The Judean Wilderness and Mar Saba (The Orthodox Monastery of Saint Sabbas) - July 28, 2011 - (Matthew Mac Donald

On Thursday, we went out and explored the Judean Wilderness amidst the desert heat. Here are some pictures of the desert areas outside of Bethlehem:

After travelling about a half hour, we reached the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Sabbas (Mar Saba), which was the birthplace of Monasticism in Palestine. (For more on Saint Sabbas, who was a defender against the Monophysite heresy that held that Christ only had one divine nature and not two natures, one human and one divine, please click here). Saint John Damascene (also known as Saint John of Damascus), who is a Doctor of the Church that is revered both in the Eastern and Western Churches was buried at this monastery. He also was a refuter of the Iconoclast heresy, which considered all religious statues and imagery to be idolatry, and was a great theologian on matters concerning the person of Christ and the Assumption of Our Lady. Saint John Damascene's tomb is not available for public viewing at the monastery.

The Monastery of Mar Saba is known for their strict rules, outside of major feasts of the liturgical year it is opened from 9AM (or 10AM Israeli Time) until sunset every day. No women or meat is allowed in the monastery and men must wear pants while visiting the monastery (This was unfortunate since most of our company wore shorts that day and was not made aware of this rule until we were at the gate of the monastery). While we were at the monastery, I had a friendly conversation with one of the gatekeepers despite not letting all of us in because many of us were wearing shorts. In looking at some of the literature from the Monastery, one got a certain sense of some anti-Catholic tensions that have been present between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. Some of the Seminarians who were allowed into the Monastery were challenged by one of the monks on the legitimacy of certain Catholic beliefs that we Latin Rite Catholics emphasize such as the issue of the filioque (An insertion within the Nicene Creed that states the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son, not just the Father) as well as the importance of the papacy. Despite these occurrences, Mar Saba did offer great scenic views of the Kidron Valley and provided insight of what Eremitic Monasticism (Living the Monastic life as a hermit), and Cenobitic Monasticism (Living the Monastic Life within a community setting) is like. Let us pray also that both the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches may come to a deeper appreciation and understanding of their own theological and Apostolic roots that they hold in common together.

One of the Towers at the Entrance to the Monastery (It is believed that the Tomb of Saint John Damascene is contained in one of these towers)

The gateway into the Monastery

The Main Church of the Monastery

The view of the Monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley

The Hermitages of the Monks of the Monastery in the cliffs of the Kidron Valley

Group Shot overlooking the Kidron Valley