The Oak of Mamre at Hirbet es-Sibte, two kilometres southwest of Mamre

Mamre

Mamre , full Hebrew name Elonei Mamre , refers to a Canaanite cultic shrine dedicated to the supreme, sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, El. Talmudic sources refer to the site as Beth Ilanim or Botnah. it was one of the three most important "fairs", market place or caravanserai, in Palestine...

 in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, also called The Oak of Abraham is an ancient tree which, in tradition, is said to mark the place where Abraham entertained the three angels or where Abraham pitched his tent. It is estimated that this oak is approximately 5,000 years old.

The site of the oak was acquired in 1868 by Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) for the Church of Russia, and the Monastery of the Holy Trinity

Abraham's Oak Holy Trinity Monastery

Abraham's Oak Holy Trinity Monastery is a Russian Orthodox monastery in Hebron founded in the 20th century on the site of the ancient Oak of Mamre. The lands were acquired by the Russian Church in the 19th century and later expanded...

 was founded nearby. The site has since been a major attraction for Russian pilgrims

Pilgrims

Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...

 before the revolution, and is the only functioning Christian shrine in the Hebron

Hebron

Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

 region. After the Russian Revolution, the property came under the control of the ROCOR.

A long-standing tradition is that the Oak of Abraham will die before the appearance of the Antichrist

Antichrist

The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...

. The main oak trunk has been dead since 1996. In 1998 appeared a root sprout.