The Monastery of Saint Shenute The Volume 1 , 2009 Acknowledgements

The St. Mark Foundation Mrs. Youssria Sawris Dr. Fawzy Estafanous Bishop Yones Fr. Shenuda Rafik Gabriel Medhat Mosaad Gerges

Consultant: Gawdat Gabra Photography: Laura Watson Joseph F. Foss Fr. Athanasios El-Shenodi The Monastery of Saint Shenute The White Monastery

The Monastery of Saint Shenute, the White Monastery, is located in the Libyan desert, close to the ancient village of Atripe. It is eight kilometers west of Sohag. Saint Begol founded the monastery, where St. Shenute became a monk in 370 and an abbot in 385. During St. Shenute’s tenure, the monastery expanded greatly. The monastery itself covered ten square kilometers, with thousands of monks and nuns and several communities dependent upon it. It became the most important religious center in the region.

After the death of St. Shenute in 464 or 465, his biographer Besa became his successor. He was succeeded by St. Shenute’s secretary, Zenobios, in 474. The monastery was pillaged in 1167 by invaders. By 1441 the monastery lay in ruins, except the church.

In 1908 a small part of the mud-brick enclosure wall, which surrounded the monastery, was unearthed. The enclosure would have covered a wide area and included monk cells, bakehouses, kitchens and other facilities. In the 1980s, excavations were carried out. A lodging house of several stories for accommodations and storage was discovered to the west of the church. Also discovered was a building with four pillars, which had probably been a refectory, as well as a large kitchen and latrines. The monastery’s church, discussed on page 7, is the most important Christian monument in .

1 Explanation of Figures And Photo Orientation.

This book has been structured to provide the reader with the opportunity to experience the monastery as if one were walking through it. Consequently, the maps on pages three, four, and six should be used to provide an understanding of where the photos in this book were taken in relation to the monastery as a whole.

Pages three and four, the Maps of the Grounds, provide an aerial view of the overall monastery complex. Page three shows the area within its walls as well as the nearby cave structures. Page four shows a detailed aerial view of the monastery grounds.

The majority of the photos in this book are provided with a key in the form of a letter, for example (A), to show the reader where the image is in relationship to the monastery as a whole. These letters correspond to the key on the Maps of the Grounds on pages 3 and 4.

Page 6 is a floor plan of the monastery, with major features of the monastery labelled. The monastery floor plan uses a combination of the letter A (to correspond with its location on the Maps of the Grounds on pages three and four) and a numbering system, to show where the photos are within the monastery, for example (A1).

2 Map of the Grounds and nearby caves. 3 The key on the right corresponds with the photos on the following pages. 4 Map of the Grounds. Area A corresponds with the map of the monastery on page 6. Main Entrance Gate of The Monastery of Saint Shenute (Area B). 5 6 Floor plan of the monastery (Area A, pages 3 and 4). Please use this for the identification of photos on the following pages. The Monastery

This structure was founded by St. Shenute sometime before the middle of the fifth century. The exterior resembles an ancient Egyptian temple. The exterior walls are built of immense limestone blocks and are crowned with Egyptian cavetto cornice. There are two rows of recesses in the exterior wall. Upon entering the main gate in the southern wall, one see an immense hall, once likely the southern nathrex, whose function is not known.

Between the sixth and eighth centuries a fire caused serious damage to the church. A few years later it was rebuilt according to the original plan, in baked bricks. The architectural sculpture of the church itself is very significant. It comprises more than 40 ornamented niches with pilasters, capitals, bases and gables and more than 240 meters of running cornice of various architectural elements. It incorporates older reused pieces from the original building along with pieces from other sources.

All the granite is from older buildings. Most of the limestone was made especially for the church in the mid 5th century. Many capitals for columns were found in the church, many of which have been reused. Some are Corinthian style and some are Ionic. The cornices are decorated with floral motifs, the architraves with grape clusters, rosettes and large leaves and geometric designs.

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Preceding Page: South wall of the monastery with excavation site. 9 Above: Entrance to the monastery, exterior and interior of main door. (Area A1). 10 Entrance to the monastery, exterior and interior of main door. See detail of interior lintel of doorway on page 11. (Area A1). Above Left: Detail of main entrance of monastery, with reused granite lintel decorated with cross set within a circle and supported by two doorjambs made of several decorated pieces of limestone. Pharonic. Above Right: Detail of ancient inscription on lintel above main door. (Area A1).

