Coptic Monasteries:Egypt’s Monastic Art And Architecture


Book Description

"Coptic Monasteries takes the reader on a tour of the best preserved and most significant of Egypt's ancient religious centers, documenting the richness and the glory of this country's Coptic heritage." "An informative introduction by Tim Vivian brings to life the early Christian era, with background information on the origins of the Coptic Church as well as its rites and ceremonies, sketches of some of monasticism's founding figures, and accounts of some of the difficulties they faced, from religious schism to nomadic attacks." "Gawdat Gabra's expert commentary, complemented by almost one hundred full-color photographs of wall paintings and architectural features, covers monasteries from Aswan to Wadi al-Natrun. Ranging across a thousand years of history, Gabra's observations will make any reader an expert on the composition and content of some of Egypt's most outstanding religious art and the salient architectural features of each monastery, as well as the ongoing process of restoration that has returned much of their original vibrancy to some of these works."--Jacket.




The Red Monastery Church


Book Description

This landmark, interdisciplinary publication of the Red Monastery church, the most important Christian monument in Egypt's Nile Valley, highlights its remarkable and newly conserved paintings and architectural sculpture.





Book Description




The Early Coptic Papacy


Book Description

The Copts, adherents of the Egyptian Orthodox Church, today represent the largest Christian community in the Middle East, and their presiding bishops have been accorded the title of pope since the third century AD. This study analyzes the development of the Egyptian papacy from its origins to the rise of Islam. How did the papal office in Egypt evolve as a social and religious institution during the first six and a half centuries AD? How do the developments in the Alexandrian patriarchate reflect larger developments in the Egyptian church as a whole—in its structures of authority and lines of communication, as well as in its social and religious practices? In addressing such questions, Stephen J. Davis examines a wide range of evidence—letters, sermons, theological treatises, and church histories, as well as art, artifacts, and archaeological remains—to discover what the patriarchs did as leaders, how their leadership was represented in public discourses, and how those representations definitively shaped Egyptian Christian identity in late antiquity. The Early Coptic Papacy is Volume 1 of The Popes of Egypt: A History of the Coptic Church and Its Patriarchs. Also available: Volume 2, The Coptic Papacy in Islamic Egypt, 641–1517 (Mark N. Swanson) and Volume 3, The Emergence of the Modern Coptic Papacy (Magdi Girgis, Nelly van Doorn-Harder).




Christianity and Monasticism in Northern Egypt


Book Description

John of Barullos (540-615) / Bishop Kyrillos -- The Relationship between the Monks of Northern Egypt and the patriarchs of the Egyptian church / David Brakke -- Saint Mina monastery in Arabic sources / Sherin Sadek El Gendi -- The Bashmurite revolts in the Delta and the 'Bashmuric dialect,' Frank Feder -- Toward the localization of the Hennaton monastic complex, Mary Ghattas -- The Pachomian federation and lower Egypt : the ties that bind / James E. Goehring -- The relations between the coptic church and the Armenian church from the time of Muhammad Ali to the present (1805-2015) / Mary Kupelian -- Saint Barsoum the naked and his veneration at al-Ma'sara (Deir Shahran) / Bishop Martyros -- The traditions of the holy family and the development of Christianity in the Nile Delta / Ashraf Alexandre Sadek -- Anba Ruways and the cathedral of Saint Mark / Adel F. Sadek -- The perception of St. Athanasius of Alexandria in later coptic literature / Ibrahim Saweros -- The discovery of papyri from Turah at Dayr al-Qusayr (Dayr Arsaniyus) and its legacy / Caroline T. Schroeder -- Nitria / Mark Sheridan -- Yuhanna al-Samannudi, the founder of national coptic philology in the Middle Ages / Adel Sidarus -- The Arabic version of the Miracles of Apa Mena Based on two unpublished manuscripts in the collection of the St. Shenouda the Archimandrite coptic society in Los Angeles / Hany N. Takla -- Life of Pope Cyril VI (Kyrillos VI) / Teddawos Ava Mina and Youhanna Nessim Youssef -- The veneration of Anba Hadid and the Nile Delta in the thirteenth century / Asuka Tsuji -- Kellia and monastic epigraphy / Jacques van der Vliet -- Butrus al-Sadamanti al-Armani (Peter of Sadamant "the Armenian") / Fr. Awad Wadi -- Julius of Aqfahs : the martyrdom of John and Simon / Youhanna Nessim Youssef -- The Bohairic Acts of the Martyrs acts as a genre of religious discourse / Ewa D. Zakrzewska -- Remnants of a Byzantine church at Athribis / Tomasz Górecki -- Architecture in Kellia / Gisèle Hadji-Minaglou -- Kellia : its decoration in painting and stucco / Karel C. Innemée -- Highlights from the polish excavations at Marea/Philoxenite 2000-14 / Krzysztof Babraj and Daria Tarara -- Conservation of mural paintings in the coptic museum / Michael Jones.




