Deir Wādī er-Raiyān - Deir Wādī er-Raiyān

Deir Wadi er-Raiyan, Wadi-er-Raiyan Monastery, also Deir Wadi el-Rayyan / Rajjan, English Wadi el-Rayyan Monastery, Arabic:دير وادي الريان‎, Wādī-ar-Raiyān Monastery, or Monastery of St. Macarius of Alexandria, ‏دير الأنبا مكاريوس السكندري, Is a monastery in the southwest of the valley Wādī er-Raiyān in the el-Faiyūm in the egyptianWestern desert. The monks of this monastery strive to achieve the ideal of Ancestryof withdrawal from the community.

background

location

The monastery extends on the southeast side of the limestone cliff Gebel Minqar / Gebel Munqar, about 13 kilometers west of the lower or southern lake in Wādī er-Raiyān. The mountain in this area is called "the crown" (Arabic:التاج‎, at-Tāǧ) called. The communal buildings are located at the entrance of an approximately 130-meter-long rock cut.

Christian anachoresis

Even the earliest monks of the Coptic Church lived as anchorites. The Egyptian monk is considered to be the founder of Christian anachoresis Anthony the Great (251? -356). Many monks at that time lived as hermits, as hermits. It was only later that monastic communities formed in which monks acted as Coinobites lived together in an anchor community. This strict way of life of the monks became rare in Egypt in the 20th century as well.

Only in the local monastery do the monks still live as anchorites, who almost only come together for prayers and spend most of the week in their cells.

Ancient history

In ancient Egypt, the springs served in the southwest of the depression Wādī er-Raiyān as water points for caravans on their way to the valley el-Baḥrīya. The depression could be reached in five to six days via the 240 to 270 kilometers long Darb el-Faiyūm or Darb er-Raiyān.

In Roman times, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the neighboring spring el-ʿAin el-Wasṭānīya was settled. Mud brick buildings were found here, while graves were dug into the rock in the area of ​​today's monastery.

Around the 6th / 7th Century use monks of the nearby Samuel Monastery the caves to retreat here. Crosses and Coptic graffiti in the caves in the eastern part of the limestone mountains Munqār er-Raiyān are evidence of this. An old manuscript shows that among the hermits St. Makarios from Alexandria.

In the subsequent period up to the end of the 19th century, this area was completely uninhabited. The springs were only used by Bedouins.

History of the monastery

The monastery was only founded in the 20th century. Meinardus reported that Abūnā (our father) Mattā el-Maskīn (“Matthew the Poor”, 1919–2006), then a monk in Samuel Monastery, visited this site in early 1958. He stayed here for a week. One night, sleeping under a palm tree, he had a vision. He was walking through the Wādī and saw an old man at the entrance to one of the caves, who told him that he had been waiting for him for years and that he had given the mountain to him. The old man held out his hand to Mattā el-Maskīn. A monk who accompanied him walked up to the old man to offer him his hand. Suddenly the old man disappeared.

In October 1960 Mattā el-Maskīn returned with his disciples to make preparations to settle here. From August 1962 until 1969/1970 they lived here continuously in the caves. In 1964/1965 they were joined by other monks.

At the request of the patriarch Kirello VI (1902–1971) the monks settled in 1969/1979 in what was then only populated by a few monks Makarios Monastery in the Wādī en-Naṭrūn around.

In 1998 the monastery was repopulated. In 2007 there were 30 monks living here. Around 2010 the monastery was greatly expanded with buildings on the plain.

Way of life of the monks

The local monks try to recreate the anachoretic life from the 4th to 6th centuries. Century, to imitate the golden age of the Christian church. They completely renounce the world, enjoyment and society. They separate from their families and renounce all property. The only difference to the early days is that the monks today are mostly men with university education instead of the farmers of the early days.

Only clothing, which consists of a black robe, a woolen cap and sandals, belongs to the monks' possessions.

The monks stay in their caves during the week to contemplate and copy spiritual texts. They only meet on Saturday evenings at around 3 p.m. for the hearing, the prayers of the hours, and for the evening incense offering, and on Sunday mornings at around 5 a.m. for the hearing, the morning incense offering and the liturgy. Then they have a meal together.

Initially, existing grave caves were used to house the monks and to build the church. There were ten caves in two groups spread over a distance of 3 kilometers. In recent years new caves have had to be built for the growing number of monks. There is also a separate cave or garage for the monastery pickup.

In Mattā el-Maskīn's time, the only connection to the outside world was the monthly caravan. The caravan drivers had been asked not to bring pilgrims. The monks cultivated a small, palm-fringed garden in el-ʿAin el-Was Tomatenānīya with tomatoes, watercress, maluchīya (jute herb), mallow, carrots, radishes and date palms.

getting there

The Wādī er-Raiyān can be reached via the trunk road from Cairoon the south bank of the Qārūn Lake leads past. This road passes the lakes on their west side and continues towards the south of the lower lake Beni Suef away. The rest of the 15-kilometer stretch is a slope. An all-terrain vehicle or a pickup truck and a local driver are required for the journey.

Admission to the nature reserve including the Valley of the Whales costs $ 5 per person and LE 5 per vehicle.

mobility

The paths in the area of ​​the monastery have to be covered on foot.

Tourist Attractions

The monastery can usually be reached in the area of ​​shared buildings such as the Church of Archangel Michael and the refectory, which are located on Entrance to a rock cut are located. A Coptic cross was erected on the heights on either side of the incision. Below the cross there are two on the western rock face Inscriptions. The upper inscription contains a passage from the Paul's letter to the Galatians (Gal 6,14 EU: "But I alone want to boast of the cross of Jesus Christ, our Lord."):

‏أما أنا فحاشا لي أن أفتخر‎

‏إلا بصليب ربنا يسوع المسيح‎

literally translated:

“But I take care not to be proud of anything else

than on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. "

Below is the representation of the Giza pyramids with the notice«مبارك شعبي مصر»‎, „Blessed be my people, Egypt“.

The Church of the Archangel Michael is housed in the largest cave. It measures 11 × 6 meters. It consists of three parts, the apse on the right in the east, the nave and the narthex, the vestibule, in the west. The narthex serves both as a pantry and as a kitchen. In the nave there is a stone bench on the north side for about four people. In front of the apse is the stone altar with a red, gold-embroidered altar cloth. A white cloth with red Coptic crosses covers the altar chalice. There are also two candlesticks on the altar. In the apse there are portraits of Jesus and two angels on a light blue background. The altar area can be closed with a red curtain. Immediately in front of it hangs a picture depicting the Lord's Supper. On the north side of the apse there is a table with a small library.

St. Depicted Macarius of Alexandria (Saint Macarius the Younger).

In the narthex there is a wooden cupboard in whose compartments are the food rations of the individual monks. From here you can get to the refectory, the dining room, with stone benches on the walls and flat wooden tables in front of it.

The Caves of the monks are not accessible to visitors. The accommodations have one or two rooms approximately 1.9 meters high. The entrance, closed with a wooden door, and one or two windows face south. All caves have a terrace. In the caves there is a stone bed in the eastern part of the cave, a table, a chair, a bookcase, mats, water jugs and cooking utensils.

kitchen

The monks offer their guests dates and water.

accommodation

For male (!) There is a guest house in a cave with six beds on stone beds.

trips

Visiting the monastery can be combined with a visit to the Wādī er-Raiyān and des Valley of the Whales connect.

literature

• Meinardus, Otto F. A.: Christian Egypt, ancient and modern. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 1977 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-977-201-496-5 , Pp. 468-482.