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Pilgrimage of Etheria

Egeria, tr. McClure and Feltoe, 1919

15. The City of Melchizedek

Directly I heard this, we alighted from our beasts, and lo! the holy priest of the place and the clergy deigned to meet us, and straightway receiving us led us up to the church. When we had arrived there, prayer was first said according to custom, then the passage from the book of holy Moses was read, then one psalm suitable to the place was said, then, after prayer made, we came down. When we had come down the holy priest addressed us. He was an elderly man, well taught in the Scriptures, and he had presided over the place from the time he had been a monk, to whose life many bishops — as we learned afterwards—bore great testimony, saying that he was worthy to preside over the place where holy Melchizedek — when Abraham was coming to meet him — was the first to offer pure sacrifices to God. When we had come down from the church, as I said above, the holy priest said to us: “Behold, these foundations which you see around the little hill are those of the palace of king Melchizedek. For from his time to the present day if any one wishes to build himself a house here, and so strikes on these foundations, he sometimes finds little fragments of silver and bronze. And this way which you see passing between the river Jordan and this village is the way by which holy Abraham returned to Sodom, after the slaughter of Chedorlaomer¹ king of nations, and where holy Melchizedek, the king of Salem, met him.”

Ænon

Then, because I remembered that it was written² that S. John had baptized in Ænon near to Salim, I asked him how far off that place was. The holy priest answered: “It is near, two hundred paces off, and, if you wish, I will now lead you there on foot. This large and pure stream of water, which you see in this village, comes from that spring.” Then I began to thank him and to ask him to lead us to the place, which was done. So we began to go with him on foot through the very pleasant valley, until we reached a most pleasant orchard, in the midst of which he showed us a spring of excellent and pure water, which sent out continuously a good stream. The spring had in front of it a sort of pool, where it appears that S. John the Baptist fulfilled his ministry. Then the holy priest said to us: “This garden is called nothing else to this day than³ cepos tu agiu iohannu in the Greek language, or as you say in Latin, hortus sancti Johannis. Many brethren, holy monks, direct their steps hither from various places that they may wash there.” So at the spring, as in every place, prayer was made, the proper lection was read and an appropriate psalm was said, and everything that it was customary for us to do whenever we came to the holy places, we did there also. The holy priest also told us that to this day, at Easter, all they who are to be baptized in the village, that is in the church which is called opus Melchisedech,⁴ are always baptized in this spring, returning early to vespers with the clergy and monks, saying psalms and antiphons, so that they who have been baptized are led back early from the fountain to the church of holy Melchizedek. Then, receiving eulogiae⁵ out of the orchard of S. John the Baptist from the priest, as well as from the holy monks who had cells in the same orchard, and always giving thanks to God, we set out on the way we were going.

The City of Elijah. The Brook Cherith

Then going for a time through the valley of the Jordan on the bank of the river, because our route lay that way for a while, we suddenly saw the city of the holy prophet Elijah, that is Thesbe, whence he had the name of Elijah the Tishbite.⁶ There, to this day, is the cave wherein the holy man sat; there too is the tomb of holy Getha,⁷ whose name we read in the books of the Judges. There too we gave thanks to God according to custom and pursued our journey. And as we journeyed that way we saw a very pleasant valley opening towards us on the left; it was very large and discharged a very great torrent into the Jordan, and in that valley we saw the cell of one who is now a brother, that is a monk. Then I, as I am very inquisitive, began to ask what was this valley where the holy monk had now made himself a cell, for I did not think it was without reason. Then the holy men who were journeying with us, and who knew the place, said, “This is the valley of Corra,⁸ where holy Elijah the Tishbite dwelt in the time of king Ahab,⁹ when there was a famine, and at the bidding of God the raven used to bring him food, and he drank water of the torrent. For this brook which you see running through this valley into Jordan, is Corra.” Wherefore giving thanks to God Who deigned to show us everything that we desired, unworthy as we were, we began to make our journey as on other days. And as we journeyed day by day, on the left side, whence on the opposite side we saw parts of Phœnicia, there suddenly appeared a great and high mountain which extended in length....

[A leaf is torn out.]

Burial-place of Job. Return to Jerusalem

... which holy monk and ascetic, after so many years spent in the desert, found it necessary to move and to go down to the city of Carneas, in order to advise the bishop and clergy of that time, according as it had been revealed to him, that they should dig in that place which had been shown to him; which was done. And they, digging in that place which had been shown to him, found a cave, which they followed for about a hundred paces, when suddenly, as they dug, a stone tomb came to light, and when they had uncovered it, they found carved on its lid (the name) Job. To this Job the church which you see was then built in that place, in such a manner that the stone with the body should not be moved, but that it should be placed, where the body had been found, and that the body should lie under the altar. That church, which was built by some tribune, has been unfinished to this day. Next morning we asked the bishop to make the oblation, which he deigned to do, and the bishop blessing us, we set out. There too we communicated, and always giving thanks to God we returned to Jerusalem, journeying through each of the stations through which we had passed three years before.

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