Kellia

{{unreferenced|date=May 2010}} {{For|the village near Larnaca|Kellia, Cyprus}} '''Kellia''', known as "the Cells", and referred to as "the innermost desert", was a 4th century Egyptian Christian [[Christian monasticism|monastic]] community located about 12 miles south of the [[Nitrian Desert]]. ==Overview== Founded in 338 C.E. by [[Saint Amun]], under the spiritual guidance of [[Anthony the Great|Saint Anthony]], it was designed for those who wished to enter the [[cenobitic]] life in a semi-anchoritic monastery. The cells were arranged far enough apart the monks could not see or hear each other. They came together on Saturday and Sunday to share a meal together, some journeying 3 or 4 miles from their cell to the church. If a monk failed to appear they would know he was sick or died and eventually someone (individually) would bring food or help or collect the remains. It was believed at one time up to 600 monks were at Kellia. Kellia is called al-Muna in [[Arabic]] and was inhabited until the 9th century. It was discovered by [[archaeologist]] [[Antoine Guillaumont]] in 1964, and has been excavated for over 25 years by [[France|French]] and [[Swiss]] teams. Many churches and ''koms'' (living quarters) were found, with the walls covered in inscriptions and decorations. Many of the koms accommodate multiple monks but examples of the earlier single-monk cells were also found. ==External links== *[http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/Oldcivilization/Egyptology/PlacesinHistorical/Christchurcmosques/alkellia.htm Kellia info] {{coord missing|Egypt}}