A History of St.

Catherine's Monastery In
Egypt's Sinai
A History of St. Catherine's Monastery
In Egypt's Sinai
By John Watson
The Monastery of St. Catherine, also known as the Monastery of the Transfiguration, is
located in a triangular area between the Desert of El-Tih, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of
!aba in the Sinai. "t is situated at an altitude of #$%# feet in a s&all, 'ictures!ue gorge. "t is
a region of wilderness &ade u' of granite rock and rugged &ountains which, at first glance,
see&s inaccessible. "n fact, while s&all towns and (illages ha(e grown u' on the shores of
the two gulfs, only a few )edouin no&ads roa& the &ountains and arid land inland. *ell
known &ountains do&inate this region, including Mount Sinai +,,,$% &eters-, Mount
St.Catherine +,,./0 &eters-, Mount Serbal +,,101 &eters- and Mount E'iste&e.
This is the region through which Moses is said to ha(e led his 'eo'le, e(entually to the
2ro&ised 3and, and there are legends of their 'assing in &any 'laces. 4f course, one of the
&ost e5ce'tional locations is that of Mount Sinai, where Moses &et with God who deli(ered
to hi& the tablets containing the Ten Co&&and&ents. 4b(iously, the region is sacred to
Christians, 6ews and Musli&s alike.
*hile grazing his flocks on the side of Mt. 7oreb, Moses ca&e u'on a burning bush that was,
&iraculously, unconsu&ed by its own fla&es. (oice s'eaking out of the fire +E5odus /89-9/-
co&&anded hi& to lead his 'eo'le out of bondage in Egy't and return with the& to the
&ountain. :'on his return Moses twice cli&bed the &ountain to co&&une with God.
;egarding the second ascent, E5odus ,#8 9.-9$ states8 nd the glory of the 3ord abode
u'on Mount Sinai, and the cloud co(ered it si5 days< and the se(enth day God called unto
Moses out of the &idst of the cloud. nd the a''earance of the glory of the 3ord was like
de(ouring fire on the to' of the &ount in the eyes of the children of "srael. nd Moses entered
into the &idst of the cloud, and went u' into the &ount< and Moses was in the &ount forty
days and forty nights. During this ti&e on the &ountain Moses recei(ed two tablets u'on
which God had inscribed the Ten Co&&and&ents, as well as 'recise di&ensions for the rc
of the Co(enant, a 'ortable bo5-like shrine that would contain the tablets. Soon thereafter, the
rc of the Co(enant was constructed and Moses and his 'eo'le de'arted fro& Mount Sinai.
The rc of the Co(enant and its su''osedly di(ine contents are one of the great &ysteries of
anti!uity. ccording to archaic te5tual sources the rc was a wooden chest &easuring three
feet nine inches long by two feet three inches high and wide. "t was lined inside and out with
'ure gold and was sur&ounted by two winged figures of cherubi& that faced each other
across its hea(y gold lid. So&e scholars belie(e that the rc &ay ha(e contained, in addition
to the Tablets of the 3aw, 'ieces of &eteorites and highly radioacti(e rocks. "n the ensuing
two hundred and fifty years, between the ti&e it was taken fro& Mount Sinai to when it was
finally installed in the te&'le in 6erusale&, the rc was ke't for two centuries at Shiloh, was
ca'tured by the 2hilistines for se(en &onths, and then, returned to the "sraelites, it was ke't
in the (illage of =iriath-6eari&. During this entire ti&e it was associated with nu&erous
e5traordinary 'heno&ena, &any of which in(ol(ed the killing or burning of often large
nu&bers of 'eo'le. 2assages in the 4ld Testa&ent gi(e the i&'ression that these
ha''enings were di(ine actions of >ahweh, the god of the 7ebrews. Conte&'orary scholars,
howe(er, belie(e that there &ay be another e5'lanation.
