According to Besa (wissa), Shenoute's relationship with God began early in life and was the reason he joined the White Monastery. Besa portrays the seven-year-old Shenoute as a boy with mystical powers that led his parents to place him in the care of his uncle Pcol. It is noteworthy that Besa, as narrator, did not …
There was a man that had three friends, then came a messenger from the king to call upon him. And when he asked this man to go with him to meet the King, the man became baffled and confused, and said to the messenger, "I have a very dear friend whom I love very much, …
Monasticism is the backbone of the church that protects it and carries it just like how Moses was to Joshua in his fight against Amalek. Moses is a symbol of monasticism which lifts its hands towards heaven to pray for Joshua who symbolises the servants, the consecrated and the clergy while he fought Amalek who …
My dear beloved children, monks and nuns of our Coptic Orthodox monasteries in the Egyptian deserts and the lands of immigration; May the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). As we celebrate the commemoration of the departure of the patron saint of our monasteries, …
The Lord of Glory sent a cherub, he led him into this mountain and when he had set his seal on Abba Macarius by placing his hands on his breast as though taking its measure, Abba Macarius said to him, "What is this?" The cherub said to him, "I have weighed your heart. Abba Macarius …
One day Abba Serapion passed through an Egyptian village and there he saw a courtesan who stayed in her own cell. The old man said to her, ‘Expect me this evening, for I should like to come and spend the night with you.’ She replied, ‘Very well, abba.’ She got ready and made the bed. …
In 407, a tribe of barbarian raiders known as Mazices came sweeping off the Libyan desert and devastated one of the first great centers of Christian monasticism, the settlement of Scetis. Scetis was located in a remote desert valley west of the Nile and had been founded around 330 by one of the pioneers of …
During my stay near the lakes, I visited two of the Egypt Coptic convents, that are called the Syrian, and that of St. George; where I could observe no traces of any European traveller, but Baron Thunis, whom the Empress of Russia, had sent, some years before, to negotiate a defection on the part of …
Missionaries and religious travellers to Egypt were baffled by the willing long-term relocation by ascetics to the desert, which they considered dreary and lonely the desert was a lifeless landscape. The desert was simply not considered acceptable as a place for true Christian living the locations of monastic sites served only to underscore the greater …
The journey across the desert is very monotonous, but at length, after crossing an elevation covered with shining black pebbles, the long line of the walls of Dayr Macarius come in sight. This monastery, as indeed are all those in the Natron valley, is surrounded by a lofty wall, with an entrance on one side …
