Religion:Tbew

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Short description: Egyptian Christian monastery


Tbew (also spelled Thbew, Tbewe, or Tbow) was an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox monastery that was established in the mid fourth-century.[1]

History

Egypt is known as the birthplace of Christian cenobitic monasticism.[1][2] Tbew was founded by Petronius, a wealthy Christian and fourth-century monk who briefly succeeded Saint Pachomius as leader of the Koinonia.[3] Petronius is also revered as a saint in the Coptic Church.[3] Tbew would be the seventh monastery to join Pachomius' community of monks (known as the Koinonia).[4] Pachomian monasteries are widely considered to be the first Christian monasteries which regulated the behavior, prayer, and daily lives of its monks.[1] Tbew was the last of the five core monasteries to join the Koinonia along the Nile.[4]

Petronius first gathered men on his family's estate who wanted to spend their lives worshiping Christ.[2] After doing so, Petronius went to Pachomius about turning his estate into a monastery after hearing of Koinonia. The rules at the Pachomian monasteries, including Tbew, were influential on the history of Christian monasticism.[1] The rules were adapted by the anonymous author of the Rule of the Master and influenced the Benedictine Rule.[1]

Archaeology

Although not much is known about the architecture of the monastery, historians hypothesized that it was located within a fertile valley.[2]

References