Christian Monasticism in The Valley
The Kadisha (Holy) Valley is the site of some of the most ancient Christian monastic communities of the Middle East. The valley’s natural caves, being comfortless, scattered, and difficult to access, provided monks and hermits sufficiently isolated and inhospitable conditions to live out Christian solitude, contemplation, and devotion. Many of the caves and irregularities in the cliff-sides were adapted to serve as individual dwellings (cells), chapels, and monasteries, and such buildings were further carved out of the cliff faces of the valley. Some have interiors covered with frescoes and facades. Around the caves there are terraced fields made by the hermits for growing grain, grapes, and olives.
While there are numerous monasteries in the valley, there are several main monastic complexes:
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Famous quotes containing the words christian, monasticism and/or valley:
“The Christian always swears a bloody oath that he will never do it again. The civilized man simply resolves to be a bit more careful next time.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“Christianity as an organized religion has not always had a harmonious relationship with the family. Unlike Judaism, it kept almost no rituals that took place in private homes. The esteem that monasticism and priestly celibacy enjoyed implied a denigration of marriage and parenthood.”
—Beatrice Gottlieb, U.S. historian. The Family in the Western World from the Black Death to the Industrial Age, ch. 12, Oxford University Press (1993)
“Down in the valley,
Valley so low,
Hang your head over,
Hear the train blow.”
—Unknown. Down in the Valley (l. 1–4)