Draft:Deir Anba Bishoi
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LLM-generated pages with certain obvious signs of being machine generated may be deleted without notice.
Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject.
See the advice page on large language models for more information.- Comment: AI Slop Accesscrawl (talk) 17:23, 3 August 2026 (UTC)
- Comment: I have rewritten this article entirely in my own words, sentence by sentence, based on the cited sources. I am not a native English speaker but I have tried to write in plain, direct language. Bisho Elkomos (talk)
- Comment: I have rewritten this article entirely in my own words, sentence by sentence, based on the cited sources. I am not a native English speaker but I have tried to write in plain, direct language. Bisho Elkomos (talk)
دير الأنبا بيشوي | |
| Map Interactive map of Monastery of Saint Bishoy | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Denomination | Coptic Orthodox Church |
| Site | |
| Location | Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, Egypt |
| Coordinates | 30°19′9′′N 30°21′36′′E / 30.31917°N 30.36000°E / 30.31917; 30.36000 |
The Monastery of Saint Bishoy (Arabic: دير الأنبا بيشوي) is a Coptic Orthodox monastery in Wadi El Natrun, northern Egypt. It is about 120 kilometres north-west of Cairo. The monastery was founded in the 4th century by Saint Bishoy and contains his relics. It is the largest of the four active monasteries in Wadi El Natrun, with around 220 monks.[1]
Location
[edit ]Wadi El Natrun is a desert valley in northern Egypt. It lies about 23 metres below sea level. The valley is around 90 minutes by car from Cairo and from Alexandria.[2] The Monastery of Saint Bishoy is on the eastern side of the valley.
History
[edit ]Foundation
[edit ]Saint Bishoy was born around 320 AD in the Nile Delta. He was the youngest of seven brothers. He went to live as a monk in Scetis at the age of twenty. He was a disciple of Saint Macarius the Great.[3] He died on 8 Abib in the Coptic calendar, which is 15 July. The Coptic Church marks this date each year.
On 13 December 841, Pope Joseph I moved the body of Saint Bishoy from a monastery at Deir El Barsha to the present site in Wadi El Natrun. He also moved the body of Saint Paul of Tammah at the same time. Both bodies are kept in the main church today.[4]
Berber raids
[edit ]The monastery was raided several times by Berber groups. After one raid, some monks were killed. There is a well on the monastery grounds called the Well of the Martyrs. It is 12 metres deep and still has water. The name comes from the tradition that 49 monks were killed at this well during one of the raids.[5]
Pope Shenouda III
[edit ]Pope Shenouda III became pope in November 1971. He chose the Monastery of Saint Bishoy as his main residence outside Cairo. He stayed there often and used it as a place of retreat.[1]
From 1981 to 1985, President Anwar Sadat placed Pope Shenouda under house arrest at the monastery. This followed tensions between the government and the Coptic Church.
Pope Shenouda III died on 17 March 2012. He was buried at the monastery, as he had requested.
Three monks from this monastery later became Coptic popes: Pope Macarius III, Pope Shenouda III, and Pope Tawadros II.[1]
The Holy Myron (Chrism oil) has been prepared at the monastery nine times in total. Pope Shenouda III oversaw six preparations between 1981 and 2008. Pope Tawadros II has overseen three preparations, between 2014 and 2021.[1]
Buildings
[edit ]The monastery is surrounded by a wall about 10 metres high. It has two entrances, one on the north side and one on the south.[6]
The monastery has five churches:[1]
- The Church of Saint Bishoy (the main church)
- The Church of the Martyr Abaskhairoun
- The Church of the Virgin Mary and Pope Benjamin the First
- The Church of Saint George
- The Church of Saint Anthony
Other buildings inside the monastery include a defensive tower built in the 13th century, a refectory with a stone table that is 27.5 metres long, a mill, a library, a guesthouse, monks' cells, and gardens.[7] There is also a residence that was built for Pope Shenouda III.
Relics
[edit ]The monastery holds the relics of Saint Bishoy and Saint Paul of Tammah. The body of Saint Bishoy is brought out in a procession each year on 15 July.[8]
Visiting
[edit ]The monastery is open to visitors. It is about 10 kilometres from the Cairo–Alexandria desert highway. Visitors should dress modestly. There is no public transport to the monastery. Visitors reach it by private car or organised tour.[4]
See also
[edit ]- Wadi El Natrun
- Bishoy
- Pope Shenouda III
- Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great
- Coptic Orthodox Church
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c d e "St. Bishoy's Monastery, Wadi El-Natroun". Coptic Orthodox Church. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ "The Monasteries of Wadi el Natrun". CNEWA. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ "Bishoy". OrthodoxWiki. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ a b "Saint Bishoy Monastery Egypt". ETL Travel. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ "Monastery of Saint Pishoy". Tour Egypt. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ "Explore the Four Remaining Monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun". Experience Egypt. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ "Monastery of Saint Bishoy". Memphis Tours. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ^ "Wadi Natrun: Guide to Seeing Monasteries". Egipto Exclusivo. 27 October 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
External links
[edit ]Category:Coptic Orthodox monasteries in Egypt Category:4th-century establishments in Egypt Category:Buildings and structures in Beheira Governorate Category:Christian monasteries established in the 4th century Category:Wadi El Natrun Category:Tourism in Egypt