page_title: Red Monastery
section_title: The churches
hierarchical_section_title: Red Monastery / The churches
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Rechte Konche im Roten Kloster, Gouvernement Sohag, Ägypten English: Right Conch in the Red Monastery in the governorate of Sohag, Egypt
context_page_description: The Red Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after an Egyptian saint called Pishay. It is located near the Upper Egyptian city of Souhag, and about two and a half miles north-west of the White Monastery. The name of the monastery is derived from the colour of the construction material of its outside walls, consisting of red brick. These walls are considerably thicker at the base than at the top, and, just like the walls of Ancient Egyptian temples, they are surmounted by cavetto moldings. The Red Monastery is architecturally similar to the White Monastery.
context_section_description: The Church of Saint Pshoi (Bishoi) is situated in the northeastern corner of the monastery. We do know that the principal church of the monastery, named for St. Pshoi, was built during the second half of the fifth century, in the form of a basilica. It also is similar architecturally to the Church of St. Shenute in the White Monastery, though smaller. It too is built of red brick rather than stone. Measuring forty-four meters in length by twenty-three meters in width, the church does not have a west narthex like the Church of Shenute, but all other elements are identical. The nave has small side aisles connected on the west, and there are upper galleries, a triconch apses and a large rectangular room on the south side of the edifice.
  There are elements within this church, however, that distinguish it from the Church of St. Shenute in the White Monastery. In the White Monastery, considerable building material was robbed from edifices dating to the pharaonic or Roman period, while in the Red Monastery church of St. Pshoi, the portals and columns (bases, shafts and capitals) were made for this building. Also, there is the addition of two columns before the presbytery in this church. The relative narrowness of the triumphal arch, for reasons of stability, created a discordance between the wide nave and the narrow passage into the presbytery, and the two columns was a clever artistic and architectural solution which resolved the aesthetic problems by removing the discrepancy between the dimensions of the nave and those of the entry to the sanctuary. In fact, this was such a brilliant idea that it was subsequently used in practically all churches having a narrow entry into the presbytery.
  The triconch sanctuary is very fine. It has three apses that are embellished by two orders of superposed niches separated by small elegant columns. These columns are completely painted, and lend to the spaces' richness and sacredness. The motif of the broken tympanum surmounting each niche is particularly interesting. Attached to the haikal (sanctuary) screen that shields the sanctuary from the public areas are icons of Saints Shenute, Bishoi and Bigoul. The north and south apses have no altars.
caption: Church interior
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