Dayr al-Maymūn

Dayr al-Maymūn, more known by its former name Pispir[1] as it is referred to by Athanasius of Alexandria in his biography of St. Anthony, is a mountain in Giza Governorate, Egypt, directly east of the Nile River.[2] It is known to be the place where Anthony the Great settled from 286 – 305 AD after leaving his spoils in Alexandria to pursue a more ascetic lifestyle following his inspiration by a verse from Mark (10:21b), which stated, "Go, sell what you have and give it to [the] poor."[3] During his stay, many followers of Anthony settled around the mountain. They waited there until he yielded to their request to start a monastic community of hermits.[4] The movement travelled eastward from Pispir. The site of Dayr al-Maymūn was also at one point the location of a Roman fort, whose ruins Anthony settled in during his stay at Pispir.[5]

East of the site in the Eastern Desert is the Monastery of St. Anthony.

References

  1. ^ D'Holbach, Baron (1766). Christianity Unveiled. p. 361.
  2. ^ "Dayr al Maymūn, Egypt". Geographical Names.
  3. ^ "Saint Anthony of Egypt". Franciscan Media.
  4. ^ "Saint Anthony of Egypt". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  5. ^ Buckner, Candace Leigh (2009). Fashioning the desert: The relation of the spiritual and secular worlds in the Lives of St. Antony and St. Martin (Bachelor of Arts thesis). Middletown, Connecticut, USA: Wesleyan University. p. 8. doi:10.14418/wes01.1.357. S2CID 130450912.


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