دير الأنبا مقار | |
The church tower at St Macarius' Monastery
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Monastery information | |
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Other names | Deir Abu Makar |
Established | 360 |
Dedicated to | Saint Macarius the Great |
Diocese | Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria |
People | |
Founder(s) | Saint Macarius the Great |
Important associated figures |
Saint Arsenius Saint Isidore Saint Cyril of Alexandria Saint John the Dwarf Saint Macarius of Alexandria Saint Macarius the Bishop Saint Moses the Black Saint Paphnutius Saint Poemen Saint Serapion |
Site | |
Location | Wadi El Natrun |
Country | Egypt |
Coordinates | 30°17′29″N 30°28′34″E / 30.29139°N 30.47611°E |
Public access | Yes |
The Monastery of Saint Macarius (Arabic: دير الأنبا مقار) is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about 92 km north west of Cairo, and off the highway between Cairo and Alexandria.
The monastery was founded in approximately 360 AD by Saint Macarius of Egypt, who was the spiritual father to more than four thousand monks of different nationalities. From its foundation in the 4th century up to the present day, the monastery has been continuously inhabited by monks. Several Christian saints and fathers of the early Church were monks at the Monastery of Saint Macarius, such as Saint Macarius of Alexandria, Saint John the Dwarf, Saint Paphnutius the Ascetic, Saint Isidore, Saint Arsenius, Saint Moses the Black, Saint Poemen, Saint Serapion and many others.
In 1969, the monastery entered an era of restoration, both spiritually and architecturally, with the arrival of twelve monks under the spiritual leadership of Father Matta El Meskeen. These monks had spent the previous ten years living together entirely isolated from the world, in the desert caves of Wadi El Rayyan, about 50 kilometres south of Fayoum.