{"id":9468,"date":"2011-11-09T14:25:56","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T19:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=9468"},"modified":"2011-11-09T14:30:12","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T19:30:12","slug":"ancient-christian-ruins-in-danger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/11\/ancient-christian-ruins-in-danger","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Christian ruins in danger"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ruins of the 1,500-year-old\u00a0St. Menas’ church and monastery\u00a0near Alexandria, Egypt, are sinking into water-saturated soil and may be added to the UN’s list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
St,. Menas of Alexandria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The situation worsened two weeks ago with\u00a0the collapse of an ancient\u00a0crypt at the site.<\/p>\n

Called “Abu Mena” ever since it was destroyed around 600 AD during the Islamic Conquest, the\u00a0church\u00a0was built around 300 AD in honor of Egyptian martyr St. Menas.\u00a0A monastery was added and the area became\u00a0a Christian pilgrimage center. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.<\/p>\n

There are very few standing remains, but the foundations of most major buildings, such as the great basilica, are easily discernible.<\/p>\n

The growth of agriculture in what was a desert area has led to a significant rise in the water table —\u00a0which has caused a number of the site’s buildings to collapse or become unstable. Authorities have placed sand in the bases of several of the buildings that are most endangered.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The ruins today<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

St. Menas was martyred during the early Roman persecution of the church and, according to tradition, his body was taken from Alexandria on a camel, which was led into the desert. At the current ruins site, the camel refused to continue. This was taken as a divine sign and the martyr was buried there.<\/p>\n

According to tradition,\u00a0the location of the\u00a0grave was lost until\u00a0a miraculous rediscovery by a local shepherd. From the Ethiopian Synaxarium,<\/em> translated by E.A.W. Budge:<\/p>\n

And God wished to reveal the [place of the] body of Saint M\u00een\u00e2s. And there was in that desert a certain shepherd, and one day a sheep which was suffering from the disease of the scab went to that place, and dipped himself in the water of the little spring which was near the place, and he rolled about in it and was healed straightway. And when the shepherd saw this thing, and understood the miracle, he marvelled exceedingly and was astonished. And afterwards he used to take some of the dust from that shrine, and mix it with water, and rub it on the sheep, and if they were ill with the scab, they were straightway healed thereby. And this he used to do at all times, and he healed all the sick who came to him by this means.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Word of the healings spread rapidly. Roman Emperor Constantine\u00a0is said to have sent his ailing daughter there. She is credited with finding Menas’ bones, after which Constantine ordered the construction of a church at the site.<\/p>\n

By the late 4th century,\u00a0the church and monastery\u00a0were a significant pilgrimage\u00a0destination for Christians who sought healing and other miracles. During the reign of the Emperor Arcadius, the local archbishop observed that crowds were overwhelming the small church. He wrote to the emperor, who ordered a major expansion of the facilities.<\/p>\n

The site was first excavated from 1905 to 1907, uncovering a large basilica, an adjacent chapel which had probably housed the saint’s remains and Roman baths.<\/p>\n

The site is in danger\u00a0and needs major funds for restoration, says Mohamed Reda, head of\u00a0Egypt’s Engineering and Technical Unit for the Museums and Monuments in Delta and Sinai at the Supreme Council of Antiquities.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0rise in groundwater levels is\u00a0a common problem in the area.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Council of Antiquities had allocated over 45 million Egyptian pounds — U.S. $7.5 million —\u00a0to save the site using a network of water pumps and drainage systems and build a fence around Abu Mena to protect it from encroachments and theft.<\/p>\n

Work at least 21 other archaeological sites have been put on hold due funding shortages, said explained Reda.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderground water has risen again by five meters and part of the Abu Mena crypt collapsed two weeks ago,\u201d he said. Other endangered sites include a Jewish temple, the Greco-Roman Museum and the Mosaic Museum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ruins of the 1,500-year-old\u00a0St. Menas’ church and monastery\u00a0near Alexandria, Egypt, are sinking into water-saturated soil and may be added to the UN’s list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. The situation worsened two weeks ago with\u00a0the collapse of an ancient\u00a0crypt at the site. Called “Abu Mena” ever since it was destroyed around 600 AD…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,601],"tags":[2231,1820],"class_list":["post-9468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-egypt","tag-egypt","tag-st-menas"],"yoast_head":"\nAncient Christian ruins in danger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/11\/ancient-christian-ruins-in-danger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ancient Christian ruins in danger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The ruins of the 1,500-year-old\u00a0St. Menas’ church and monastery\u00a0near Alexandria, Egypt, are sinking into water-saturated soil and may be added to the UN’s list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. 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