Random ramblings from an amateur rock-n-roll historian and critic,self-professed bourbon aficionado, blackberry growin', jam makin', sometime tie-die shirt makin', ex hippie wannabe, turned punk rock lovein', blues festival going, middle aged pudgy bald white guy who loves to wear Hawaiian shirts in the summertime and happens to be more Stax than Motown, more Alman Brothers than Skynard, more Stones than Beatles, more NASCAR than Baseball, more freeware than license keys...
"Saint Catherine's Monastery (Arabic: دير القدّيسة كاترين Dayr al-Qiddīsa Katrīn, Greek: Ιερά Μονή Αγίας Αικατερίνης Όρους Σινά, romanized: Ierá Moní Áyias Ekaterínis Orous Siná[a]), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai, it was built between 548 and 565, and is the world's oldest continuously-inhabited Christian monastery."
"The monastery was built by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, enclosing what is claimed to be the burning bush seen by Moses."
"Controlled by the autonomous Church of Sinai, which is part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, the monastery became a World Heritage Site in 2002 for its unique importance to the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."
"Saint Catherine's has as its backdrop the three mountains it lies near: Willow Peak (possibly the biblical Mount Horeb, peak c.1 km (0.62 mi) west); Jebel Arrenziyeb, peak c. 1km south; and Mount Sinai (locally, Jabal Musa, by tradition identified with the biblical Mount Sinai; peak c. 2 km (1.2 mi) south).'
"Christian traditions
The monastery was built around the location of what is traditionally considered to be the place of the burning bush seen by the Hebrew prophet Moses. Saint Catherine's monastery also encloses the "Well of Moses", where Moses is said to have met his future wife, Zipporah. The well is still today one of the monastery's main sources of water. The site is considered sacred by the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."
(A well
in the Sinai desert?
Still in use
after 1500 years?
It ought to tell you something.
Ill just put it this way
This living water?
In this desert well ?
RUNS DEEP.
)
"The oldest record of monastic life at Mount Sinai comes from the Peregrinatio or Itinerarium Egeriae, a travel journal written in Latin by a female Christian pilgrim named Egeria (formerly identified as Sylvia of Aquitaine) about 381/2–386."
"Throughout the Middle Ages, the monastery had a multiethnic profile, with monks of Arab, Greek, Syrian, Slavonic and Georgian origin. However, in the Ottoman period, the monastic community became almost exclusively Greek Orthodox..."
"A mosque was created by converting an existing chapel during the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171), which was in regular use until the era of the Mamluk Sultanate in the 13th century and is still in use today on special occasions. During the Ottoman Empire, the mosque was in desolate condition; it was restored in the early 20th century."
"During the seventh century, the isolated Christian anchorites of the Sinai were eliminated: only the fortified monastery remained. The monastery is surrounded by the massive fortifications that have preserved it. Until the twentieth century, access was through a door high in the outer walls."
"Manuscripts and icons
The monastery's library, founded sometime between 527 and 565, is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest continuously operating library. It preserves the world's second-largest collection of early codices and manuscripts, outnumbered only by the Vatican Library. It contains Greek, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Syriac, Georgian, Arabic, Geʽez, Latin, Armenian, and Church Slavonic manuscripts and books, along with very rare Hebrew and Coptic books."
"The most important manuscripts have since been filmed or digitized, and so are accessible to scholars. With planning assistance from Ligatus, a research center of the University of the Arts London, the library was extensively renovated, reopening at the end of 2017."
"The Coptic Archbishop of London is seeking clarification
over reports that the oldest functioning monastery
in the world is to be closed."
"It follows a court ruling this week over a land dispute between the sixth century St Catherine’s Monastery and the South Sinai governate. The court in Sinai ruled that the monastery “is entitled to use” the land, which “the state owns as public property”, prompting fears it may be turned into a museum and its 20 monks evicted."
"In a post yesterday on X, Archbishop Angaelos said he had spoken “this morning with the Egyptian Ambassador in London, our Papal Office in Cairo and @DavidAltonHL regarding reports around the matter of the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai.
It would appear that the situation is not quite as has been reported. Awaiting further clarification and will be able to speak more factually once it has been received.
Till then, praying for our brothers at the Monastery of Saint Catherine, and for monastic communities worldwide.”
"The Egyptian government is refuting the concerns and in a statement the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said such claims are ‘completely unfounded’.
"The statement said ‘this judicial ruling represents the first instance in which the legal status of the monastery has been regulated, with a clear affirmation of the preservation of its sacred standing.’
"It said the judicial ruling referred to the existence of some remote areas ‘that are completely distant from the monastery and uninhabited, for which no ownership or possession documents exist. Consequently, these lands are considered state property.’
"It added that the court had ‘approved the continued right of the monastery’s monks to benefit from those areas, as well as from the religious and archaeological sites within the region.’
Writing on X, Christian peer David Alton is also urging international leaders to seek verification for what he said would be a
"shocking attack on an ancient religious community."
The first thing(s) I saw about this
was on the legacyicon account on IG,
sayingthat it was about to be closed.
It is pretty obviously
"a fluid situation"
still evolving.
Screenshots and text
and comments
follow below
legacyicon:
"Developing- keep praying.
While the world awaits a statement f
rom Saint Catherine's (likely today)
Egypt potentially pivots:
'Following intense reactions triggered by a recent decision of an Egyptian court, the Egyptian Presidency and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claim that “nothing changes the status of Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai.”
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