The Monastery of Saint Catherine Protectorate

The Monastery of Saint Catherine

Monasticism in sinai:

Ever since the early Christian Period, South Sinai was a great attraction for the Christian monks. The Monasticism was an escape from the Roman violence which spread in the 4th Century A.D. Especially in Firan Valley, El-Tur, and Mount Moses, those who fled the Roman persecution have taken shelter in various area in Egypt, particularly those areas near water sources. 

Who was Saint Catherine?

She lived in Alexandria during the persecution of Christians during the reign of Maximinus in 305-313 A.D, and when she converted to Christianity the Roman tortured her severely, finally beheading her in 307 A.D.

Five centuries later, a monk saw a vision in which her body was carried by Angels, gently placing her on top of the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai, so the monks carried her relics to the Church of Transfiguration, which it was named then, next to the monastery that was formerly called "The Virgin", and ever since then, the name of the monastery has been known as Saint Catherine.

The Monastery:

In 342 A.D The Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, built a monastery, including the chapel known as the Virgin Mary, at the Burning Bush site; where it is believed that Moses received the two tablets. In the 6th century A.D the Emperor Justinian ordered the building of the church known today as the Church of Transfiguration; both the church and the monastery were later named for Saint Catherine. Justinian also ordered the building of a high enclosure wall, with towers to protect the monastery, and it is said that he provided it with 200 Roman soldiers to protect it against the attacks of the Bedouins.

The monastery lies at the foot of "Moses Mountain", a beautiful site, on a high location about 1570 feet above sea level, with a good climate and plenty of fresh well water. To the west of it is the El-Raha Valley. 

The most important Elements of the Monastery are:

1-The Enclosure Wall and the Gate

2-The Great Church

3-The Burning Bush Chapel 

4-The Fatimid Mosque

5-The Library 

6-The Wells

7-The Oil Press 

8-The Garden

9-The Monks Cells 

10-The Guests Dwellings

11-The Two Mills 

12-The Grain Stores

1-The Enclosure Wall:

The monastery is similar to the fortresses of the middle ages, and it was built with an enclosure wall of granite stones, including towers at its corners, and inner buildings surrounding it. The height of the wall is between 12m and 15m, while its 4 sides measure 117m, 80m, 77m, and 76m.

The Original Gate:

The original gate is actually located on the western side, but it is now blocked! To its left is the gate that is used at present, which was made in 1801.

2-The Main Church (The Great Church):

It was built on the northern side of the monastery. It takes the shape of a basilica and it consists of a central nave and two aisles that lead to small chapels. The central nave ends with the altar at its eastern side, and the aisles end with 2 rooms. Near to the altar on the right there is a reliquary of marble, which contains the relics of St. Catherine. A wonderful Byzantine mosaic covers the apse. The visitors to this church must take off their shoes outside before they enter, imitating Moses when he approached this Holyplace.

*The monastery contains about 2000 icons, which is considered as one of the most important collections of icons in the world. Some of them date back to the 5th and 8th centuries. You can see some of them hanging on the walls of the vestibule, which leads to the entrance of the main church. 

3-The Mosque 

It was built during the Caliphate of Al-Amer Be Ahkam Allah in 500 A.H (1106 A.D) to be a resting place for the pilgrims who pass by the monastery on their way to Mecca (or Makkah), and is situated on the southwest of the main church. It is a small Mosque, rectangular in shape, and measures 11m long by 7m wide, with walls built of granite mortared with loam clay, covered with loam clay plaster. The Mosque consists of 3 riwaqs; the middle one being the biggest, with a main mihrab flanked by 2 others. The floor of the Mosque is covered with hip tiles, but not the original ones! The roof is covered with wood and reed, tiled with hip tiles, standing on circular arches, supported on 2 piers. 

The minaret is 12m in height, ending with a balcony projecting 50cm and bearing a semi-ball shaped dome at the top.

The minbar (pulpit) is made of cedar wood decorated with floral decorations of a Fatimid style, which is one of the 3 famous minbars built in this style.