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Preceding Page: West wall of the monastery and the cemetery at dusk. (Area A). 13 Above: view of courtyard and main entrance. Church of the monastery. (Area A2). 14 View of main entrance facade. Church of the monastery. (Area A2). Doorways on west wall of main church. Church of the monastery. (Area A2). 15 16 Left and Top Right: Doorway on north side of west wall of main church. Middle Right: Main entrance to monastery church. Exterior. Bottom Right: Doorway on south side of west wall of main church. Church of the monastery. (Area A2). Above Left: Exterior. Door detail. Entrance to main church. Above Right: Interior. 17 Entrance to main church. Church of the monastery. (Area A2).

Preceding Page: Ceiling of entryway to main church. (Area A3). This Page: Marble pillar in entryway of main church. (Area A3).

19 20 Above Left: Icon. The Crucifixion. Above Right: Icon. The Resurrection. Entryway to main church. Following Page: Northern narthex of main church looking north from church entrance. (Area A3).

22 Stone carving in northern narthex of main church. (Area A3). This Page: Southern narthex of main church looking south from church entrance. (Area A3). 23 Following Page: Main church looking east towards main altar. (Area A4).

26 Preceding Page and Above: Main altar. Main church. (Area A5). Main altar with semi-dome fresco. 27 Main church. (Area A5). 28 Niches. Main altar. Second tier. Main church. (Area A5). Semi-dome. Christ enthroned within the mandorla, with the winged symbols of the Evangelists protruding. A shell motif appears above his 29 head. The four Evangelists are in the medallions at the edge of the semidome writing their Gospels. Main altar. Main church. (Area A5). 30 Semi-dome. Detail. Christ holds a book in his left hand, raises the right in blessing. Coptic and Armenian texts on painting name the artist (Theodore) and date, 1124 CE. Main altar. Main Church. (Area A5). Above: Fresco. Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus. South of main altar. (Area A4). 31 Following Page: South transept. Main church. (Area A6).

Semi-dome, south transept. The cross, flanked by the Deisis, is supported by two winged angels. It is decorated with smaller crosses. 33 Medallions with alternating crosses and busts of prophets frame the scene. Main church. (Area A6).

Preceding Page: Semi-dome. Detail. Large draped cross. 35 This Page: Semi-dome. Detail. Virgin Mary with the sun and winged angel. South transept. Main church. (Area A6).

Preceding Page: St. John, with the moon and winged angel. 37 Above: South transept. Main church. (Area A6). 38 Niches, south transept. Second tier. Main church. (Area A6). Fresco. Michael the Archangel. North of main altar. (Area A4). 39

Preceding Page and Above: North transept. Main church. (Area A7). 41 42 Reliquary. North transept. Main church. (Area A7). Niches, north transept. Second tier. Main church. (Area A7). 43 44 Fresco. St. Shenute. North of main altar. Main church. (Area A7). Above Left: Stairwell to Pope Kerolus Chapel. Above Right: Ceiling. Detail. Upper stairway to Pope Kerolus Chapel. 45 Following Two Pages: Carved stone. Detail. Pharonic. Ceiling of upper stairway to Pope Kerolus Chapel. (Area A8).

48 Pope Kerolus Chapel. (Area A8). Altar. Pope Kerolus Chapel. (Area A8). 49

Preceding Page: Bishop Bishoy Altar. Manuscript Room. (Area A9). 51 This Page: Baptistry. (Area A10). 52 Above Left: Baptismal basin. Above Right: Greek writing on stone. (Area A10). Following Page: Monastery rooftop from roof of monastery.

54 Above: Monastery rooftop exterior from courtyard. Following Page: Courtyard of monastery looking west at sunset.

56 This Page: Detail of north wall. Courtyard of monastery. Following Page: Columns in courtyard of monastery, looking west. (Area A14).

58 West wall in courtyard of monastery. (Area A14). Detail of west wall. Courtyard of monastery. (Area A14). 59

Preceding Page: Ancient Baptistry. (Area A11). 61 Above: Stairwell looking south from Area A11.

Preceding Page: Ceiling. Detail. Stairwell. This Page and Following Two Pages: 63 Carved stone. Detail. Pharonic. Ceiling of stairwell. Area off of Ancient Baptistry.

66 Above: Ancient capitals for columns. Following Page: Ancient capitals for columns. Detail. (Area A11).

68 View of main facade and site of ancient well. (Area A12). Ceiling of ancient well. (Area A12). 69

Preceding Page: Exterior view of domed area over ancient well from courtyard. (Area A12). 71 Above Left: View of area inside main entrance across from ancient well. Above Right: Carved upper niche. (A13).

Preceding Page: Carved lower niche. Wall across from ancient well. Detail. 73 Above: Pharonic temple. (Area A13).

