- The Bible – Book of Exodus and Saint Catherine’s Monastery
- Burning Bush
- Transfiguration of Christ
- Relics of St. Catherine of Alexandria
- Ahtiname of Muhammad – Letter of Protection
- Library of Saint Catherine
- Codex Sinaiticus
| Type | Monastery, Eastern Orthodox Church, Religious |
| Year | 565 AD |
| Age | 1455 years |
| Founder | Emperor Justinian I |
| Other names | Monastery of the Transfiguration, Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, Monastery of the Burning Bush |
| Getting there | From Cairo: By bus, minibus, car – 8H From Sharm el-Sheikh: By bus, by car – 4H Best way from Sharm el-Sheikh: Organised tours that depart from located Sharm el Sheikh Hotels. |
| Visiting Hours | Monday – Saturday – 9:00 – 12:00 Sunday – Closed |
| Location | Saint Catherine, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, Africa |
The Bible – Book of Exodus and Saint Catherine’s Monastery
In the Book of Exodus, Moses was forced to flee Egypt and come to live with Jethro. Moses, who shepherded Jethro’s flocks, discovered the burning bush while tending the sheep.
Moses approached the bush and discovered that the bush was on fire, but the flames did not burn it. [Exodus 3:2] God’s spirit, in the bush, said “I am your father’s God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” [Exodus 3:4, NIV] God then commanded Moses to remove his sandals, as the land was considered holy.
The Greek Orthodox monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai ( Saint Catherine’s Monastery) is located at the very place where God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush, beneath the Mount of the Decalogue. In the providence of God, it is at this site also that the holy relics of Saint Catherine are enshrined.
Burning Bush
The chapel’s sacred altar is situated atop the roots of the Burning Bush, which legend has it, is still thriving.
The original gray granite walls remain intact, and the church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, having been constructed during the same period.
Transfiguration of Christ
Above the altar is a mosaic depicting the Transfiguration of Christ dating from the sixth century (early Byzantine period).
Relics of St. Catherine of Alexandria
To the right of the altar, in a sarcophagus, are the relics of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Ahtiname of Muhammad – Letter of Protection
At the gate of the monastery is Ahtiname, a letter dictated by the Prophet Muhammad asking Muslims to protect the monastery.
Pilgrims enter the chapel without shoes, in remembrance of the commandment of God to Moses, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
This is the oldest continuously-inhabited Christian monastery, with a history that can be traced back over seventeen centuries. The monastery predates the divisions of the Christian world, its origins extending to late antiquity. (sinaimonastery.com)
Library of Saint Catherine
The Library of Saint Catherine preserves the second-largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in the world ( 6000 volumes). In the first place is the Vatican Library. It contains Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Coptic, Hebrew, Armenian, Aramaic, and Caucasian Albanian texts.
A number of ancient icons can be found here, including the famous Pantokrator of Sinai (dating from the 6th century AD.), and The Ladder of Divine Ascent (dating from the 12th century AD), an iconic representation of the book by that name by St. John Climacus.
Codex Sinaiticus
A nearly complete Codex Sinaiticus (Greek manuscript of the Bible) dating from the 4th century that formerly belonged to St. Catherine’s, is now in the British Museum in London and in the State Library at St. Petersburg (8 fragments)
The Codex Sinaiticus contains the oldest surviving complete New Testament.
The Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus are the oldest copies of the scriptures written on parchment.
In 1975 3 000 manuscripts were discovered including missing parts of the Codex Sinaiticus, some 50 other incomplete codexes, and 10 nearly complete ones.
