According to tradition, it is considered the oldest active monastery in Europe. It was founded in 344 by St. Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria.

Saint Athanasius was born in 295 or 296 in Alexandria, Egypt, in a family of Christians. Excellently educated, he devoted himself to the study of the Holy Scriptures. Because of the virtues he mastered as a young man, he was accepted into the household of Alexander, Archbishop of Alexandria, as a spiritual son and secretary. In 319 he was ordained a deacon. Meanwhile, in Alexandria, the local priest Arius (280-336) gave rise to one of the most dangerous heresies in Early Christianity, disputing the nature of the Son. In the fight against this heresy, several local councils were organized, leading to the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. St. Athanasius attended it together with Archbishop Alexander and took an active part in the overthrow of the Arians and the perception of the Nicene Creed.