So&e ha(e suggests that the rc, and &ore 'recisely its &ysterious contents, &ay ha(e been
a 'roduct of ancient Egy'tian &agic, science and technology. Moses, being highly trained by
the Egy'tian 'riesthood, was certainly knowledgeable in these &atters and thus the
astonishing 'owers of the rc and its ?Tablets of the 3aw? &ay ha(e deri(ed fro& archaic
Egy'tian &agic rather than the &ythical god >ahweh. 7owe(er, it should be noted that this
co&es fro& an alternati(e school of thought.
4n the 'eak of 6ebel Musa stands a s&all cha'el dedicated to the 7oly Trinity. This cha'el,
constructed in 9@/# on the ruins of a 9.th century church, is belie(ed to enclose the rock fro&
which God &ade the Tablets of the 3aw. "n the western wall of this cha'el is a cleft in the rock
where Moses is said to ha(e hidden hi&self as Gods glory 'assed by +E5odus //8,,-. Se(en
hundred and fifty ste's below the su&&it and its cha'el is the 'lateau known as EliAahs
)asin, where EliAah s'ent #1 days and nights co&&uning with God in a ca(e. Bearby is a
rock on which aron, the brother of Moses, and 01 elders stood while Moses recei(ed the law
+E5odus ,#89#-. Borthwest of EliAahs 'lateau hardy 'ilgri&s (isit 6ebel Safsaafa, where
)yzantine her&its such as St. Gregory li(ed and 'rayed. )eneath the ,9.$ &eter su&&it of
;as Safsaafa stands the 2lain of ar-;aaha, where ca&'ed the "sraelites at the ti&e Moses
ascended the &ountain and where Moses erected the first tabernacle.
Currently there is no archaeological e(idence that the granite 'eak of 6ebel Musa Mount
Sinai on the Sinai 2eninsula is the actual Mount Sinai of the 4ld Testa&ent and (arious
scholars, such as E&&anuel nati, writing in his co&'rehensi(e study, The Mountain of God,
ha(e 'ro'osed se(eral alternati(e locations. The association of 6ebel Musa with the )iblical
Mount Sinai see&s to ha(e first de(elo'ed in the /rd century D when her&its li(ing in ca(es
on the &ountain began to identify their &ountain with the ancient holy 'eak.
Monastic life started at a (ery early 'eriod in the region around Mount Sinai. Christian her&its
began to gather at Sinai fro& the Middle of the /rd Century. St. ntony, who retreated into
Egy't?s Eastern Desert, ins'ired &any others to cast off their worldly 'ossessions and &any
of the& settled at the foot of Mount Sinai, along with other nearby &ountains, es'ecially
Mount Serbal, where they led a life of strict s'iritual and cor'oral disci'line.
The life that these early her&its followed was neither easy or safe. The #th and %th centuries
were 'articularly troubleso&e ti&es, when Christians were not only 'ersecuted, but suffered
fro& barbarian assaults. The &onk, &&onius of Egy't, wrote a Discourse u'on the 7oly
Cathers slain on Mount Sinai and at ;aitho, and there is &uch other docu&entation of the
&assacre and &artyrdo& of the 7oly Cathers of the Sinai and ;aitho by the 7agarenes and
the )le&&yes of frica, 'articularly during the ;o&an reign of Diocletian. This ne(ertheless
did not 're(ent the de(elo'&ent of &onasticis& in the Sinai desert, nor did it 're(ent the
fa&e of &any of the her&its fro& s'reading both East and *est.
S&all &onastic co&&unities for&ed (ery early in the Sinai, 'articularly at Mount 7oreb,
thought to be the site of the )urning )ush and in the *adi Ceiran +ancient 2haran-. The
anchorites li(ed in ca(es, stone-built cells and huts. They s'ent their days in silence, 'rayer
and sanctity.
Tradition holds that, in //1 D, in res'onse to a re!uest by the ascetics of the Sinai, the
)yzantine e&'ress 7elena +St. 7elen- ordered the building of a s&all church, dedicated to
the 7oly Dirgin, at the site of the )urning )ush, as well as a fortified enclosure where the
her&its could find refuge fro& the attacks of 'ri&iti(e no&adic tribes.
