monastery
Monastery of St Anthony
Dayr Anba Antuniyus, Red Sea mountains, Egypt · Africa: Coptic Egypt
28.924, 32.350
Attested. Anthony's retreat is attested by the near-contemporary Life of Antony. The organized monastery dates from after his death.
The monastery grew up at the foot of the 'inner mountain' where Anthony the Great lived as a hermit until his death in 356, as told in Athanasius's Life of Antony. It has been lived in almost continuously and holds an important set of 13th-century wall paintings. It is often called the oldest active monastery in the world.
Source stance: insider. Athanasius's hagiography plus later monastic records.
People and groups named here
- Anthony the Great
- Athanasius (biographer)
Sources
- Dayr Anba Antuniyus (Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia)
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia (1991; updated 2017); The Coptic Encyclopedia (Macmillan 1991), Claremont Colleges Digital Library. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Athanasius, Life of Antony
tr. H. Ellershaw, NPNF2 vol. 4 (1892), public domain; New Advent. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Monastery of Saint Anthony (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.