Saint John Climacus (605)

He was a monk on Mount Sinai who went there to live at the age of sixteen. He became an abbot, but after four years returned to his life as a hermit on this sacred mountain. It was on Mount Sinai that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. It is on Mount Sinai that Saint Catherine of Alexandria is buried. She was carried there by angels after her death in Egypt. Mount Sinai is about one hundred and ninety miles south of Jerusalem.

Icon of "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," with Saint John at the top rung (details/credits).

Icon of “The Ladder of Divine Ascent,” with Saint John at the top rung (details/credits).