Nearby is another monastery, known as Deir Abu Lif. Abu Lif may refer to Saint Andrew, since it is also called the the Monastery of Andrew.

The Monastery of Saint George and the Monastery of Abbot Pisentius

The next monastery south, known as the Monastery of Saint George, or Deir Mari Girgis (also Deir al-Magma'), is the most extensive in this region. It is located just west of Qamula al-Bahri where it is situated about five hundred meters west of the edge of the desert on a slight rise. 

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One enters the Church of Saint Michael through a hole in the north wall of the nave of the adjoining Church of Saint George. The main apse of this church, located furthermost to the north, was once adorned with beautiful painted depictions of Christ surrounded by angles, but is now ruined.

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About two hundred meters from the monastery of St. George is that of Abbot Pisentius (Deir Anba Bisantawus), which has a church that dates from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was roofed with twelve cupolas.

The Monastery of Saint Victor

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Floor Plan of the triple sanctuary church at Saint Victor Monastery

The Southern Monastery of Saint Michael

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Specific Monasteries

Near the Red Sea

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St. Antony's Monastery (Deir Mar Antonios), and its neighbor St. Paul's, are both Coptic Christian and are the oldest inhabited monasteries in Egypt. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains and relying on springs for their water supply, both still observe rituals that have hardly changed in 16 centuries.  They are accessible by special tours from Cairo, Suez or Hurghada and a stay in either monastery can be arranged in advance.

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St. Antony's Monastery, which lies at the foot of Al-Qalzam Mountain near Al Zaafarana, was founded in 356 AD just after the saints death and is the oldest active monastery in the world.. We do know that St. Antony founded several monasteries during his life (though they would not have been recognizable in the modern use of the term), but alas they are no more. We know little of the monastery's very early period.  However, during the sixth and seventh centuries many monks from Wadi Natroun who were under frequent attacks by Bedouins migrated to St. Antony's. But this monastery was plundered on many occasions also, being partly destroyed in the 11th century.  Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the monastery flourished but was plundered again in 1454 by Bedouin servants. Due to such attacks, this is a fortress style monastery. Though Coptic today, over its many years the monastery was often multi-faith, housing monks of several different Christian religions.

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Today it is a self-contained village with gardens, a mill, a bakery and five churches, the best of which is St. Antony's Church.  Egypt monasteries are experiencing a revival, and the monk population of St. Antony's has grown considerably in recent years.

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The Monastery has exceptional wall paintings of holy knights in bright colors and the hermit founders of the monastery in subdued colors and icons. These wall paintings, widely know to monks and art historians, were obscured by soot, candle grease, oil and dust, but recently, in a collaborated effort between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the American Research Center in Egypt, these unique painting were restored. One set of the paintings is attributed to a team lead by a Coptic master named Theodore, while the other appears to be done by team with Byzantine influence.  The oldest paintings date to the seventh and eighth centuries, while the newest are from the thirteenth century. In addition to the paintings, woodwork inside At. Antony's Church was also restored.

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St. Antony's Cave (magharah), where he lived as a hermit, is a 2 km hike from the monastery and 680 m. above the Red Sea. It offers stunning views of the mountains and the sea, and the chance to see a wide range of bird life.

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St. Paul was apparently born to rich parents in the year 228, However, by the age of sixteen, he had lost his parents. This would have corresponded with the terrible period of Christian persecution perpetuated by Decius and Valerian between 249 and 260 AD. After the death of his parents, Paul renounced his inheritance and consecrated his life to God, eventually seeking refuge in the wilderness of Egypt's Eastern Desert, where he is said to have lived until the age of one hundred and thirteen. Living in his cave, and clothed in a tunic made of plaited palm leaves, tradition holds that a raven brought a half of a loaf of bread which day for him to eat. 

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Apparently, Anthony and Paul continued to be friends for many years. When Paul thought that he was approaching death, he asked Anthony to fetch the cloak which the patriarch Athanasius had given him. However, when Anthony arrived at the cave where Paul had lived those many years, he saw angels carrying the soul of the holy ascetic to heaven. Paul's body remained in the cave, but two lions approached and dug  a grave into which Anthony placed Paul's body wrapped in the cloak he had fetched. Anthony is said to have kept Paul's tunic of palm leaves, which he wore to celebrate the occasions of Easter and Pentecost. 

