Chenoboskion (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

"geese pasture"), also called Chenoboscium , Chenoboskia ( el, Χηνοβοσκία) and Sheneset ( cop, Ϣⲉⲛⲉⲥⲏⲧ ''Šénesēt''), Wilkinson, John Gardner, Sir is the name of an early center of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in the

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...

, Roman Egypt, a site frequented by

Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , na ...

from the 3rd century and the site of a monastery from the 4th. It is close to the modern village of al-Qasr ( ar, القصر), just east of the larger town of

Nag Hammadi Nag Hammadi ( ; ar, نجع حمادى ) is a city in Upper Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about north-west of Luxor. It had a population of close to 43,000 . History The town of Nag Hammadi is name ...

Qena Governorate Qena Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in the southern part of the country, it covers a stretch of the Nile valley. Its capital is the city of Qena. Overview The rate of poverty is more than 60% in this governorate but rec ...

. The

Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the " Chenoboskion Manuscripts" and the "Gnostic Gospels") is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyr ...

, a collection of 2nd-century Gnostic manuscripts discovered in 1945, was found in the Nile cliffs to the north-west.

History

At Chenoboskion,

St Pachomius Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, ...

was converted to Christianity in the 4th century. Pachomius retreated to this place, having ceased his military activity sometime around 310-315 (the approximate figure given is 314), and converted to Christianity whilst dwelling in the desert. There is a monastery located at Chenoboskion that is dedicated to St Pachomius. People moved to the region to be near Saint

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 ...

. A monastic community formed around the saint for the purpose of spiritual guidance, beginning in Pispir and from there moving eastward. The mountainous area east of Pispir is the place of the present

Monastery of Saint Anthony The Monastery of Saint Anthony is a Coptic Orthodox monastery standing in an oasis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, in the southern part of the Suez Governorate. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains, it is located southeast of Cairo. The Monas ...

. The settlement of Chenoboskion created from this eastward movement began in the

.good brother Matthais W.Wahb
stmarystlouis.bizland.com web-site
his references originally from the San Francisco Coptic Orthodox church of St Antonio etrieved 2011-09-25/ref>

References

{{Reflist

History

See also

References

Further reading