The monastic movement in the Holy Land

Come and visit 7 of the most mysterious and exquisite hideouts of the monastic movement in the Holy Land.

1. Chariton Monastery & Ein Mabu’a, The Holy Land

Ben Dor A.

A

Chariton Monastery, The Holy Land

2 hours

The first Christian monastery founded in the Judean desert around 330 CE.

Ben Dor A.

B

Ein Mabu’a, The Holy Land

2 hours

A spring whose waters emerges from an underground cavern

Judean desert monasteries were built in the 4^th CE and reached a peak of action in the 6th CE, a period in which there were hundreds of monks in monasteries founded by Chariton and 600 monks in the monastery founded by Theodosius, compared to individual monks living in these monasteries during construction.

2. St. George Monastery, The Holy Land

Ben Dor A.

C

St. George Monastery, The Holy Land

2 hours

A monastery located in Wadi Qelt

During the 4^th CE, there were thousands of monks, living also in Egypt in both forms of organization, Lauras (hermits) and Coenobiums (cooperative).

From Egypt emerged the idea of the monastic movement spreading to Gaza, Judean Desert, Syria and Asia Minor.

3. Euthymius Monastery, The Holy Land

Ben Dor A.

D

Euthymius Monastery, The Holy Land

1 hour or less

A monastery named after the Armenian monk Euthymius

A Laura (path in Greek) was a sanctuary where each monk lived alone during the week meeting with other monks on the weekends for prayer, sharing meals and arranging weekly working tasks.

4. Good Samaritan Inn, The Holy Land

Ben Dor A.

E

Good Samaritan Inn, The Holy Land

1 hour or less

Good Samaritan Inn used to be during Biblical times, an inn on the road from the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem passing by the city of Jericho.

In the Holy Land, the Lauras have evolved during the 4^th CE, combining the two styles of life that were common among the monks – solitude and cohabitation. It was a solution for those monks who did not want to live in solitude but wanted to be part of a community.

5. St. Sabbas Monastery, The Holy Land

F

St. Sabbas Monastery, The Holy Land

full day

A Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking Kidron Valley between the Jerusalem and the Dead Sea

In cenobitic monasticism, the monks lived a communal life with total obedience to the father of the Monastery. The lifestyle was cooperative and its inhabitants ran their lives as a community. For some inhabitants of cenobitic monasticism, the stay was temporary in preparation for the transition to Laura or complete celibacy and for some a way of life until their death.

6. St. Gerasimos Monastery, The Holy Land

Ben Dor A.

G

St. Gerasimos Monastery, The Holy Land

2 hours

A Greek Orthodox monastery of Deir Hijleh near Jericho commemorates St. Gerasimos, whose Laura was nearby

Cenobitic monasticism developed where a group of hermits and monks would shut themselves off from the world, and meet in common places only during prayer (Saturday and Sunday). Some of the famous monks were Sabas, Theodosius, Tiaoktistos and others who lived between these two forms of monasticism. Part of their lives was spent in seclusion in an isolated part of the cave in a Laura, and part of their lives they lived and built monasteries.

7. Qasr el Yahud, The Holy Land

Ben Dor A.

H

Qasr el Yahud, The Holy Land

1 hour or less

Qasr el Yahud "Castle of the Jews", is the official name of the baptism site in the Jordan River.

The movement for solitude by Christians derives from the Scripture (both Old and New Testaments), taking examples from the Prophet Elijah,

King David and Yeshua both born in Bethlehem on the edge of the desert. John the Baptist was also active in the Judean desert and the Jordan River where Yeshua was baptized and where the “Spirit led Yeshua into the desert for an experiment by Satan” where he fasted forty days and forty nights.