The Daughters of St. Mary (Deir Banat Maryam) is a Coptic community of nuns

Coptic monasticism

Coptic Monasticism is claimed to be the original form of Monasticism as Saint Pachomius the Cenobite, a Copt from Upper Egypt, established the first communal living in the Monastery of Saint Anthonyin the Red sea area. St...

 based in Beni Suef

Beni Suef

- Overview :Beni Suef is an important agricultural center, which grew from a small village at the turn of the century and now hosts a population of over 200,000. It was famous for its linen manufacturing in the Middle Ages, and continues to be heavily involved in cotton-spinning and carpet-making....

, Egypt.

History

Bishop Athanasius

Athanasius, Metropolitan of Beni Suef

Metropolitan Athanasius was the Coptic Orthodox bishop of Beni Suef and al-Bahnassa, Egypt, from 1962 until his death in 2000. Bishop Athanasius had, just as Pope Shenouda III, his roots in the Sunday School movement, a reform movement in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt...

 founded The Daughters of St. Mary during the feast of the Holy Cross (March 19th, 1965) with the blessing of then Patriarch Kyrillos VI

Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria

Father Mina became Pope of Alexandria on 10 May 1959 . In accordance with the old Coptic church tradition, Pope Cyril VI was the only monk in the 20th century to be chosen for papacy without having being a bishop /Metropolitan first...

, and initiated their first women in 1970. In 1974, a new facility was built, creating outreach programs for the poor, the elderly, orphans, and mentally handicapped individuals. Since then, the community has expanded their operation to Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Mukattam, and Turah. Bishop Athanasius oversaw the nuns until his death on 16 November 2000.

Social Works

The Daughters of St. Mary run several social projects as form of khedma, which in a Coptic context means “service as an act for God." Their services include “clinics and mobile clinics, nurseries, elementary schools, schools for vocational training, a crafts center, and projects for the mentally [handicapped], for elderly people who are physically or mentally disabled, and for young women and men." The nuns gear their social servers toward the disadvantaged groups within Egyptian society. For example, their medical facilities are often less expensive than government sponsored facilities, and the nuns provide better care for their patients. Furthermore, their services often reach groups marginalized by social taboos, such as mentally handicapped children who cannot find adequate care in Beni Suef.

Differences From Other Coptic Nuns

The goal of The Daughters of St. Mary is to practice monasticism while serving the Coptic community by combating poverty, sickness, and furthering social justice. Their community service allows the nuns to interact with the secular world, unlike other Coptic nuns, who spend most of their time cloistered in convents, praying for the world. Their dress is less constricting then other Coptic nuns, which allows them maneuverability to carry out their social projects. Their clothes are also gray rather than black, to symbolize their participation in the secular world.
Although called nuns - the Daughters of St. Mary are officially Deaconesses, and are usually called 'Tasooni' - which means sister in Coptic.