Mar Elias Monastery ( he, מנזר אליהו הקדוש, ar, دير مار إلياس, Deir Mar Elias) is a Greek Orthodox monastery in south Jerusalem, on a hill overlooking

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

and

Herodium Herodion ( grc, Ἡρώδειον, ar, هيروديون, he, הרודיון), Herodium (Latin), or Jabal al-Fureidis ( ar, جبل فريديس, , "Mountain of the Little Paradise") is an ancient Jewish fortress and town, located in what is now ...

History

According to Christian tradition,

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

rested here after fleeing the vengeance of

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

. It is also said to be the burial place of the Greek Bishop Elias of Bethlehem who died in 1345, and St. Elias, an Egyptian monk who became Patriarch of Jerusalem in 494. Another Christian tradition is that Mary rested under the large hackberry tree growing north of the monastery when she was fleeing Herod, who had ordered the execution of all the children of Bethlehem. MarEliasMonasteryFeb162022 03

From the hill east of the monastery, in 1956 one or rather several Jordanian soldiers opened fire on a group of Israeli archaeologists visiting the excavation sites across the valley at

Ramat Rachel Ramat Rachel or Ramat Raḥel ( he, רָמַת רָחֵל, ''lit.'' Rachel's Heights) is a kibbutz located in central Israel. An enclave within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries and overlooking Bethlehem and Rachel's Tomb (for which the kibbutz is ...

, killing four and injuring 16.''Israel Rejects Jordan's Claim Madman Killed 3'', Meriden Journal, 24 September 1956

/ref>Raphael Israeli, ''Jerusalem Divided: The Armistice Regime, 1947-1967'', p. 82. Routledge 2002, Series: Israeli History, Politics and Society (Book 23),

/ref>

After 1967

During the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, attackers of the Israel Defense Forces quickly overran

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian defences around the monastery on the way to Bethlehem and

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

. After 1967 the height, known as Elijah Hill, was renamed in Hebrew as Givat ha'Arba'a, Hill of the Four, in honour of the four victims killed in the 1956 incident. Facing the monastery is a stone bench erected by the wife of the painter

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolis ...

, who painted some of his major works at this spot. The bench is inscribed with biblical verses in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic and English. Since the 4th century, the monks of Mar Elias have cultivated olives and grapes.Where to Go: Mar Elias
/ref>

Gallery

The Mar-Elias monastery. Elijah being assumed into heaven in a chariot of fire.jpg, The Mar-Elias monastery. The iconostasis.jpg, The Mar-Elias monastery. The painting of the dome - Jesus Christ the Pantocrator.jpg, The Mar-Elias monastery. The painting of the western wall.jpg, MarEliasMonasteryFeb162022 01.jpg MarEliasMonasteryFeb162022 02.jpg MarEliasMonasteryFeb162022 04.jpg MarEliasMonasteryFeb162022 05.jpg MarEliasMonasteryFeb162022 06.jpg GivatHaArbaaFeb162022 01.jpg GivatHaArbaaFeb162022 02.jpg

References

Bibliography

* (pp
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��241) * * (p
322
* (pp
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31) * (pp
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* pp
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226
* (2nd appendix, p
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* (p
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* (p
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External links

Bible walks
Jonathan Lipnick, ''The First Church Dedicated Entirely To Mary'', in Biblical Hebrew & Greek, 20 July 2016
about the

Church of the Seat of Mary The Church of the Seat of Mary ( la, Ecclesia Kathismatis, from gr, κάθισμα, kathisma, seat), Church of the Kathisma or Old Kathisma being the name mostly used in literature, was a 5th-century Byzantine church in the Holy Land, locate ...

on the Jerusalem-Bethlehem road * Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAA

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