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| − | |}{{Infobox World Heritage Site
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| − | | WHS = Saint Catherine Area
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| − | | Image = [[Image:Saint Catherine Sinai.jpg|300px|St. Catherine's monastery]]
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| − | | State Party = {{EGY}}
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| − | | Type = Cultural
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| − | | Criteria = i, iii, iv, vi
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| − | | ID = 954
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| − | | Region = [[Arab States]]
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| − | | Year = 2002
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| − | | Session = 26th
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| − | | Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/954
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| − | }}
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| − | '''Saint Catherine's Monastery''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{polytonic|Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης}}) on the [[Sinai Peninsula]], at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of [[Mount Sinai]] in [[Egypt]] is one of the oldest continuously functioning [[Christianity|Christian]] [[monastery|monasteries]] in the world. The monastery is [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] and is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].
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| − | ==History==
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| − | The oldest record of monastic life at Sinai comes from the travel journal written in Latin by a woman named [[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]] about 381-384. She visited many places around the Holy Land and Mount Sinai, where, according to the [[Hebrew Bible]], [[Moses]] received the [[Ten Commandments]] from [[God]].<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm Pilgrimage of Etheria] text at ccel.org</ref>
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| − | The monastery was built by order of Emperor [[Justinian I]] between 527 and 565, enclosing the Chapel of the [[Burning Bush]] ordered to be built by [[Helena of Constantinople|Helena]], the mother of [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine I]], 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 [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]].
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| − | Though it is commonly known as Saint Catherine's, the full, official name of the monastery is, '''The Sacred and Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount of Sinai''', and the patronal feast of the monastery is the [[Transfiguration]]. The site was associated with St. [[Catherine of Alexandria]] (whose [[relics]] were purported to have been miraculously transported there by angels) and it became a favorite site of [[pilgrimage]].
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| − | [[Catherine of Alexandria]] was a Christian [[martyr]] initially sentenced to death on the [[Breaking wheel|wheel]]. However, when this failed to kill her, she was beheaded. According to tradition, [[angels]] took her remains to Mount Sinai. Around the year [[800]], monks from the Sinai Monastery found her remains.
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| − | [[Image:Petersinai.jpg|left|thumb|St. Catherine's Monastery possesses some of the earliest [[icon]]s in existence, including this 6th-century [[encaustic painting|hot wax icon]].]]
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| − | According to the [[Charter of Privileges]], a document in the possession of the monastery purportedly signed by [[Muhammad]] himself, Muhammed gave his protection to the monastery. A [[Fatimid]] [[mosque]] was built within the walls of the monastery, but has never been used since it is not correctly oriented towards [[Mecca]].
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| − | During the seventh century, the isolated Christian [[anchorite]]s 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 twentieth century, access was through a door high in the outer walls. From the time of the [[First Crusade]], the presence of Crusaders in the Sinai until 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.
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| − | ==About the monastery==
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| − | The monastery library preserves the second largest collection of early [[codex|codices]] and [[manuscripts]] in the world, outnumbered only by the [[Vatican Library]]. Its strength lies in [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Coptic language|Coptic]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Georgian language|Georgian]], and [[Syriac]] texts. The [[Codex Sinaiticus]], now in the [[British Library]], left the monastery in the 19th century for [[Russia]], in circumstances that are now disputed.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4739369.stm Oldest complete canon considered stolen]</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Santa Catarina Sinai 2003.JPG|right|thumb|St. Catherine's monastery]]
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| − | [[Image:St Catherines From Sinai.JPG|thumb|right|View down to the Monastery of St. Catherine from the trail to the summit.]]
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| − | The complex houses irreplaceable works of art: mosaics, the best collection of early [[icon]]s in the world, many in [[encaustic]], as well as liturgical objects, chalices and reliquaries, and church buildings. The large icon collection begins with a few dating to the 5th (possibly) and 6th centuries, which are unique survivals, the monastery having been untouched by [[iconoclasm (Byzantine)|Byzantine iconoclasm]], and never sacked. The oldest icon on an [[Old Testament]] theme is also preserved there. A project to catalogue the collections has been ongoing since the 1960s.
