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Monastery of Saint Antony

The Monastery of Saint Antony, or Dayr Anba Antuniyus, is an Eastern Desert monastery associated with early monastic settlement, medieval churches and paintings, manuscript preservation, and Coptic patriarchs.[^1][^2][^7][^15]

Also known as: Dayr Anba Antuniyus · Monastery of Saint Anthony · St. Antony's Monastery · Dayr al-‘Arabah

Published 10/2/2026Updated 2 revisionsPage history

Location and origins

The Monastery of Saint Antony, also called Dayr Anba Antuniyus, stands in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, southwest of Ras Za‘faranah, at the foot of the southern end of the Jalalah mountain range.12 Saint Antony established his desert hermitage near the site of the later monastery.3

A monastic settlement was established after Antony’s death, during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361–363); its initial buildings comprised a church, cells, a kitchen, and a bakehouse.2

Historical development

During the fifth century, the monastery sheltered monks from Wadi al-Natrun whose monasteries had been attacked. Melchite monks occupied it in the seventh and eighth centuries, and John the Almoner entrusted its superior Anastasius with funds to ransom captives taken by the Persians.4

By the patriarchate of John VI (1189–1216), the monastery was inhabited by Coptic monks and supplied candidates for the Ethiopian office of abuna.5 Among them were the brothers Yeshaq and Yusuf, selected respectively as metropolitan and coadjutor and consecrated in Cairo on 7 March 1210.6

The monastery underwent major repairs during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and had a fortified enclosure by the thirteenth century.5 Its chronology records pillaging and the massacre of monks around 1484; Gabriel VII subsequently rebuilt the monastery during his patriarchate (1525–1568).89

The community supplied numerous Coptic patriarchs: twelve Antonian monks ascended the patriarchal throne.7 Cyril IV entered the monastery at twenty-two and became its abbot at twenty-four; he later enlarged its precincts to the south and west.1011

Churches and wall paintings

The Church of Saint Antony and the old southern wall are among the surviving structures predating the sixteenth-century rebuilding.7 The church dates to the beginning of the thirteenth century and has a long, single-nave domed plan, with two successive bays and a khurus, the space between the nave and sanctuary.12 Its eastern end contains three adjoining sanctuaries, each with its own cupola; a subsidiary chapel dedicated to the four beasts of the Apocalypse was added along the southern side.13

The sources differ slightly in dating the medieval paintings: the historical account associates them with restoration by the sons of Ghalib in 1232, whereas the chronology dates the frescoes to 1232–1233 on the evidence of an inscription.714

The churches were used seasonally: Saint Antony’s in winter, the Church of the Apostles from April through October, Saint Mark’s for fifteen days during Lent, and the Church of the Holy Virgin during the fifteen days preceding the Feast of the Assumption. The Chapel of Saint Michael is on the keep’s top floor.7

Library, spring, and cave

Surviving manuscript colophons attest scribal activity at the monastery.16 The chronology records that Antony’s letters were translated there from Coptic into Arabic in 1070.14 The library, formerly housed in the keep, was subsequently accommodated in a separate building; a catalogue cited from 1930 counted 1,438 manuscripts across biblical, theological, historical, ecclesiastical, and miscellaneous subjects.15

A perennial spring supplies the monastery and was brought within its enclosing wall in 1854.17 On a terrace above the monastery is a small cave traditionally associated with Antony’s residence, entered through a long corridor and containing an altar.17

