One of the World’s Oldest Continuously Run Libraries

The rocky landscape of the Sinai Peninsula hides a sacred place for pilgrims and adventurers alike. Ancient beliefs, rich history, and an incredible natural desert are just a small part of what you will see in the beautiful monastery of Saint Catherine.

All those who have heard about this beautiful place, probably think first of all the religious significance associated with it. According to some traditions and writings from the Old Testament, that is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
It is also known as the mountain of Moses. A place that was protected by the prophet Muhammad, especially in the Islamic world.

Needless to say, Mount Sinai is sacred to all three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The story of St. Catherine’s Monastery begins in the 4th century. Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great built a chapel on the exact place where it was believed that Moses found a bush that looked like fire, without actually burning. Even today, the Chapel of the Burning Bush is the center and the holiest place in the monastery.

The monastery has never been destroyed or looted in its entire history, making it one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world.

Another sacred part of the monastery is one large bush, which is said to be the burning bush that Moses saw. The plant belongs to a rare species of the rose family called Rubus Sanctus.

One of the great treasures of the monastery is the icons and mosaics on the walls and church buildings, which represent the best early collection of icons in the world. Most of these icons date from the 6th century. There are several improtatnt religious artifacts. The monastery also owns a silver chalice from King Charles VI of France. 

But the most interesting thing is that this place contains the oldest continuously operating library in the world. Not only is the library among the oldest, but it also has the second-largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in various languages in the world, surpassed only by the collection of the Vatican Library.

The St. Catherine library contains around 6,000 rare, early printed books, most of which are in Greek. Not only are there numerous early and important editions of the Holy Scriptures, but also many Orthodox service books. Surprisingly, most of these books have been greatly preserved.

Some of the rare manuscripts include the missing parts of the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century manuscript copy of the Greek Bible, and a 4th-century manuscript of the four canonical gospels of the New Testament.

The Pact or Covenant of Muhammad is worth mentioning because it states that the Muslim prophet Muhammad gave his protection to the monastery.

These listings also include the first editions of Homer (1488) and Plato (1513), Comedies by Aristophanes (1498), the Great Etymological Lexicon of the Greek Language (1499), and many others.

Among the most treasured items are the palimpsests, which are Manuscripts with multiple layers of writing. It is estimated that there are about 130 of them at St. Catherine’s Monastery. A team of researchers is using new technology to discover hidden texts in known and long-lost languages.

UNESCO designated this monastery a World Heritage Site in 2002. And although there are more than 100000 visitors each year, they are not permitted to visit the library. Until recently the library was available exclusively to monks and monks-approved researchers. Today this unique literary collection is being slowly opened to the public.