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Christianity and monasticism have long flourished along the Nile in Middle Egypt, the region stretching from al-Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) to Dayr al-Ganadla. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in Middle Egypt over the past two millennia, including examining the Christian heritage of important sites in Egypt, including Oxyrhynchos (al-Bahnasa); the sites of Antinoë, Hermopolis (al-Ashmunayn), and al-Shaykh Saʻid; Bawit; Dayr al-Muharraq; and Asyut. The studies explore Coptic art and archaeology, architecture, language, and literature. The artistic heritage of monastic sites in the region is highlighted, attesting to their important legacies.

Christianity and monasticism have long flourished in the northern part of Upper Egypt and in the Nile Delta, from Beni Suef to the Mediterranean coast. The chapters in this volume, written by international specialists in Coptology, examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in northern Egypt over the past two millennia. The book presents a broad picture of Christianity and monasticism in terms of the history, literature, language, art and architecture, and people of these regions from the first century to the late twentieth century. The chapters explore Coptic art and archaeology, architecture, language, and literature. The artistic heritage of monastic sites in the region is highlighted, attesting to their important legacies.

Christianity began in the large and fertile Fayoum Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert as early as the third century, and its presence has endured to the present day. This book, which constitutes a tribute to the scholarly work of the father of modern Coptology, Martin Krause, contains contributions on various aspects of Coptic civilization in Egypt's largest oasis over the past 1,800 years. The contributors are specialists in Coptology from Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and the United States. A number of the studies included in the book deal with recent archaeological discoveries at Deir al-Banat, the early Christian graves in the necropolis at the eastern edge of the Fayoum, and the monastic settlements and medieval Coptic cemetery at Naqlun. Others provide thorough examinations of archaeological sites at Karanis, Tebtunis, and Naqlun. Chapters cover the rich Christian literary heritage in Greek, Coptic, and Arabic, and they touch on the famous Fayoum portraits and their influence on the production of Coptic icons, as well as on the medieval wall paintings at Naqlun and in textiles, metal objects, and basketry from the region.

Christianity and monasticism have flourished in Upper Egypt from as early as the fourth century until the present day. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology, examine various aspects of Coptic civilization along the Nile Valley, from Nag Hammadi (associated with the famous discovery of Gnostic papyri), through Luxor and Coptos, and south to Esna, over the past 1700 years, looking at Coptic religious history, tradition, language, heritage, and material culture in the region through texts, art, architecture, and archaeology.

Christianity and monasticism have flourished along the Nile Valley in the Sohag region of Upper Egypt from as early as the 4th century until the present day. Chapters examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag over the past 1700 years. Many of the studies center on the person and legacy of the great Coptic saint, Shenoute the Archimandrite (348–466 ce), looking at his preserved writings, his life, his place in Pachomian monasticism, his relations with the patriarchs in Alexandria, and the life in his monastic system. Other studies deal with the art, architecture, and archaeology of the two great monasteries that he founded, and the archaeological and artistic heritage of the region.

Wadi al-Natrun, a depression in the Western Desert of Egypt, is one of the most important centers for the development and continued thriving of the Coptic monastic tradition. Christianity and monasticism have prospered there from as early as the fourth century until the present day, when four major monasteries still flourish. In this book international specialists in Coptology examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in Wadi al-Natrun over the past 1,700 years. The studies center on aspects of the history and development of monasticism in Wadi al-Natrun, as well as the art, architecture, and archaeology of the four existing and numerous former monasteries of the region.

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 3rd century ad. This three-volume study of the popes of Egypt covers the history of the Alexandrian patriarchate from its origins to the present-day leadership of Pope Shenouda III. The first volume 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, the book 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.

This third and final volume of The Popes of Egypt spans the five centuries from the arrival of the Ottomans in 1517 to the present era. Hardly any scholarly work has been written about the Copts during the Ottoman period. Using court, financial, and building records, as well as archives from the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate and monasteries, this book reconstructs the authority of the popes and the organization of the Coptic community during this time. The chapters reveal that the popes held complete authority over their flock at the beginning of the Ottoman rule, deciding over questions ranging from marriage and concubines to civil disputes. As the fortunes of Coptic notables rose, they gradually took over the pope's role, and it was not until the time of Muhammad Ali that the popes regained their former authority. In the second part of the book, the chapters analyze how with the dawning of the modern era in the nineteenth century, the leadership style of the Coptic popes necessarily changed drastically. They address also the political, religious, and cultural issues faced by the patriarchs while leading the Coptic community into the twenty-first century.

Christianity arrived early in Egypt, brought—according to tradition—by Saint Mark the Evangelist, who became the first patriarch of Alexandria. The Coptic Orthodox Church has flourished ever since, with millions of adherents both in Egypt and in Coptic communities around the world. Since it split from the Byzantine Church in 451, the Coptic Church has maintained its early traditions, and influence from the outside has been minimal: the liturgy is still sung to unique rhythms in Coptic, a late stage of the same ancient Egyptian language that is inscribed in hieroglyphs on temple walls and papyri. This book is a one-volume history for the Millennium, surveying the twenty centuries of existence of one of the oldest churches in the world.