References

Sources

  1. 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 105)
    When he was twenty-five he entered the monastery of Saint Antony (DAYR ANBA ANTUNIYUS) in the Eastern Desert.
  2. 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 151)
    The Monastery of Saint Antony is situated 30 miles (45 km) southwest of the Red Sea lighthouse of Ras Za’faranah (100 miles, or 290 km, from Cairo via Suez) at the foot of the south end of the Jalalah mountain range. After the death of Saint ANTONY, a monastic settlement was established in the reign of JULIAN THE APOSTATE (361-363), which included merely the most necessary buildings—a church, cells, a kitchen, and a bakehouse.
  3. 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 383)
    Some twenty years later, he desired to live in greater solitude, and so, under the guidance of bedouins, he penetrated into the Eastern Desert and established himself in a hermitage situated about 20 miles (30 km) from the Red Sea at the foot of Mount Qulzum, near the place where today stands the monastery of Saint Antony (DAYR ANBA ANTUNIYUS).
  4. 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 151)
    During the fifth century the monastery served as a place of refuge for some monks of the Wadi al-Natrun monasteries, which were sacked several times. In the seventh and eighth centuries the monastery was occupied by Melchite monks. Saint John the Almoner, Melchite patriarch of Alexandria from 609 to 620, supplied a certain Anastasius, HEGUMENOS of the monastery, with large sums of money and ordered him to redeem the captives taken by the Persians.
  5. 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 151)
    During the patriarchate of JOHN VI (1189-1216) the monastery was inhabited by Coptic monks and supplied candidates for the Ethiopian office of abuna. In the thirteenth century the monastery was surrounded by a fortified wall. A large garden contained palm trees, apple and pear trees, beds of vegetables, and three springs of perpetually flowing water. Major repairs and renovations were executed during the twelth and thirteenth centuries.
  6. 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 8)
    At the request of the negus Lalibala (c. 1190-1230), John VI (1189-1216) chose two brothers from among the monks at the Monastery of Saint Anthony, Yeshaq (Ishaq in Arabic) and his older brother, Yusuf (Joseph). Yeshaq was named metropolitan and his brother, coadjutor. The consecration took place in Cairo on Sunday, 9 Ramadan A.H. 606/7 March 1210.
  7. 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 153)
    Twelve Antonian monks ascended the patriarchal throne, and for almost 300 years they determined the history of the Coptic church. The Church of Saint Antony and the old south wall belong to the few remains dating to the period prior to the rebuilding of the monastery in the sixteenth century. The wall paintings in the sanctuary, the nave, the narthex, and the chapel fall into the period of the restoration of the church by the sons of Ghalib in 1232. This church is used during the winter. From April to October, the liturgy is celebrated in the Church of the Apostles, east of the Church of Saint
  8. 8.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 156)
    Toward 1484: The monastery is pillaged and the monks are massacred by the bedouin (Coquin and Laferrière, 1978, pp. 278-79).
  9. 9.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 318)
    GABRIEL VII, ninety-fifth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1525-1568). ... He rebuilt entirely the monastery of Saint Antony, then called Dayr al-‘Arabah, which, although it had been destroyed by the bedouins, thereafter began to bloom.
  10. 10.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 39)
    At the age of twenty-two he entered St. Antony's monastery (DAYR ANBA ANTUNIYUS), becoming its abbot at the age of twenty-four by virtue of his good character and charitable disposition.
  11. 11.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 158)
    1854: CYRIL IV, hegumenos of the Monastery of Saint Antony, is named patriarch of Alexandria. He enlarges the precincts to the south and west (Simaykah, 1930, p. 114).
  12. 12.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 161)
    It was built at the beginning of the thirteenth century and is still largely intact. Typically, it belongs to the long, single-nave domed churches that appeared in the Fatimid period and that have a naos made up of two successive bays. The present entrance is situated on the northern side of the western domed bay. In the east there is a khurus (room between naos and sanctuary) in the south wall, in which remains of a burial are preserved.
  13. 13.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 162)
    The actual sanctuary consists of three sanctuaries arranged side by side, connected to each other by open arches. They all have their own cupolas. The altars appear to be original. Finally, at a slightly later period a small PAREKKLESION dedicated to the four beasts of the Apocalypse was added to the west end of the south wall.
  14. 14.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 155)
    1070: The letters of Saint Antony are translated from Coptic into Arabic at his monastery (Garitte, 1939, p. 29). ... 1232-1233: The mural frescoes of the Church of Saint Antony are painted, according to an inscription in the church (Coquin and Laferrière, 1978, p. 282).
  15. 15.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 158)
    The precious library that was long preserved in the keep is now in a special building. According to Simaykah (1930, Vol. 2, p. 112), the 1,438 manuscripts may be divided into five groups as follows: biblical (294), theological (254), historical (193), ecclesiastical sciences (655), and miscellaneous (42).
  16. 16.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 194)
    On the evidence of surviving colophons, we know that scriptoria were especially numerous in the monasteries of Upper Egypt (Isna, Thebes, Atrib), in the Fayyum, and in the monastery of Saint Anthony (DAYR ANBA ANTUNIYUS).
  17. 17.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 161)
    The monastery's water supply was maintained by a perennial running spring at the foot of the western plateau. It was incorporated into the monastery area by a surrounding wall only in 1854. Finally, on a terrace slightly elevated above the monastery is a small cave where Saint Antony is thought to have once lived. It is entered by a long corridor and has an altar inside (Meinardus, 1961, pp. 65, 88).

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