Excerpt from
Christian Egypt
The Coptic Church Through Two Millennia
Massimo Capuani; Otto F. A. Meinardus and
Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya,
Contibutors; Madeleine Beaumont, Translator; Introduction by Gawdat Gabra
© The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville,
Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced by any means,
without the written permission of The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota
56321.
Contents
Introduction by Gawdat Gabra
Coptic Christianity, Past and Present by Otto F. A. Meinardus
The Arts Using Color by Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya
Typology and Architectural Evolution of the Egyptian Churches
Areas and Regions by Massimo Capuani
The Region of the Delta
Nitria and Kellia
Scetis (Wadi al-Natrun)
Cairo and Its Vicinity
Al-Fayyum and the Region of Beni Suef
The Eastern Desert
The Region of al-Minya
The Region of Asyut
The Region of Sohag and Akhmim
The Thebaid
Upper Egypt
The Oases
Chronology
Bibliography
Glossary
Index of Places
Introduction
The Copts, who number more than nine million according to unofficial estimates, represent the largest Christian community in the Middle East. They consider themselves the true descendants of the ancient Egyptians; Coptic texts called them "the people of Egypt." Christianity was introduced to Egypt as early as the first half of the first century. The Coptic Church, which is one of the oldest in the world, takes pride in the tradition recorded by the church historian Eusebius that St. Mark the Evangelist preached the Gospel in Alexandria. The patriarchs of Alexandria played a crucial role in the theological controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries. The most important contribution of the Copts to world civilization is undoubtedly monasticism, which influenced the development of European monasticism. Coptic art and religious architecture represent significant aspects of the oriental Christian legacy in general and of the Coptic heritage in particular.
In the second half of the twentieth century, several factors provided an impetus for the rapid growth of Coptic studies and a quickening of interest among educated laypersons in Coptic Egypt. The general public began to be aware of Coptic civilization when the Brooklyn Museum mounted an exhibition of Coptic art in 1941. Another followed in 1944 at the Society of Coptic Archaeology in Cairo. That same year, the discovery of the Nag Hammadi gnostic library, with its manuscripts written in Coptic, encouraged many scholars to study the language in order to investigate "Gnosticism," a complex religious movement that, in its Christian form, spread in the second century. Under UNESCO auspices, scholars from different countries cooperated to publish these remarkable texts, which engendered a vast awareness of the Coptic heritage. The exhibition of Coptic art in 1963 at Villa Hügel, Essen, Germany, began a series of successful Coptic exhibitions in several great European cities such as Vienna, Munich, Zurich, and Geneva, with the latest at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in 2000. To enhance the benefits of such cultural events, catalogs were provided that included accounts of Coptic history and culture, as well as wonderful color illustrations and bibliographical references. Since its foundation in 1976, the International Association for Coptic Studies has organized six international congresses that considerably furthered Coptic studies. The appearance of the eight-volume Coptic Encyclopedia in 1991 in the United States greatly advanced the knowledge of Coptic civilization and continues to facilitate research of both the scholar and general reader. It is noteworthy that visitors to Coptic monuments in Egypt include more than one million foreign tourists each year, in addition to the many Egyptians.
Although Coptic art and religious architecture never enjoyed the patronage of the curt, and the Coptic Church suffered many waves of persecution throughout its long history, including the destruction of churches and the confiscation of property, the artistic heritage of the Copts is enormous and of special charm. Not surprisingly, the majority of Coptic buildings were made of mud brick, which was plastered, whitewashed, and decorated with paintings—inexpensive materials and techniques. The stone architectural sculpture of older Coptic monuments usually consisted of capitals for columns, friezes, and niches. While many coptic art collections have been carefully published and their masterpieces introduced to the general public in elegant museum catalogs and volumes devoted to Coptic art, a considerable number of the ancient Coptic monasteries and churches are documented solely in very old publications, available only in academic libraries. In the last two decades, campaigns of excavation and conservation have led to the discovery of several Coptic buildings and wall paintings; the majority of these new discoveries have so far been published only in specialized periodicals. Therefore, the need for an up-to-date, beautifully illustrated book on Egypt's Christian buildings has become imperative. The present volume is intended to provide just such a timely description of ancient and medieval Coptic constructions. The broad scope of Dr. Massimo Capuani's volume covers most of the Coptic sites throughout Egypt, including ruined monasteries like those of Saint Jeremiah (Saqqara) and Saint Apollo (Bawit). Famous architectural sculptures and wall paintings from these two monasteries are exhibited in the Coptic Museum, Cairo. No other book on Coptic architecture contains such a substantial amount of illustrative material; photographs of excellent quality contribute substantially to the understanding of the text. Many of the professionally photographed monuments do not appear elsewhere with such clarity and beauty, thanks to the author's dedication: his personal photographic record of architectural features and wall paintings greatly enhances the value of this volume. Dr. Capuani also supplies a chronology of Egypt from 332 b.c. to 1952 and an essay on the typology and architectural evolution of Egyptian churches to enable the reader to appreciate fully the abundant material. The volume is enriched by the contribution of Professor Otto Meinardus, who introduces readers to Christian Egypt with discussions of basic issues such as the patriarchs of Alexandria and the theology of the World Church during the fourth and fifth centuries, the history of the Coptic Church, monasticism, the attitude of Egypt's rulers toward the Copts, and the Coptic renaissance during the pontificates of the Patriarchs Cyril VI (1959–71) and Shenouda III (1971–). In a valuable, concise account, Dr. Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya elucidates several aspects of Coptic are: wall paintings, icons, and illustrated manuscripts, as well as textiles, perhaps the most characteristic product of Coptic art. Thus the volume offers readers a comprehensive picture of the artistic achievements of the Copts. The work is furnished with a practical selected bibliography.
