Most people are caught in this circle, and it's very difficult for them to find their heart, which you have to do to join a monastery. Closer links to rest of world Still other factors account for the renewed enthusiasm in monasteries. For one, monasteries have been stripped of much of their isolation. Roads have been paved in the last 25 years, making a trip to these enclaves a day's excursion by bus rather than a week by donkey or camel. A monk in St. Boshoi's.
Many monks have advanced university degrees and several years' professional experience in the world.
And the monasteries have been made more familiar to the world by the vigorous activities of the Coptic Church, under the leadership of Pope Shenouda III, a highly educated monk himself. Pope Shenouda has multiplied the number of bishoprics and breathed new life into religious education, establishing Sunday schools and theological training for laypeople throughout the country, retreat houses at the monasteries, and encouraging outreach among youths. The teachings of the saints and the lives of the desert fathers figure prominently in Coptic religious education. Impassioned with youthful idealism, hundreds of young men spend their high school and university vacations in khilwa, or retreat, at the monasteries. They share chores, attend prayers, and seek spiritual guidance from the monks.