There is a word carved within the history of the Egyptian desert: Ϣⲓϩⲏⲧ (Shiheet). The great basin that would become the heartland of Christian monasticism carried this profound name given to it by the early Coptic monks — Shiheet, known in Greek as Scetis, and today as Wadi El-Natrun. The Arabic translation of this name primarily reflects the physical landscape: a valley rich in natron, the salt that the ancient Egyptians used to preserve the dead. Yet, the older Coptic name reveals...