The Mosque contained 2 silver candlesticks, still preserved in good condition. There is a chair on which 4 lines of inscription were written in Floral Kufic mentioning that the Prince Anoshteken Al-Amer built the Mosque during the reign of the Caliph Al-Amer Be Ahkam Allah in 500 A.H (1106 A.D).

4-The Library

The monastery has one of the most important religious libraries in the world, containing a great number of very rare and old manuscripts. This library also has a large number of decrees of the Caliphs and the rulers. In recent years it has received a lot of attention by many scholars, as Alexandria University, and the Congress Library in Washington, has microfilmed most of the manuscripts.

5-The Wells

There are many wells inside the monastery; the most important are "the Well of Moses", north of the main church, and "The Burning Bush Well" and "Saint Stephen's Well", which are south of the main church. 

6-The Oil Press

It is situated below the Mosque's courtyard, and is used for squeezing olives to extract the oil. Its ceiling is roofed by wooden beams, and reed ties, resting on granite arches. The floor of the yard is provided with lanterns, to lighten the oil press.

7-The Garden

In the front of the monastery there is a garden, including a cemetery, for the monks, with a "skull house" beside it. The monks used to bury their dead, leave the bodies for a certain period, and then collect their bones and deposit them in the "skull house".

8-The Guests Dwellings (or the Guest House)

Inside the enclosure wall there is a small building that was constructed in 1863 during the reign of Khedive Ishmael. It is dedicated for the dwelling of the visitors, and the guests of the monastery. 

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Wadi El- Natron

Wadi El- Natron

Wadi El- Natron is located 100 km to the north west of Cairo, it is a natural depression in the western desert. Now it is consisting of salt lakes and salt flats laying in the desert.

Wadi el Natorn was very important to the ancient Egyptian since it was where they extracted the Natrun salt. Indeed and become more important during the early era of Christianity in Egypt. Today it is the centre of many monasteries dating back to the fourth century AD.

These monasteries are: 

-The Monastery of Deir abu makar ( st. Makarous)

-The Monastery of Deir Anba bishoy ( St bishoi)

-The Monastery of Deir el Surian

-The Monastery of Deir EL Baramous

Deir Abu Makar (St. Makarous)

It is located 4 km of the Alexandria desert road, it consists today of  manyDier Abu maker remains of a much greater site. The  importance of this place today rises from the fact that here  St Makarios  who was the son of An Egyptian priest who lived here in 330 AD,  he became the  spiritual leader  of the Christian hermits and monks in the area, he was  buried in the monastery , and later about 9 Patriarchs were buried in the same monastery.

The site of monastery  is consisting of several churches, frequently  destroyed and currently  being rebuilt , the main site consist of the cell of chrism and the fluid said to be used to embalm Jesus Christ. The monastery still contains religious painting and frescos that goes back to the 5 century Ad. The monastery is not open for visitors
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Deir Anba Bishoy (St. Bishoy)

One of the mot important monasteries today in Wadi El- Natroun is Dier Anba Bishoi ( Bischoi) it was named after the Patron Saint St. Bishoi who immigrated to the site and lived in here in solitude. Dier  Anba  bishoi

Then monastery was restored several times after it has been destroyed at the hands of the barbers. and Bedouins.  It has 5 churches the main one is the St Bishoi church which goes as early to the 9 century Ad.  This church today is only used during the summertime.

To the east of this church lies another one known as the church of Al- Adra (the virgin), but this one is only  used during the winter month.   


At the second flower of the monastery which goes back to the 12 century Ad, there is the church of  angel.  Also there is the charge of St. George which is not used at all. The monastery contains the remains of St. Bishoi, and Ephraim the Assyrian, and Paul of Tomah. 

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Deir El Surian (The Syrian Monestary)

It is located to the north west of  St Bishou monastery almost 400 meters away.  Women are not allowed into this monastery. The monastery goes back the 6th century AD, Dier AL Syrianthe monastery was  built by some of the orthodox monks for the monastery of Bishouy who had a dispute with other monks in the monastery about the status of the virgin Mary. They called it the theocratic ( Mother of god)

Later the monastery was abounded and then it was  sold to group of  Syrian  monks. The monastery contains  It has a an olive press, large farm attached to it and a library

The monastery consisting of the following churches:

1- The Church of El -Adra (church of the Virgin) which is considered the main church. Which is used during the summer month  

2- Church of Sitt Mariam ( lady Mary), they also call it the  cave church.  It stores the relics of St. John Kame the black who died in 656AD

3-The Church of the forty martyrs

4-The Church of  Hinnes and Marutha, who bought this church for the Syrian monks.

