SNAI: St Catherine
The Monastery of the Transfiguration, popularly called St Catherine`s
Monastery, is located in the Sinai peninsula of Egypt. It is built at the
foot of Mount Sinai, on the site of the biblical `burning bush` where Saint
Helena, the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, built a chapel in
the fourth century. A monastic community developed, drawn from local
Christian hermits and the building was fortified against Bedouin raids. The
name Catherine comes from a third century Coptic Christian martyr who was
beheaded for preaching against the Romans. According to legend, her body was
born by angels to Jebel Katerina, the highest peak in Sinai, where three
hundred years later, discovering her uncorrupt remains, monks renamed the
monastery in her memory. The Holy Land Crusades spurred interest in the
monastery which began attracting Christian pilgrims. Many Jews also
undertook the rugged journey to Sinai where Moses is believed to have
received the Tablets of Law from God, but the most famous pilgrim was the
Prophet Muhammad. Made welcome by the monks, he pledged to protect the
monastery which became incumbent on all Muslims and continues to this day.
Saint Catherine`s library is noteworthy for its collection of early
manuscripts, icons, chalices and other religious reliquaries. The monastery
was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2002.