The Monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite in Egypt is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in the Eastern Desert, near the

Red Sea Mountains Itbāy ( ar, اطبيه) or ʿAtbāy is a region of southeastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan. It is characterized by a chain of mountains, the Red Sea Hills, running north–south and parallel with the Red Sea. The hills separate the narrow coas ...

. It is about south east of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

. The monastery is also known as the Monastery of the Tigers.

Foundation and history

The Monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite dates to the fourth century AD. It was founded over the cave where Paul lived for more than eighty years. The first travel narrative of the monastery was provided by Antoninus Martyr, a native of Placentia, who visited the tomb of Paul the Anchorite between the years 560 and 570 AD. The first monks to occupy the monastery were some of the disciples of

Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

after they knew the story of Paul the Anchorite it might have been occupied by

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", a ...

s for a short period, but they were followed by Egyptian again and Syrian monks. The

Syrians Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both ind ...

may have had a sustained existence at the monastery, for it appears that they also occupied the monastery during the first half of the fifteenth century, after which their presence disappeared. According to an isolated

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n reference, the 70th

Coptic Orthodox Pope The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, translit=Papa; ar, البابا, translit=al-Bābā), also known as the Bishop of Alexandria, is the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, with ancient Christian roots in Egypt. Th ...

, Gabriel II (1131–45 AD), was banished to the monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite for three years. Like most of Egypt's monasteries, this one suffered repeatedly at the hands of

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...

tribes. The most destructive of their raids was in 1484 AD, when many of the monastery's monks were killed and the library was put to the torch. The monastery was later rebuilt under the patronage of

Pope Gabriel VII of Alexandria Pope Gabriel VII of Alexandria (Anda Gabriel VII) was the 95th Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. He was born in the area around the monastery of El-Mouharraq, and at a young age he became a monk in the w ...

(1526–69 AD), who sent ten monks from the

Syrian Monastery The Monastery of Saint Mary El-Sourian is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun in the Nitrian Desert, Beheira Governorate, Egypt. It is located about 500 meters northwest of the Monastery of Saint Pishoy. The monastery is dedi ...

to populate the monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite. During the second half of the sixteenth century, the monastery was again attacked and ransacked twice by the

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Ar ...

, forcing the monks to finally leave. The monastery remained deserted for the following 119 years, only to be repopulated by a group of monks from the Monastery of Saint Anthony under the patronage of Pope John XVI of Alexandria (1676–1718 AD), who promoted an extensive reconstruction of the monastery in 1701 AD.

Modern history

The modern monastery has three different churches. That of Saint Paul the Anchorite, built underground, was originally dug into the cave where the saint lived and where his remains are kept. The two other churches are named after Saint Mercurius and Archangel Michael. The monastery is surrounded by high walls, built during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It also has a tower (keep), an ancient refectory, a mill, and a spring that is believed to have served Saint Paul the Anchorite during his eighty years of seclusion in this area. A second spring, known as the ''Pool of Mary'' is named after Mary, the sister of

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

, who is believed to have washed her feet there during the

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...

. This monastery has many illustrated manuscripts, including the Coptic version of the Divine Liturgy and the Commentary of the

Epistle to Titus The Epistle to Titus is one of the three pastoral epistles (along with 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy) in the New Testament, historically attributed to Paul the Apostle. It is addressed to Saint Titus and describes the requirements and duties of elders ...

by Saint John Chrysostom. As of the 2010s, there were still

anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are ...

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

s living in the desert near the monastery as reported by a Danish documentary film.

Popes from the Monastery of St. Paul the Anchorite

# Pope John XVII (1727-1745)

Abbot

Bishop Daniel, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Paul, was born in 1959. He was consecrated a monk at the Monastery of Saint Paul in 1983 and then ordained priest in 1985. In 1997 Fr. Daniel was elevated to hegumen and appointed deputy of the monastery. He was ordained bishop and abbot of the monastery in 2006 by Pope Shenouda III. The late Bishop Agathon, previous abbot of the Monastery of Saint Paul, was born in 1922. He was consecrated a monk at the Monastery of the Virgin Mary – El Sorian in 1958. Fr. Agathon was ordained priest in 1963 and elevated to hegumen in 1965. In 1972 he was ordained bishop by Pope Shenouda III and then appointed abbot of the Monastery of Saint Paul in 1974. He was elevated to the rank of metropolitan in 1991 and died in 1999.

References

*''Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', ed D. H. Farmer.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 2004. *"Coptic Synexarium"

External links