• from Pringle 1993-98 (v. II:224-225)

A church of St Elias, 'where he stayed', is first mentioned from around 1160 by Western pilgrims, on the way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem just before one reached Rachel's Tomb (Anon. VII, 6 (IHC, III, 80): cf. Anon. II (c.1170). 8 (IHC. III. 14); Anon. IX (1175), 5 (IHC, III, 94): Anon. v (1180s). 1. 11 (IHC, III, 32)). A piece of land belonging to St Elias (terra S. Helye) is also mentioned in 1178. lying east of the Jerusalem to Nablus road near to Tall al-Ful (Bresc-Bautier, 355-6, appx., no. 5: RRH. 149. no. 561): it is possible, however, that this belonged to the church of St Elias in Jerusalem itself (q.v.), rather than to the abbey.

The monastery was visited in 1185 by the Greek, John Phocas, who writes of it:

At the half way point from the Holy City is a Monastery of the Holy Prophet Elijah. which was erected by the ancient men who loved God. but had fallen down completely because of the earthquake. But this too the universal benefactor, my Lord and King, raised from the foundations, the work being done under the direction of a certain Syrian who was abbot. (ch. XXVII (PG. CXXXIII. 956; trans. Wilkinson, 332))

The Byzantine emperor by whose munificence the monastery had been restored was evidently Manuel I Comnenus (1143—80), and the earthquake the same one that had destroyed the monastery of St John the Baptist beside the Jordan (see Phocas, XXII (PG, CXXXXIII, 952); and no. 209); the tremor was probably that recorded by al-Suyuti around 1157, when many towns in the Latin Kingdom were said to have been destroyed (Kallner-Amiran 1950-1: 228; cf. Amiran, Arieh and Turcotte 1994: 269-70).

Like many Orthodox monasteries, the house seems to have survived Saladin's conquest of the area in 1187. Its abbot is recorded visiting King Richard's camp at Bait Nuba in June 1192, and taking the king to a place where he had buried a piece of the True Cross (Itin. Ric., v, 54 (RS, XXXVIII, 377-8; on the dating, see ibid., 378 n.3); Ambroise, lines 10,089-139 (ed. Paris, 270-1; trans. 440-1)). According to Roger of Howden the hiding place was the chapel of St Elias itself (Chronica (RS, LI.III, 182)), though Ralph of Coggeshall's account makes better topographical sense in placing it at St Samuel's (Nabi Samwil, no. 159), which lies directly between Bait Nuba and Jerusalem (Chronicon (RS, LXVI, 40-1)). The church of St Elias is also mentioned by thirteenth-century pilgrimage texts (ed. Michelant and Raynaud, 98 (c.1231); 1046⁶ (c.1230); 170 (1261); 186 (-1265); 196 (1268); 232 (c.1280)).

An anonymous Greek text of the late twelfth or thirteenth century describes the church as domed, and states that it was associated with the place in the wilderness where the prophet was fed by an angel while escaping from Jezebel (Anon. Graecus (1187- ), XIV (PG. CXXXIII, 989); cf. 1 Kings 19.4-7). This tradition was also known to later writers, including Philip of Savona in 1283 (ch. XXXIX (IHC, IV, 236)) and Nicolas of Poggibonsi (1346-50: 58); and to it were added others, such as that identifying this as the place where Elijah was born (de Caumont 1418: 45; Poloner 1422b: 18; Amico 1620a: pl. XLIV.23), where he was fed by ravens (Ignatius of Smolensk 1405: 154; cf. 1 Kings 17.1-7) and where he was taken up into heaven (Peter de Pennis c.1350: 366; cf. 2 Kings 2.11). It seems, however, that these traditions developed because of the existence of the monastery, rather than the reverse. Indeed, Peter de Pennis expressed his disbelief (c.1350: 366).

In the early fifteenth century St Elias is described by John Poloner as 'a tall building, a beauteous church belonging to the Greeks, with a well near its south wall' (1422b: 18). Francesco Suriano states in the draft of his treatise written in 1485 that the monastery was then inhabited by two Greek monks, but at times was uninhabited (1485b: 134 n.); however, another source says in 1492 that it had become a mosque (cf. Suriano 1485b: 132 n.).

In 1517 the monastery was in Greek hands (Vryonis 1981: 41; cf. Perera 1553b: 33). Near by, seventeenth-century visitors were shown by the monks the impression left by Elijah's body in the stone where he lay (Quaresmi 1626a: II, 456; 1626b: 296—8; Maundrell 1697a: 456). An inscription records rebuilding work in 1647. In the eighteenth century, however, Richard Pococke describes the building as `rustic', and notes, there is little remaining except the church, in which there are some paintings relating to the history of Elias and Elisha' (1743: II, 38-9). Another restoration was undertaken in 1976.

Discussion

John Phocas visited Mar Elias Monastery in ~1185 CE and wrote in his text Descriptio terrae sanctae that it had been erected by the ancient men who loved God, but had fallen down completely because of the earthquake. The date of the earthquake was not specified and is in question with earthquake cataloger Ambraseys (2009) suggesting that the earthquake in question was the Jordan Valley Quake(s) of 659/660 CE and Guidoboni and Comastri (2005), Ben-Menahem (1979), Amiran et. al. (1994), and Pringle (1993-98 v.2) favoring a mid 12th century CE date.

References