07 Works, Today, March 30th, is Saint John Climacus' Day, With Footnotes - #88

Saint John Climacus

"I have built a ladder of ascent… from earth to holiness… In honor of the thirty years of the Lord, I have built a ladder of thirty steps, which if we climb it to the age of the Lord, we will be righteous and safe from falls." 

Saint John Climacus, (born c. 579—died c. 649, Mt. Sinai, Sinai Peninsula). He is best known as the author of the Ladder of Divine Ascent, a treasury of spiritual wisdom which is read in its entirety in monasteries during every Lenten season. He is also commemorated on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent.

Anonymous

Ladder of Divine Ascent, 12th century

Icon

Saint Catherine's Monastery 

Knowing of the saint's wisdom and spiritual gifts, the abbot of Raithu asked on behalf of all the monks of his monastery for "true instruction for those who seek unwaveringly, and a kind of steadfast ladder that will take those who desire it to the Heavenly gates…" 

The Ladder of Divine Ascent or The Ladder of Paradise. St John Climacus described the Christian life as a ladder with thirty rungs.  Also shown are angels helping the climbers, and demons attempting to shoot with arrows or drag down the climbers, no matter how high up the ladder they may be. Most versions of the icon show at least one person falling. Often, in the lower right corner St. John Climacus himself is shown, gesturing towards the ladder, with rows of monastics behind him. More on this icon

Nothing is known of his life before he entered the monastery at Mount Sinai (now St Katherine's Monastery) at the age of sixteen; he remained there until his death at the age of eighty. 

Mount Sinai Monastery/Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai, Egypt

Lithograph by Louis Haghe, c. 1845

Louis Haghe (17 March 1806, Tournai, Belgium – 9 March 1885 London) was a Belgian lithographer and watercolourist.

Training in his teens in watercolour painting, he found work in the relatively new art of lithography when the first press was set up in Tournai. He visited England to find work, and settled there permanently in 1823.

Together with William Day (1797–1845), around 1830 he formed the partnership Day & Haghe, which became the most famous early Victorian firm of lithographic printing in London. After William's death in 1845, the firm became known as 'Day & Son'.[They were pioneers in developing the medium of the lithograph printed in colours.

In 1838, Day and Haghe were appointed 'Lithographers to the Queen'. Possibly his most ambitious project was providing 250 images for David Roberts' The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia printed between 1842–1849. Roberts praised his skill and artistry, although John Ruskin called it 'forced'.

From the mid-1850s Haghe concentrated more on his watercolours, and gained a reputation for his architectural scenes of northern Europe, with his pictures bought and displayed by the Victoria and Albert Museum. He also painted in oils, which were exhibited at the British Institution. He became president of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours from 1873 to 1884. More on Louis Haghe

After he first arrived, he spent nineteen years in strict obedience to his spiritual father, Martyrios. When Martyrios died, John retired to a nearby cave, where he lived in the strictest asceticism for twenty years. 

Saint John Climacus in his cave

He reluctantly returned to the monastery when he was made abbot by the brethren, and spent the rest of his days guiding his spiritual children in the way of salvation.

Saint John Climacus, abbot 

Once he heard a monk criticize him for speaking too much; rather than reproach the monk, he himself kept silence for a full year, never uttering a word until the brethren begged him to speak again. At another time a large company of pilgrims came to Mt Sinai. At supper they all saw a young man, dressed as a Jew, serving at table and giving orders to the other servants, then suddenly disappearing. When they wondered among themselves what this could mean, John said 'Do not try to look for him; that was the prophet Moses serving you in his own home.'

Saint John Climacus

Gifted with a strong, sharp mind that was made wise by deep spiritual experience, he taught everyone who came to him and guided them to salvation.

When the holy abbot knew that his death was approaching, he appointed his own brother, George, as his successor. George grieved the approaching death of his beloved brother, but St John told him that, if he was found worthy to stand close to God after his death, he would pray that George be taken up to heaven in the same year. So it happened: ten months after St John's death, George reposed in the Lord. More on Saint John Climacus

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