FatherJustinsBlog

It was a joy to celebrate the Divine Liturgy once again at the cave of the Prophet Elias on his feast day.

From the Pilgrimage of Egeria:

Having then fulfilled all the desire with which we had hastened to ascend, we began our descent from the summit of the mount of God which we had ascended to another mountain joined to it, which is called Horeb, where there is a church. This is that Horeb where was holy Elijah the prophet, when he fled from the face of Ahab the king, and where God spake to him and said: What doest thou here Elijah? as it is written in the books of the Kings. The cave where holy Elijah lay hid is shown to this day before the door of the church which is there. A stone altar also is shown which holy Elijah raised to make an offering to God; thus the holy men deigned to show us each place. There, too, we made the oblation, with very earnest prayer, and also read the passage from the book of the Kings; for it was our special custom that, when we had arrived at those places which I had desired to visit, the appropriate passage from the book should always be read.

The chapel at the peak of Mount Sinai, photographed at midday. The present chapel preserves the core of the much larger sixth century church, built at the site of the fourth century chapel.

From the Pilgrimage of Egeria, who visited Sinai around the year 383:

By this way, then, at the bidding of Christ our God, and helped by the prayers of the holy men who accompanied us, we arrived, at the fourth hour, at the summit of Sinai, the holy mountain of God, where the law was given, that is, at the place where the Glory of the Lord descended on the day when the mountain smoked. Thus the toil was great, for I had to go up on foot, the ascent being impossible in the saddle, and yet I did not feel the toil, on the side of the ascent, I say, I did not feel the toil, because I realized that the desire which I had was being fulfilled at God’s bidding. In that place there is now a church, not great in size, for the place itself, that is the summit of the mountain, is not very great; nevertheless, the church itself is great in grace. When, therefore, at God’s bidding, we had arrived at the summit, and had reached the door of the church, lo, the priest who was appointed to the church came from his cell and met us, a hale old man, a monk from early life, and an ascetic, as they say here, in short one worthy to be in that place; the other priests also met us, together with all the monks who dwelt on the mountain, that is, such as were not hindered by age or infirmity. No one, however, dwells on the very summit of the central mountain; there is nothing there excepting only the church and the cave where holy Moses was. When the whole passage from the book of Moses had been read in that place, and when the oblation had been duly made, at which we communicated, and as we were coming out of the church, the priests of the place gave us eulogiae that is, of fruits which grow on the mountain. For although the holy mountain Sinai is rocky throughout, so that it has not even a shrub on it, yet down below, near the foot of the mountains, around either the central height or those which encircle it, there is a little plot of ground where the holy monks diligently plant little trees and orchards, and set up oratories with cells near to them, so that they may gather fruits which they have evidently cultivated with their own hands from the soil of the very mountain itself.

A panoramic view of sunrise at the peak of Mount Sinai.

Δόξα σοι τῷ δείξαντι τὸ φῶς.
Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία.

Glory to thee who hast shewed the light.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, among men good will.

Centuries ago, large stones were put in place to mark the paths that wind through the Sinai plateau.

On making the ascent by the ancient Steps of Repentance, pilgrims pass the Chapel of the Oikonomissa, and then climb to the first of two arches.

The arch is visible high above.

A view from the landing below the arch.

On the left, a faint inscription shows a hand with an extended index finger pointing to the Greek word OPOY, ‘of the mountain’, surmounted by a cross. A diagram below directs the pilgrim to pass through the arch and bear left.