Egypt completes restoration of world’s oldest monastery

CWN - February 08, 2010

Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has completed an eight-year, $14.5-million restoration of the world’s oldest monastery, which was founded by disciples of St. Anthony (251-356), the patriarch of monks. The restoration has drawn renewed attention to the plight of Christians in the country, where government approval is required to repair or build churches.

The nation of 77.8 million is 90% Muslim and 9% Christian, the vast majority of whom are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which ceased to be in communion with the Holy See following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Only 0.3% of Egyptians are Catholic.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our June expenses ($13,107 to go):
$30,000.00 $16,892.93
44% 56%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Thankfully, electing a pope is not like electing a president. 13 hours ago
Excellent critique of bias in New York Times abortion coverage 14 hours ago
Pope Francis the Frank June 18
“Illegals” are not “Immorals”: A Persistent Immigration Fallacy June 18
News coverage of the Vatican: the blind leading the blind June 18

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Vatican document demands governments protect refugees CWN - June 6
Pope acknowledges 'gay lobby' influence in Vatican CWN - June 11
Pope confirms he is completing encyclical on faith begun by Benedict XVI CWN - June 13