Changes

The '''Paromeos Monastery''', also known as '''Baramos Monastery''', is a [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox]] [[monastery]] located in the [[Nitrian Desert]]. It is the most northern [[monastery]] among the four current monasteries of [[Scetes]], about 4 km north of the [[Monastery of Saint Pishoy]]. The name ''Paromeos'' is derived from the [[Coptic language|Coptic]] '''Pa-Romeos''', which means ''that of the Romans''. Ecclesiastically, the monastery is dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]] and carries her name.

The Paromeos Monastery is probably the oldest among the four existing monasteries of [[Scetes]]. It was founded c. 335 A.D. by Saint [[Saint Macarius the Great]]. The name ''Pa-Romeos'' or ''that of the Romans'' may refer to Saints Maximus and Domitius, children of the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Valentinian I]], who had their cell at the place of the modern monastery. According to [[Copt]]ic Coptic tradition, the two saints went to [[Scetes]] during the time of [[Saint Macarius the Great]], who tried in vain to dissuade them from staying. Nevertheless, they stayed and attained perfection before dying at a young age. A year after their departure, [[Saint Macarius the Great]] consecrated their cell by building a [[chapel]], and told the monks [[monk]]s "Call this place the Cell of the Romans". Another theory holds that the name refers to the [[Roman Emperor]]s Emperors [[Arcadius]] and [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]], disciples of [[Saint Arsenius]]. The latter was himself a [[Rome|Roman]] monk who established himself in [[Scetes]], and it is possible that the two emperors had visited their teacher in his seclusion, thus giving to the monastery its name.

Following the destruction of the monastery in 407 A.D. by the [[Berbers]] and the [[Bedouins]], [[Saint Arsenius]] returned to rebuild it. However, following a second raid also by the [[Berbers]] in 410 A.D., he retired to [[Troe]], now a neighbourhood of [[Cairo]] known as [[Tura (Egypt)|Tura]], where he died.

Beside [[Saint Macarius the Great]] and [[Saint Arsenius]], other saints of the fourth and fifth century resided in the Paromeos Monastery, such as [[Saint Isidore]], and Saint [[Saint Moses the Black]] who was martyred at the raid of 407 A.D.

As a result of the attacks by the [[Berbers]] and the [[Bedouins]], [[Pope Shenouda of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda I of Alexandria]] (859-880) built walls around the monasteries of the [[Nitrian Desert]]. Their height varies between ten and eleven meters, and their widths are about two meters. They were also covered with a thick layer of plaster.

During the first half of the fifteenth century, the historian [[Al-Maqrizi]] visited the monastery and was responsible for identifying it as that of [[Saint Moses the Black]]. At that time, he found it to have only a few monks. Other famous visitors included [[Jean Coppin]] in 1638, [[Jean de Thévenot]] in 1657, [[Benoît de Maillet]] in 1692, [[Du Bernat]] in 1710, [[Claude Sicard]] in 1712, [[Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert Sonnini de Manoncourt|Sonnini]] in 1778, [[Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland|Lord Prudhoe]] in 1828, [[Lord Curzon]] in 1837, [[Tattam]] in 1839, [[Constantin von Tischendorf|Tischendorf]] in 1845, [[Jullien]] in 1881 and [[Butler]] in 1883. Information from them and a few other travelers provide that there were 712 monks who lived in seven monasteries in this region, including twenty monks at the Paromeos Monastery in 1088, twelve monks in 1712, nine in 1799, seven in 1842, thirty in 1905, thirty-five in 1937, twenty in 1960 and forty-six in 1970. Today, the monastery is inhabited by some fifty monks.

Though the community of monks was fairly insignificant during the Middle Ages, the Paromeos Monastery apparently supplied one monk to the patriarchal throne in 1047, Pope [[Pope Christodolos of Alexandria]], who proved to be a man of great holiness. The monastery also supplied two monks in the seventeenth century to the patriarchal throne, Pope [[Pope Matthew III of Alexandria]] and Pope [[Pope Matthew IV of Alexandria]]. The monastery also produced a number of outstanding theologians, including Father Naum, and Father Abdel Massih ibn Girgis el Masuudi, both of the nineteenth century.

Today, the monastery still preserves much of its ancient character. It has five churches. The oldest church is dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]] and contains the relics of [[Saint Moses the Black]]. It is considered the oldest church in [[Scetes]] still in existence, dating back to the sixth century. The second church is dedicated to Saint [[Theodore the Tyro|Theodore of Amasea]], the third to [[Saint Georges]], the fourth to Saint [[Saint John the Baptist]], and the fifth to [[Archangel Michael]]. The walls built by [[Pope Shenouda of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda I of Alexandria]] are still standing today. The monastery also contains a keep, a tower, two refectories, and a guest house.

Under [[Shenouda III (Gayyid) of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda III]], a number of recent renovations were performed at the monastery. An asphalt road to the monastery was built, and there have been several major cultivation projects. In addition, six water pumps, a sheepfold, a henhouse and two generators were added, together with the construction of new residential cells both inside and outside the monastery proper. There is now a clinic and a pharmacy to serve the monks, as well as a spacious retreat center for conferences and a large, two story guesthouse that was opened in January 1981.

Since 1996, the [[Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research]] (NWO) and the Faculty of Archaeology of the [[University of Leiden]] have financed the archaeological research on the remains of the site commonly known as the Monastery of [[Saint Moses the Black]], near the Paromeos Monastery. This monastery was surrounded by an enclosure wall that was perhaps a somewhat late addition during the ninth century.

Within the old monastery, archaeologists discovered the remains of a square structure measuring some sixteen meters square, in the southeastern corner of the site. Though its original purpose was at first unclear, it has now been determined to have most likely been a defensive tower, or keep that may have stood some twenty-five meters in height. However, pottery from the 4th or early 5th century found on the site suggest that this tower was built very early for monastic purposes, particularly with regards to what was probably a fairly small community of monks. It has been suggested that this may have originally been built as a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] military structure in order to defend the [[Nitrian Desert]] and its salt production. Then, after having been abandoned during the fourth century, it may have been put to use by newly arrived [[anchorite]]s.

Remains, probably of an earlier structure and consisting of more solid masonry of finely cut limestone blocks, were found in the western part of the church's nave. Since one of these blocks was inscribed with a number of [[hieroglyph]]ics hieroglyphics in high relief, it is very plausible that an [[Ancient Egyptian]] monument existed in close proximity to this site.

==Other monasteries of the [[Nitrian Desert]]==* [[Monastery of Saint Pishoy|The Monastery of Saint Pishoy]]* [[Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great|The Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great]]* [[Syrian Monastery|The Syrian Monastery]]

==See also==*[[Macarius of Egypt]]*[[Saint Arsenius]]*[[Saint Moses the Black]]*[[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]]*[[Coptic monasticism]]*[[Coptic architecture]]*[[Desert Fathers]]*[[Wadi El Natrun]] {{coord missing|Egypt}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Paromeos, Monastery of Saint}}[[Category:Coptic Monasteries in Egypt]][[Category:Coptic Orthodox monasteries]] [[ar:دير البراموس]][[nl:Paromeosklooster]]