H is for heresy, hesychasm, and hermit.
Today is the feast day of St. Gerasimus.
Since my visit to the old old monastery of Gerasimus near Jericho two years ago I have posted much about the beautiful Greek Orthodox place in the desert.
In honor of his feast day, here are some more photos.
Saint Gerasimus and the animals.
The church.
I think it is the Father Abbot supervising a tree pruning.
Another of the many desert hermit monks who practiced the hesychastic asceticism.
A repaired crack in the church wall, result of an earthquake.
The Jordan Valley is part of the Great Rift Valley, prone to quakes.
Skulls and bones of monks down through the ages.
A modern cafe-oasis for thirsty pilgrims and tourists who like to visit this monastery.
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(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday and ABC Wednesday.)
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Beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteLeslie
abcw team
Quite magical to visit this place, Dina. Thank You
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
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Wonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteThe last picture looks so Hot and dry.
The monastery is a real oasis.
Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMarvelous shots. You make me want to see the monastery for myself.
ReplyDeleteThe skulls and bones are a bit morbid, but that seems typical of the notion of relics in churches.
A wonderful post, thank you Dina. I also appreciated your link to your prior posts and just browsed those as well. The Caravaggio in your Mary post is stunning; I don't remember seeing that before.
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful. My daughter loved her summer in Israel last year.
ReplyDeleteThat is truly an incredible place. It breathes history.
ReplyDeleteTimeless and therefore so important.
ReplyDeleteAlas I never got to Jericho! The pics are super, and the desert I saw from afar. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe mosaic is particularly interesting.
ReplyDeleteROG, ABC Wednesday
Friends, thanks for your interesting comments.
ReplyDeleteShoshana, shalom and welcome. Glad your daughter enjoyed being in Israel.
Adullamite, I am not allowed into Jericho any more because the area is under Palestinian Authority administration.
Roger, the monastery's workshop makes large and small mosaics to order. Business is good.
Since the monastery is in the desert, it is only right and proper that the cafe-oasis be relaxing and attractive. If I was a pilgrim, I would want to end my visit there, amongst the trees.
ReplyDeleteHels, I tried unsuccessfully to capture the digital sign on the cafe. It showed the current sizzling temperature outside.
ReplyDeleteI like Greek Orthodox churches because of the beautiful decorations and mosaic pieces of art. Your photos are very special.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment! It reminds me of "Anatevka".
(Tevye)
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
(Golde)
I don't remember growing older
When did they?
(Tevye)
When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?
(Golde)
Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?
Yes when did this happen. Time flies and before we know our grandchildren are parents themselves!
Hi Wil. You and I were lucky to just happen to find that open door to the little Greek Orthodox monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. I saw Fiddler on the Roof again on TV last week and the song is still in my head.
These places have very strange things around...
ReplyDeletelove your pic of the monk(?) working on the mosaic - very intricate! Too bad that the earthquake caused a tear in the artwork. Thanks for taking us on this visit to the monastery!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. Interesting to see how the mosaics are made. I've never yet visited an Orthodox church.
ReplyDeleteAs always, you are a great tour guide and the next best thing to being there!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty piece of history.
ReplyDeleteSimply fabulous!
ReplyDeleteLooks like an amazing place.
ReplyDeleteLooks quiet a church to visit will all taht to see
ReplyDelete...history abounds, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting. I was thinking as I scrolled down that it would be interesting to create a mosaic as cool as the one being created.
ReplyDeleteI like this interesting church. It looks like one of those places where you can spend hours looking around and taking photos.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting report; the art of mosaic, especially.
ReplyDelete