- Very little water
- No Electricity
- No heat
- Constant up and down
- They keep Byzantine time
- Services were all in Greek and ran about 4 hours starting at various times on different days - I did pray for many during the long services.
I was to be there for one more day but decided to leave as the life was very harsh with no orientation and monks generally not easy to engage because of language and their duties.
I was able to help clean the Churches and help in the trapeza after lunch one day but the rest of my time was unguided.
Unsure as to how to get back a day early I decided to park myself in the courtyard and solicit pilgrims for a ride back as well as let the monks know (no one seemed to be the “point person”.
God provided a Russian monk who had been there for several days (Igor) sitting also with his backpack.
His friend, Theodosius, arrived and thank goodness he spoke Russian, Arabic and English. He came with his precious daughter (7 -8 years old) to pick Igor up.
We worked it out for Igor to stay at the Paradise Premium for the night and then his friend will take him to Jerusalem to catch a bus to the airport and return toRussia.
On the way from Mar Saba monastery to the hotel Theodosius made several stops:
- One was St. Theodosius Monastery
- The other was a monastery with one person in it, that person an American
When we got to the second monastery (built by St. Theognios a contemporary of St. Saba and St. Theodosius) it was pretty barren and look like a fortress. Garbage everywhere, rocks everywhere and up on the top of the hill. The walls were topped with barbed wire and looked pretty formidable.
We hailed the monk who came out to greet us and I intervened because he was an American and my English was the best. It turns out that he was father Lazarus whom I met the day before at Mar Saba. He has been at Mar Saba for 26 years from San Francisco where I believe he was the administrator for the bookstore at the All Holy Virgin Cathedral where Pam and I and the boys visited a very long time ago.
The grounds are nearly completely undeveloped and need archeological work. Fr. Lazarus is ”guardian” of the property.
So Igor and I have been communicating with Google translate fairly well and will have dinner together at six this evening.
God willing I will be at the church of the forefathers in Beit Sahour for liturgy in the morning and return to the hotel perhaps just to walk the city a bit in Bethlehem and prepare for about a 1 AM departure early Monday morning!
Pictures:
The wadi at the bottom of the cliff at Mar Saba
Ancient monastic caves
My Room (# 11)
Mar Saba
Yup - Kerosene light!
Saint Theodosius monastery
St. Theognios Grounds - Fr. Lazarus personal home - the monastery is throughout the land surrounding it. Theodosios (middle), his daughter (left), Monk Igor (right).
The “fortress” protecting the home of Fr. Lazarus.
Monk Igor and me at the tomb of St. Sabba.
SOME ADDITIONAL PICTURES FROM ST. THEOGNIOS MONASTERY
A cave
And the trash that neighbors through on the property (a serious local ? Cultural ? problem - there is trash everywhere!)
Monastery ruins
Theodosios!
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