Coptic Identity and Ayyubid Politics in Egypt, 1218-1250


Book Description

Using the life and writings of Cyril III Ibn Laqlaq, 75th patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, along with a variety of Christian and Muslim chroniclers, this study explores the identity and context of the Christian community of Egypt and its relations with the leadership of the Ayyubid dynasty in the early thirteenth century. Kurt Werthmuller introduces new scholarship that illuminates the varied relationships between medieval Christians of Egypt and their Muslim neighbors. Demonstrating that the Coptic community was neither passive nor static, the author discusses the active role played by the Copts in the formation and evolution of their own identity within the wider political and societal context of this period. In particular, he examines the boundaries between Copts and the wider Egyptian society in the Ayyubid period in three "in-between spaces": patriarchal authority, religious conversion, and monasticism.




A Companion to Ancient Egypt, 2 Volume Set


Book Description

This companion provides the very latest accounts of the major and current aspects of Egyptology by leading scholars. Delivered in a highly readable style and extensively illustrated, it offers unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage, giving full scope to the discussion of this incredible civilization. Provides the very latest and, where relevant, well-illustrated accounts of the major aspects of Egypt?s ancient history and culture Covers a broad scope of topics including physical context, history, economic and social mechanisms, language, literature, and the visual arts Delivered in a highly readable style with students and scholars of both Egyptology and Graeco-Roman studies in mind Provides a chronological table at the start of each volume to help readers orient chapters within the wider historical context




The Cross in the Visual Culture of Late Antique Egypt


Book Description

In The Cross in the Visual Culture of Late Antique Egypt Gillian Spalding-Stracey brings the design of crosses in monastic and ecclesiastical settings to the fore. Visual representations of the Holy Cross are often so ubiquitous in Christian art that they are often overlooked as artistic devices themselves. This volume offers an exploration of the variety of designs and associated imagery by which the Cross was expressed across the Egyptian landscape in late antiquity. A survey of locations and images leads to an analysis of artistic influences, possible symbolism, variance across time and place and the contextual use of the motif. Gillian Spalding-Stracey provides the reader with an art-historical perspective of the socio-cultural situation in Egypt at the time.




The Nile


Book Description

This book provides an avenue for students to explore the Nile—the world's longest river—and better understand its larger role in society in the past, present, and future. The Nile River has been the most important natural resource for Egyptians and other Africans who live along its shores for thousands of years, bringing life to an otherwise arid and bleak desert region. Without the Nile, civilizations in Egypt could not have achieved such success. The physical, cultural, religious, and political impacts of this mighty riverway are enormous. This one-volume encyclopedia explores a breadth of topics related to the Nile River, from ancient irrigation techniques to 19th-century exploration and from current environmental controversies to concerns regarding man-made Lake Nasser. Readers will be able to explore beyond the physical aspects of the world's longest river to achieve an understanding of the Nile River's larger role in society. After a preface and introduction that provides general background information on the source, tributaries, and mouth of the Nile, the encyclopedia presents thematic essays that cover topics such as the Nile's physical geography; history; environmental issues and controversies; culture, religion, and legend; and politics. More than 100 entries cover key individuals, specific locations, geology and structure, significant expeditions, gods and deities, and folklore related to the Nile. In addition, the work provides an appendix of primary document excerpts from explorers' journals and more recent legislation on damming as well as an appendix of place names, interesting sidebars, and a helpful chronology of key events.




Women's Travel Writings in North Africa and the Middle East, Part II vol 4


Book Description

Part II of this edition reproduces The Tour of Africa, first published in 1821 by Catherine Hutton. Although framed as a first-person narrative, the three-volume work is in fact a compilation of existing travel accounts. Hutton’s Tour raises challenging questions about intertextuality in nineteenth-century women’s travel writing.