Bow, the South Sinai beca&e a 'lace of 'ilgri&age that was (isited by &any fro& far away
lands. "n 9$$#, a &anuscri't was disco(ered that relates a (isit to the area by etheria
between /0, and /0# D. She was a S'anish noblewo&an who was acco&'anied by a
retinue of clerics. She relates finding a s&all church on the su&&it of Mount Sinai, another
one on Mount 7oreb and a third one at the site of the )urning )ush, near which there was a
fine garden with 'lenty of water.
7er account clearly re(eals the e5'ansion of &onasticis& in the Sinai desert. "n fact, by the
%th century, the growing 'o'ulation of her&its was a''arently headed by a dignitary,
&entioned as the )isho' of 2haran, who?s office was e(entually taken o(er by the )isho' of
Sinai. *ith this de(elo'&ent a''arently ca&e a re!uest by the Sinai &onks, to 6ustinian, the
)yzantiu& e&'eror, for assistance. 7e thus founded a &agnificent church, which he enclosed
within walls strong enough to withstand attacks and 'rotect the &onks against no&adic raids,
which today is known to us as the Monastery of St. Catherine.
)y the 0th century, the Monastery faced a dangerous situation and a gra(e crisis, &ainly due
to the rab con!uest. lthough infor&ation on this 'eriod is scant, one source tells that by the
year $1$, the nu&ber of &onks in the &onastery had been reduced to thirty, while Christian
life on the Sinai 'eninsula had all but (anished. 7owe(er, the &onastery itself did not (anish.
ccording to tradition, and e(ident fro& indirect infor&ation, the Cathers of the Monastery
re!uested the 'rotection of Moha&&ed hi&self, who saw the Christians as brothers in faith.
''arently, the re!uest was fa(orably acce'ted and the so called ahtina&e, or Ei&&unity
co(enantE by Moha&&ed instructed his followers to 'rotect the &onks of the Sinai. Though
this docu&ent has been a &atter of contro(ersy, it is doubtful that the &onastery could ha(e
sur(i(ed without the 'rotection afforded by Moha&&ed and his successors.
The 99th century &arked a new 'eriod for the &onks of the Sinai. There was a transfer of
relics of St. Catherine to Crance, and the 'resence of Crusaders in the Sinai between 91@@
and 9,01 s'urred the interest of Euro'ean Christians for the security and inde'endence of
the &onks and for the safeguard of the land 'ro'erties +de'endencies- owned by the
Monastery in Egy't, 2alestine, Syria, Crete, Cy'rus and Constantino'le.
The fact that a castle 'resu''oses a &ilitary force accounts for the &ention so&e authors
&ake of a &ilitary order of St. Catherine, founded in 91./, which would thus antedate any
other &ilitary order. Bo trace has been found, howe(er, of the rule of any such order, or of a
list of its grand &asters. Cro& the Crusades the Monastery of St. Catherine attracted &any
3atin 'ilgri&s, who gradually for&ed a brotherhood, the &e&bers of which 'retended to the
knighthood. "n return for a (ague 'ro&ise to 'rotect sacred shrines and 'ilgri&s, they were
granted the co(eted St. Catherine?s Cross. The car(ed wooden 'ortal gi(ing access to the
Barthe5 of the =atholikon +the earliest church in the &onastery, built about the sa&e ti&e as
the enclosure wall- and the (arious lain inscri'tions in the old ;efectory date fro& those
years. "nterestingly though, the Monastery had a Musli& garrison during the sa&e 'eriod, so
the Cathers had to &aintain a delicate balance between the Christians of the *est and the
Musli&s of the region. "n fact, to this day an ancient Mos!ue, dating fro& the 91th or 99th
century, sits within the walls of the Monastery.
