Oak of Mamre

The Oak of Mamre in 2008.

In the monastery of the Holy Trinity.

The Oak of Mamre (also called the Oak of Sibta), at Hirbet es-Sibte, two kilometres southwest of Mamre in the West Bank,^[1] also called The Oak of Abraham^[2] is an ancient tree which, in tradition, is said to mark the place where Abraham entertained the three angels^[3] or where Abraham pitched his tent. It is estimated that this oak is approximately 5,000 years old.

The site of the oak was acquired in 1868 by Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) for the Church of Russia, and the Monastery of the Holy Trinity was founded nearby.^[4] The site has since been a major attraction for Russian pilgrims before the revolution, and is the only functioning Christian shrine in the Hebron region. After the Russian Revolution, the property came under the control of the ROCOR.

A long-standing tradition is that the Oak of Abraham will die before the appearance of the Antichrist. The main oak trunk has been dead since 1996.^[5][6] In 1998 appeared a root sprout.^[7]

References

This article incorporates text from Oak of Mamre at OrthodoxWiki which is licensed under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL.

1. ^ Genesis 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD(KJV)
2. ^ The Hebrew term Eloney Mamreh of Genesis 13:18 is considered by some translators to be a name of a region in Canaan. Other scholars dispute this and suggest that it is the reference to the terebinth trees of Mamre; or to the Oak of Mamre, which is now known as Abraham's Oak
3. ^ New Challenge for Arafat: A Russian Church by Serge Schmemann for the New York Times, July 11, 1997.
4. ^ The Hebron Monastery has emerged as a political issue between Russia and Palestinian authorities.
5. ^ Hebron's holy tree is dead but its successors live. Publication Date: 27 December 1996
6. ^ Rome News-Tribune. Publication Date: 29 December 1996
7. ^ Российские специалисты проанализировали состояние Мамврийского дуба