by Gordon | Apr 24, 2012 | History
The Israelites, children of Jacob and their descendants, first settled in Egypt under the protection of Joseph, Jacob’s favourite son, who had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers only to rise to the position of Grand Vizier of Egypt through his ability to...
by Gordon | Apr 10, 2011 | History
The monastery stands on one of the most hallowed grounds in Christendom for it was here that God declared to Moses from out of the burning bush, “Take off your sandals for where you stand is holy ground”, and by drawing a parallel between the bush that flamed but...
by Gordon | Apr 8, 2011 | History
Although John Climacus is one of the most widely read of all Egyptian authors, he is little known to most Egyptians. This is because he lived before the Islamic era, wrote in Greek, and was a Christian – Egyptian nevertheless, and part of an extraordinary movement...
by Gordon | Apr 8, 2011 | History
In the Sacred Sacristy of the Monastery of St Catherine lies a dog eared volume, dating back to the year AD 697. Its well thumbed pages attest to its popularity amongst the monks of the Monastery who found edification and instruction in its lives of the female...
by Gordon | Apr 7, 2011 | History
Whether it be the ordination of women, marriage of the clergy, or the date of Easter, the Christian Church has always been in dissension, and never more so than in the early centuries when the principal sees of Christendom were competing to define orthodoxy and impose...
by Gordon | Apr 7, 2011 | History
Plundering Egypt of its historical treasures was once the privilege and pastime of the imperial powers, grounded in a patronizing assumption of moral and intellectual superiority. It resulted in the theft from the Monastery of St Catherine of its greatest treasure:...
