Tabenna (also Tabennae, Tabennisi; ) is considered the first
cenobitic
Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of pre ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
. It was a community founded during the
4th century
The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 ( CCCI) through 400 ( CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roma ...
by Saint
Pachomius the Great
Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, ...
in the modern hamlet of Al Rahmaniya Qebli (formerly Al Dabbah)
[Jalal Ahmed Abu Bakr: ''المتوارث في مصر الفرعونية'', Dar Al Maaref, Cairo 2014, , p. 74] near
Chenoboskion which is about 5 km east of
Nag Hammadi in
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient E ...
.
References
Populated places in Egypt
Coptic settlements
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