“Yours are the heavens, and Yours is the earth; You have founded the world and all that is in it. You have created the north and the south; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon will rejoice in Your name. Your arm is mighty” (Psalm LXXXVIII, 12–13)
In the heart of Galilee, 613 metres above sea level, lies one of the most visited Holy Sites in Israel: Mount Tabor! This mountain is regarded as a nature reserve because of its vegetation with biblical names, and because of the major events that took place here and which are recounted in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, the verdant plains of Galilee bring to mind the many Gospel accounts associated with these places: the village of Nain, where the Saviour raised the son of a widow from the dead; beyond Nain, Mount Gilboa, where Saul died; and nearby, the biblical town of Endor, where a witch lived who told Saul that he would die in battle on Mount Gilboa. And further north of all these, at the foot of Mount Tabor, lies the Arab village of Daburyya, where Deborah, the Old Testament prophetess and judge, lived: ‘At that time, Deborah the prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was a judge in Israel. She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, on Mount Ephraim, and the people of Israel would come there to her to be judged” (Judges 4:4–5). You cannot climb this holy mountain without passing through the towns listed above.
On the plain of Jezreel/the height of Megiddo – Har Megiddo (Hebrew) or the plain of Armageddon – Mount Tabor, ‘a mountain amongst mountains’ (Jeremiah 46:18), can be seen on the horizon! In ancient times, Jezreel was a city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, a commercial centre of its day, where caravans laden with goods from as far afield as China and India, Arabia and Persia would stop. Those caravans carried expensive and rare goods: spices, precious stones, fabrics, flax, ivory, amber and more. This area of Lower Galilee was prosperous thanks to its location in fertile lands, rich in water and vegetation. Consequently, this valley near Mount Tabor formed part of the network of routes used by camel caravans that traversed the deserts of the Far East over weeks and months and, stopping off at various points, they reached the Mediterranean Sea, where the transport of goods continued by sea to Constantinople. In the 4th century AD, the route formed part of the Via Maris – the ‘Sea Road’ – which linked the ports of Joppa, Alexandria and Constantinople.
In the time of our Lord Jesus Christ, biblical Palestine was divided into three provinces: Judea, in the Jerusalem area; Samaria, to the north and towards the centre; and, far to the north, Galilee. Galilee was the most fertile region, partly due to the proximity of the Sea of Galilee. For the Jews, the two northern regions – Samaria and Galilee – were inhabited by ‘pagans’. The Lord Jesus Christ, being a Galilean, spoke the northern Aramaic dialect. The Aramaic language was in common use, being the everyday language in that region inhabited by simple peasants, fishermen, farmers, and sheep and goat herders. All the apostles of Christ the Saviour were Galileans, with the exception of Judas Iscariot.
Beyond all this and beyond the understanding of the society of that time, the Saviour Christ had come from Caesarea Philippi to this holy mountain together with three of His disciples, Peter, James and John: ‘Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John, his brother, with him and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ Whilst he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ And when the disciples heard this, they fell face down on the ground and were greatly afraid. Then Jesus came near to them and, touching them, said, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one but Jesus alone. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell no one what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead’ (Matthew 17:1–9).
Peter, who had exclaimed in amazement, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here’, later bore witness to the divine work that had taken place on Mount Tabor on that day of the Lord’s Transfiguration: ‘And we ourselves heard this voice coming down from heaven whilst we were with Him on the Holy Mountain’ (1 Peter 1:16–19).
However, shortly before the sufferings of Christ the Saviour, which were to take place in Jerusalem, whilst He was in Caesarea Philippi, the Son of God was walking amongst the cornfields with His disciples and asked them: ‘Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ And they replied: ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ And He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus, answering him, said: ‘Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:13–18).
Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples in those days about the fact that He would have to go to Jerusalem and ‘suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again’ (Matthew 16:21). But He also showed the way forward for those who wish to follow Him: ‘Jesus said to His disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is to come in the glory of His Father, with His angels; and then He will reward each person according to their deeds. Truly I tell you: there are some standing here who will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom’ (Matthew 16:28).
