GUIDE TO THE HOLY LAND
The modern Jericho road links Jerusalem with Jericho and follows the same route it did during the time of the Saviour. One of the most famous Gospel events is the meeting of the Lord with Zacchaeus, happened in Jericho, Zacchaeus was an extremely rich man, the head of tax collectors for the Romans. He was a sinner but driven by an inner desire for spiritual revival, he longed to see Christ, and therefore, climbed a tree knowing it was his best chance. The Lord passing by knew the turmoil in Zacchaeus soul and so said to him“ Zacchaeus! Come down quickly, for today I must be at your house”. The tree of Zacchaeus, which he climbed, can be seen in the courtyard of the Greek Church dedicated to the prophet Elisha.
GALILEE
Galilee is the most blooming and beautiful part of the Holy Land. The Lord gathered his followers, taught them and performed most of his miracles here. Apart from Judas Iscariot, who was from Judea, all the other apostles were Galileans.
Nazareth is an Israeli city, and one of the most significant sacred places in Christianity. It is in Nazareth that Archangel Gabriel brought the good news to Virgin Mary, and Saviour lived here for 30 years before His entry into open service. Now in the place of the Saviour’ s childhood home, stands the Catholic Church of the Annunciation, and on the water spring, where the Virgin Mary drew water from, there is the Orthodox Church of the Archangel Gabriel.
The Cana of Galilee is the place where the Lord performed the first miracle, turning water into wine, and later healed the son of the courtier, saying to him:“ Go, your son is healthy”( John 4: 46 – 54). The Orthodox Church was consecrated in 1886 in honour of George the Victorious, the Great Martyr, and it was built on the means of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society. Here there are two stone water-carriers from that time. To the right from the Church entrance, there is a stone, which has been brought from Abkhazia from the place of the Martyr death of the Apostle Simon.
Mount Tabor. For now, on the top of Tabor, there are two monasteries: Orthodox and Catholic. The Orthodox one was renewed here in the XIX century by Archimandrite Irinarkh, who is a follower of the Monk Paisius Velichkovsky. In the Church, under the glass window there is a stone from the very top of the mountain, on which, according to the legend, the Lord stood during the Transfiguration. Also, there is the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin“ The Unfading Flower” in here. This simple
The Monastery of Temptation is an Orthodox Greek friary, which is on a mountain at the edge of Jericho. It is the place of the temptation of Jesus Christ by the Devil. The main relics of the monastery are; a cave where, according to the legend, Christ prayed, and the stone, on which the Lord sat. For the past 30 years, only an elderly monk, alongside his assistant have lodged in the monastery. The mountain is a real challenge for the cenobites who come here, because of challenges in climbing the mountain.
Mount Tabor is a 600-meter-high mountain, which is visible for many miles and is marked in history as the node of many significant sacred history events and above all, by the fact that it is atop of the mountain that the transfiguration of the Lord occurred. icon printed on the newsprint became famous by many healings. On the day of the Orthodox celebration of the Transfiguration of the Lord( August, 19), a cloud appears every year in the sky above Mount Tabor, even if the weather is clear. It descends to the Orthodox Church and covers both the Church and people, who are inside.
MONASTERIES OF THE JUDEAN DESERT
Between the 4th‐7th centuries in the Holy Land, there were dozens of monasteries with thousands of monks. These are the abodes of the Sts. Euthymius the Great, Theodosius the Great, Sabbas the Sanctified. St. Sabbas the Sanctified Orthodox Monastery exists to this day in perfect condition and structurally intact, it is in the Judean Desert on the slope of the Kidron stream dating back to the 5th century. Among those who lived in the monastery, are dozens of glorified saints( John Damascene, Andrew of Crete, etc.), and not excluding the Martyrs who suffered during the Muslim raids. The main shrine of the monastery holds the relics of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified. Nearby, there is the abode of Theodosius the Great.
Monastery of St. George of Choziba is in the valley of Wadi Qelt. It was once all green, but now it is hard to tell, looking at the stern bare rocks. The abode is next to the cave in which the Prophet Elijah lurked for three years and six months, eating the food that was brought to him by ravens. In the middle of the 20th century, an amazing ascetic, Venerable John the Romanian( 1913 – 1960), worked in the monastery. His relics and clothing are imperishable and now rest in one of the monastery churches, in a glass shrine.
Monastery of St. Gerasimus of Jordan was founded by St. Gerasimus in the 5th century. His life remarkably stands out due to the story about curing a lion, who then served the saint humbly all his life. On the icons of the monastery, the Venerable Gerasimus is depicted with the lion. In this monastery, the Venerable Zosima also worked and met the Venerable Maria of Egypt in the desert. On the left of the monastery entrance there is a small cave temple, in which the relics of the Martyrs and the miraculous fresco-icon of the Mother of God, The Nursing Madonna rest. According to legend, in this cave, the Holy Family lived here for a while, on the way to Egypt.
The city of Lidda is the homeland of St. George the Victorious. St. George was a Roman warrior and he suffered in Nicomedia at the beginning of the 4th century. His relics were brought to his homeland, Lydda. His tomb is in the crypt of the Arab Orthodox Church.
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