Egypt: Christian Churches and Monasteries of Luxor and the West Bank

Christian Churches and Monasteries of Luxor and the West Bank by Jimmy Dunn

Many western tourists who have an interest in archaic Christian monuments, even though they may be taking a classical pharaonic tour, will visit the famous old churches in Coptic (Old) Cairo. Of course, outside of Cairo, many classical tours will also visit the abandoned St. Simeon Monastery outside of swan, and e!tended tours to the Sinai will very often make a trip to St. Catherine"s Monastery, a very popular attraction. #hey may even stop by the Seven $irls Monastery in %adi &iran on their way to or from St. Catherine"s. 'owever, if the tourist looks a little closer, they will also discover Christian relics elsewhere on their tour.

Coptic platter from !" #here was a fairly large community of Christians during that era of (gypt"s history both at #hebes (modern )u!or) and on the %est *ank across the river. Some of the ruins are among the oldest to be found in (gypt, dating from the +th century, and indeed, a see was established at #hebes probably before ,-. and the Council of /icaea. #n the West Bank 01 beseech thee, 2esus Christ, my )ord, suffer me not to follow after my desire3 let not my thoughts have dominion over me, let me not die in my sins, but accept #hy servant for good.0 Coptic graffito in 45-, the #omb of 6amesses 15 6egrettably, the center of this activity was in the town of 2eme, which could have e!tended from 7eir el8Medina to Madinat 'abu, but the remains of the church built there, probably called the Cathedral of Saint thanasius, was cleared away by the Service des nti9uites in :;<.. 1t would have been located in the second court of the #emple of 6amesses 111. 1n fact, most of the Christian structures at #hebes were incorporated into various pharaonic monuments. )ike the Cathedral of Saint thanasius, some have been cleared away, while

others remnants remain. 'owever, the e!tent of this Christian community is evidenced by the number of pharaonic sites with 7eir in their names, a word that basically means 0church0, or at least a Christian place of worship.

$bo%e: #ld &icture of the 'emple of (ueen )atshepsut* +ote the to,er of the monastery &or e!ample, one important settlement was 7eir el8Medina, and specifically the temple begun by =tolemy 15, which owes its name to a Christian monastery and church that may have been dedicated to Saint 1sidorus. nother is 7eir el8*ahri, well known for its famous #emple of >ueen 'atshepsut. 4nown as the /orthern Monastery or the Monastery of =a =hoibammon, the upper terrace was settled by Christian monks in the large hypostyle hall, but again, all traces of their e!istence have been cleared away. %e do know that the monastery had a s9uare brick tower nearly eighty meters high, and the buildings that were constructed were made of mud brick and stone taken from the :;th 7ynasty walls. #his monastery was apparently abandoned around ?;@ 7. 'owever, there are some remaining Christian monuments in the area, including a few that remain incorporated into the more ancient sites. &or e!ample, up on a hill that divides the 5alley of the >ueens into two branches are the remains of a small monastery that we know little about, other than its name, 7eir el86umi. 1t probably received its name from three wells located in the area, which is known as the 5alley of 6umi (or the 5alley of #hree %ells). %ithin this area are also located a number of smaller tombs with some interesting decorations.

$ Coptic pottery dish- circa .th century $D from the Monastery of Epephanius

nother site we have more information concerning is the Monasteries of Saints Cyriacus and (pephanius ((piphanius). #he Monastery of Cyriacus e!tended roughly from tomb A. belonging to /ebamon to tomb A?, that of 'apuseneb on the eastern slope of Sheikh bd el8 >urna in the area known as the #ombs of the /obles. &rom this monastery, one may reach the Monastery of (piphanius, which is about twenty meters above the road to 7eir el8*hari. #his monastery was e!cavated in :<:- by the Metropolitan Museum of rt under the direction of 'erbert (. %inlock. 1t was built on the site of the ::th 7ynasty tomb (courtyard) of the viBier, 7aga (7agi), about four hundred meters south of 7eir el8*ahri. %hile there are only a few remains of the monastery, it was first mentioned in a will of the ?th century monks 2acob and (lias. On up the hill, especially, in tombs ##;+, ;., ;? and <? show signs of e!tensive Coptic settlement.

the 'omb of Daga #he Monastery of =hoebammon (=hoibammon), or 7eir bi &am, was e!cavated in :<+; by the Coptic rchaeological Society. 1t is located about eight kilometers west of the 5alley of the >ueens, and is difficult to reach. One must cross the desert of al84ula in al8'amra. 'owever, it may date from the +th century and has yielded considerable Coptic graffiti.

Coptic graffiti in the 'omb of /amesses 0! Other hermitages on the west bank included monasteries and cells of anchorites on the hilltop of >urnat Murrat and in the 6amesseum. 'owever, of particular interest is the #omb of 6amesses 15, which shows the most evidence of actual occupation by early Christian with a large number of Coptic graffiti (.@ or so), including a number of inscriptions written in red paint. 1n one scene, a saint praying with his arms raised in the air is probably pa mmonius the Martyr (located on the right wall behind the entrance). nother inscriptions lists seven famous Coptic hermits, consisting of pa =aul, pa ntony, pa =achom, pa =alemon, pa =etronius, pa #heodore and pa 'orsiese. Such graffiti can also be found in the tomb of 6amesses C1 (45+) as well as tomb 45,, the tomb of one of 6amesses 111"s sons which had been adapted as a chapel. $t Luxor and arnak /o less than five churches were built within the confines of the )u!or #emple during the *yBantine period. #he Mos9ue of bu al8'aggag was built upon the site of one of these

churches, while there was also a large basilica with a baptistery northwest of the nave southeast of the eastern pylon. #here was another church built in the court of 6amesses 11, and a smaller church in the southwestern section of the temple area. #here is also the remains of an apse with wall paintings at the southwest end of the narthe! where thirty8two columns are located. %hile none of these churches e!ist today, within the temple, there are a total of twelve column or statue bases inscribed with +th century )atin dedicatory te!t, while west of the temple are four more bases with dedications to the emperors 7iocletian and Ma!imian and the caesars Contantius and $alerius. 1n fact, there are a number of other statue or column bases with such dedications which all date to the Christian period prior to the legaliBation of the religion. %ithin the #emple of 4arnak, an ancient +th century Christian church as established in the $reat &estival 'all of #uthmosis 111, where paintings of saints can be clearly identified on si! columns. %hile the space between the central columns was used for worship, it is impossible to reconstruct the plan of this ancient church. 'owever, within the #emple of Montu at Medamud about eight kilometers northeast of )u!or, the ruins of a small church built into the temple are still traceable. 1t apparently had three naves, and the remains of pillars can still be seen. gain, this church probably dated to the +th, or perhaps as late as the .th century.