Monastery of St. Theodosius

The Monastery of St. Theodosius, Deir Dosi and Deir Ibn Ubeid in Arabic, is the monastery founded east of the village of al-Ubeidiya (ancient Cathismus), some 8 kilometres east of Bethlehem, on the road towards Mar Saba Monastery. It was founded in 476 by Theodosius the Cenobiarch and contains his tomb. The monastery is closed on Wednesdays and Fridays (the fasting days of the week). A cave on the monastery grounds is, according to tradition, the place where the Three Magi took shelter during the first night after delivering their gifts to the newborn Baby Jesus, after an angel had appeared to them and ordered them to return home without reporting Jesus' location to King Herod. This Cave of the Magi is called Metopa in Greek.