The Monastery of the Temptation (, ''Monastḗri tou Peirasmoú''; , ''Deir al-Qurunṭul''; ) is a

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

located in

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. It was built on the slopes of the

Mount of Temptation Mount of Temptation, in Palestinian Arabic (), is a mountain over the city of Jericho in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine; ancient Christian tradition identifies it as the location of the temptation of Jesus described in the New Testame ...

350 meters above sea level, situated along a cliff overlooking the city of

and the Jordan Valley. Its most ancient structures date back to the 6th century, having been built above the cave traditionally said to be that where

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

spent forty days and forty nights fasting and meditating while he was tempted by

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

. It currently serves as a tourist attraction and its land is under the full jurisdiction of the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

, while the monastery is owned and managed by the

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem,, ''Patriarcheîon Hierosolýmōn;'' , also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Established in th ...

.Deir Quruntal & the Monastery of Temptation
Visit Palestine.

History

Hellenistic period

A fortress built by the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...

s called "Doq" stood at the summit of the mountain. It was captured by the Hasmoneans and it was here that

Simon Maccabaeus Simon Thassi ( ''Šīməʿōn haTassī''; died 135) was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. Names The name "Thassi" has a connotation of "the Wise", a title which can also mean "the Director", "the Guide" ...

was murdered by his son-in-law Ptolemy.

Byzantine period

The earliest monastery was constructed by the Byzantines in the 6th century CE above the cave traditionally said to be that where

spent forty days and forty nights fasting and meditating during the

temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

, about three kilometers northwest of Jericho. The monastery receives its name from the mountain which the early

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

referred to as the "Mount of the Temptation". The Mount of Temptation was identified by '' Augusta''

Helena of Constantinople Flavia Julia Helena (; , ''Helénē''; – 330), also known as Helena of Constantinople and in Christianity as Saint Helena, was an '' Augusta'' of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. She was born in the lower ...

as one of the "holy sites" in her pilgrimage in 326 CE.Jericho – Monastery of Temptation (Quarantal Monastery)
Flickr.

Early Muslim period

, including Jericho, was

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

by the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

s under the

Islamic Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the enti ...

Umar ibn al-Khattab Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...

in the 630s.

Crusader period

When the

Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

s conquered the area in 1099, they built two churches on the site: one in a cave halfway up the cliff and a second on the summit. They referred to the site as Mons Quarantana (compare with ''quarante'' in modern French and ''quaranta'' in modern Italian, both meaning forty, the number of days in the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

account of Jesus's fast).

Late Ottoman period

The land upon which the modern monastery was built was purchased by the Orthodox Church in 1874. In 1895, the monastery was constructed around a crude cave

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

that marks the stone where Jesus sat during his fast.Lee, 2002, p. 346.Jacobs, 1998, pp. 425–426. The Orthodox Church, along with its Palestinian Orthodox followers purchaser, originally attempted to build a church at the summit, but were unsuccessful; the unfinished walls of that church are located on a slope above the monastery.

Palestinian Authority

In 1998, a cable car was built from Jericho's Tell es-Sultan to the level of the monastery by an Austrian-Swiss company as a tourist attraction for the year 2000.Jericho cable car
/ref> As of 2002, three Orthodox

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s were dwelling in the monastery and were guiding visitors to the site.

References

Bibliography

* (pp.
201
3) * (pp
41
5) *Jacobs, Daniel. Eber, Shirley. (1998
Israel and the Palestinian Territories
Rough Guides. *Lee, Risha Kim. (2002
Let's Go 2003 Israel and the Palestinian territories
Let's Go Incorporate. * (pp
252258

External links

Monastery of the Temptation
, seetheholyland.net *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 18:
IAAWikimedia commons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Temptation, Monastery of Greek Orthodox monasteries in Palestine Churches completed in 1895 Christian monasteries in the West Bank Christian monasteries established in the 19th century Buildings and structures in Jericho 6th-century religious buildings and structures 6th-century establishments in Asia Temptation of Christ