Browse

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.

In Volume 1 of this series, Stephen Davis contended that the themes of “apostolicity, martyrdom, monastic patronage, and theological resistance” were determinative for the cultural construction of Egyptian church leadership in late antiquity. This book, Volume 2, shows that the medieval Coptic popes (641–1517 ce) were regularly portrayed as standing in continuity with their saintly predecessors; however, at the same time, they were active in creating something new, the Coptic Orthodox Church, a community that struggled to preserve a distinctive life and witness within the new Islamic world order. Building on recent advances in the study of sources for Coptic church history, this volume aims to show how portrayals of the medieval popes provide a window into the religious and social life of their community.

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.

The turn from polytheism to monotheism created the world in which we are still living. Akhenaten and Moses symbolize this turn in its incipient, revolutionary stages and represent two civilizations that the Bible (especially the book of Exodus and the concept of God as the liberator from Egyptian serfdom) already brings into closest connection. Egypt stands for the old world that has to be rejected in order to enter the new one. The seven chapters seek to shed light on this transformation from different angles. Chapter 1 focuses exclusively on ancient Egypt, elucidating the structure and the changes within Egyptian religion; chapter 7 deals exclusively with monotheism and especially with the problem of religious violence. The chapters in between deal in various ways with the transition from one to the other, analyzing the Exodus myth as the narrative representation of a religious revolution (chapter 2), viewing the turn in terms of evolution and revolution (chapter 3), confronting Akhenaten and Moses in discovering new parallels and connections (chapter 4), discussing Karl Jaspers’ theory of the Axial Age in connection with monotheism and its media such as writing, canonization, and exegesis (chapter 5), and dealing with the idea that the 18th century formed about the Egyptian mysteries as a cultural model (chapter 6).

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.

Beginning with an examination of medieval Islamic fundamentalist movements such as Kharjism, Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism, this book looks at the similarities and differences between them and present organizations such as al-Qa'ida. It may be surprising that many of the radical narratives embraced by modern groups have not emerged recently. Identifying these roots can lead to a better understanding of al-Qa'ida's theological and intellectual narratives, and how they effectively indoctrinate youths and attract many of them to violent acts of terrorism. The book then focuses on al-Qa'ida's theology, ideology, and tactics; the geographic contours and implications of al-Qa'ida's political strategy in relation to the western and eastern countries that are considered enemy states; the impending clash of cultures; and the ideological war within al-Qa'ida. Examining political Islamic thought from a historical to a contemporary perspective, it generates new understanding of the many complexities of political Islam, and the role of violence and terrorism.

Founded in the sixteenth century, the Demirdashiya Sufi order in Cairo has played an influential role in Egypt's public life, and through a line of family sheikhs has channeled the impulses of its Sufi origins into different types of reform. Practicing a visionary form of piety, the Demirdashiya—once legendary for its wealth and secrecy—continues to influence a small but important segment of contemporary Cairo's inhabitants. This study highlights the Demirdashiya's sophisticated and complex relationship with both politics and Islamic culture. As part of his research, the author of this book attended the order's liturgies—the dhikrs (remembrance) and khalwa (retreat) —normally closed to outsiders. During an annual khalwa, the adept silently meditates for three days in his own cell. More than giving up human discourse, the mandated silence is a reordering of sensitivities to the divine, and a path to insight into the many ways that God conveys Himself to humans. Examining the role of the Demirdashiya in Egypt's history as well as its visionary piety, the book explores the dialectic between reform and vision in a stable Sufi order. It also probes how these competing ideals were incorporated into the physical world of the zawiya, mosque, and living quarters, and the extension of its influence in Europe through its most famous daughter, Qut al-Qulub, noted visionary author and mother of the order's current sheikh.