Monastery of Saint Psote
The Monastery of Saint Psote, also called Dayr Anba Bisadah, stands south of Akhmim and preserves the memory and relics of the fourth-century martyr bishop of Psoi.[^1]
Also known as: Dayr Anba Bisadah · Dayr Anba Bisadah al-Usquf
Location and dedication
The Monastery of Saint Psote, known as Dayr Anba Bisadah, is situated in the village of al-Ahaywah Sharq on the right bank of the Nile, about 11 miles (18 km) south of Akhmim. It preserves the memory and relics of Psote, the fourth-century martyr bishop of Psoi, also known as Ptolemais.1
The monastery stands opposite al-Manshiyyah, which perpetuates the ancient town of Psoi. It is a pilgrimage site, and it is likely that the monastery was built over the bishop’s tomb, consistent with the account that he was buried east of the town.2
Historical evidence
The foundation date cannot be established with certainty. A monastery of the martyr bishop Psote is mentioned on the right bank of the Nile, south of Abydos; the tradition preserved in ninth-century manuscripts is older than those manuscripts.3
The monastery is described as an enclosed cenobium. Local tradition assigns its surviving buildings to the thirteenth century, although they incorporate older elements; al-Maqrizi also recorded the monastery.4
Church and enclosure
The architectural account describes a walled enclosure containing the priest’s house, smaller structures, and a church on the east. The church doorway is decorated with a stone cross in relief and lozenge-shaped bricks, some arranged as stars. It opens into an irregular narthex added after the church’s earliest surviving section, which consists of the remains of a triconch.5
Surviving early features include the eastern apse, part of the southern side apse, and a room between them containing a tomb traditionally identified as that of Anba Bisadah. The room retains a stone doorway with a carved lintel and traces of carving on the southern jamb.6
The church’s dating remains uncertain: its plan could be early Christian, but P. Grossmann suggested a later date on the basis of its poor construction, while O. Meinardus recorded the traditional thirteenth-century date.7
Later additions include four sanctuaries, two to the north of the main sanctuary and two south of the tomb chamber, with a solid wooden iconostasis before each altar. A room accessible from the tomb chamber contains a baptismal font; other rooms farther east, accessible only from above, have been used for burial.8
References
Sources
- 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 176)
DAYR ANBA BISADAH. [This monastery is discussed in two parts: history and architectural layout.] History This monastery, on the right bank of the Nile in the village of al-Ahaywah Sharq, about 11 miles (18 km) south of Akhmim, preserves the memory and the relics of a martyr bishop in the fourth century, PSOTE. He was bishop of the town of Psoi/Ptolemais
- 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 176)
The life of this bishop has come down to us in Latin, a rare thing, and this text, which does not present the embellishments of too many saints' lives, says that he was buried to the east of the town of Psoi. There is every reason to believe that the present monastery was built over the tomb of this bishop, for the monastery, which still exists and is frequented as a place of pilgrimage (Muyser and Viaud, 1979, p. 59), is in fact situated in the stony area on the right bank of the Nile, opposite al-Manshiyyah, a small town that perpetuates the ancient Psoi or Ptolemais Hermou of the Hellenisti
- 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 176)
A panegyric of Saint Claudius, attributed to the patriarch SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH, mentions on the right bank and to the south of Abydos the monastery of the martyr bishop Psote. If the manuscripts that have handed down this text are of the ninth century, the tradition that they transmit is certainly older, but the date of the foundation of this monastery cannot be fixed with certainty (Godron, PO 35, p. 500).
- 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 176)
This monastery was provided with an enclosure and is a true cenobium. The present buildings, according to local tradition, are of the thirteenth century, but include ancient elements. Al-MAQRIZI did not fail to point it out (1853, Vol. 2, p. 504; correct the Bulaq edition and read Absadah instead of Abshadah).
- 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 178)
A walled enclosure contains the priest's house, some minor structures, and, on the east, the church. It has an elaborate doorway surmounted by a small stone slab with a cross in relief and surrounded by lozenge-shaped bricks, some combined to form stars. This doorway opens into an irregularly shaped narthex that belongs to a secondary building period. Behind the narthex lies the oldest part, the remains of a triconch.
- 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 178)
What remains is the eastern apse, a short stretch of the wall of the southern side apse, and, between them, an irregularly shaped room that formed the corner of the first church. This room contains a tomb said to be of Anba Bisadah. The original stone doorway into the room survives. It has a carved lintel, and traces of carving remain on the southern jamb.
- 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 178)
The plan of the church could be early Christian, but the poor construction caused P. Grossmann (1980, p. 306) to suggest a later date. O. Meinardus records a traditional thirteenth-century date.
- 8.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 178)
Four more sanctuaries have been added, two north of the main sanctuary and two south of the room containing Anba Bisadah's grave. A solid wooden iconastasis stands in front of each altar. There are single bays in front of each of the two northern sanctuaries and double bays in front of each of the southern sanctuaries. Beyond the sanctuaries on each side are corridors. The one on the south turns back to a well at the east. Further to the east are a row of rooms. One, accessible from the room containing Anba Bisadah's tomb, contains a baptismal font. The others, accessible only from above, have
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This article was drafted from the sources listed above with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor before publication.