The Monastery of St. Paula is a Coptic Orthodox monastery and one of the oldest Egyptian monasteries located in the eastern desert near the Red Sea Mountains. It is about 155 km (96 mi) southeast of Cairo. The monastery is also known as the Monastery of the Tigers. It was established in the late fourth century AD and the beginning of the fifth century.
Location
It is located west of one of the high mountains of Galala and is surrounded by high plateaus. It is the spot from which the Copts say that the Hebrews crossed with the Prophet Moses to the Red Sea upon their exit from the land of Egypt. It is reached by the Suez-Ras Gharib road (the beginning of the Red Sea Riviera), or an unpaved road from Beni Suef.
History
The history of the monastery dates back to the fourth century AD. It holds historical importance because it was built over the cave in which Paul lived for more than eighty years. The oldest account of the monastery comes from Anthony the Martyr, a citizen of Placentia who visited the tomb of Bishop Paula between 560 and 570 AD.
The first monks to inhabit the monastery were some of the disciples of Anthony the Great. The Melkites may have inhabited it for a short period, followed by Egyptian monks again and Syrian monks. The Syriacs may have had a sustained presence in the monastery, as they also appear to have inhabited the monastery during the first half of the fifteenth century, after which their presence disappeared. According to an isolated Ethiopian reference, the 70th Coptic Orthodox Pope Gabriel II (1131-1145 AD) was exiled to the Monastery of St. Paula for three years.