This event and this miracle performed by Christ the Saviour on Mount Tabor have, over the centuries, attracted multitudes of hermits, ascetics and monks, who wished to live in the caves of this mountain, keeping vigil and praying ceaselessly.
The emergence and growth in number of monasteries and monks in biblical Palestine during the 4th–7th centuries led to the development of pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Jerusalem became the world’s greatest centre of pilgrimage and retains this title to this day. The crucifixion of the Son of God and all the testimonies of faith that followed His crucifixion and Resurrection increased the number of martyrs throughout the Eastern Roman Empire. With these events, interest in visiting the Holy City of Jerusalem and the other sites in the Holy Land has grown ever more, from one century to the next, from one year to the next. Thus, one of the most important processions of the church year is that associated with the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor (19 August). From the evening of 18 August, pilgrims ascend Mount Tabor to take part in the Midnight Mass. One of the miracles that occur year after year at the Holy Places is the appearance of a cloud over Tabor. This procession is regarded as the festival of Galilee, attended annually by over 500,000 pilgrims. In the past, the only way to climb the mountain was by donkey or camel. Today, small vehicles have replaced the camels, as the road is steep, winding and crosses steep valleys.
King Melchizedek’s Cave
On the summit of Mount Tabor lies a cave known as the Cave of King Melchizedek, where he lived at the time he met Abraham: ‘And when Abram was returning after defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, which is now called the Valley of the Kings. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine to him. This Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God. And Melchizedek blessed Abram, and said: ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth’ (Genesis 14:17–18). At the beginning of the Christian era, a chapel was built inside the cave, in which the Divine Liturgy was celebrated until the Persian invasion of 614, when the Holy Altar was destroyed and only the stone blocks remained, overgrown with tall grass. Today, the cave is closed to visitors.
In the 4th–7th centuries AD, on the summit of Mount Tabor there were three churches dedicated to Christ the Saviour and Saints Elijah and Moses, who had appeared alongside the Son of God during His Transfiguration. Today, there are still two monasteries dedicated to the miracle of the Transfiguration of the Lord: the Franciscan and the Orthodox.
The Gate of the Winds (Bab el-Hawa, in Arabic)
This stone gate, built in the 13th century by the Arabs, stands at the crossroads between the two monasteries situated on the summit of Mount Tabor – the Franciscan and the Orthodox. Clusters of tall cypress trees line the road, their anachronistic silhouettes cut against the blue sky, silent witnesses to the mountain’s history.
The Franciscan Monastery of the Transfiguration
The Church of the Transfiguration (Kanīsat At-tajalli, in Arabic) is a Franciscan church on Mount Tabor. Tradition holds that it stands on the original site where the Saviour was transfigured before his disciples and spoke with Moses and Elijah. The first church was built in the 4th century by Saint Helena. Destroyed in subsequent centuries by Persian invasions, it was rebuilt by the Brotherhood of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The church as it stands today was completed in 1924 by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi. The imposing church, adorned with mosaics finished in gold leaf depicting the miracle of the Transfiguration on the Mount, houses in its basement – with an opening onto the exterior of the church, towards the Valley of Armageddon – the three huts, believed to be the original ones from the time of the disciples. Overcome with fear and awe, Peter is said to have exclaimed: ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three huts here: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah’ (Matthew 17:4).
The Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor
Countless invasions by the Persians, Arabs and Ottomans left this monastery in ruins. The first monk to completely rebuild the monastery’s church was Archimandrite Irinarh Rosetti. The life of this great hermit is a shining example: he lived as a hermit for 12 years on Mount Nechit, and for 2 years on Mount Horăiciorul – Neamț, where he founded Horaița Monastery (1831), and after 1841, he set off for the Holy Land, bound for Mount Tabor. Regarding the time spent in the Holy Land by Archimandrite Irinarh Rosseti and Archimandrite Nectarie Banul 1, we learn that they wrote an exceptional chapter in Romanian history on Mount Tabor:
“At that time, the Father was in his 66th year, and he had fallen ill with a stomach ailment, suffering from swollen legs and a cold. And it occurred to him to go to Jerusalem, to worship and to spend the rest of his life in Palestine, as it is a warmer place (…). We both climbed into the cart and went to Iași, to the Metropolitan, to ask for his blessing for Jerusalem (...). And he graciously granted our request and, after reciting prayers for forgiveness and safe travel, blessed us (…). And so, we set sail from Brăila and went to Jerusalem; and we spent two years in Jerusalem. After those two years, we wished to go to Galilee, to worship at the Holy Places there: Nazareth, the village of Nain, Mount Tabor, Cana of Galilee, the place where the Lord blessed the five loaves in the wilderness, the Sea of Tiberias, and the village of Safurie, where the Mother of God was born. All these places are close to one another, only about two hours’ journey apart. And we hired a man with three donkeys, and set off from Jerusalem towards the north, and in two days we reached the city of Samaria, where Jacob’s Well is situated, about an hour’s walk outside the city; and we drank some water, and entered the city, and spent the night there; on the third day we travelled for two hours and reached Sebaste, where the prison stands in which Herod had beheaded the Forerunner, and we paid our respects. From there, we went to a village and spent the night. On the fourth day, we walked for four hours, and there were still two hours’ walk to Nazareth; as we looked eastwards from the road, we saw Mount Tabor, two hours’ walk away from the road, and as soon as we saw it, my father said to me: ‘Behold, my son, the mountain which the Angel of the Lord showed me in a dream and told me to climb to its summit if I wished to become a monk.’ For from that time until now, however many places I have travelled and however many mountains I have seen, I have always looked to see if any resembled it, and I have found none. And this is truly the one I saw.”
On 26 December 1856, Archimandrite Irinarh Rosetti passed away, leaving the church completed and part of the cell complex built. His disciple, Archimandrite Nectarie Banul, remained to continue his abbot’s work. In 1862, the church of the Monastery of Tabor was consecrated by Patriarch Cyril of Jerusalem. In 1890, he withdrew to a life of prayer at the Monastery of Saint Sava, near Bethlehem, where he ended his life of asceticism in the Holy Land in 1900. Before leaving for the Monastery of Saint Sava, Archimandrite Nectarie Banul witnessed the transfer of the mortal remains of his abbot and spiritual father, Irinarh Rosetti, which took place in the presence of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Patriarch “read the prayers for the forgiveness of sins and ordered some workmen to dig a grave outside the church, at the southern corner of the church, near the western wall, and ordered that he be carried out of the church and laid in the grave they had dug for him”.
The Orthodox monastery on Mount Tabor still stands today, being the most visited site in Galilee, the place where two Romanian monks, whodevotedly inscribed their names in the history of the Holy Mount Tabor, restoring to the Orthodox world this place of worship that commemorates the light of Tabor. Through everything within the monastery – the services and the church’s frescoes, as well as the centuries-old trees – the traveller who arrives here will reverently relive a chapter in the history of Christianity.
Whichever part of Galilee you come from, Mount Tabor rises majestically above the expanses of cultivated and ever-green valleys. The Galilean springs, with their blossoming almond trees, the roads lined with centuries-old eucalyptus trees, their trunks bleached by the sun, the deep blue of the sky and the almost tangible tranquillity of the place constantly remind the traveller that our Lord Jesus Christ carried out His messianic ministry for three and a half years in Galilee of the Gentiles, in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, towards the sea, beyond the Jordan (Matthew 4:12–17), performing many miracles, teaching the people, and bestowing upon them His divine love. And one of those miracles is the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Year after year, for centuries on end, Christians have climbed this mountain to commemorate the event and the miracle that took place in the time of Christ the Saviour. On the night of 18–19 August, during the Divine Liturgy, the appearance of a luminous cloud above the mountain’s summit, enveloping all living things, causes everyone present in the courtyard of the Orthodox monastery to exclaim, just as Peter once did: ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here!’… The three huts built today near the church symbolically embody the 21st-century world’s connection to the biblical, scriptural world, demonstrating the complete faith of those who have taken up their cross daily and followed the Saviour Christ.
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From ‘The Life and Times of the Venerable Archimandrite Irinarh Rosetti’, by Nectarie BANUL, Archimandrite, with a preface by C. Erbiceanu, professor, excerpted from The Romanian Orthodox Church, XXII (1898), Bucharest – Church Books Printing House, 1898, Academy Library.