A monk walks down the stairs of the well section, part of the newly completed restoration works at the Monastery of St. Antony, near Suez city, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010.
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Posted on Mon Feb 08 2010
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has completed an eight-year, $14.5-million restoration of the world’s oldest monastery, which was founded by disciples of St. Anthony (251-356), the patriarch of monks. The restoration has drawn renewed attention to the plight of Christians in the country, where government approval is required to repair or build churches.
Paul Schemm, The Associated Press
ZAAFARANA, Egypt – Egypt's chief archaeologist unveiled an extensive renovation of the oldest monastery in the world Thursday, touting the work at the 1,600-year-old site as a symbol of peaceful coexistence between the country's Muslims and Christians.
It's the message Egypt's government has been emphasizing since a drive-by shooting at a church in southern Egypt killed six Christians and a Muslim guard on Jan. 6, the Coptic Christmas Eve.
"The announcement we are making today shows to the world how we are keen to restore the monuments of our past, whether Coptic, Jewish or Muslims," top archaeologist Zahi Hawass said. Copts are the dominant Christian sect in Egypt.
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities spent eight years and $14.5 million to carry out a comprehensive restoration and conservation of the ancient monastery, situated in the rugged desert mountains near Egypt's Red Sea coast.
It was in this remote spot, at the end of the third century, that renowned Christian ascetic St. Anthony took up a residence in a cave, with little more than a spring and some palm trees to sustain him.
Upon his death in A.D. 356, his followers created the world's first Christian monastery, which houses 120 monks, the burial place of four saints, and church paintings dating to the Middle Ages.
Workers renovated the fortresslike ancient wall surrounding the monastery, several outbuildings, and its two main churches – the 15th-century Church of the Apostles and the fourth-century Church of St. Anthony.
"We have found a missing part of our history with this restoration, for there is nothing written about the beginning of the monastery," said Father Maximus, who oversaw the renovation.
A modern sewage system also was installed for the monastery, which receives a million visitors every year.
The shooting last month in Nag Hamadi shocked Egypt's Christians and brought condemnation over sectarian divisions in the country.
Egyptian officials insist the shooting was a purely criminal act, without sectarian motives. Authorities deny there are any problems between Muslims and Christians.
But Christians, who make up 10 percent of the population of 79 million, complain of discrimination, saying that they have insufficient representation in Parliament or the security forces and that education and media don't reflect their community. They also point to restrictions requiring government permission to build or even repair churches.
Discussion: Egypt completes restoration of world’s oldest monastery
St. Antony Monastery
St. Antiony's might be the oldest yet-restored
Christian monastery, but the first cenobitic community
was founded in 319 AD by St. Pachomius.
Fr. Jim Rosselli <><
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