Tabenna

Name

Tabenna (also Tabennae, Tabennisi, Tabennesi, Tabennese) is a Coptic name.

History

Starting as an abandoned village along the Nile river, the monastery at Tabennese is considered to be the first cenobitic monastery and is credited with sparking the Pachomian monastic movement.  One day while collecting wood at this village, it is said that Pachomius was shown a vision that told him to build a monastery at this location.[1] The monks at Tabennese first built a church for the village itself. As the village grew, they went on to build a church for themselves. This all began as a sort of communal experiment that quickly became overpopulated.[2] Not only would the monastery go on to be formed there, but it also turned into a sprawling village that was separate from the monastery itself.[3] Although sprawling, it rarely attracted the visitation of pilgrims as it was so remote.[4] Regardless of this, it did not fail to draw the attention of local authorities. There are records of Tabennese taxation from the Hermopolite nome that were dated 367 C.E.[5] Although Tabennese was located within the Tentyrite nome, the Hermopolite nome, which was a considerable distance away, was responsible for taxation of its land.[6]

Archaeology

More recent archaeological efforts have placed the ancient monastery on the edge of the modern-day village of Faw Qibli.[7]

References
  1. Harmless, William (2004). Desert Christians : an introduction to the literature of early monasticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-803674-6. OCLC 318458883.
  2. Goehring, James E. (1999). Ascetics, society, and the desert : studies in early Egyptian monasticism. Harrisburg, PA. ISBN 1-56338-269-5. OCLC 40907656.
  3. Goehring, James E. (1999). Ascetics, society, and the desert : studies in early Egyptian monasticism. Harrisburg, PA. ISBN 1-56338-269-5. OCLC 40907656.
  4. Harmless, William (2004). Desert Christians : an introduction to the literature of early monasticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-803674-6. OCLC 318458883.
  5. Goehring, James E. (1999). Ascetics, society, and the desert : studies in early Egyptian monasticism. Harrisburg, PA. ISBN 1-56338-269-5. OCLC 40907656.
  6. Goehring, James E. (1999). Ascetics, society, and the desert : studies in early Egyptian monasticism. Harrisburg, PA. ISBN 1-56338-269-5. OCLC 40907656.
  7. Goehring, James E. (1999). Ascetics, society, and the desert : studies in early Egyptian monasticism. Harrisburg, PA. ISBN 1-56338-269-5. OCLC 40907656.


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