Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity

369 Pages·20.051 MB·English

by  Otto EA. Meinardus

Two Thousand Years
°jCoptic Christianity
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Two Thousand Years
C
Coptic Christianity
Otto EA. Meinardus
The American University in Cairo Press
Cairo • New York
Copyright (c) 1999 by
The American University in Cairo Press
113 Sharia Kasr el Aini, Cairo, Egypt
420 Fifth Avenue, New York 10018-2729
www.aucpress.com
First paperback edition 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Dar el Kutub No. 8554/02
ISBN 977 424 757 4
Printed in Egypt
Contents
Introduction 1
1 Toward the Third Millennium 3
The Pontificate of Shenuda III 3
The Holy Synod of the Coptic Church 9
2 The Coptic Church: Its History, Traditions, Theology,
and Structure 13
Traditions about the Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt 13
The Birth of Christ 14
From Bethlehem to the Nile Delta 14
In the Nile Delta 17
In the Nile Valley 20
The Return of the Holy Family to Palestine 27
Saint Mark the Evangelist and the Founding of the Church
in Egypt 28
The Preaching and Martyrdom of Mark 28
The History of the Relics of Mark 30
The Return of the Relics of Mark 33
The Theological Contributions of the See of Alexandria 35
The Spread of Coptic Monasticism to the Orient and
Occident 35
The Catechetical School and Theological Controversies 37
The Canon of the Holy Scriptures 40
The Writings of the Church Fathers 42
The Canons of the Coptic Church 45
The Pre-Nicene Canons 46
The Canons of the Councils and the Synods 46
The Canons of the Doctors of the Church 49
The Canons of the Middle Ages 50
Use of Coptic Canon Law Today 51
vi Contents
The History of Coptic Theology from the Fifth to the
Twentieth Century 52
The Pre-Chalcedonian Theology 52
The Council of Chalcedon 53
The Post-Chalcedonian Theology 54
The Theology of the Middle Ages 55
Coptic Theologians of the Nineteenth and Twentieth
Centuries 61
The Copts from the Seventh to the Twentieth Century 64
The Copts and the Arab Conquest 64
The Copts in the Middle Ages 65
The French Invasion 66
The Reign of Muhammad CAU 68
The Coptic Enlightenment 69
The Emergence of the Laymen }s Movement 71
The British Occupation: Expectations and Frustrations 74
Toward Independence: The Wafd 76
The Patriarchates of Joseph II and Cyril VI 77
The Patriarchate ofShenuda III 79
The Copts and the National Struggle 81
Some Notable Coptic Families of the Nineteenth and
Twentieth Centuries 85
The Coptic Sunday Schools, Cradle of the Twentieth-
Century Renaissance 93
The Folk Religion of the Copts 95
The Coptic Mulid, Its Origins and Functions 95
The Healing Ministry of the Coptic Church 99
Mystical Phenomena among the Copts 104
From a National to an International Christian Community 122
Toward the Mia Physis, the One Nature of the
Incarnate Word 123
The Coptic Diaspora 129
The Coptic African Mission 132
The Copts in the Holy Land and the Question of the
Holy Places 136
3 The Coptic Church: Its Churches and Monasteries,
Ancient and Modern 143
Early Christianity in Alexandria 143
Some Coptic Churches in Modern Alexandria 146
The Ancient Churches and Monasteries around Alexandria 148
Contents vii
The Lourdes in the Desert: Saint Menas 151
Cellia 154
The Coptic Monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun 155
Christianity in the Nile Delta 171
The Principal Towns and Villages 171
The Coptic Pilgrimage Shrines 176
The Coptic Churches of Old Cairo and Its Environs 182
The Coptic Churches of Babylon 183
The Coptic Churches of Old Cairo 188
The Coptic Churches North of Old Cairo 191
The Coptic Churches South of Old Cairo 192
Some Coptic Churches in Greater Cairo 194
The Churches and Monasteries between Cairo and Suhag 205
Between Cairo and Minya 205
Between Minya and Asyut 214
East of Asyut 223
Between Asyut and Suhag 225
The Churches and Monasteries between Suhag and Aswan 228
West of Suhag 228
East ofAkhmim 230
Between Girga and NagcHammadi 232
Between Nagc Hammadi and Luxor 233
Between Naqada and Qamula 236
The Churches and Monasteries of Thebes 238
The Churches in the Temples in and around Luxor 240
Between Luxor and Aswan 241
The Churches and Monasteries of the Fayyum 246
The Churches and Monasteries of the Western Desert 251
The Monastery of Saint Samuel at al-Qalamun 251
The Caves of Wadi al-Rayyan 253
The Christian Remains in Kharga Oasis 255
The Christian Remains in Dakhla Oasis 257
The Christian Remains in Bahariya Oasis 258
The Churches and Monasteries of the Eastern Desert 259
The Monastery of Saint Antony at Mount Clysma 259
The Cave of Saint Antony 261
The Hermitages in Wadi cAraba 262
The Monastery of Saint Paul the Theban 262
The Christian Ruins at Qattar 263
viii Contents
Appendix A: Marks of Identification: Tattoo and Name 265
Appendix B: The Patriarchs of the Coptic Church and the
Rulers of Egypt 273
Appendix C: Language, Architecture, and Calendar 283
Appendix D: The Relics of Coptic Saints 311
Bibliography 323
Index 331
Introduction
TODAY, the Coptic Church is experiencing an unprecedented renais-
sance. It is the purpose of this volume to unfold this story and
acquaint the visitor to the land of the Nile with one of the most
remarkable developments of world Christianity toward the end of the
second millenium.
The history of Christian Egypt begins with the traditions of the visit
of the holy family to Egypt, which were circulated to fulfill the Old
Testament prophecy "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and
called my son out of Egypt" (Hos. 11:1). The feast of the coming of
the Lord to Egypt (June 1) is one of the important feasts for many
Egyptian Christians. Undoubtedly, Egyptians filled with the gifts of
the Holy Spirit on the first day of Pentecost returned to their homes
along the Nile Valley (Acts 2:10) and established there the first Chris-
tian communities. The Copts regard Saint Mark the Evangelist as the
founder of their church. In Alexandria he preached and suffered
martyrdom. The theology of the great Alexandrian doctors of the
church, Clement, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril, has had a profound
influence on the development of Christian thought and piety. Both
the eremitical and cenobitic forms of monasticism had their origin in
Egypt: Saint Antony, the great hermit of the Eastern Desert, inspired
thousands of Christians to follow his example; Pachomius became the
founder of the Christian communal life.
At the same time, Coptic Christianity went through numerous
trials, persecutions, and afflictions. The vast numbers of their martyrs
are a testimony to their unshaken faith. During the Middle Ages, the
Coptic Church kept the lamp of their faith burning amid trials and
tribulations of all kinds.
With an ever increasing number of visitors to Egypt and greatly
improved facilities for travel within the country, there is now an
imperative need for an introductory volume to the history and
theology of the Coptic Orthodox church and the topography of its
principal churches, monasteries, and monuments. To this day, large
numbers of visitors flock annually to the ancient pharaonic
monuments in Luxor and Aswan to behold the magnificent achieve-
ments of the ancient Egyptians. Few of them realize, however, that