ... Events January 22 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. ... st Helena was a great gal she was really great ... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272â€“May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... Moses or MÃ³she (×žÖ¹×©Ö¶××”, Standard Hebrew, Tiberian Hebrew MÅÅ¡eh, Arabic Ù…ÙˆØ³Ù‰ MÅ«sa, Geez áˆ™áˆ´ Musse) is a legendary Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian, and also one of the greatest figures in Jewish history. ... Burning bush at St. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ...

Though it is commonly known as Saint Catherine's, the actual name of the monastery is the Monastery of the Transfiguration. The site was associated with St. Catherine of Alexandria (whose relics were purported to have been miraculously transported there) and it became a favourite site for pilgrimages. The word Transfiguration means a changing of appearance or form. ... Saint Catherine of Alexandria, known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine (Greek ) is a figure claimed to have been a noted scholar in the early 4th Century who, at the age of only 18, is said to have visited the Emperor Maxentius and to... Pilgrim at Mecca A pilgrimage is a term primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search of great moral significance. ...

According to a document in the possession of the monastery purportedly signed by Mohammed himself, Mohammed gave his protection to the monastery after it at some point granted political asylum to Mohammed from his enemies. For this reason, and because a Fatimid mosque was built within the walls of the monastery, the monastery survived Islamic dominance of the region over many centuries. The mosque is sealed and has never been used, since it is oriented incorrectly with Mecca. For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... Power lines leading to a trash dump hover just overhead in El Carpio, a Nicaraguan refugee camp in Costa Rica Under international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her... The Fatimids or Fatimid Caliphate (Arabic Ø§Ù„ÙØ§Ø·Ù…ÙŠÙˆÙ†) is the Ismaili Shiite dynasty that ruled much of North Africa from A.D. 5 January 910 to 1171. ... The Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, Pakistan with an iwan at center, three domes, and five visible minarets A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ...

During the 7th century, the isolated anchorites of the Sinai were eliminated: only the fortified monastery remained. The monastery is still surrounded by the massive fortifications that have preserved it. Until the 20th century, access was through a door high in the outer walls. From the time of the Crusades, the presence of Crusaders in the Sinai between 1099 and 1270 spurred the interest of European Christians and increased the number of intrepid pilgrims who visited the monastery. The monastery was supported by its dependencies in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Crete, Cyprus and Constantinople. Anchorite (male)/anchoress (female), from the Greek anachÅreÅ, signifying to withdraw, to depart into the country outside the circumvallated city, denotes someone â€“ prominently in earlier Christian and medieval times â€“ who for religious reasons withdraws from the secular society and leads an intensely prayer-oriented and, circumstances permitting, Mass-focused... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

About the monastery

The monastery library preserves the second largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in the world, outnumbered only by the Vatican Library. Its strength lies in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, and Syriac texts. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 151 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Saint Catherines Monastery, Mount Sinai ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 151 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Saint Catherines Monastery, Mount Sinai ... first page of the Codex Argenteus A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a handwritten book, in general one produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... The Vatican Library (Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. ...

The complex houses irreplaceable works of art: mosaics, Greek and Russian icons, encaustic paintings, as well as sacerdotal ornaments, chalices and reliquaries. Most importantly, it is home to some of the earliest icons in the world, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries. The oldest icon on the Old Testament theme is also preserved there. A project to catalogue the works held in the library is currently being undertaken. Christ the Redeemer (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) For other senses of this word, see icon (disambiguation). ... Encaustic painting, also called hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. ... Christ the Redeemer (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) For other senses of this word, see icon (disambiguation). ... NOTE: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the New Testament as a continuation or completion of the Jewish bible. ...

The monastery also comprises the entire Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai, an autonomous (as distinct from autocephalous) Orthodox Christian church headed by an archbishop, who is also the abbot of the monastery. The archbishop is traditionally consecrated by the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. In hierarchical Christian churches, especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, autocephaly is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. ... The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

See also

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... OrthodoxWiki is a MediaWiki-based online encyclopedia specialized in the topics of Orthodox Christianity. ... A portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, containing Esther 2:3-8. ...

Reference

World Heritage Sites in Egypt

Abu Mena | Islamic Cairo | Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur | Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae | Saint Catherine Area | Thebes with its Necropolis | Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley) For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Egypt. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ... Abu Mena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Egypt immediately west of the Nile River delta. ... Islamic Cairo is a part of central Cairo often visited by tourists because of its high proportion of historically important mosques and other Islamic monuments. ... Memphis, coordiates , , was the ancient capital of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its foundation until around 1300 BC. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Ineb Hedj (The White Walls). The name Memphis is the Greek deformation of the Egyptian name of Pepi... The Giza Pyramids, part of the Giza Necropolis. ... Dahshur (Arabic Ø¯Ù‡Ø´ÙˆØ± DahÅ¡Å«r [often incorrectly rendered in English as Dashur]), located in a patch of desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo (), is a royal necropolis, known chiefly for several pyramids, two of which are amongst the oldest, largest and best preserved... Model showing the relative positions of the Abu Simbel temples before and after relocation Categories: Ancient Egypt stubs | Wonders of the World ... Philae (or Pilak or Paaleq [Egyptian: remote place or the end or the angle island]; [Arabic: Anas el Wagud]) is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. ... Thebes For the ancient capital of Boeotia, see Thebes, Greece. ... Wadi Al-Hitan (Arabic: , Whale Valley) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Western Desert of Egypt inscribed in 2005. ...

Contents

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About the monastery

See also

Reference

History