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The Ladder of Divine Ascent is an ascetical treatise written by John Climacus in the 6th century for monastics[1]. It explains the path to unity with God's love and how to avoid vice and practice virtue in order to obtain salvation[2]. An icon depicting the ladder can be found at Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai[3]. The work has been published in book form, such as "John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent" (Classics of Western Spirituality)[4] and "The Ladder of Divine Ascent"[5].
Saint Catherine's Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery located on Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt[1][2]. It was founded between 548-565 CE by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I[2][3], and is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world[2]. The monastery is surrounded by a massive granite wall that is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) thick and 11 meters (36 feet) high[3].
The monastery was named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose purported body was discovered there in the 9th century[2][3]. It is also believed to be the site of where God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush[1]. The oldest record of monastic life at Mount Sinai comes from a travel journal written in Latin by a pilgrim woman named Egeria (Etheria; St Sylvia of Aquitaine) about 381/2–386[2].
Saint Catherine's Monastery is renowned for its extraordinary holdings of Byzantine art, including rare Early Byzantine icons such as a 13th-century icon depicting Saint Theodosia which is one of five icons at Saint Catherine’s that depict the same saint[4][5].AccurateInaccurate