Preceding Page: Pharonic temple. Detail. 75 Above: Area inside main entrance, looking east, at south wall. (Area A13). 76 Coptic manuscript on wall in courtyard. (Area A13). This Page: Niche. Detail. Following Page: View of facade 77 and entrance area to the south of the main facade. (Area A14).

80 Preceding Page: View of ancient monastery at dusk. (Area A14). Above: Excavation to south of ancient monastery. Monastery grounds. Cave of Saint Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area M). 81 82 This Page and Following Page: Entrance to Cave of Saint Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area M).

84 This Page: Interior. Clay pots. Following Page: Interior. The Cave of Saint Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area M).

86 Interior. The Cave of Saint Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area M). View from Cave of Saint Shenute through front entrance. Monastery grounds. (Area M). 87

Preceding Page and Above: View from Cave of Saint Shenute towards the monastery. (Area M). 89 90 This Page and Page Following: Cave of Pope Kerolus. Monastery grounds.

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The Monastery of Saint Shenute (The White Monastery)

Volume One Sohag, Egypt 2009 The Monastery of Saint Shenute The White Monastery Volume 2 Sohag, Egypt 2009 Acknowledgements

The St. Mark Foundation Mrs. Youssria Sawris Dr. Fawzy Estafanous Bishop Yones Fr. Shenute Rafik Gabriel Medhat Mosaad Gerges

Consultant: Gawdat Gabra Photography: Laura Watson Joseph F. Foss Fr. Athanasios El-Shenodi Explanation of Figures And Photo Orientation.

This book has been structured to provide the reader with the opportunity to experience the monastery as if one were walking through it. Consequently, the maps on pages two and three should be used to provide an understanding of where the photos in this book were taken in relation to the monastery as a whole.

Pages two and three, the Maps of the Grounds, provide an aerial view of the overall monastery complex. Page two shows the area within its walls as well as the nearby cave structures. Page three shows a detailed aerial view of the monastery grounds.

The majority of the photos in this book are provided with a key in the form of a letter, for example (A), to show the reader where the image is in relationship to the monastery as a whole. These letters correspond to the key on the Maps of the Grounds on pages two and three.

1 2 Map of the Grounds and nearby caves. The key on the right corresponds with the photos on the following pages. Map of the Grounds. Closeup detail. 3 4 Above and Following Page: New Guest House and Conference Center. Monastery grounds. (Area C).

6 Above and Following Page: Church of The Virgin Mary. Lower level has restaurant and kitchen. Monastery grounds. (Area D).

Left: North altar screen, St. Anthony. Right: North altar, St. Anthony. The Church of the Virgin Mary. Monastery grounds. (Area D).

8 Left: Center altar screen, The Virgin Mary. Right: Center altar, The Virgin Mary. The Church of the Virgin Mary. Monastery grounds. (Area D).

9 10 Left: South altar screen, St. Shenute. Right: South altar, St. Shenute. The Church of the Virgin Mary. Monastery grounds. (Area D). Residence hall near cemetery. Monastery grounds. (Area E). 11 12 This Page: Cemetery, looking toward monastery. Monastery grounds. (Area F). Following Page: Cemetery at dusk, looking towards Pope’s Residence. Monastery grounds. (Area F).

Preceding Page: Church of Father Kerolus. This Page: Tower of Church of 15 Father Kerolus. Detail. Monastery grounds. (Area H). 16 Preceding Page: Church of Father Kerolus and monastery at night. Monastery grounds. (Area H). 17 Above: St. Bahomious Church and residence hall under construction to the right in the above photo. Monastery grounds. (Area I).

Preceding Page and Above: Inner gate. Monastery grounds. 19 20 Above and Following Page: West gate. Monastery grounds. (Area J).

22 Above: Monks’ cells. Monastery grounds. (Area L). Following Page: Pope’s Residence. Monastery grounds. (Area K).

24 Pope’s Residence. Monastery grounds. (Area K). Church of St. Shenute. The monks’ church. Monastery grounds. (Area L). 25 26 Above: Church of St. Shenute with monks’ dining room and library in foreground. Following Page: Church of St. Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area L).

28 Nave. Church of St. Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area L). North altar screen and altar. Altar of St. Paul. Church of St. Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area L).

29 30 Center altar screen and altar. Altar of St. Shenute. Church of St. Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area L). South altar screen and altar. Altar of Virgin Mary. 31 Church of St. Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area L).

Preceding Page: Stained glass windows. Church of St. Shenute. Monastery grounds. (Area L). 33 Above: Main gate of monastery from above. The Monastery of Saint Shenute. (Area B). 34

The Monastery of Saint Shenute (The White Monastery)

Volume Two Sohag, Egypt 2009