Deir Mār Girgis el-Hadīdī - Deir Mār Girgis el-Ḥadīdī

Deir Mar Girgis el-Hadidi (Arabic:دير مار جرجس الحديدي‎, Dair Mār Girgis al-Hadīdī, „the iron monastery of St. George“) Is a monastery about 10 kilometers southeast of Achmīm and about 1.5 kilometers south of the Wādī Abū Gilbāna on the eastern bank of the Nile. The hamlet of Deir el-Ḥadīd (Arabic:نجع دير الحديد‎, Naǧʿ Dair al-adīd, „Hamlet of the Monastery of Iron"), Or ed-Deir for short (نجع الدير‎, Naǧʿ ad-Dair), which continues the old name of the monastery. The monastery is located 125 meters from the bank of the Nile.

background

Originally the monastery was the two Syrian martyrs Eulogius (Abba Lūkios, Arabic:أولوجيوس‎, Aulūǧiyūs) and Arsenius (Abba Arsenios, Arabic:أرسانيوس‎, Arsāniyūs), who had their martyrdom at the beginning of the 4th century and enjoyed a great reputation in the Coptic Church. A church was built in their honor over their corpses buried here, from which a monastery developed over time, at the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th century. The original name of the monastery was Deir el-Hadid, Monastery of Iron, which probably went back to an iron entrance gate.

However, there are no written records about the monastery. The shape of today's church probably dates from the 16th to 17th centuries.

The monastery and the church were completely redesigned in 1870 and two side extensions were added. The monastery has had its current name since that time Deir Mār Girgis el-Hadīdī. St. George of Cappadocia.

Richard Pococke (1704-1765)^[1] mentioned the monastery as the first western traveler. The first descriptions of this monastery come from Somers Clarke (1841-1926) and father Michel Jullien (1827-1911)^[2]who visited it in December 1892 and 1894 respectively. It has been mentioned in the Baedeker travel guides since the 1902 edition,^[3] although initially under the false name Deir Mār Girgis el-Ḥadīthī, Monastery of St. George the Younger.

For 1928, the hamlet had a population of 100.^[4] The order of magnitude should still apply today.

getting there

The monastery can be reached by car or taxi. In Sōhāg one crosses the Nile to get to the east side and then continues to Achmīm. Then follow road number 21 from Achmīm to Girgā until you reach the monastery. It's right on the east side of the street.

Tourist Attractions

The monastery, located on a flat hill, is surrounded by a plastered mud brick wall with the entrance on the north side. The gate area is designed with limestone blocks and bricks. A wall separates the forecourt from the courtyard in front of the church, which is located on the east side of the monastery wall.

The church is designed as a broad house and consists of two transepts, which in turn are divided into five roughly equal-width sections (yokes). The ceiling consists of domes that rest on huge brick pillars. The church entrance door leads directly to the middle Heikal (Holy of Holies).

The walls are plastered and whitewashed. The brickwork is partially exposed and painted brown, the joints are highlighted in white. The central dome shows a modern painting of Christ, in the spandrels there are images of the evangelists.

Only the three middle yokes lead to heicals, namely the one for St. Virgin (left), who was dedicated to St. George and the one for the Archangel Michael. The holy of holies are separated from the ships by a masonry screen wall, in front of which there is now wooden paneling. There is a small window on both sides next to the doors to the Heicals. Above the middle wall are the Last Supper and the images of the twelve apostles.

The heats are designed as apses with five niches incorporated into the walls. In the central Heikal, the middle niche is significantly larger: a staircase leads to the former bishop's throne.

At the north and south ends of the transepts there are rectangular side chapels that were used as sacristies. The baptismal font is in the left (northern) sacristy. On the back wall of the sacristy rooms a door leads to one of the two narrow transverse halls, eḍ-ḍifir called, which probably served as a hiding place.

Doors were broken at the ends of the transepts in 1870 and a further nave was added, which ends in a heikal with an apse. But there are no altars here (anymore). The hot ones were possibly intended for Eulogius and Arsenius.

On the left side of the east transept is a shrine with the relics of the martyrs of Achmīm. Between the two transepts in front of the central Heikal there are shrines for St. Georg and Abba Nūb.

activities

Special services take place every year on the 7th Hatūr (November 16) and 23rd Baramūda (May 1st) in honor of the consecration of the church and St. George of Cappadocia.

respect

Gender segregation prevails in Coptic churches. Women go to mass in the right (southern) part of the church, men or their families accompanied by men in the left part of the church.

kitchen

Restaurants can be found in the city Sōhāg.

accommodation

Accommodation can be found in the city Sōhāg.

trips

A visit to the monastery can be compared to that of the monastery Deir el-Anbā Bisāda and the monuments in the city Achmīm connect.

literature

• Clarke, Somers: Christian antiquities in the Nile Valley: a contribution towards the study of the ancient churches. Oxford: Clarendon Pr., 1912, Pp. 142-144, panel XLII.1.
• Meinardus, Otto F. A.: Christian Egypt, ancient and modern. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 1977 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-977-201-496-5 , P. 410 f.
• Timm, Stefan: Dēr al-Ḥadīd (II.). In:Christian Coptic Egypt in Arab times; Vol. 2: D - F. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1984, Supplements to the Tübingen Atlas of the Middle East: Series B, Geisteswissenschaften; 41.2, ISBN 978-3-88226-209-4 , Pp. 713-715.
• Grossmann, Peter: Christian architecture in Egypt. Suffering: Brill, 2002, Handbook of Oriental Studies; Dept. 1: The Near and Middle East; 62, ISBN 978-90-04-12128-7 , P. 543 f., Fig. 160.
• Coquin, René-Georges; Martin, Maurice; McNally, Sheila: Dayr Mār Jirjis al-Hadīdī. In:Atiya, Aziz Suryal (Ed.): The Coptic Encyclopedia; Vol. 3: Cros - Ethi. new York: Macmillan, 1991, ISBN 978-0-02-897026-4 , Pp. 831-833.

Web links

• Coptic Synaxar (Martyrology) for 7. Hatūr (November 16) and 23. Baramūda (May 1) (Coptic Orthodox Church Network)

Individual evidence