Father Justin's Blog

Mountains to the west of the monastery as the clouds lift after rain.

A ceramic tile with a beautiful cross in shades of blue. There are two such tiles on the back wall of the Chapel of the Burning Bush, one to either side of a large icon of the Tree of Jesse, depicting the genealogy of Christ.

Ὁ γὰρ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ σὺ ἕστηκας, γῆ ἁγία ἐστί.

For the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. (Exodus 3:5)

The Chapel of the Burning Bush is the easternmost chapel of the great basilica at Sinai. The walls are lined with beautiful blue faience tiles, and the small apse is set with gold mosaic tessarae. The Holy Table is raised on four marble columns, allowing pilgrims to venerate the place of the Burning Bush beneath.

The Chapel of the Burning Bush is wide, and not very deep. Even my wide angle lens would not be able to take in the entire chapel. This photograph was stitched together from twenty-four overlapping photographs. It captures the subdued light of the chapel even during the day, and the way a few candles and lamps illuminate the small apse.

After the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at Bostani, silence again descends on the little chapel.

At the beginning of the Midnight Office, the church is lit by only a few lamps and candles.

As you pass through the narthex, you can see nothing for a few moments but the blaze of the gold and crystal chandeliers which hang the length of the building. The church is loaded with the accumulated piety of centuries. Although the great caravans, which for so many years found their way to this lonely place, have vanished like a mirage, a token of the faith and the love they brought with them remains in the gilded gifts and the glowing ikons which shine everywhere in the dim half-light.

H V Morton, Through Lands of the Bible, 1938