Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- All Categories 13.8K
- General Category 10.9K
- General Announcements 184
- Faith Issues 3.4K
- Coptic Orthodox Church 2.5K
- Personal Issues 1.4K
- Prayer Requests 423
- Random Issues 1.8K
- Introductions 294
- Non-Orthodox Inquiries 232
- Youth Corner 606
- Hymns 2.5K
- Hymns Discussion 2.5K
- Technicial Difficulties 368
- Technical Topics 368
St.Catherines Monistry
hi guys im very interested in visiting st catherines monistary, can somoen please tell me her story.
Comments
The monastery was built by order of the Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565 enclosing the Chapel of the Burning Bush ordered built by Helena, the mother of Constantine , 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.
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.
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.
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.
I was there in April. Its very nice, but there are too many Greek tourists (Greeks make a lot of noice, lol).
There's actually a mosque within the monastery walls as well, because "prophet" Muhammad wrote a letter which said it would not be touched by the Muslim invaders. The letter is on display in the museum part of the monastery, which also displays some famous icons.
Best thing about it is that you get to see the Burning Bush of Prophet Moses and the relics of St. Catherine.
...whats her story
http://www.stkatherine.org/life.html
basically, you do not want to go, here are some reasons why..
1. Its not coptic orthodox, its occupied by Greek Orthodox.
2. It is not like a monastery, but more like a tourist attraction
3. There is no love in the monastery.. the more $$$ you have.. the more you get to do.
4. Most of the monks are stuck-up, not following any orthodox rules.
5. They show racism greatly.. favoring the russians and greeks over any other race (i.e. letting them take pictures in the church) and so on.
6. Its about 2.5h from the nearest resort city and the ride is hell. :\
7. The monastery is only open from 10am-1pm everyday... then you get kicked out.
Its the worst monastery i've ever been to.
Stupid greek orthodox blemish the orthodox name.
1. Its not coptic orthodox, its occupied by Greek Orthodox.
Correct Its the most famous monastery in the world; you can't expect it to be calm and serene. The only way they could change that would be to only let a small number of people in per day. If they had such a policy, I'm sure you would list that as your reason #8. I had no $$$ when I was there, and I got to do everything. I did not see this when I was there. This is not racism. Its an Eastern Orthodox monastery, and so when there are tons of people, they are bound to favour Eastern Orthodox pligrims above those of a different religion (who come as tourists, not as pilgrims). Considering the Israelites spent forty years walking through that desert, 2.5h doesn't seem too bad. Anyways, the nearest resort is only about 20mins drive away, if that.
That's to make sure #2 doesn't get out of hand.
Its the most famous monastery in the world; you can't expect it to be calm and serene. The only way they could change that would be to only let a small number of people in per day. If they had such a policy, I'm sure you would list that as your reason #8.
The monastery itself is not really that crowded, approx. 100 ppl in it all together, all with tour guides. I am talking about the actual monastery.. I suppose you were lead through the church, out the back, to the tree.. then you left right? :\ Oh really? And what exactly did you do? To visit the museum you need 15pounds, to take a picture in the church.. why.. just pay the darn monk 50 pounds... its corrupt.. not the way a monastery should be run, with agape love. Heh, what can I tell you. Did you go alone or with a tour group?
When we finished our very short walk in the side column of the church, I asked politely if I was allowed to re-enter and admire the icons... only to be shunned off by a fat grumpy monk at the enterance only letting in certain people. As I said before.. there is no love in the monastery.. its a buisness.. What ever happened to monks WORKING to earn their bread? These monks sit down.. tell people off.. and earn millions because of the bush... they hire people to do the manual labour around the monastery, what a disgrace to the name of monks. I would agree that they should somewhat favour the eastern orthodox.. but not to the extent of giving them thier own enterance to the monastery, as well as access to the whole church instead of the side panel... being allowed to spend more than 10 minutes in the church... oh yea.. and earning common human courtesy...
I forgot to mention that the russians can come in whenever they want.. oh yea.. and if you have about 200 pounds.. you could come in whenever you want as well..
The monastery itself is not really that crowded, approx. 100 ppl in it all together, all with tour guides. I am talking about the actual monastery.. I suppose you were lead through the church, out the back, to the tree.. then you left right? :\
I entered the church, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, then they brought our St. Catherine's relics, which we got to venerate. Then I went into the chapel of the Burning Bush, then outside to see the Bush itself. Then into the museum, After that I walked around for a bit, etc. With respect to the museum, I don't see what the problem is with charging for access. It includes some of the most important religious artworks, etc. there are. Upkeep of a museum is not free; that's just how it is. Small group, though I was walking around by myself whilst in the monastery. When I was there, my friend had given me 20 A4 pages with hundreds of names (to be read out during the Liturgy) to give to the Abbot. I was expecting the monk to tell me that it was far too much and that he couldn't accept, or that he would request a donation.
Much to my surprise, he just smiled and said "of course." On this point I agree with you. Courtesy is not something you will find among most Greeks - I don't think its in their vocabulary. Doesn't matter who you are, Greeks are loud, rude and pushy. Well, atleast the older generations (and my Greek friends agree!).
What I did?
5 hours on a bus.. 1 hour at the monastery..
when we went, no liturgy or anything.. they just rushed us through the side.. all we did was walk through the church and out the back.. look at the tree for like 3 minutes.. and i visited the musuem after fighting with the tour guide..
overall.. im pretty pissed off.. i've been to prolly every monastery in egypt (even the monastery of the 8 woman :o) and st catherines was by far the worst..
how about the mountain, out of all the excuse my language selfish replies on this specific post i have not seen anything on the mountain, a taunt and uncle in my church when they were engaged climbed that 6 hours of that mountain, u follow a trail to the top of the mountain, u go at night and make it to the sunset at the top, its guna be awesome when i go with khatibti
I think you can get the Beduins to take you up most of the way on camel if you want. I didn't get to go, since the suicide bombing at Dahab happened the day I was going to climb. Police phoned the hotel, said nobody allowed anywhere (inc the mountain). So I missed it :'(
But I hear its beautiful.
Its quite surprising that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is responsible for the main Christian heritage sites around the world: Saint Catherine's, the Church of the Nativity, the Church of the resurrection etc.
As for them being rascist:I actually heard that they frown upon non-orthodox people. I heard that from catholics. Our Coptic Priest went to Athens, and they they told him : "You can pray here, but we pray for you that you discover the right /true faith!!" - And he was so upset at that.
if the monastery is not nice don't blame it on the whole community of the orthodox, whether greek, coptic...
but u look really annoyed after visiting there! i wonder how bad is it in reality? calm down
they live the humble life, feeding off the land (Desert land is very hard to feed off), buying water from beduins etc etc.. a very nice monastery where gods love is always present