Saint John Climacus

John was born in the 6th century, perhaps in Syria or Palestine, and at about sixteen he went to the monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, today Saint Catherine's. After some years of training under an elder, he spent about forty years as a hermit at Thola, near the monastery, devoting himself to prayer, study of the Scriptures and the Fathers, and counsel to the many who came to him.

In his old age the monks of Sinai chose him as their abbot. At the request of another abbot, John of Raithu, he wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent, a spiritual guide in thirty steps, matching the hidden years of Christ, that leads the soul from renouncing the world through the struggle against vices to faith, hope and love. The book gave him his name, Climacus, from the Greek word for ladder. He died around 649, after again retiring to solitude.

In Eastern monasteries the Ladder is read aloud during Lent, and the Byzantine Churches dedicate the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent to him. Icons of the Ladder, showing monks climbing toward Christ, are found in Saint Catherine's Monastery and many Eastern churches.