Monastery of Saint Matthew the Potter
The Monastery of Saint Matthew the Potter , also known as "Monastery of Saint Matthew the Poor" (Arabic: Deir al-Fakhuri), is a Coptic Orthodox monastery in Upper Egypt . It was founded by the Coptic monk of the same name.
Location
The "Monastery of St. Matthew the Potter" is located in the Luxor district near the town of Naq 'al-Zinaiqa, about seven kilometers northwest of the village of Asfun al-Matana near Esna . The monastery was built on the edge of the desert.
history
The monastery was founded by a Coptic monk who is known today as "Saint Matthew the Pottery" or "Saint Matthew the Poor" and who lived in the 8th century. It was destroyed in one of the numerous raids by Arab Bedouins in the 10th century. It was rebuilt, but only used for a short time. It remained uninhabited for many centuries.
It was only restored in 1975 and has since been used as a monastery by Coptic Orthodox monks. Excavations by French archaeologists between the Monastery of "Saint Matthew the Potter" and the nearby "Monastery of the Martyrs" have done much to research the history of Coptic monasticism in this region.
literature
- Otto FA Meinardus : Two thousand years of Coptic Christianity. American University in Cairo Press, Cairo 1999, ISBN 977-424-511-3 .
- Massimo Capuani: Christian Egypt. Coptic Art and Monuments through two Millennia. Liturgical Press, Collegeville MN 2002, ISBN 0-8146-2406-5 .
- Abû Sâlih, the Armenian : The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt and Some Neighboring Countries. Translated from the Original Arabic by Basil TA Evetts. With added notes by Alfred J. Butler. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1895, ( digitized ; several reprints).