Following Restoration, Review of St. Catherine's Monastery

Recently, the Ministry of Antiquities has concluded restoration work of the first phase of the St. Catherine Monastery.

Renovations incorporated the pavement of roads leading to the Monastery and Mount Sinai as well as setting up touristic bus stops and raising the efficiency of services.

Egyptian archaeologist Hussein Bassir said that the Monastery of St. Catherine is one of the most significant Christian monuments in Egypt.

Egyptian archeologist Hussien Bassir

Located in the South Sinai governorate, some believe that the monastery is the oldest in the world. It is managed by the Archbishop of Sinai, and other Greek monks and priests.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the monastery was built upon an order from Emperor Justinian I in 545 AD. It encloses the Saint Helen's Chapel built by the mother of Constantine, the Great Empress Consort Helena.

Born in Alexandria in c. 287, Saint Catherine was a Christian virgin, who was executed in the early 4th century by the pagan Roman Emperor Maxentius.

She became a Christian at the age of 14 and played a role in converting hundreds of pagans to Christianity until her death four years later.

After many tortures, Maxentius and 50 other philosophers, from different nations, debated here but, they failed. The emperor then proposed to Catherine to win her over and make her yield.

St. Catherine's Monastery

The beautiful princess refused and declared that her spouse was Jesus Christ, to whom she had sanctified her virginity.

In 850, remains of the in-corrupt body of the saint were discovered by monks from the Sinai Monastery. These remains were placed inside an ossuary at the main temple.

Besides St. Catherine's wreaths, the monastery contains the remains of all the monks who lived there.

The monastery includes a library that processes the second largest collection of codices in the world. It also includes Greek, Arabic, Coptic, Hebrew, Armenian, and Albanian texts.

It included the Codex Sinaiticus, which is the early Greek version of the Bible, now at a public display in the British Library in London.

St. Catherine's Monastery

Moreover, a copy of Ashtiname of Prophet Muhammad can also be found in the monastery.

The Sixth Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the construction of a small mosque inside the complex to host pilgrims during their journey.

In the late 17th century, Napoleon Bonaparte strengthened the wall and set up defenses on the monastery.

On his part, Hossam Zaidan, a researcher in the Islamic and Coptic monuments, associated the name Sinai to an ancient god called "Sin", the god of the moon.

Hossam Zaidan, a researcher in the Islamic and Coptic monuments

Zaidan explained that Sinai was resided by a group bedouins known as the monotheists. They converted to Christianity in a period of severe oppression. Those Bedouins asked Helena to build them a church beside a mountain.

The place of the church came next to the burning bush, at the site where Prophet Moses is thought to have spoken to God.

The monastery also includes a sealed covenant in the Latin language sealed by Saladin.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, devoted herself to knowledge, worship, and God. She receives visitors from all over the world, and her remains are brought out for the veneration on special occasions.

She was tortured by the breaking wheel and then beheaded for her faith. Her memory still lives among her followers from every corner of the world, and her miracles are wrought until this day.

Contributed by: Taarek Refaat

St. Catherine's Monastery