St. Paul's Monastery (Deir Mar Boulos), Red Sea Coast
 "St. Anthony Buries St. Paul," a painting in St. Paul's Monastery (photo: EgyptMyWay). |
Born into a wealthy family, St. Paul of Thebes abandoned civilization to live in the desert for 85 years. He settled in the wilderness of Egypt's eastern desert around year 250 AD. Living a life of extreme austerity, the hermit is said to have been fed a half-loaf each day by a raven.
Around 340 AD, the famous desert monk St. Anthony visited Paul just before he died. According to legend, when St. Paul passed away, two lions dug his grave. St. Anthony buried the hermit there, and designated him a saint.
What to See
The monastery that bears St. Paul's name (Deir Mar Boulos in Egyptian) is located where he was buried, in a valley south of the St. Anthony monastery. It has been little changed over the years, preserving its remarkably ancient heritage.
It was plundered several times during the 15th and 16th centuries, but was later repopulated by the monks of St. Anthony's Monastery.
The monastery has three churches. The Church of St. Paul, built underground, was dug into the cave where the saint lived and where his remains are kept.
St. Paul's possesses many illustrated manuscripts, including the Coptic version of the Divine Liturgy and the Commentary on the Epistle of Saint Paul to Titus by John Chrysostom.