The ;o&an 2o'es at ti&es defended the rights of the Monastery with (arious bulls and
'rocla&ations. 2o'e 7onorius """ in 9,90, 2o'e Gregory F +9,09-9,0.-, 2o'e 6ohn FF""
+9/9.-9//#-, 2o'e )enedict F"" in 9/%$, 2o'e "nnocent D" in 9/.1, all e5'ressed in &any
ways their goodwill for the &onastery, and interceded in fa(or of the Monastery?s 'ri(ileges in
Crete, Cy'rus and other 'laces.
4thers also ca&e to their aid. The Doges of Denice regulated with official docu&ents the
attitude of the Dukes of Crete concerning the Monastery?s de'endencies on the island. They
ruled in fa(or of the &onks? interests, granted ta5 e5e&'tions and so&eti&es 'er&itted e(en
the collection of funds to aid the &onastery. The Denetians, as well as other Christians of the
*est, res'ected the &onastery?s shi's, which sailed the seas flying the banner of St.
Catherine with the Saint?s &onogra& +=-.
E(en though the Monastery of St. Catherine, since the ti&e of the rab con!uest of Egy't,
has been situated in a &ostly "sla&ic region, co&&unication with Constantino'le ne(er
sto''ed and the relations with )yzantiu& were close. nu&ber of docu&ents re(eal
decisions and actions on the 'art of a nu&ber of )yzantine e&'erors, e5tending financial
assistance to the &onastery. The official attitude and o'inion of the )yzantines with regard to
the Monastery and its 'restige is e5'ressed in a letter by the 'atriarch of Constantino'le
Gennadio +9#%#-, addressed to Ethe &ost honorable a&ong &onks, =yr Ma5i&os, by his
worldly na&e So'hianos, and to all the &ost blessed hiero&onks and &onks 'racticing
asceticis& in the holy Monastery of SinaiE. 7e calls the Sinai Eour 'rideE, indicating the great
estee& and re(erence in which the 4rthodo5 held one of the worlds oldest Christian
&onasteries.
E(en Turkish Sultans, in 'articular Seli& " and Sulei&an the Magnificent, at ti&es issued
fa(orable decrees e5e&'ting the Monastery fro& custo& duties, which hel'ed it attain great
'ros'erity. 4n se(eral different occasions, the Turkish Sultans defended the interests of the
Monastery against the clai&s of 'owerful 6ews on the Sinai. t the sa&e ti&e, Christian kings
of Euro'e and other i&'ortant rulers ga(e financial assistance and 'resented the &onastery
with generous donations.
*hen Ba'oleon con!uered Egy't in 90@$, he 'laced the &onastery under his 'rotection. The
docu&ents confir&ing this status, and which recognizes older 'ri(ileges granted to the
&onastery, are now ke't in the &onastery?s gallery.
Through the 9#th century, &any thousands of 'ilgri&s ca&e annually to the &onastery, e(en
though the Aourney fro& Cairo took eight days by foot and ca&el. Collowing the ;efor&ation,
the 'o'ularity of Christian 'ilgri&age drastically declined until, during the &id 9@11s, no &ore
than $1 to911 'ilgri&s &ade the arduous Aourney each year. "n the 9@%1s the Egy'tian
go(ern&ent 'a(ed roads leading to oil fields and &ines along the western Sinai coast and
also de(elo'ed a dirt track to the foot of 6ebel Musa and the &onastery, which allowed
increasing nu&bers of secular tourists to tra(el in ta5is fro& Cairo. The co&'letion of a 'a(ed
road further increased the nu&ber of (isitors to 6ebel Musa. )us ser(ice to and fro& Cairo
beca&e a(ailable on a daily basis in 9@$. and today it is not unco&&on for a hundred or
&ore 'ilgri&s and tourists to (isit the ancient sacred site in a single day. Currently Greek
4rthodo5 &onks tend the &onastery and its e5traordinary collection of )yzantine art and
illu&inated &anuscri'ts.
"t is not known when or how the &onastery obtained 'ossession of the re&ains of St
Catherine of le5andria and ado'ted her na&e. ccording to legend her body was
trans'orted thither by the hands of angels. The na&e, howe(er, does not a''ear in literature
before the tenth century.