Lebanon's Christians Feel Heat of Climate Change in Sacred Forest and Valley

Workers install a censor on a Lebanese cedar tree that alerts authorities of potential forest fires in the Cedars of God Forest in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, on Aug. 5, 2023. Lebanese priest Hani Tawk prays outside the Qannoubine Monastery, hidden deep in the Kadisha Valley, a holy site for Lebanon's Maronite Christians, in Bcharre, Lebanon, on July 22, 2023. A cross sits on a cliff overlooking the sunset over the scenic Kadisha Valley, a holy site for Lebanon's Maronite Christians, in Bcharre, Lebanon, on July 21, 2023. Environmental engineer Charbel Tawk looks after a cedar tree as part of a forestation initiative 2,400 meters (7,800 feet) above sea level, in Bcharre, Lebanon, on July 22, 2023. A cross with a statue of a crucified Jesus Christ hidden between the trees in the Saint Elisha Monastery, tucked into the scenic Kadisha Valley in Bcharre, Lebanon, on July 22, 2023.

Majestic cedar trees towered over dozens of Lebanese Christians gathered outside a small mid-19th century chapel hidden in a mountain forest to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, the miracle in which Jesus Christ, on a mountaintop, shined with light before his disciples.