The Chapel of the Burning Bush is the most ancient shrine in the Monastery of Saint Katherine at the base of Mount Sinai, and it was around this site that the first community of Sinai anchorites gathered. The bush was mentioned by Egeria, who came to Sinai in 383-384 AD. The chapel is behind the sanctuary of the Basilica of the Transfiguration. Pilgrims enter this most holy place without shoes, in keeping with God’s command to Moses.
According the oldest monastic tradition, this chapel sits atop the roots of the same biblical bush "that burned with fire, and was not consumed" (Exodus 3:2) when God spoke to Moses for the first time. A few feet away from the chapel is the reputed bush itself, a rare species of the rose family called Rubus Sanctus. This species is endemic to Sinai and extremely long-lived, a fact that lends scientific credence to the site. The sprawling bush is said to have been transplanted in the tenth century, when the chapel was given a roof and the bush needed sunlight to survive. Today, it is very large in size, even though it is trimmed and its remains are ironically burned in flames.
According the oldest monastic tradition, this chapel sits atop the roots of the same biblical bush "that burned with fire, and was not consumed" (Exodus 3:2) when God spoke to Moses for the first time. A few feet away from the chapel is the reputed bush itself, a rare species of the rose family called Rubus Sanctus. This species is endemic to Sinai and extremely long-lived, a fact that lends scientific credence to the site. The sprawling bush is said to have been transplanted in the tenth century, when the chapel was given a roof and the bush needed sunlight to survive. Today, it is very large in size, even though it is trimmed and its remains are ironically burned in flames.