I believe that the richness of the Coptic civilization should be conveyed to a wider general public. I am convinced that the interested layperson, the student, and the scholar alike will all benefit from the text and illustrations of this book and that it will serve to promote knowledge about this important segment of the Christian Egyptian legacy.
Dr. Gawdat Gabra
St. Mark Foundation for Coptic History Studies,
Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Cairo
Coptic Christianity, Past and Present
The first part of this introduction surveys the history of the Coptic Church from the first century, at the time of the evangelist St. Mark, to the middle of the twentieth century. The second part describes a few specific aspects of the renewal of the church of Egypt that have occurred since the middle of the twentieth century. After a description of the return to the election of the patriarch by the biblical casting of lots, the biographies of the popes of the reform, Cyril VI and Shenuda III, are summarized. The characterization of the Sunday schools as the mainspring of this renewal must be interpreted in the light of what Christian education means within an Islamic society. The unprecedented resurgence of monastic communities is a help to understanding the new vitality of the whole Coptic community because it is from the monks' ranks that the leaders, the members of the episcopate, are chosen. Lastly, the passage concerning the spiritual support of the present renewal refers to certain recent discoveries and the translation of relics of martyrs and confessors of the faith as well as to appearances of the Holy Virgin and the revitalization of Coptic pilgrimages.
Historical Developments of The Coptic Church
From the First to the Twentieth Century
The term "Copt" originally derived from the Arabic word Qibt, which in its turn is merely a shortened form of the Greek word Aigyptios, Egyptian, from which the initial diphthong "ai" and the adjectival suffix "ios" have fallen away, leaving the form gypt or Qibt. This means that the Coptic Church is the Egyptian Church, which can trace its origin to apostolic times. Following the Flight of the Holy family from Bethlehem to Egypt (Matt 2:13-23), St. Luke informs us that Egyptians were also present on the first day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the faithful in Jerusalem (Acts 2:10). There is good reason to believe that some of these Egyptian Jews returned to their homes where they established Christian congregations. Jews had flourished in Alexandria and throughout the Nile Valley from the early days of the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt for about three centuries (323–30 b.c.e.). And early Egyptian Christians owed a great deal to the philosopher Philo, a contemporary of Jesus and the apostles, who during his lifetime was perhaps the most influential Jew in Alexandria. In fact, the works of Philo served as a model for the Christian theologians of Alexandria. He provided the young Christian community in Egypt with a way of reconciling their Christian message with the Egyptian cultural background.
The Christians of Egypt maintain that St. Mark the Evangelist visited Alexandria, where he preached the gospel and founded the apostolic see of Alexandria. In Acts, Mark is mentioned as a companion of Saul and Barnabas (12:25; 13:13); he is also portrayed as a co-worker of St. Peter, the Apostle to the Jews (12:12) and of St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles (Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11). According to the historian Eusebius of Pamphylia (fourth century), Mark appointed his first convert in Alexandria, the cobbler Anianus, to serve as bishop of Alexandria in his place. Moreover, he ordained three priests, Milus, Cerdon, and Primus, all of whom became patriarchs of the see of Alexandria. The unbelievers of the city were greatly annoyed by the rapid spread of the gospel and planned to entrap the evangelist during the Easter celebrations of 68 A.D. In the course of the Divine Eucharist, the furious mob seized Mark, put a rope around his neck, and dragged him through the streets of Alexandria. The following day they once again dragged him by the rope until he died. Thus, just as Roman Catholics consider Peter the founder of their church, Egyptian Christians regard Mark as their divinely appointed patron.
