Over the course of an entire week, from February 15th to February 21st, 2025, the Third Monastic Conference was held (the first in 2017 and the second in 2018). Attended by more than one hundred monks from 32 monasteries of our Coptic Orthodox monasteries, and in the presence of more than 20 metropolitans and bishops, most of whom are abbots of monasteries.
In an entirely monastic atmosphere, the attendees communed in their monastic lives with a spiritual, educational, and study-based focus, at the LOGOS Papal Center – the Monastic Headquarters at St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt. The daily program started at 5:00 AM with the daily praise (tasbeha), followed by the Divine Liturgy, the agape meal, and three monastic lectures, with discussions and answers to questions after each lecture, through assessment to the esteemed monks. Lastly, a workshop about one of the monastic commandments, as mentioned in the epistles of St. Paul the Apostle, and the day ended at 10:00 PM.
The lectures of the conference revolved around the letters of St. Antony the Great, the father of all monks; twenty letters that were explained and classified based on spiritual tests through study and spiritual research. This was a valuable opportunity for in-depth and practical studies. Some of these included the monk’s life from the moment he joined the monastery, his spiritual progress, and his deepening understanding of monastic life, its quality, and its continual and dynamic lifestyle, which made our monasteries spiritual oases for asceticism, renunciation, monastic manners, and the deep spiritual experience of the human soul.
Monasticism began in Egypt in the third century AD as a way of life according to the Gospel and the offering of oneself entirely for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. It became a form of fasting from people and the world, detachment from everything, and attachment to the one true God with longing and continuous desire for heaven. The Egyptian Church was distinguished by three main attributes: First, it was the Church of the Apostles and service; second, the Church of martyrdom and martyrs; and third, the Church of monasticism and godliness. From Egypt, monastic life spread throughout the world through its great founders like St. Antony, St. Macarius, St. Pachomius, and others, to all parts of the world. There are now thousands of monasteries, as we read in countries like Germany, Italy, France, Russia, and more. We also have monasteries for monks and convents for nuns outside of Egypt, such as in Jerusalem, Sudan, Australia, Austria, Ireland, the USA, Canada, and others.
The virtues of monastic life are clearly shown in the holy Scriptures. These virtues are virginity and chastity, obedience and humility, voluntary poverty, brotherly love, resolve and faithfulness, patience and endurance of trials, continuous prayer, silence, peace, and growth in evangelical knowledge, etc.
It is known that there are monastic books and references that outline the way of monastic life, its characteristics, and spiritual experiences, such as the Book of the Paradise of the Monks, the Articles of John Cassian, the Sayings of the Fathers, and more. One of the most important sayings is of the spiritual elder Saint John Saba, “Those, O Lord, whom You have enlightened with the radiance of Your love, could not bear to live among people, but cast aside all bodily love and separated themselves from everything in search of the Beloved.” The monastic life reflects one of the beatitudes taught by the Lord Jesus when He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Christ), for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
Many are astonished at how a monk’s life is removed from the pleasures of the world, living in the solitude of the wilderness, where his day is divided between prayer, reading, and work. The monastic community is an educated and healthy society, where the life of the individual is balanced in thought, work, and heart. Prayer, reading, and work take various forms depending on the time and the generations that pass through the life of the monastery. Monasteries are usually located in deserts and wilderness, while convents are typically located in cities or on their outskirts. In Egypt, we have more than fifty monasteries and fifteen convents.
Some aspects and benefits of the Monastic conferences are:
1. Deep spiritual and monastic study in the writings of the fathers.
2. Renewal of our monastic lives through the sharing of knowledge, experience, and personal trials.
3. Refining monastic concepts in a world rapidly changing in everything.
4. Spiritual fellowship among the monks from their many monasteries.
5. Exchanging and acquiring spiritual knowledge with corrections to concepts.
6. Discovering talents, abilities, and skills among the monks.
7. Encouraging ecclesiastical studies and spiritual diligence in research and preparation.
The full preparation for this conference was carried out by the Monasticism and Monasteries / Convents Synodal Committee, under the guidance of Bishop Danial, the Abbot of St. Paul the Anchorite Monastery in Red Sea Governorate, Egypt, along with a group of monks from the monastery. The conference also showcased several publications and studies presented with a high level of preparation and accuracy. Several books were distributed during the conference to complete the intended spiritual benefit.
We thank God for these great blessings, and we hope such conferences continue every two years, alternating with another conference for nuns, in order to regulate monasteries and monastic life through study and knowledge. We also hope that in future conferences, our Coptic monasteries outside Egypt will participate, so we can have a unified vision and one spirit.
This page is also available in:
العربية
