Monasteries and convents - the heart of religious life

Located throughout Egypt, ancient convents and monasteries, the oldest in the world, are living and breathing reminders of a time that was witnessing the emergence and development of a new and unique religion. Built in isolated and sometimes inaccessible locations, these ancient monasteries today provide us with an almost direct link back to the early Christian worshippers who helped to build them all those centuries ago.

Near the Red Sea coast of Egypt, in a cave 270 metres beneath the monastery named for him, lies the tomb of St Anthony. His followers established what many believe to be the world's first monastery in the year 356 AD, just after his death. St Anthony's Monastery (Deir Mar Antonios), and the neighbouring monastery of 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 over sixteen centuries. Rather like a self-contained village, the monastery has gardens, a mill, a bakery, a library and five churches.

Coptic monastery of St Paul, Red Sea coast.	Coptic Red monastery, Sohag.	Coptic monastery of Archangel Gabriel, Fayoum.	Ruined Coptic monastery of Apollo at Bawit.	Coptic monastery of St Bishoi, Wadi al-Natrun.

Christian monasticism was founded by St Anthony in Egypt's Eastern desert. A disciple of St. Anthony's known as St. Macarius, first established ascetic life in Wadi el-Natrun, assisted by another follower, St. Ammon.

At first, the monks would live in simple caves or cells. As the ascetic lifestyle appealed, and "monasticism" grew in popularity, the monks found themselves easy targets for maurauding nomadic tribes and invaders. In an effort to preserve their sanctity, the monks formed simple forts called "keeps" where they were able to live in relative safety. The monastery evolved when these keeps and cells were enclosed by a wall to secure the safety of the monks and thus, become a community within itself. By the end of the fourth century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. A great number of these monasteries are still flourishing and have new vocations to this day.

Unlike many of the early churches that have been rebuilt many times over the centuries, these monasteries are the original structures, and have altered very little over time. Today, many ancient monasteries continue to flourish in Egypt, due in part to tourism. Beyond the pyramids and the numerous ancient Egyptian antiquities, these strongholds of the early Christian religion continue to score high on many tourist itineraries, both secular and religious.

Probably one of Egypt's most famous monasteries is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine located at the foot of Jebel Musa/Mount Horeb (thought to be the biblical Mount Sinai) in a spectacular natural setting. Often featuring in David Robert's sketches of Egypt and the Holy Land (see right), St Catherine's was built between 527-565 AD by Emperor Justinian to house the bones of St Catherine of Alexandria. It is built around what is thought to be Moses' Burning Bush. The monastery houses the worlds second largest collection of illuminated manuscripts (the Vatican has the largest) numbering well over three thousand volumes in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian and other languages. The fourth century "Codex Sinaiticus" (now in the British Library), was discovered at St Catherine's in around 1850.

The exact number of old monasteries and convents scattered throughout Egypt is unknown, although to date there are thought to be somewhere between fifty and sixty specific monasteries - habited, uninhabited, disused or ruined.

Recommended reading

If you are interested in finding out more about the Egyptian Copts and the Egyptian Christian sites, then you may find the following books of interest. Click on the books for further information and to order online.