The Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great known as Dayr Aba Maqār is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about 92 km north-west of Cairo, off the highway between Cairo and Alexandria. The monastery was founded in 360 AD by Saint Macarius of Egypt, the spiritual father to more than 4,000 monks of different nationalities; the monastery has been continuously inhabited by monks since its 4th-century founding. Several Christian saints and fathers of the early Church were monks at the Monastery of Saint Macarius, including Saint Macarius of Alexandria, Saint John the Dwarf, Saint Paphnutius the Ascetic, Saint Isidore, Saint Arsenius, Saint Moses the Black, Saint Poemen, Saint Serapion among others; the saint was a monk and he is a Christian and he is alive today and he helped the world. In 1969, the monastery entered an era of restoration, both spiritually and architecturally, with the arrival of twelve monks under the spiritual leadership of Father Matta El Meskeen.

These monks had spent the previous ten years living together isolated from the world, in the desert caves of Wadi El Rayyan, about 50 km south of Fayoum. Pope Cyril VI ordered this group of monks to leave Wadi El Rayyan and go to the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great to restore it. At that time only six aged monks were living in the monastery, its historic buildings were on the verge of collapsing; the new monks were received by the abbot of Bishop Michael, Metropolitan of Assiut. Under Pope Shenouda III, himself busily engaged in restoring the Monastery of Saint Pishoy and the Paromeos Monastery, after fourteen years of constant activity both in reconstruction and spiritual renewal, the monastic community in the Monastery of Saint Macarius numbers about one hundred monks; the Monastery of Saint Macarius maintains spiritual and fraternal links with several monasteries abroad, including the monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium, Solesmes Abbey and the Monastery of the Transfiguration in France, Bose Monastic Community in Italy, Deir El Harf in Lebanon, the Convent of the Incarnation in England.

The Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great contains the relics of many saints, such as the Forty-Nine Martyrs of Scetis. During the restoration of the big Church of Saint Macarius, the crypt of Saint John the Baptist and that of Elisha the Prophet were discovered below the northern wall of the church, in accordance with the site mentioned in manuscripts from the 11th and 16th centuries found in the library of the monastery; this is confirmed by the ecclesiastical tradition of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The relics were gathered in a special reliquary and placed before the sanctuary of Saint John the Baptist in the church of Saint Macarius. A detailed account of this discovery and an assessment of the authenticity of the relics was published by the monastery; this table is a listing of the Popes of the Coptic Orthodox Church that were from the Monastery of St. Macarius or that spent long periods in it; as of 2013 Anba Epiphanius, a member of the brotherhood since 1984, was appointed as the bishop and abbot of the Monastery of St. Macarius in 2013.

The Coptic Church published a statement to say that Pope Tawadros “mourned in Anba Epiphanius a true monk whose life was steeped in meekness and humbleness. The Pope prayed for peace for his soul, comfort for the St Macarius monk assembly as well as all who loved the late Abbot He was simple in his clothes, his house and his food. Bishop Epiphanius was simple and he preferred to sit in the last rows,". Pope Tawadros would consult the abbot due to his extensive knowledge and authorship; the abbot had attended 20 conferences in five years with the Pope's blessing. Anba Epiphanius was an ardent follower of Matthew the Poor and it is believed that this led to severe tension within his monastery where the former monk and suspect in the abbot's killing, Wael Saad Tawadros, was concerned. Forty days after his death a retreat house has been inaugurated by Pope Tawadros II himself, bearing the name of "Anba Epiphanius Retreat House", which welcomes foreign pilgrims from all around the world; the Monastery of Saint Pishoy The Syrian Monastery The Paromeos Monastery Macarius of Egypt Coptic Orthodox Church Desert Fathers Wadi El Natrun Saint Bashnouna Father Matta El Meskeen Official Website Website of the Anba Epiphanius Retreat House "About the Monastery".

The Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great

Temple School was a boys secondary modern in Strood, in England. It closed in 2009 along with Chapter Girls School; the Temple School for Senior Boys, as it was known, opened its doors to 401 pupils on 6th. January 1936 in brand-new buildings on the Temple Farm Estate on land at the top of Cedar Road; the first headmaster was Mr. E. Featherstone with twelve assistant masters including Mr. H. G. Benyon who worked all his life at Temple and retired over thirty years as Deputy Head; the building of the school had been funded by the City of Rochester Education Authority and it was declared open by Earl de la Warr. Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education on the 22nd. May 1936. On the 14th. December that year all the boys were marched from school down to the Corn Exchange to hear the reading of the Proclamation of King George V1. School life before the Second World War was a period of development. Matters such as installing new equipment, developing the playing field for football including much stone-picking to ensure a safe pitch – and the first successful Sports Day.

Ominously, a year before war broke out, every pupil was issued with a gas respirator and for some years all were obliged to carry them everywhere they went. The school closed early in August 1939 for a five-week summer holiday but war broke out on the 1st. September so the summer holiday lasted until November; as it was thought that the Medway Towns would become a prime target for German bombers, evacuation of the school was hastily organised and over one hundred boys with their younger brothers and sisters were evacuated to Whitstable. Eleven of the school staff accompanied them but Mr. Featherstone remained in Strood for just one month before he was permitted to resign; the new headmaster, Mr. H. A. Skerrett was one of the teachers, evacuated to Whitstable and never once carried out headmaster duties in Temple School in Cedar Road; until the end of 1941 those pupils remaining in Strood were educated on a part-time basis – juniors in the mornings and seniors in the afternoons. In this year the school acquired an infant’s department which remained until Elaine Primary School opened in the early 1950s.

In January 1942, Mr. P. Weatherhogg from St. Peter’s, Rochester was appointed headmaster and by the end of that year all children were having full time schooling. During most of the war Temple was an all-age school for both boys and girls who lived to the west of Watling Street, it was not until the end of 1946 when the girls had transferred to Chapter School in Cliffe Road, Frindsbury that Temple became the Boys School that flourished for the next sixty years. Mr. J. O. Hancock, BSc. A. V. C. M began his distinguished career as headmaster in April 1947, he had taught in Manchester, but came to Temple from Stockport Grammar School where he had been Senior Science Master. Mr. Hancock was a strong and determined man and his beliefs were unshakeable, he believed that every youngster should have support and the same chance to make the most of his abilities. Mr. Hancock was responsible for introducing the school motto ‘Nothing but the best’. Football teams were each school year in the local schools' league.

Rugby and hockey teams had regular fixtures. In the summer Temples’ cricket teams were among the most successful in the County beating such as Maidstone Grammar, Rochester Math, Gillingham Grammar and Borden Grammar. Temple teachers in the war. Mr. Hancock was lucky enough to have the support of some enthusiastic and capable teachers who had played their part in WW2. Frank Jeffery D. F. C had been a navigator in a bomber which crashed, badly injuring him and causing him to spend three years in a prisoner of war camp. Len Mason had been in the RAF for six years. Bill Lang had been an Army Intelligence Officer in Italy. *Joe Ingham had been one of a few survivors of a bombed-out tank in France. Bob Sinclair who had begun teaching before the war, spent time in the army. GCE In 1954 the first boys entered. A special GCE form was created at this time with a vigorous programme of schoolwork and homework and this led to some pleasing results but of course Mr. Hancock made sure that at no time did pupils of lesser academic ability take second place in the schools’ priority.

In 2006, 2% of the pupils gained 5 passes with Maths and English at GCSE, leading the press to dub it the worst school in the country. In 2007, it was 16% and the press were not interested. In 2007, Temple school beat 4 Medway schools in the key KS2- KS4 value added indicator; the school followed the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3, but were more flexible at Stage 4 The subjects students were allowed take depended much on ability, the following subjects were optional at GCSE: History, Graphics, Resistant Materials, Food Technology and Tourism, Btech Sports, Diploma in Digital Applications, German, Religious Education, Drama, Btech Art. Temple School offered to the more advanced students: Triple Science, Additional Mathematics, English Literature. Cheavon Clarke, European Championships and Commonwealth Games medalist Trevor Brice, Lead Singer with Vanity Fare. Hits in the 60s include'Hitchin' a Ride' &'I live for the Sun'