Saint Euthymios came from Melitene of Armenia Minor, was born in 377AD and in 406 at the age of 29 came to the Holy Lands where he remained at the cave of the town of Faran for five years. In 411 seeking greater quietness he departed with his ascetic companion Theoktiston to another desert location at the cave of the torrent Wadi Mukellik. The fame of Saint Euthymios spread, and many monks, inhabitants of the surrounding areas and nomadic Arabs were coming to meet him. The Saint would take care and heal their sick. Among the healed ones was the son of Saracen chieftain Aspeveto, who suffered from paralysis. After this event, Aspeveto and all his tribe were baptized and became Christians. Aspeveto through the instigation of the Saint, was anointed bishop by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the name Peter, bishop of Interventions and was the first Arab bishop who represented the Arab nomads of the area at the Ecumenical Synod of Ephesus in 431AD. Moved by gratitude Aspeveto-Peter, built in the area Khan-el-Ahmar the most basic buildings of the Lavra of Saint Euthymios which reached its pinnacle with the synod of Chalcedon in 451AD when with the illumined presence of Saint Euthymios it became the fortress of Orthodoxy in Palestine.
Saint Euthymios reposed in 473AD at an age of 97, having ordered that the Lavra be transformed to a Coenobium. After a period of 7 years from his death, the area of the Lavra became a contemporary coenobium, enclosed within walls and included a spacious Church, cemetery, common trapeza, kitchen, many cells, stables, a tower, large reservoirs of water and other auxiliary places. These works were performed under the direction of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and under the supervision of the deacon of Jerusalem, Phidios. The Monastery in its long life of some eight centuries, was destroyed many times from the invasions of the barbarians and by earthquakes. In 616 by the Persians, in 637 by the Arabs, in 659 and 747 by earthquakes, in 1009 by the Caliph Hakim and finally in 1260-1270 by Circasian Mameluk Sultan Baibars-al-Malek-az-Zahir. During the centuries that followed the monastery was inhabited at times by monks and other times by Arabic tribes which during various periods ruled the region.
The identity of the place Khan-el-Ahmar with the monastery, coincides with the description that the biographer Saint Kyrill the Scythian provided and the archeological excavations that were done in the region. Excavations at the ruins of the monastery were done in 1928-1930 under the direction of Derwas J. Chitty for the British Archeological School of Jerusalem. Then the main Church and cemetery was cleaned. During 1976-79 new excavations were performed under the direction of Dr. John Meimari for the Department of Antiquities of Israel when further to previous mentioned areas of the Central Church and Cemetery, six more tombs within the central chamber were excavated and studied as well as another funeral chamber, west of the central one, a smaller subdivided Chamber north of the addition of the central Church, a later period Trapeza of the monastery and the areas within the north wall close to the present central entrance to the monastery.
A small tower of the central Church were superficially cleaned, as well as above the line of the west wall, the courtyards north and south of the cemetery and an area at the southeast side outside of the central Church. Furthermore, quite a few walls of the basic buildings were reinforced and preserved, having first uncovered the mosaic floors and the marble tiled floors of the central Church which at the end were again covered with sand to protect them. Quite a few architectural pieces were found such as pieces of frescoes from different eras, plaster frames of glass panes, a complete glass pane and numerous glass shards. Also conches from cooking utensils, oil lamps etc were found.
From the 1928-1930 and 1976-1979 excavations we believe the following were located from the building of Lavra: the place where the cell of the Saint was, the bethel building, a font and a storage of wheat east of the place of the excavations and perhaps even the original tomb of the Saint. From the buildings of the Coenobium which was built over the areas of the Lavra, the following were located: the cemetery, the basic walls of the Church, two beautiful tombs, and under the addition and to the north of the addition, the tower of the Monastery, the guardhouse, a number of rooms and the bottom part of the external wall at almost all its sides. From later periods the following were found: relics of the chapel above the cemetery, sections of the central Church, large reservoirs of water within and outside of the Monastery complex, a trapeza, a great part of the northwest wall with the exterior gate, many dividing and structural walls, stairs, corridors and room of a labyrinthic complex, which however if it was not cleaned completely, it could not be architecturally read or make a determination of the chronological phases of its operation.
Yiannis E. Meimaris
From: The Monastery of Saint Euthymios at the Great at Khan-Ahmer in the wilderness of Judea. Rescue excavations and basic protection Measures 1976-1979 Athens 1989
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