Deir el-Garnus ( ar, دير الجرنوس) is a village in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient ...

near

Maghagha Maghagha ( ar, مغاغة) is a city in Egypt, located on the west bank of the Nile. It is the northernmost city in the Minya Governorate. History The old names of the town were ''Nimoui'' (, from ) and ''Gazirat al-Hagar'' ().ابن ممات ...

. It is located in

Minya Governorate Minya Governorate ( ar, محافظة المنيا ') is one of the governorates of Egypt, governorates of Upper Egypt. Its capital city, Minya, Egypt, Minya, is located on the left bank of the Nile River. Etymology The name originates from the c ...

on the shore of

Bahr Yussef The Bahr Yussef ( ar, بحر يوسف; "the waterway of Joseph") is a canal which connects the Nile River with Fayyum in Egypt. In ancient times it was called Tomis () by the Greeks which was derived from its Egyptian name ''Tm.t'' "ending canal ...

and has a predominantly Coptic Christian population of 6 504 people.

Etymology

''Deir'' means "monastery" and ''el-Garnus'' comes from an older name of the village Arganus (), which probably comes from and refers to the ancient

Nilometer A nilometer was a structure for measuring the Nile River's clarity and water level during the annual flood season. There were three main types of nilometers, calibrated in Egyptian cubits: (1) a vertical column, (2) a corridor stairway of steps l ...

in the village. In some texts the monastery is called ''Pei-Isous'' (), ''Beyt Isus'' or ''Deir Bisus'' (), all meaning "house of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

History

The modern village developed from a monastery visited by the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...

during their

Flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the i ...

on their way to

Hermopolis Hermopolis ( grc, Ἑρμούπολις ''Hermoúpolis'' "the City of Hermes", also ''Hermopolis Magna'', ''Hermoû pólis megálẽ'', egy, ḫmnw , Egyptological pronunciation: "Khemenu"; cop, Ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ ''Shmun''; ar, الأشموني ...

. The legend says that Jesus dug a well with water that cured every disease. It was also believed to foretell the height of the annual Nile's inundation. The church of the Holy Virgin was built on a site of this well in the

6th century The 6th century is the period from 501 through 600 in line with the Julian calendar. In the West, the century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previous c ...

(now ruined, the modern church was built around

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Broo ...

, but the remains of the old church are still present), and the festival was held on the 25th of

Pashons Pashons ( cop, Ⲡⲁϣⲟⲛⲥ, ), also known as Pachon ( grc-gre, Παχών, ''Pakhṓn'') and Bachans. (, ''Bashans''), is the ninth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between May 9 and June 7 of the Gregorian calend ...

to predict the Nile's flooding. Another festival attended by thousands of pilgrims is celebrated on 15th and 16th of

Mesori Mesori ( cop, Ⲙⲉⲥⲱⲣⲓ, ''Masōri'') is the twelfth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It is identical to Nahase ( amh, ነሐሴ, ''Nähase'') in the Ethiopian calendar. Name The ancient and Coptic month is also kn ...

.{{Cite web , last=Meinardus , first=Otto , title=The Holy Family in Egypt , url=http://www.coptic.net/articles/holyfamilyinegypt.txt

References

Populated places in Minya Governorate