monastery
Tabennese
near Nag Hammadi / Qasr al-Sayyad, Egypt · Africa: Coptic Egypt (supplement)
26.100, 32.380
Approximate location.
Attested. Attested by the Lives of Pachomius. The exact location is approximate.
Tabennese
near Nag Hammadi / Qasr al-Sayyad
Around 320s Pachomius founded his first communal monastery (koinonia) at the deserted village of Tabennese, before moving the center to nearby Pbow. It is the starting point of communal (cenobitic) monasticism, as opposed to hermit life. A women's community led by Pachomius's sister Mary was founded close by.
Source stance: insider. Pachomian monastic literature.
People and groups named here
- Pachomius
- Mary (sister of Pachomius)
Sources
- Pleiades place 786125: Tabennisis
Pleiades Gazetteer (ISAW, NYU). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Monasticism, Pachomian (Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia)
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia; The Coptic Encyclopedia (Macmillan 1991), Claremont Colleges Digital Library. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- St. Pachomius
Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), public domain; New Advent. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.