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Like many of Egypt's earliest monasteries, this one suffered at the hands of Bedouin tribes. One during the year 1484 was particularly destructive, when many of the monks were killed and their library was put to the torch. Afterwards, the monastery was rebuilt under the patronage of Patriarch Gabriel VII, who sent ten monks from the Monastery of the Syrians (Wadi al-Natrun). Yet, during the second half of the sixteenth century, it was again attacked and ransacked twice, forcing the monks to finally leave. 

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General Plan of the Monastery

The Walls

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The Tower

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Churches

Altogether, the Monastery of St. Paul has four churches, three of which are situated in the ancient part of the complex.

The Church of St. Paul

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One enters this church via a staircase attached to the the chapel walls. Within, the church proper consists of one nave in the center and three sanctuaries dedicated to the twenty four elders of Revelation (north, St. Anthony (center), and St. Paul (south). The central and south sanctuaries and the part of the nave facing them were excavated from the rock itself, while the remainder of the building to the north is made of masonry. 

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The body of St. Paul is kept in a marble shrine on the south side of the nave. One traditional story holds that the saint's relics were taken to Constantinople in 1240, and from there they were sent to Venice in 1381. Indeed, an urn in the church of St. Julian in Venice is believed to contain some of his remains. Recent analysis has shown that the remains in Venice are that of only a leg of a very old man (over eighty) who lived between the first century and the first half of the forth centuries, AD. Hence, they certainly may be a fraction of the body of the saint that mostly rests in the Egyptian monastery that bears his name.

The Church of St. Mercurius

Located above Paul's cave, and almost atop the Church of St. Paul, the church of St. Mercurius (Abu al-Seifein) dates from the end of the eighteenth century. Hence, it contains few interesting elements, with the exception of a precious iconostasis inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. This church is connected to the cave by a much older staircase. Many churches in Egypt are dedicated to this saint, the most well known of which is probably in Old Cairo. This church is only used once a year during the week prior to Lent.

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The Church of St. Michael

The Church of St. Michael (al-Malak) was built in 1777, with a roof consisting of twelve cupolas. It has two sanctuaries including one dedicated to St. Michael to the north, and to St. John the Baptist in the south. While the true spiritual center of the monastery is the subterranean church of St. Paul, it is two small for the daily liturgy, so this service is held in the the Church of St. Michael, which is the largest church in the complex.

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The Refectory and the Mill

Within the monastery is an ancient refectory that is no longer in use, but which dates back to medieval times. It is situated in the east wing of the complex. The main axis of the refectory is covered by a barrel vaulted roof. Within, a heavy masonry table with a lectern fashioned on its west end, from which the sacred texts and the lives of the saints and martyres were read during the community meal, dominates the room. The refectory is entered by way of a narrow passage, and on the west side of the passage are two rooms that were once used as mills. Within are big stone millstones which were operated by huge wooden gears turned by draft animals.

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The Spring of St. Paul

An ancient spring named for St. Paul resides in the north wing of the complex. It continues to supply water at the rate of about four cubic meters per day. The water comes from a mountain crevice and flows into a cemented reservoir tank that is used for drinking and cooking. A small drain allows the surplus water into a second reservoir, which is used by the monks for washing, and a final drain carries off the remaining water into a large basin where it is distributed for irrigation. However, a second spring, known as the Pool of Miriam is located about one hundred meters to the south of the monastery. It was named after the sister of Moses and Aaron, who according to tradition washed there during the Exodus.

Monasteries at Wadi Al Natrun

There are four active monasteries near Cairo at Wadi Al Natrun.   Of these, probably the Monastery of St. Macarius is the best known.  These include:

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Introduction and History

In the Wadi al-Natrun, certainly one of the most famous regions in Egypt associated with Christian monasteries, the northernmost of the four communities is that of the Monastery of al-Baramus. It is also sometimes called the Monastery of the Romans and is very probably the first monastery established in the Wadi al-Natrun. In fact, it is said to occupy the place where Macarius the Great settled in 340 (or as early as 330) when he devoted himself to monastic life. The modern name of the monastery (al-Baramus) is Arabic and is derived from the Coptic Christian Pa-Rameos, which means "that of the Romans". The origin of this name is certainly in dispute. The most widely held tradition concerns Maximus and Domitius, who Coptic texts and tradition holds as Roman saints as well as children (perhaps illegitimate) of the Roman emperor Valentinian (presumably Valentinian I (364-375 AD). They are said to have gone to Scetis (Wadi al-Natrun) during the days of St. Marcarius after having visited the Christian shrines of Nicea and Palestine. St. Marcarius tried to dissuade them from staying, but the "two little strangers" nevertheless established themselves in a cell. The older of the brothers is said to have attained perfection before his death, and only three days later, the other brother died.

