Father Justin's Blog

The hermitage of Saints Galakteon and Episteme in the morning sunlight. In the summer, the sun rises farther to the north, and the hermitage only enters into sun later in the morning. During the winter, the sun rises farther to the south, and the sunlight reaches the hermitage hours earlier.

The Elder Paisios spent time at the hermitage of Saints Galakteon and Episteme during the two years he lived at Sinai, from 1962-1964. There, he slept on a mat woven from palm fronds, with a sheepskin for a cover. To keep warm in the cold winter, he would make a small fire of brushwood and brew some tea. He once said, ‘One hot tea with three little spoons of sugar can warm you up as much as three sweaters.’

In 1223, Patriarch Euthymios of Jerusalem passed away at Saint Catherine’s Monastery. From his great veneration for Saint Catherine, he asked that he be buried in the basilica beneath the north aisle opposite her reliquary. A marble inscription in Greek and Arabic marks the location. Below, a transcription of the Greek, a translation of the Greek, and a translation of the Arabic.

Ἐνθᾶδε κεῖτε τὸ σώμα τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις πατρὸς ἡμῶν Εὐθυμίου Πατριάρχου Ἱεροσολύμων ἔτος ϚΨΛΒ μηνὶ Δεκεμβρίῳ ΙΓ ἡμέρα Δ. Ἐπὶ τοῦ Ὁσιωτάτου Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Μακαρίου Ἀρχιεπισκόπου τοῦ Ἁγίου Ὅρους Σινᾶ.

Here lies the body of our father among the saints Euthymios Patriarch of Jerusalem the year 6732 [AD 1223] the month December 13, the fourth day [Wednesday]. In the time of our most righteous father Makarios Archbishop of the Holy Mount Sinai.

Here lies the body of our father among the saints Euthymios Patriarch of Jerusalem the year 6732 the month December 13, the fourth day. In the time of our most righteous father Makarios the Damascene Bishop of the Holy Mount Sinai. Our father pray for us your disciples and pray for me the writer of this text.

The inlaid hardstone floor in the Sinai bema in morning sunlight.

The last rays of sunlight rest on the dome over the library building. Below, the sun also shines on the Chapel of Saint Anthony the Great.

When high winds on the coast create dust on the horizon, the sun rises lemon yellow.

῍Ω θείας! ὢ φίλης! ὢ γλυκυτάτης σου φωνῆς! μεθ’ ἡμῶν ἀψευδῶς γάρ, ἐπηγγείλω, ἔσεσθαι, μέχρι τερμάτων αἰῶνος Χριστέ· ἣν οἱ πιστοί, ἄγκυραν ἐλπίδος, κατέχοντες ἀγαλλόμεθα.

O Thy divine and beloved and most sweet voice; Thou hast truly promised that Thou wouldst be with us unto the end of the world, O Christ; and we faithful rejoice, having this as an anchor of hope.

From the Ninth Ode of Paschal Matins