 Entrance of the Church of John the Little | ||
| Deir Abū Ḥinnis · دير أبو حنّس | ||
| Governorate | Minyā | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | 19.638 (2006) | |
| height | 55 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Deir Abu Hinnis (Arabic:دير أبو حنّس, Dair Abū Ḥinnis) is a village with about 20,000 inhabitants[1] in Middle Egypt in the governorate Minyā 2 kilometers south of esch-Sheikh ʿIbāda and 4 km north of Deir el-Barschā east of the Nile. East of the village is the Kōm Maryam, a rest stop for the holy family along their line Escape route in Egypt.
background
Similar to Deir el-Barschā the local monastery was founded by a monk who fled the Sketis (Wādī an-Natrūn). According to tradition, John the Little came here with his followers in 407 after his monastery was sacked by Bedouins. The earliest church dates back to the 5th century.
In the rocky slopes east of the village in the area of Deir Abū Ḥinnis and Deir el-Barschā there are dozen of hermitages over a length of two kilometers, which contain wall paintings with Christian motifs. This also includes a church that is now considered the cave church of John the Little.
Another pilgrimage destination is the Kōm Maryam (Arabic:كوم مريم), Where St. Family is said to have stayed. The hill is located approx. 1 km east of the village center.
Every year, numerous pilgrims flock to Deir Abū Ḥinnis in January and July.
getting there
You can arrive by car or taxi. Deir Abū Ḥinnis can be reached on the one hand Deir el-Barschā with a car ferry directly from Mallawī from (east bank: 1 27 ° 45 ′ 26 ″ N.30 ° 52 ′ 40 ″ E, West bank: 2 27 ° 45 ′ 38 ″ N.30 ° 52 '23 "E). When the ferry is at full capacity, it runs approximately every 30 minutes. This is the more recommended route if you are traveling by car.
The apparently shorter route from Sheikh ʿIbāda to the east around the village past the village of Deir Ṣunbāt (دير صنبات) Turns out to be much more difficult because the slope is partly silted up and cars can get stuck in the sand. It seems better to use high-quality minibuses, small vans or similar.
mobility
The streets in Deir Abū Ḥinnis are sometimes very narrow. One cannot help but walk the last 500 m or so to the church of John the Little.
Tourist Attractions
The main attraction of the village is the 1 Church of John the Little(27 ° 47 ′ 12 ″ N.30 ° 54 '17 "E), Arabic:كنيسة أبو حنّس القصير, Kanīsat Abū Ḥinnis al-qaṣīr, English: Church of John the Short, from the 5th century, which is located in the center of the village. The three-domed church consists of a vestibule (narthex) in the west, the nave and the central chancel and two holy of holies (sharks) in the east. The northern one is for St. Virgo, the southern one destined for John the Little. The holy of holies contain icons of St. Virgin and John the Little. The nave is divided into three sections, above which the three domes are located. The baptistery is located near the northern shark valley. The semicircular main chancel (apse) has three niches in the wall.
In the northern sanctuary there is an old man reusing a tombstone for a Febronia from AD 750. According to Carl Schmidt, the inscription on this tombstone reads: “A person's whole life is like a smoke and all the worries of this life are like a shadow that falls. All works of God are inexplicable [,] and in righteous judgment are those who are before him (sc. God). When the time came when I took off my body, his (the body?) Fear came over me, as I turned to earth in the manner of my parents. Now remember me, the unhappy Febronia, may God have mercy on me, who fell asleep on the 27th of the month of Epiphi of the year 466 from Diocletian. "[2]
There are two other Coptic Orthodox and two Protestant churches in the village.
The so-called Cave Church of St. John the Little from the 6th or 7th century is in the area of the hermitages of the Eastern Mountains about 3 km southeast of Deir Abū Ḥinnis. It contains significant wall paintings, but today they have been badly damaged. The depictions include the child murder in Bethlehem in the presence of Herod, the apparition of the angel Gabriel to Joseph, the flight of the holy family, the wedding at Cana and the resurrection of St. Lazarus. The church is closed with a metal grille. Keys are in the monasteries of Deir Abū Ḥinnis and Deir el-Barschā.
accommodation
Accommodation options exist in el-Minyā.
There is also accommodation in the guest house of the Church of John the Little.
trips
The visit of Deir Abū innis can be compared to that of Deir el-Barschā and Sheikh ʿIbāda connect.
literature
- Description of the site:
- : Dayr Abū Ḥinnis (Mallawī). In:Atiya, Aziz Suryal (Ed.): The Coptic Encyclopedia; Vol. 3: Cros - Ethi. new York: Macmillan, 1991, ISBN 978-0-02-897026-4 , Pp. 701-703.
- : Christian Egypt, ancient and modern. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 1977 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-977-201-496-5 , Pp. 371-373.
- : New investigations in the Church of Dair Abu Hinnis in Middle Egypt. In:Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department (MDAIK), ISSN0342-1279, Vol.27 (1971), Pp. 157-171.
- On the life of John the Little (John Colobos, John the Small, Jean le Petit):
- : John Colobos, Saint. In:Atiya, Aziz Suryal (Ed.): The Coptic Encyclopedia; Vol. 5: John - Mufa. new York: Macmillan, 1991, ISBN 978-0-02-897034-9 , Pp. 1359-1362.
- : The Saints of Egypt: an alphabetical compendium of martyrs, patriarchs and sainted ascetes in the Coptic calendar, commemorated in the Jacobite Synascarium. London, New York: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, MacMillan, 1937, Pp. 170-172.
- : Vie de Jean Colobos. In:Annales du Musée Guimet (AMG), ISSN1155-7400, Vol.25 (1894), Pp. 316-410.
- Febronia tombstone:
- : The sigma-shaped table and the oldest type of refectory. In:Words and things: cultural-historical journal for language and material research, Vol.1 (1909), Pp. 70-80, especially p. 72.
- : The death lament among the Copts: with references to the death lament in the Orient in general. In:Meeting reports / Academy of Sciences in Vienna: Philosophical-historical class, Vol.219,2 (1941), Pp. 5-7.
- : Ancora sulla stele di Febronia a Deir Abu Hennis. In:Studia orientalia christiana: Collectanea, Vol.18 (1985), Pp. 165-173.
- Cave Church of St. John the Little
- : Notes archéologiques et philologiques. In:Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (BIFAO), ISSN0255-0962, Vol.2 (1902), Pp. 41–70, 7 plates.
- : La frise des saints de l’église rupestre de Deir Abou Hennis. In:Eastern christian art: in its late antique and islamic contexts (ECA = EChA), vol.1 (2004), Pp. 89-112.
- : Le cycle de l’enfance du Christ dans l’église rupestre de Saint-Jean-Baptiste à Deir Abou Hennis. In:Boud’hors, Anne; Gascou, Jean; Vaillancourt, Denyse (Ed.): Études coptes IX: onzième journée d’études, (Strasbourg, 12-14 June 2003). Paris: de Boccard, 2006, Cahiers de la bibliothèque copte; 14th, ISBN 978-2-7018-0190-2 , Pp. 119-134, 5 plates.
Web links
- Coptic Synaxar (Martyrology) for 20. Baba (Coptic Orthodox Church Network)
Individual evidence
- ↑Population figures according to the 2006 Egyptian census, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, accessed November 7, 2014.
- ↑In: Strzygowski, Josef, The sigma-shaped table, loc. cit., P. 72.
