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Mount Tabor is a mountain in the Lower Galilee region of Israel. It’s 575 meters (1,886 feet) high and is 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of the Sea of Galilee.
Introduction to Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor is important to Christians as the site of the Transfiguration of Christ. In the Hebrew Bible, it’s the site of the Battle of Mount Tabor between the Israelites and Canaanites.
There are two monasteries atop Mount Tabor, which has been an important pilgrimage site since the 4th century. One is a large Roman Catholic church and monastery of the Franciscan order built atop the ruins of a Byzantine church. The other is a smaller Greek Orthodox monastery belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Because we were on an Orthodox pilgrimage, we only visited the Greek Orthodox monastery. If I have the chance to visit the Catholic monastery in the future, I will add it to this post.
Shuttles to the Top of Mount Tabor
Both monasteries are located near each other but are reached via two different roads. Pilgrims can walk up the road or take a shuttle. There’s a small area with a café and souvenir shop where visitors can wait to take a shuttle.
Our bus pulled up to the shuttle stop where there was a large Orthodox pilgrimage group from Romania ahead of us. We bought some water and sat for about 15 minutes before it was our turn to take the shuttle to the Greek Orthodox monastery.
Holy Monastery of Mount Tabor
When we arrived at the gates to the Holy Monastery of Mount Tabor, we tipped our van driver, stepped out, and waited for the nun to let us in. Only modestly dressed visitors were able to enter. The nun wouldn’t allow anyone wearing shorts through the gates. Once through the other side, we turned around to admire the mosaic on the inside of the tower above the gates.
Next, we walked to the church to buy candles and lit them in a small structure across from the entrance to the church. The bell tower stands in the corner of the courtyard.
Back inside the church, our guide, Archbishop Aristovoulos of Madaba, led the group in prayer. He then explained some of the important features of the church and gave us time to admire it for ourselves. It’s covered from floor to ceiling with beautiful icons.
Construction on the church started in 1859 under Irinarh Rosetti (d. 1859), a Romanian monk. It was finished by his disciple, Nectarie Banul, in 1862. An all-night vigil occurs every August 19, when Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Rock from the Transfiguration
There are two important items in the church highlighted by the Archbishop. First is a piece of the rock taken from the area of the Transfiguration. Most scholars agree that only the general area where the Transfiguration took place is known and not the actual rock. The rock is in a glass case underneath an icon of the Transfiguration on the right side of the church.
Paper Icon
The second item is a paper icon sent to the monastery by a Greek man from Crete. He put the icon in a bottle and threw it into the sea. It later washed up on the coast near Tel Aviv, and the person who found the bottle delivered the icon to the Holy Monastery of Mount Tabor. It now sits in a wooden case behind a pane of glass and is believed to work miracles. Many pilgrims leave tamata (votives) next to it.
Also on display is the letter the monks at the monastery sent to the man in response to receiving the icon. Years after receiving the letter, the man who sent the icon finally had a chance to visit the monastery and brought the letter with him.
