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Chapel of Saint Anne

There are several chapels to the west of the Basin of the Prophet Elias. The most remote of them all is the Chapel of Saint Anne, perched incongruously next to massive outcrops of solid granite. It is my favourite of all the little chapels in the Sinai mountains.

I first saw the Chapel of Saint Anne in January of 2005, when I joined Father Nilus as he took holy water from the Theophany services to bless all of the outlying chapels. The roof had cracked, allowing water to seep in. This was eroding the earth mortar between the stones, and much of the plaster inside had fallen off. No one had celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the chapel for many years, because it had become so dilapidated. But every detail of the chapel seemed to have been made with sensitivity and devotion, and it was beautiful, even in that state.

I was able to clean the chapel, and Evangelos Zournatzis, an iconographer from Samos, sent me a photograph of an icon of Saint Anne he had painted, that I was able to print and frame. We returned on July 25, the feast day of Saint Anne, to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. It was a great joy, and we have been back every year since then.

This was the last time Father Michael celebrated the Liturgy as a deacon, for he was ordained a priest on August 6, the feast of the Holy Transfiguration. The roof of the chapel has since been repaired, and the inside has been plastered and whitewashed. All of these photographs were taken by Father Nilus.

1 comment to Chapel of Saint Anne

  • George Livsey

    This is a very nice post. Congratulations to Father Michael on his ordination to the priesthood. I remember you working working with him to photograph the museum artifacts in 2013.

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