The Monastery of Virgin Mary in Koskam () or Deir el-Muharraq ( ar, الدير المحرق, lit=burned monastery, '), also known as the Muharraq Monastery, Virgin Mary monastery and Mount Koskam Monastery, is a monastic complex of the

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Geography

The Deir el-Muharraq complex is located on the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

just south of

Cusae Cusae ( grc, Κοῦσαι or Κῶς; cop, ⲕⲱⲥⲉⲓ or ⲕⲟⲥⲉⲓ) was a city in Upper Egypt. Its Ancient Egyptian name was ''qjs'' (variant ''qsy''), conventionally rendered Qis or Kis. Today, the town is known as El Quseyya, and ...

(, ), in

Asyut Governorate AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut'' ( ar, أسيوط ' , from ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , ...

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 ...

. It is south of

Greater Cairo The Greater Cairo Region (GCR; ar, القاهرة الكبرى, Al-Qāhira al-Kubrā) is th an economic region with no administrative body comprising the three governorates of Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia. Within it lies the largest metopolitan are ...

Features

The monastery is within the

diocese, with about 100 monks of ''Koinonia'' or community monasticism in residence. The stone fortress on Mount Koskam at Muharraq Monastery was built in the 6th or 7th century. The fortress chapel has a 12th-century lectern, dating to when the fortress was first repaired. The monastery's library has two entities, an ancient Coptic manuscripts library and archives, and a contemporary research and reading library. DeirMuharraqChurchHlMichaelScreen

Churches

The monastery complex has three churches: * 12th century Virgin Mary's Ancient Church (with 16th and 19th century domes additions), * 19th century

Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

St. George Church (1878-1880), * Mid-20th century Holy Virgin Mary's Recent Church (1940-1964). The Church of al-Adhra (''Church of the Virgin'') at the monastery was built over an ancient cave. It is claimed that Mary and Jesus spent six months and ten days here on 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 ...

from King Herod. The altar stone is dated 747 CE. The monastery served as a host for

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

monks in 17th century. Many Coptics hold this church in high veneration, believing it to be one of the first Christian churches in ancient Egypt. It was associated with a

Marian visionary A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian ap ...

event claimed in the early 2000s.

Arson of 2013

In August 2013, rioters committed

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, setting fire to the Muharraq Monastery. Its archival manuscript library holds, or held, many ancient Coptic manuscripts dating back as early as the 13th century.Roger-pearse.com Blog: "Coptic monastery set alight; fate of Coptic manuscripts unknown"
��(16 August 2013) . accessed 28 July 2014 Another section contained a collection of thousands of modern books and reference material dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. The flames from the monastery's substantial fire reached surrounding Coptic homes in the complex, destroying 15 and damaging others. The fate of the ancient Coptic manuscripts and the monastery's 2 libraries is unknown.Manuscripts' and libraries' fate unknown via English language online searches, as of July 2014.

References

External links