Kellia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kellia, known as "the Cells", and referred to as "the innermost desert", was a 4th century Egyptian Christian monastic community located about 12 miles south of Nitria, with Wadi Natrun nearby. Founded in 338 C.E. by St. Amun, under the spiritual guidance of Saint Anthony, it was designed for those who wished to enter the cenobitic life in a semi-anchoritic monastery.
The cells were arranged far enough apart the monks could not see or hear each other. They came together on Saturday and Sunday to share a meal together, some journeying 3 or 4 miles from their cell to the church. If a monk failed to appear they would know he was sick or died and eventually someone (individually) would bring food or help or collect the remains. It was believed at one time up to 600 monks were at Kellia.
Kellia is called al-Muna in Arabic and was inhabited until the 9th century.
It was discovered by archaeologist Antoine Guillaumont in 1964, and has been excavated for over 25 years by French and Swiss teams. Many churches and koms (living quarters) were found, with the walls covered in inscriptions and decorations. Many of the koms accommodate multiple monks but examples of the earlier single-monk cells were also found.
