The first travel narrative of the monastery was provided by Antoninus Martyr, a native of Placentia, who visited the tomb of Paul the Anchorite between the years 560 and 570 AD.

According to an isolated Ethiopian reference, the 70th Coptic Orthodox Pope, Gabriel II (1131–45 AD), was banished to the monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite for three years.

During the second half of the sixteenth century, the monastery was again attacked and ransacked twice by the Bedouins, forcing the monks to finally leave.

It also has a tower (keep), an ancient refectory, a mill, and a spring that is believed to have served Saint Paul the Anchorite during his eighty years of seclusion in this area.

This monastery has many illustrated manuscripts, including the Coptic version of the Divine Liturgy and the Commentary of the Epistle to Titus by Saint John Chrysostom.

In 1972 he was ordained bishop by Pope Shenouda III and then appointed abbot of the Monastery of Saint Paul in 1974.