The Monastery of the Holy Virgin Mary, also known as
the Muharraq Monastery, or simply the Burnt Monastery, lies on the path of the
flight of the Holy Family in Egypt. It is located about 60 km from Assiut
(327 km south of Cairo). The Monastery is referred to as "Al
Muharraq" because "muharraq" is an Arabic word which means
"burn or wound inflicted by fire" and the Monastery was partially
burned by foreign invaders in the middle centuries. The monastery is unusual in
that it is not located in the desert.
The monastery is usually very peaceful,
even though it is one of the largest and most wealthy Coptic monasteries in
Egypt. The walls of the compound enclose an area of 30 feddans, containing
five churches and about 100 monks, as well as a large library. This is a fine
example of a fortified monastery, like many that were located in the desert.
The Main Churches
The Church of the Holy Virgin Mary (al-Adra), which lies next to the
square tower, is the oldest church in the monastery and is believed to date to
the 1st century AD. It was St. Pachomious who built the original monastery
around the church, which predates the monastery by three centuries. The ancient
alter lies in the sanctuary of this church.
The church is not the original, but is ancient and is suppose to be very
nearly the same as that of the original. Pope Theophilus, who was the
23rd Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria wrote that he had noticed that the church
was small, and very simple. Because of the holiness of the site, he wished to build a great cathedral
to replace the small church. He voiced this wish in his prayers, but in a
vision the Holy Virgin is said to have visited him and explained that it was
the will of her son that the church should be kept as it is, as a symbol of
Christ's humility. She also told him that before Christ's Ascension, the Lord,
the Virgin Mary and the Disciples came together upon a cloud to the small
church to bless and dedicate it, and that the first liturgy was held in the
church.
The Nave (inside) of the church is, according to Coptic tradition, divided
into three main sections. The first section is for the believers, the
second for the penitents and the third for the catechumens (people who are not
baptized in the faith). Behind the Church of the Holy Virgin is the Church of
St. George (Mari Girgis) which was build in 1880. Inside are a number of
religious paintings including that of the twelve apostles. The Church of the
Archangel Michael was renovated at the time of Patriarch Gabriel, the 95th
Patriarch of Alexandria (1525-1568 AD). This church is built on the upper level
of the keep. The keep was a tower which protected the monks when they were
being invaded by barbarians or other foreign invaders.
The Church of St. George was built in the 19th century
in place of an older one that dated from the 18th century. The most notable
characteristic is of this church is its two high steeples. Another of its
characteristic is the Byzantine/Greek styled Iconoclastic. The Library The
library of the monastery is divided into two main sections. The first
section contains thousands of modern books and reference material dating from
the 19th and 20th centuries. They cover religion, science and other subjects written
in various languages including Coptic, Greek, Arabic, English and Amharic. The
second section of the library contains hand-written manuscripts in Coptic and
Arabic. Scientifically indexed, these priceless manuscripts date back as early
as the 13th century.