Along the charming hillside paths linking chapel to church to cottage to dining hall on the grounds of the Russian Orthodox Gorney Convent, Ein Karem may best reveal itself as the “village in the hill country of Judea” where Mary came to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39).
The convent, high on the slope above the Spring of Mary in the heart of Ein Karem, is enjoying major renovation – where once only the shell of a church stood because funds were lacking, burnished copper domes now catch the sun, and masons and artists are hard at work.
The small, colorful chapel is built around a rock that legend says was used as a pulpit by Ein Karem’s most famous native son – John. Ancient agricultural terraces sprout pepper trees, almonds and olives, cypresses and shady pines on the grounds of the convent, where the sisters welcome visitors.