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It is said that when the desert fathers came to Saint Macarius, he used to take them to the cell of the two brothers and say to them, "Behold ye the martyrdom of these little strangers". A year after their death, Saint Macarius consecrated the cell by building a chapel and said, "Call this place the Cell of the Romans". However, some scholars maintain that it was Paphnutius, Marcarius's successor, who first called the chapel by this name. 

Some believe that the "young strangers" received by Macarius and later on venerated by the monks of the Wadi were not necessarily of Roman origin. In this tradition, it is thought that the name of the monastery could be due to the fact that a Roman monk named Arsenius settled in Wadi al-Natran (Scetis) in 394 and became the abbot of the community. Still other traditions hold that Arsenius had been the tutor of Arcadius and Honorius, the emperor Theodosius' sons, who in their turn became emperors. According to this interpretation, this bit of history could have led to confusion and the identification of the two "young strangers" as Romans. 

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Today, this monastery is significant in that it was founded on a site in front (south) of the Old Baramus monastery, discovered by archaeologists in 1994, which some say was incorrectly known as "the Monastery of Moses the Black". Others believe that Deir Anba Musa al-Aswad, or the Monastery of Saint Moses the Black, under the leadership of St. Isidore the Hegumen, was the original name. The older monastery probably dates to as early as 340 AD. It should be noted that there exists some confusion in regard to the current monastery's history in relationship to the old monastery. It is very possible that both existed concurrently at some point, with the former monastery known as Deir al-Baramus, and the current monastery known as the Monastery of the Virgin of Baramus, Hence, the history we have of the modern monastery certain encompasses that of both.

All four of the monasteries in the Wadi al-Naturn suffered six sacks. These occurred in 407, 410, 444, 507, 817 and the last in the eleventh century(some scholars also reference sacks in 810 and 870, without mention of those in 444, 504, 817 or the eleventh century), though the most severe threat to the monastery came in the form of the Black Death in the fourteenth century, which was followed by a famine. Each time the communities were attacked, the monastic buildings were damaged, the churches plundered and the monks either slain or carried off as captives.

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Abbot Arsenius himself witnessed the devastating raids of 407 and 410 at Deir al-Baramus and both times he managed to escape the carnage. After the first, he returned to rebuild the cells and other parts of the monastery that had been destroyed, but after the raid in 410, he retired to Troe, the Cairo neighborhood called Tura today, where he died. There, a monastery was later dedicated to his memory. 

St. Moses the Black, so named because he was Ethiopian and therefore of dark skin, did indeed reside in this monastery and was martyred in the first raid of 407. Before becoming a monk and priest, he had led a criminal life, but later repented his life of wrongdoing and retired to the Wadi where the examples of Saints Macarius and Isidore led him to a high degree of asceticism and holiness. However, having foreseen the attack of the Massic Berber tribe, he is said to have urged his disciples to leave the community in order to take refuge in safer surroundings. He, together with seven other monks, remained in order to fulfil the words from the Gospel of Matthew (26:52), "All who take the sword will perish by the sword".

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The monastery also had a number of important visitors from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. During the first half of the fifteenth century, the Arab historian al-Maqrizi visited the monastery and was responsible for identifying it as that of St. Moses the Black. At that time, he found it to have only a few monks. Other famous visitors included Coppin (1638), who described it as the "fourth monastery" in the desert of "St. Marcarius Bahr al-Malamah" (sea of reproaches). According to the monks of that time, this name came from a tradition that held that. They maintained that at one time, the sea still bathed the monastery walls, and when St. Macarius, having seen a pirate ship approaching, prayed to heaven for help. Suddenly, the waters withdrew and at the same time the pirates and their ship were turned to stone. When De Maillet also visited the monastery in 1692, he was told the same story. He therefore called this place in his description "Valley of Bahr bila Ma" (sea without water). Other famous visitors descended on the monastery, including Thevenot (1657), De Maillet (1692), Du Bernat (1710) Sicard (1712), Sonnini (1778), Lord Prudhoe (1828), Lord Curzon (1837), Tattam (1839), Tischendorf (1845), Jullien (1881) and Butler (1883). Information from them and a few other travelers provide that there were 712 monks who lived in seven monasteries in this region, including twenty monks at the Monastery of al-Baramus in 1088, twelve monks in 1712, nine in 1799, seven in 1842, thirty in 1905, thirty-five in 1937, twenty in 1960 and forty-six in 1970. Today, the monastery is inhabited by some fifty monks.

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