5-  In the second flower of the monastery  lie the churches of St. Michael. 

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Deir El Baramous 

This  monastery is the  furthest of all , it is located at the  extremeDier EL Barmous   north west  east of Wadi EL Natroun and almost 14 km from the main entrance road to the valley. 

The name Deir EL Baramous means, the monastery of the Romans.  It was named so since the area traditionally was famous for being the spot where two Roman priests, fled the Christian persecution during the roman times, have lived here and established this monastery

The monastery like other was badly destroyed and rebuilt and fortified. It has many churches such as:

1- The church of El- Adra.

2- Church of Anba Tadrous.

3- Church of  St John the Baptist.

4- Chapel of Mari Gerges.

5- Church of angel Michael with dome covered hykal

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Saint Barbara Church

Church of Saint Barbara

The church of St. Barbara is one of the oldest and the most remarkable churches in Cairo. It is situated on the eastern part of the Babylon fort and dates back to the 5th Century, though it was rebuilt around the 11th Century. It was named after St. Barbara, who was born in the beginning of the 3rd Century in Nicomedia in Asia Minor. She converted to Christianity and refused to marry any of the aristocratic young men in Alexandria, devoting herself to serving God. Her father was a Pagan, who continually tortured her, and then he complained about her to the Roman governor Marcianus, who in turn severely tortured her, but she resisted and refused to leave Christianity. Finally she was killed, together with her companion Juliana.

The Church takes a shape of a Roman Basilica, comprising of an entrance, a narthex, a nave, 2 aisles and 3 Sanctuaries that are located in the east wing of the church, the middle Sanctuary is the main one, dedicated to St. Barbara. After entering, from the narthex, there are 5 marble columns, with palm leaf capitals, which separate the nave from the 2 aisles. In front of the middle Sanctuary there is a semi-circular choir, which consists of 7 steps.

From the southern Sanctuary, of the church, visitors can enter through a doorway to a rectangular hall, which contains a chapel dedicated to St. Barbara, and is one of the very recent modifications to the church. From the northern Sanctuary there is a doorway that leads to the small church, which was consecrated to St. Cyrus and St. John.

This small church has 3 Sanctuaries. The middle one dedicated to St. Cyrus and John, the right one dedicated to St. George while the third one is used today for baptisms. 
The most precious item, found inside this church, is a sycamore door that dates back to the 5th Century. The church has many icons, the most remarkable dates back to about the 13th Century. The main icons depict Christ surrounded by Angels.


There are other icons on the southern aisle of the church, representing the Virgin Mary and Jesus when he was a child, Jesus entering Jerusalem and the baptism of Christ.

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The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus

The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus

The church of St. Sergio (also known as St. Sergius or Abu Serga) was built in the centre of the Ancient Roman fort of Babylon. The church is considered as one of the sites visited by the Holy Family during their escape from King Herod to the land of Egypt.

The church most probably dates back to the 5th Century, although some historians believe that it was actually built in the 8th Century. We are not sure of the origin of Saint Sergius, as in the history of the Coptic Church there are two Saints with the same name. The first one was an Egyptian who died, together with his father and sister, during the intense Christian persecution. People today celebrate his memory every year on the 7th of February. The second one was a servant of the Roman Emperor Maximilian, and he was martyred in Syria at the beginning of the 4th Century.


The Church takes the shape of a basilica with a narthex, a nave, and 2 aisles, which are separated from the nave by 12 columns with Corinthian capitals, 10 of stone, one of marble and one of rosette granite. There are 3 Sanctuaries on the east side; each Sanctuary contains an altar, with a wooden dome, supported by 4 marble columns. The dome of each altar has religious scenes of Christ, Angels, and the 4 evangelists. There is a pulpit on the northeast side of the nave, which is made of marble, though originally it was made of wood, incrusted with ebony and ivory.

