ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY Saints celebrated on the 1st of July WELCOME! SAINT SHENOUTE, ABBOT On July 1, one of the saints remembered by the wider Christian Church is Saint Shenoute. He was born around the year 340 in Shenalolet in Egypt. St Shenoute became a monk at the Dair-al-Abiad monastery near Stripe. In 385, after the death of the abbot, Saint Shenoute was chosen as the new abbot. HE RULED THE MONASTERY IN A VERY STRICT WAY He ruled the monastery in a very strict way. A new innovation he brought in was the requirement for every monk and nun to sign an oath to adhere to a strict pattern of life that led to holiness. Any violation to the rule was severely punished. As well as running a strict rule of life in the monastery, Saint Shenoute saw to it that outside the monastery any vestiges of paganism or heresy were eliminated. Despite this harshness, or because of it, over 2,200 monks and 1,800 nuns joined the religious communities of Saint Shenoute. He became the head of a...