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| − | The monastery along with several dependencies in the area constitute the entire Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai, headed by an archbishop, who is also the abbot of the monastery. The exact administrative status of the church within [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] is ambiguous: by some, including the church itself, <ref>The official Website describes the Church as "διοικητικά "αδούλωτος, ασύδοτος, ακαταπάτητος, πάντη και παντός ελευθέρα, αυτοκέφαλος" or "administratively 'free, loose, untresspassable, free from anyone at any time, autocephalous'" (see link below)</ref> it is considered [[autocephaly|autocephalous]],<ref>Weitzmann, Kurt, in: Galey, John; ''Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine'', p. 14, Doubleday, New York (1980) ISBN 0385171102</ref> <ref>{{cite web | last =Ware | first =Kallistos (Timothy) | title =Part I: History | work =The Orthodox Church | publisher =Penguin Books | year =1964 | url =http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/history_timothy_ware_1.htm | accessdate =2007-07-14}} Under ''Introduction'' Bishop Kallistos says that Sinai is "autocephalous"; under ''The twentieth century, Greeks and Arabs'' he states that "There is some disagreement about whether the monastery should be termed an 'autocephalous' or merely an 'autonomous' Church."</ref> by others an [[autonomy#Religion|autonomous]] church under the jurisdiction of the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem]].<ref>[http://www.cnewacanada.ca/ecc-bodypg-ca.aspx?IndexView=toc&eccpageID=29 The Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai] [[CNEWA]] Canada, "A papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support"</ref> The archbishop is traditionally [[consecration|consecrated]] by the [[Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem]]; in recent centuries he has usually resided in [[Cairo]]. <!--Strangely, Weitzman states that the Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai is in communion with both the Eastern Orthodox churches and with the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>Weitzmann, Kurt, in: Galey, John; ''Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine'', pp 11-14, Doubleday, New York, 1980, ISBN 0385171102</ref>, though ecclesiastic authorities say that this is plainly not the case.—> During the period of the [[Crusade]]s, marked by bitterness between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the monastery was patronized by both the [[Byzantine Emperor]]s and the rulers of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], and their respective elites. The monastery was an important centre for the development of the hybrid style of [[Crusader art]], and still retains over 120 [[icon]]s created in the style, by far the largest collection in existence. Many were evidently created by Latins, probably monks, based in or around the monastery in the 13th century.<ref>[[Kurt Weitzmann]] in ''The Icon'', Evans Brothers Ltd, London (1982), pp. 201-207 (trans. of ''Le Icone'', Montadori 1981), ISBN 0237456451</ref>
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| − | {{coord|28|33|20|N|33|58|34|E|region:EG_type:landmark|display=title}}
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| − | ==References==
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| − | {{Reflist}}
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | {{commonscat|Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai}}
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| − | * [[Archbishop of Mount Sinai and Raithu]]
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| − | * [[Codex Sinaiticus]]
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| − | * [[Apology of Aristides]]
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| − | * [[Charnel House]]
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| − | * [[Hermit]]
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| − | * [[Poustinia]]
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| − | * [[Eastern Christianity]]
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| − | * [[Byzantine Discalced Carmelites]]
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| − | * [[Mary of Egypt]]
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| − | * [[Macarius of Egypt]]
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| − | * [[Christ Pantocrator]]
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| − | * [[Kurt Weitzmann]]
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| − | * [[Sümela Monastery]]
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| − | * [[Saint John Climacus]]
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| − | * [[Ladder of Divine Ascent]]
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| − | * [[Monastery of Saint Anthony]], the oldest monastery
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| − | * [[Gregory of Sinai]]
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| − | == External links ==
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| − | * [http://www.sinaimonastery.com/ Official Website of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai]
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| − | * [http://stcatherinesmonastery.googlepages.com/ St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, Egypt]
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| − | * [http://www.arts.ac.uk/research/stcatherines Camberwell/St.Catherine's Project]
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| − | * [http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/icons_sinai/index.html Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai] Getty exhibit
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| − | * [http://campus.belmont.edu/honors/SinaiIcons/SinaiIcons.html Early Icons from Sinai, Belmont U]
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| − | * [http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/St._Catherine%27s_Monastery_%28Sinai%29 St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai)] (OrthodoxWiki article)
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| − | * The text of the Charter from [[Muhammad]] can be read [http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=IC0609-3110 here] or [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/charter1.html here].
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| − | * [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E1DA123FF937A35750C0A9629C8B63&sec=travel&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink At a Mountain Monastery, Old Texts Gain Digital Life] article from ''[[New York Times]]''
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| − | * [http://www.st-katherine.net Information about the town of St. Katherine]
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| − | * [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/catherines3.htm The Physical Components of the Monastery]
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| − | * [http://touregypt.net/featurestories/catherines2a.htm The Icons of St. Catherine's—Gallery]
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| − | * [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/catherines5.htm Gallery of Artifacts in the Monastery's Collection]
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| − | * {{CathEncy|wstitle=Monastery of Saint Catherine}}
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| − | {{Orthodoxy}}
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| − | {{Greek Orthodox Christianity}}
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| − | {{World Heritage Sites in Egypt}}
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| − | [[Category:560s architecture]]
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| − | [[Category:Archives in Egypt]]
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| − | [[Category:Byzantine sacred architecture]]
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| − | [[Category:Hesychasm]]
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| − | [[Category:Monasteries in Egypt|Catherine Monastery at Sinai]]
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| − | [[Category:Greek Orthodox monasteries]]
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| − | [[Category:Christian congregations and communities established in the 6th century]]
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| − | [[Category:Sinai Peninsula]]
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| − | [[Category:Ancient Christian sites]]
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| − | [[Category:Eastern Orthodox church buildings]]
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| − | [[Category:Eastern Orthodox church bodies and patriarchates in Asia]]
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| − | {{link FA|ru}}
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| − | [[ar:دير سانت كاترين]]
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| − | [[frp:Égllése ortodoxe du Sinayi]]
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| − | [[bg:Синайски манастир]]
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| − | [[ca:Monestir de Santa Caterina del Sinaí]]
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| − | [[cs:Klášter svaté Kateřiny]]
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| − | [[de:Katharinenkloster (Sinai)]]
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| − | [[es:Monasterio de Santa Catalina del Monte Sinaí]]
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| − | [[fa:صومعه سنت کاترین]]
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| − | [[fr:Monastère Sainte-Catherine du Sinaï]]
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| − | [[it:Monastero di Santa Caterina]]
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| − | [[he:מנזר סנטה קתרינה]]
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| − | [[ka:წმ. ეკატერინეს მონასტერი (სინაი)]]
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| − | [[nl:Katharinaklooster]]
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| − | [[ja:聖カタリナ修道院]]
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| − | [[no:Katarina-klosteret]]
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| − | [[pl:Klasztor świętej Katarzyny]]
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| − | [[pt:Mosteiro Ortodoxo de Santa Catarina]]
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| − | [[ru:Монастырь Святой Екатерины]]
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| − | [[fi:Pyhän Katariinan luostari]]
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| − | [[sv:Katarinaklostret]]
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| − | [[zh:圣凯瑟琳修道院 (西乃山)]]
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| − | [[Category: Religion]]
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| − | [[Category: Philosophy and religion]]
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| − | {{Credits|263875190}}
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