The church of Saints Bishai and Bigol, the "Red Monastery," was the heart of a large monastic community, in a region known as an important center for the ascetic life in the 5th century, C.E. It is an astonishingly rare example of the coloristic intensity of late antique monuments in Egypt. In this church, late antique paintings cover about eighty percent of the walls, niches, columns, pilasters, pediments and apses.

ARCE has administered the first major campaign of conservation, art historical study, and publication of the Red Monastery church sanctuary. The project is directed by Dr. Elizabeth Bolman of Temple University. The fall 2007 campaign saw the completion of cleaning and conservation of the painted niches and architecture on the lower arcades of the southern apse of the tri-conch sanctuary, decorated with icons of saints inside the niches and with extremely elaborate and colorful architectural painting. Work also began on the eastern apse, where the decorative scheme differs from those on the north and south sides, including peacocks and gazelles among plant and animal motifs in the lower arcades, and illusionistic painted curtains in the upper level arcades. An intriguing discovery is a vignette showing the head of a bearded man emerging from foliage, reminiscent of the Green Man in later Gothic sculpture. The eastern semi dome has yet to be tackled and its subject matter remains hidden behind blackened surfaces and is a mystery.

Nowhere else in Egypt do we know of a monument of the late antique and early Byzantine period whose architectural sculpture is in situ up to the highest level of the building.  The results are remarkable and the work continues through 2009 and beyond. The Coptic Church has participated substantially in this project, offering hospitality and support.