The last sunlight ebbs from the oldest kellia in the monastery as another day draws to a close.
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The End of Another Day8 comments to The End of Another DayLeave a Reply |
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Father, What is the service schedule at Saint Catherine’s? Thank You.
At 4:00 AM we have Mesonyktikon (the Midnight Office), Orthros (Matins), and the Divine Liturgy. At 12:00 noon we read the Third Hour and the Sixth Hour. At 4:00 PM we have the Ninth Hour, Vespers, and Small Compline. This is the full canonical cycle, based on the verse from the Psalms, ‘Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.’ The Divine Liturgy is not included in the enumeration of the seven services, since it takes place outside time.
Dear Father Justin ,
Thanks a lot for these beautiful photographs
Dear Father Justin,
Do the older kellia date to the start of the monastery or have they been replaced? Do the newer kellia differ from the older ones?
With best regards,
Richard
The oldest surviving kellia in the monastery have been provisionally dated to the eighth or ninth century. They are rectangular, with barrel vault ceilings made of granite. The doors are surprisingly low, less than four feet in height. Some monks live in the rooms along the east wall, which date from the thirteenth century, but were recently renovated. Others live in the rooms along the south wall, constructed in 1951, and also recently renovated. Although the building was constructed in 1951, the back wall of the building is the original fortress wall, with granite ashlars put in place in the middle of the sixth century.
Dear Father Justin,
Could you explain the work of the monks in the monastery? How they spend their days etc.
Services begin at 4:00 AM and last until about 7:30 AM, after which we work in our various responsibilities. There is a meal at noon, and then a time of quiet in preparation for the next service. At 4:00 PM, this cycle repeats itself, with a service, a time for work, a meal (an informal meal this time), and a time of quiet for prayer and reading and preparation for the coming day. It is a complex schedule, but it is one that has been in place here for many years.