Qualla: Monastery of Saint George of Choziba https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Monastery of Saint George of Choziba https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba Monastery of Saint George of Choziba: Introduction https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba/ Photo credit Fallaner, CC BY-SA 4.0. The monastery appears impossible. It clings to the vertical north face of Wadi Qelt, a deep gorge cutting through the Judean Desert between Jerusalem and Jericho, its walls and balconies seemingly growing from the cliff itself. The wadi parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the same road that provides the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the descent to reach the monastery is steep enough that young men with donkeys still offer rides down and back up for a negotiable fee. Monks have lived in these cliffs since around 420 CE, drawn by the same arid solitude that once drew the prophet Elijah, and the building has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times that its persistence feels like its own kind of miracle.

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Image: Fallaner | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/sv9j-monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Monastery of Saint George of Choziba: Hermits and Ravens https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba/ Photo credit sir kiss, Public domain. Monastic life here began around 420 CE, when a handful of monks seeking the desert experience of the biblical prophets settled around a cave where tradition held that Elijah had been fed by ravens. They lived as a lavra, a loose community of hermits occupying caves in the surroun...

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Image: sir kiss | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/sv9j-monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-hermits-and-ravens.mp3 0:06 2 full Monastery of Saint George of Choziba: Destruction and Silence https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba/ Photo credit Hoshvilim, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Persians destroyed the monastery in 614 CE, killing monks whose bones and skulls are still kept in a chapel outside the monastery walls. Crusaders rebuilt it in the 12th century, but after their defeat and expulsion from the region, the monastery was abandoned again. The Russ...

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Image: Hoshvilim | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/sv9j-monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-destruction-and-silence.mp3 0:06 3 full Monastery of Saint George of Choziba: Kalinikos and the Rebuilding https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba/ Photo credit Nevborg, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1878, a Greek monk named Kalinikos settled among the ruins and began restoring the monastery, a project that took 23 years and was completed in 1901 with help from the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The rebuilt complex follows the contours of the cliff, its walkways and chambers fitt...

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Image: Nevborg | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/sv9j-monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-kalinikos-and-the-rebuilding.mp3 0:06 4 full Monastery of Saint George of Choziba: Faith Under Duress https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba/ Photo credit Dr. Avishai Teicher, CC BY 2.5. The monastery's modern history has not been peaceful. Father Germanos Tsibouktzakis arrived in 1993 and devoted himself to the monastic life in the tradition of the ancient Wadi Qelt hermits, offering hospitality to visitors, improving the stone pilgrim path, repairing aqueducts,...

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Image: Dr. Avishai Teicher | CC BY 2.5

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/sv9j-monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-faith-under-duress.mp3 0:06 5 full Monastery of Saint George of Choziba: The Cliff and the Road Below https://qualla.com/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba/ Photo credit --Nasib Bitar 06:45, 30 November 2007 (UTC), Public domain. Reaching the monastery requires commitment. From Highway 1 between the Dead Sea and Jerusalem, visitors turn off to Mitzpe Yericho and follow signs to a parking lot perched on the opposite rim of the wadi. The hike down is about one kilometer but punishingly steep, and in the des...

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Image: --Nasib Bitar 06:45, 30 November 2007 (UTC) | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/j/monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-wp/sv9j-monastery-of-saint-george-of-choziba-the-cliff-and-the-road-below.mp3 0:06 6 full