Deir al-Garnus
دير الجرنوس | |
|---|---|
 Church of the Holy Virgin in Deir al-Garnus | |
  Deir al-Garnus Location in Egypt | |
| Coordinates: 28°36′36″N 30°42′24″E / 28.61000°N 30.70667°E | |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Governorate | Minya |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
Deir el-Garnus (Arabic: دير الجرنوس) is a village in Upper Egypt near Maghagha. It is located in Minya Governorate on the shore of Bahr Yussef and has a predominantly Coptic Christian population of 6 504 people.[1][2]
Deir means "monastery" and el-Garnus comes from an older name of the village Arganus (Arabic: أرجنوس), which probably comes from Ancient Greek: ὄργανος, lit. 'water-machine, saqiyyah'[3] and refers to the ancient Nilometer in the village. In some texts the monastery is called Pei-Isous (Coptic: ⲡⲏⲓ ⲓⲥⲟⲩⲥ), Beyt Isus or Deir Bisus (Arabic: دير بيسوس), all meaning "house of Jesus".[1]
The modern village developed from a monastery visited by the Holy Family during their Flight into Egypt on their way to Hermopolis. The legend says that Jesus dug a well with water that cured every disease. It was also believed to foretell the height of the annual Nile's inundation. The church of the Holy Virgin was built on a site of this well in the 6th century (now ruined, the modern church was built around 1870, but the remains of the old church are still present),[4] and the festival was held on the 25th of Pashons to predict the Nile's flooding. Another festival attended by thousands of pilgrims is celebrated on 15th and 16th of Mesori.[5]