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St.

Antony's Christian Coptic Monastery


St. Antony's Monastery (Deir Mar Antonios) by Jimmy Dunn

Born in the Upper Egypt town of Coma near Heracleopolis in the year 251 A.D, St. Antony the reat, when orphane! at the age of 1", #ecame a hermit an! th$s li%e! to 1&5 years ol!. He li%e! as an Anchorite, as still e'ists in Egypt, an! it is sai! that he was tormente! his entire life #y flatteries an! temptations of the !e%il. He, along with St. (achomi$s, were two of the first e'ponents of Christian monasticism, which originate! in the Egyptian !esert. He is #$rie! #eneath one of the ancient ch$rches )St. Antony* of the monastery. A #oo+ written #y Athanasi$s, the #ishop of Ale'an!ria, tho$san!s across E$rope to follow in the hermit,s footsteps. St. Antony,s -onastery )Deir -ar Antonios*, an! its neigh#or St. (a$l,s, are #oth Coptic Christian an! are the ol!est inha#ite! monasteries in Egypt. Hi!!en !eep in the .e! Sea -o$ntains an! relying on springs for their water s$pply, #oth still o#ser%e rit$als that ha%e har!ly change! in 1/ cent$ries. 0hey are accessi#le #y special to$rs from Cairo, S$e1 or H$rgha!a an! a stay in either monastery can #e arrange! in a!%ance.

St. Antony,s -onastery, which lies at the foot of Al23al1am -o$ntain near Al 4aafarana, was fo$n!e! in 55/ AD 6$st after the saints !eath an! is the ol!est acti%e monastery in the worl!.. 7e !o +now that St. Antony fo$n!e! se%eral monasteries !$ring his life )tho$gh they wo$l! not ha%e #een recogni1a#le in the mo!ern $se of the term*, #$t alas they are no more. 7e

+now little of the monastery,s %ery early perio!. Howe%er, !$ring the si'th an! se%enth cent$ries many mon+s from 7a!i 8atro$n who were $n!er fre9$ent attac+s #y Be!o$ins migrate! to St. Antony,s. B$t this monastery was pl$n!ere! on many occasions also, #eing partly !estroye! in the 11th cent$ry. Between the 12th an! 15th cent$ries, the monastery flo$rishe! #$t was pl$n!ere! again in 1:5: #y Be!o$in ser%ants. D$e to s$ch attac+s, this is a fortress style monastery. 0ho$gh Coptic to!ay, o%er its many years the monastery was often m$lti2faith, ho$sing mon+s of se%eral !ifferent Christian religions.

0o!ay it is a self2containe! %illage with gar!ens, a mill, a #a+ery an! fi%e ch$rches, the #est of which is St. Antony,s Ch$rch. Egypt monasteries are e'periencing a re%i%al, an! the mon+ pop$lation of St. Antony,s has grown consi!era#ly in recent years.

0he -onastery has e'ceptional wall paintings of holy +nights in #right colors an! the hermit fo$n!ers of the monastery in s$#!$e! colors an! icons. 0hese wall paintings, wi!ely +now to mon+s an! art historians, were o#sc$re! #y soot, can!le grease, oil an! !$st, #$t recently, in a colla#orate! effort #etween the S$preme Co$ncil of Anti9$ities an! the American .esearch Center in Egypt, these $ni9$e painting were restore!. ;ne set of the paintings is attri#$te! to a team lea! #y a Coptic master name! 0heo!ore, while the other appears to #e !one #y team with By1antine infl$ence. 0he ol!est paintings !ate to the se%enth an! eighth cent$ries, while the newest are from the thirteenth cent$ry. <n a!!ition to the paintings, woo!wor+ insi!e At. Antony,s Ch$rch was also restore!.

0here is also a li#rary with o%er 1,=&& han!written man$scripts, #$t the Be!o$in ser%ants who pl$n!ere! the monastery $se! many man$scripts for coo+ing f$el. At one time, there m$st ha%e #een a m$ch more e'tensi%e li#rary. St. Antony,s Ca%e )magharah*, where he li%e! as a hermit, is a 2 +m hi+e from the monastery an! /"& m. a#o%e the .e! Sea. <t offers st$nning %iews of the mo$ntains an! the sea, an! the chance to see a wi!e range of #ir! life

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