The Monastery of Saint Anthony
The Holy Desert Monastery
In the midst of the Egyptian Desert, carrying rituals of over a hundred years, the Coptic Christian Monastery of St Anthony. is one of the oldest in the world. It is one of the historical and religious sites that should never be missed by any travelers to this part of the country.
Saint Anthony: Life Story and the Monastery
The life of Saint Anthony is one that is remarkable and admire by anyone who follow the life that he led. He worked on contributing to the spread of monasticism across the Western part of Europe, thus becoming one of the first known printed works in Christian Literature during the middle Ages. Saint Anthony is one of the most famous among the “Desert Fathers”, this is a group of Coptic Christian monks who chose to live their lives in prayer in the Egyptian Desert at the start of the 3rd Century.
The Monastery of Saint Anthony was built above his burial place eventually becoming the oldest inhabited Christian Monastery in the world. It is located in the eastern part of Egypt’s Sahara Desert, nearby the modern city of Hurghada.
It is known that Saint Anthony traveled to the region when he was about 60 years old to escape those who seek wisdom and advice. He believes that these are the people that kept him from his real purpose which is prayer and worship. After wandering for 3 days in the desert, we stumbled upon an oasis that is surrounded by trees, which was eventually the site of the monastery built in 356. Just like the other monastery in the general area of the Red Sea Desert, The Monastery of Saint Anthony was also subject to many attacks by the Berber and Bedouins. In 1454 the monks constructed fortified walls to protect the monastery from destruction and attack.
In the 11th century, the monastery was attacked and suffered a great loss many manuscripts and paintings were destroyed by Bedouin attackers.
The Monastery Today
To this day, the monastery is continuously being restored. Many agencies are geared to protect and restore the monastery back to its old glory. There are several artworks within the monastery that dates back to the 7th and 8th centuries, with the most recent paintings dating into the 1200s.
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and American Research Center in Egypt, are both working to restore as well the woodwork which is also being restored. Its original library has been plundered but there is still about 1700 documents intact today.
The whole monastery today is just like a little town with churches and even a bakery, visitors can enjoy guided tours to the Monastery of Saint Anthony but must follow the strict guidelines of the Monks here.