The pulpit is used once, each year, in the prayer of Great Friday. The central Sanctuary has a wooden screen, which dates back to the 13th Century, incrusted with panels of ebony and ivory. The frieze and the icons of the church are remarkable, most date back to the 15th and 16th Centuries, some were damaged and restored later.
One of the most important locations in this church is the cave in which the Holy Family stayed during their journey into Egypt. It has a nave and 2 aisles and the ceiling is domed. At the end of the southern aisle of the Cave, is a baptistery.

On the 1st of June, each year, the church of St. Sergio commemorates the arrival of the Holy Family by having prayers inside the church of the cave.

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The Hanging Church

The Hanging Church

The Hanging Church is considered the oldest church in the area of Al-Fustat (Old Cairo).

It is known as Al-Muallaka (the hanging) because it was built on the ruins of two old towers that remained from an old fortress called the Fortress of Babylon. It was dedicated to The Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana. 

It dates back to the end of the 3rd Century A.D and the beginning of the 4th Century A.D, but it has been reconstructed and renovated several times since. Some historians believe that it was built earlier, and it might have been a Roman Temple that was later converted to a Roman Church, and at a later date still, it became a Coptic Church. This was proved by the discovery, in 1984, of the scenes, on the western side of the right aisle of the church, which contained pagan Roman Gods, but layers of plaster had covered them.

This church has played an important role in the history of the Coptic Church because it became the seat of the Patriarchs after transferring it from Alexandria to Al-Fustat. The 66th patriarch Anba Christodolos (1039-1079 A.D) was the first Pope to chant the Holy Liturgy in the church. This was maintained in El-Mullaka Church until the 14th Century, when it was transferred to Abu Sefein church.

There are 110 icons here, the oldest of which dates back to the 8th Century, but most of them date to the 18th Century. Nakhla Al- Baraty Bey gave some of them as gifts, in 1898 A.D, when he was the overseer of the church.

The French monk Vansleb, who was sent to Egypt in 1671 by King Louis XIV in order to study the state of the churches and the monasteries of Egypt, mentioned that he had seen on one of the walls of the Hanging Church, inscriptions written by the hand of the great Muslim commander Amr Ibn El-As, asking the Muslim people to treat this church with respect. 

The Plan of the Church:

It takes the shape of a basilica and it has a wooden roof in the shape of Noah's Ark.

The church was once very spacious but it became much smaller, throughout the ages, after several modifications. Obeid Bin Khozam did the last modification in 1755 A.D. It now measures 23.5m in length, 18.5in width and 9.5m in height. 

It consists of the following elements:

1- Entrance known as The narthex.

2- The nave and the two aisles.

3- The three Sanctuaries (located to the east of the church, the most important being the middle one, which is dedicated to The Virgin Mary)

Some steps lead to the middle entrance. On both sides of this entrance there is a door that leads to 2 upper floors, dedicated to the dwelling of the priest.

In front of the entrance there is a vestibule that was used as a resting place for visitors. 

Inside, the southern aisle is separated from the nave by 8 marble columns, linked from above with a wooden architrave, which is supported on arches. The northern aisle is also separated from the nave by 8 marble columns but there is no architrave. 

Nearly in the middle of the southern aisle there is a door, which leads to a small church with a sanctuary. Inside this small church there is a baptistery, which is a deep basin of reddish granite, which probably dates back to the 5th Century. It is decorated for the sign of water in Hieroglyphics.

Of the three sanctuaries situated on the eastern side, the most important is the middle one, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the centre of this main sanctuary there is an altar made of marble. Above it there is a wooden dome, supported by 4 marble columns, and decorated with religious scenes, such as Jesus on his throne surrounded by the four evangelist saints, the disciples, and angels. 

In front of the middle altar, in the nave of the church, is a pulpit that stands on 15 columns, decorated with reliefs and mosaics, symbolically representing Jesus, the 12 Disciples, John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. 

There are 7 altars in the Church, 3 of them situated in the main sanctuary, and 3 located in the right sanctuary, among which is the altar of Tecla Hymanot, the Ethiopian Saint, and another that was recently discovered in the northern side. 

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