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The Monastery of St. Macarius lies in Wadi Natrun, the ancient Scetis, 92 kilometers from Cairo on the western side of the desert road to Alexandria. It was founded in 360 A.D. by St. Macarius the Egyptian, who. was spiritual father to more than four thousand monks of different nationalities-Egyptians, Greeks, Ethiopians, Armenians, Nubians, Asians, Palestinians, Italians, Gauls and Span-lards. There were among them men of letters and philosophers, and members of the aristocracy of the time, along with simple illiterate peasants. From the fourth century up to the present day the monastery has been continuously inhabited by monks.
In 1969 the monastery entered an era of restoration, both spiritually and architecturally, with the arrival of twelve monks with their spiritual director, Fr. Matta el-Meskeen. These monks had spent the previous ten years living together entirely isolated from the world, in caves in the desert area known as Wadi el-Rayyan, about 50 kilo-metres south of Fayyum. There they had lived the monastic life in the fullest sense, in the spirit of the desert fathers, with that same simplicity and the same total deprivation of all the goods and cares of this world, the same deep sense of the divine love, and the same complete confidence in divine providence in the midst of the most austere natural environment and the dangers of the desert. For these twelve monks, this was a time when they were bonded together in the crucible of the divine love, uniting them in Christ, in the spirit of the Gospel.
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It was the late Patriarch Cyril vi who in 1969 ordered this group of monks to leave Wadi el-Rayyan and go to the Monastery of St. Macarius to restore it. The patriarch received them, blessed them, assured them of his prayers and asked God to grant their spiritual father grace that the desert might bloom again and become the home of thousands of hermits. At that time only six aged monks were living in the monastery and its historic buildings were on the point of collapse. The new monks were warmly received by the abbot of the monastery, Bishop Michael, Metropolitan of Assiut, who through his wisdom and humility was able to create an atmosphere favourable to the renewal they hoped for.
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At the present time, under the patriarch Shenouda III, who is himself busily engaged in restoring the two monasteries of St. Bishoy and Baramos, and after fourteen years of constant activity both in reconstruction and spiritual renewal, the monastic community numbers about one hundred monks. Most of them are university graduates in such diverse fields as agriculture, medicine, veterinary medicine, education, pharmacology and engineering, and have had job experience before entering the monastery. The monks live in strong spiritual unity, according to the spirit of the Gospel, practising brotherly low and the unceasing prayer of the heart. They are all directed by the same spiritual father who watches over the unity of the spirit of the monastery. The renewal is also revealed in the diligent prayer of the daily office and other liturgical services, for it is the aim of the monks to revive in the Church the spirit of the first centuries of Christianity, both by their rule of life and by conscientious study.
The reconstruction of the monastery
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The new monastery buildings, designed and constructed by the monks qualified in these fields, are now nearing completion. They include more than 150 cells (each comprising a room for prayer and study, a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and small balcony), a large refectory where the monks gather daily to share an agape meal, a new library with space for several thousand volumes, and a spacious guest house comprising several reception rooms and a number of single rooms for retreatants and other guests. Buildings to house various utilities have also been constructed, including a kitchen, bakery, barns, garages and a repair-shop. The new buildings occupy an area of ten acres, six times that covered by the old monastery.
Photo:beforeitsnews.com
In addition, the historic buildings in the monastery have been care-fully restored. This difficult and delicate task has been supervised by prominent archeologists [Drs. Gamal Mehriz, Gamal Mokhtar, Abdel Rahman Abdel Tawwab and Zaki Iskandar, and the German archeologist Dr. Grossmann.] under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities. These specialists have expressed their admiration for the way in which the archeological work has been carried out by the monks, who, under their guidance, have restored and fortified the historic buildings, while at the same time demolishing the recent and dilapidated constructions, which encroached upon and even covered the ancient monuments. The old toilets in particular needed to be removed, since their inefficient drainage system was liable to cause real damage.
http://www.stmacariusmonastery.org/
