Saint Catherine's Monastery
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Church of Sinai |
| Established | 565 |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Justinian I |
| Site | |
| Location | Saint Catherine, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt |
| Coordinates | 28°33′20″N 33°58′34″E / 28.55556°N 33.97611°ECoordinates: 28°33′20″N 33°58′34″E / 28.55556°N 33.97611°E |
| Website | www |
| Official name | Saint Catherine Area |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii, iv, vi |
| Designated | 2002 (26th session) |
| Reference no. | 954 |
| State Party | Egypt |
| Region | Arab States |
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 The Icons of Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, Egypt, J. Paul Getty Museum
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Saint Catherine's Monastery (Greek: Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterinēs, Arabic: دير القدّيسة كاترين), officially "Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai" (Modern Greek: Ιερά Μονή του Θεοβαδίστου Όρους Σινά, Ierá Moní tou Theovadístou Órous Siná), lies on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of a gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai, in the city of Saint Catherine, Egypt in the South Sinai Governorate. The monastery is controlled by the Church of Sinai, part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Built between 548 and 565, the monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. The site contains the world's oldest continually operating library, possessing many unique books including the Syriac Sinaiticus and, until 1859, the Codex Sinaiticus. A small town with hotels and swimming pools, called Saint Katherine City, has grown around the monastery.
According to tradition, Catherine of Alexandria was a Christian martyr sentenced to death on the wheel. 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.
Although it is commonly known as Saint Catherine's, the monastery's full official name is the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai. The patronal feast of the monastery is the Transfiguration. The monastery has become a favorite site of pilgrimage.
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Wikipedia