Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches Books

Book SynopsisCoptic contributions to the formative theological debates of Christianity have long been recognized. Less well known are other, equally valuable, Coptic contributions to the transmission and preservation of technical and scientific knowledge, and a full understanding of how Egypt's Copts survived and interacted with the country's majority population over the centuries. Studies in Coptic Culture attempts to examine these issues from divergent perspectives. Through the careful examination of select case studies that range in date from the earliest phases of Coptic culture to the present day, twelve international scholars address issues of cultural transmission, cross-cultural perception, representation, and inter-faith interaction. Their approaches are as varied as their individual disciplines, covering literary criticism, textual studies, and comparative, literature as well as art historical, archaeo-botanical, and historical research methods. The divergent perspectives and methods presented in this volume will provide a fuller picture of what it meant to be Coptic in centuries past and prompt further research and scholarship into these subjects.

Read more less

Book SynopsisChristianity and monasticism have flourished along the Nile Valley in the Aswan region of Upper Egypt and in what was once Nubia, from as early as the fourth century until the present day. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in Aswan and Nubia over the past centuries. The complexity of Christian identity in Nubia, as distinct from Egypt, is examined in the context of church ritual and architecture. Many of the studies explore Coptic material culture: inscriptions, art, architecture, and archaeology; and language and literature. The archaeological and artistic heritage of monastic sites in Edfu, Aswan, Makuria, and Kom Ombo are highlighted, attesting to their important legacies in the region.Table of ContentsLanguage and LiteratureCoptic Ostraca from Hagr EdfuAnke Ilona BlöbaumImagining Macedonius, the First Bishop of PhilaeJames E. GoehringApa Hidra in DifnarNashaat MekhaielChristianity on PhilaeSamuel MoawadThe Indexing of Manuscripts of the Monastery of the Great Saint Pachomius in EdfuFr. Angeleous el-NaqlounyBeginnings of Christianity in NubiaSiegfried G. RichterA Foreshadowing of the Desert Spirituality in Ancient Nubia and Upper Egypt Ashraf Alexandre SadekContested Frontiers: Southern Egypt and Northern Nubia, AD 300–1500: The Evidence of the InscriptionsJacques van der VlietThe Veneration of the Saints in Aswan and NubiaYouhanna Nessim YoussefArt, Archaeology and material CultureDayr al-Kubbaniya: Review of the Documentation on the ‘Isisberg’ MonasteryRenate DekkerThe Development of the Church at Dayr Anba Hadra: A Study of the Plasterwork and Dated InscriptionsRenate DekkerAn Updated Plan of the Church at Dayr Qubbat al-HawaRenate DekkerThe Christian Wall Paintings from the Temple of Isis at Aswan RevisitedJitse H.F. Dijkstra and Gertrud J.M. van LoonThe Monastic Life in MakuriaWłodzimierz GodlewskiChristian Aswan in the Modern Era and the History of Its CathedralMetropolitan HidraThe Word and the FleshKarel C. InneméeThe Ascension Scene in the Apse of the Church at Dayr Qubbat al-Hawwa: A Comparative StudyMary KupelianThe Nubian Marble Object Preserved in Dayr al-Surian in Wadi al-NatrunBishop MartyrosThe Digital 3D Virtual Reconstruction of the Monastic Church Qubbat al-HawaHoward Middleton-JonesCoptic Objects in the Aswan and Nubia MuseumsAtif NaguibSources for the Study of Late Antique and Early Medieval Hagr EdfuElisabeth O’ConnellChristianity in Kom OmboAdel SadekIdentification of the Monastery of Nubians in Wadi al-NatrunFr. Bigoul al-SurianyMonneret de Villard (1881–1954) and NubiaFr. Awad WadiPreservationThe Conservation of the Mural Paintings of Anba Hatra MonasteryAshraf Nageh

Read more less

Book SynopsisMarcus Pasha Simaika (1864-1944) was born to a prominent Coptic family on the eve of the inauguration of the Suez Canal and the British occupation of Egypt. From a young age, he developed a passion for Coptic heritage and devoted his life to shedding light on centuries of Christian Egyptian history that had been neglected by ignorance or otherwise belittled and despised. He was not a professional archaeologist, an excavator, or a specialist scholar of Coptic language and literature. Rather, his achievement lies in his role as a visionary administrator who used his status to pursue relentlessly his dream of founding a Coptic Museum and preserving endangered monuments. During his lengthy career, first as a civil servant, then as a legislator and member of the Coptic community council, he maneuvered endlessly between the patriarch and the church hierarchy, the Coptic community council, the British authorities, and the government to bring them together in his fight to save Coptic heritage. This fascinating biography draws upon Simaika's unpublished memoirs as well as on other documents and photographs from the Simaika family archive to deepen our understanding of several important themes of modern Egyptian history: the development of Coptic archaeology and heritage studies, Egyptian-British interactions during the colonial and semi-colonial eras, shifting balances in the interaction of clergymen and the lay Coptic community, and the ever-sensitive evolution of relations between Copts and their Muslim countrymen.

Read more less