The early history of the Coptic Church is both glorious and tragic. It is glorious because of the number of its illustrious children, such as the theologians Athanasius and Cyril the Great and the monastic fathers and mothers St. Anthony, St. Pachomius, and St. Syncletica. At the same time, the Christians of Egypt were exposed to the most severe persecutions. To this day, the Egyptian martyrs are commemorated in the Coptic calendar, which dates the years according to the "Era of the Martyrs" (A.M.), thus recalling the violent persecutions during the reign of the emperor Diocletian. The Era of the Martyrs began on August 29 (Julian calendar) or September 11 (Gregorian calendar), 284, the year in which Diocletian ascended the imperial throne. Following Diocletian's persecutions, which lasted in Egypt from 303 to 313, Christianity emerged victorious and dynamic, so much so that Alexandrian theology and christology were to leave a lasting impression upon the whole Church. These outstanding contributions of the Alexandrian theologians were produced in the famous Didascalia. In this celebrated catechetical school, Christians labored to demonstrate that reason and revelation, philosophy and theology were not merely compatible but essential for each other's comprehension. The major theologians of this school were Pantaenus, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, who succeeded each other as heads of the institution. Very little is known about the theologians who followed Origen as heads, be it Heracles or Dionysius, later surnamed the Great. Eventually, both ascended the patriarchal throne of St. Mark. According to Coptic tradition, Heracles (d. 246) was the first prelate in Christendom to bear the title "pope." The reign of Dionysius the Great was severely troubled by Decius' and Valerian's persecutions in 251 and 257, which drove the patriarch into hiding. At a later date, St. Athanasius entrusted Didymus the Blind (315–398) with the headship of the catechetical school. He lived during the tempestuous age of the Arian heresy and the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325. Among his pupils were such outstanding theologians as St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Jerome, and the historian Rufinus.
The reign of Constantine the Great ushered in the triumph of the Christian Church over paganism and at the same time a reversal of the policy of persecution: Christians now began to harass those who still adhered to their pagan or non-Orthodox theological beliefs. The early patristic period was also marked by the appearance of numerous heresies. In Upper and Lower Egypt, several sectarian doctrines gained considerable ground. The various forms of gnosticism and Arianism disturbed the peace of the Church. For the Gnostics, "revealed knowledge of God" or "gnosis" was the central factor in the redemption of humanity. This revelation was attained only by the "illuminati" through metaphysical speculation and occult incantations. Gnosticism was ultimately superseded by a considerably more menacing heresy in which both emperors and patriarchs became involved. In the course of the Arian controversy, which began during the patriarchate of Achillas (d. 314), two Alexandrian theologians faced each other. Arius, presbyter of the historic and important church of St. Mark in Bucalis in Alexandria, maintained that Jesus Christ, although of divine origin, was only of "like" essence, therefore unequal to the Father. The patriarchs Alexander (d. 328) and later Athanasius (328–373) held that the Father and the Son were of one and the same essence. The christological impasse appeared insurmountable until the emperor Constantine yielded to the recommendations of the ecclesiastical hierarchs by summoning an ecumenical council to meet in Nicaea in Bithynia in the summer of 325. Three hundred and eighteen bishops, representing the whole of Christendom, convened to settle the major dogmatic differences. The Nicene deliberations provided the Church with a creed which has survived to this day. Arianism was condemned and Arius and four Arian bishops were deposed and banished. In Egypt, another controversy centered around Bishop Melitius of Lycopolis (Asyut) and Peter I about the return of those who had "lapsed" during the persecutions. The latter emerged from the dispute not merely as the twentieth pope and patriarch of Alexandria but also as the universally accepted and revered champion of orthodoxy and doctor of the whole Church.
The role of the Egyptian Church in the formation of the canon of holy Scripture was of utmost importance, owing to the advantages of its theological position and the biblical learning of the theologians from the catechetical school of Alexandria. The testimony of the Alexandrian church to the biblical canon provided uniformity. In addition to the universally acknowledged books, the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Apocalypse of St. John were also received as divine Scripture. In his Thirty-ninth Festal (Paschal) Letter, St. Athanasius provided a list of the canon of the Old and New Testament, which has retained its validity to this day. Furthermore, he noted the Old Testament Greek books—Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit—as well as the Teaching of the Apostles and the Pastor of Hermas as being useful for young converts, although they were not part of the canon.
Christian monasticism had its origin in the deserts of Egypt, from where the movement spread to other lands. According to the historian Sozomen (fifth century) the first anchorites fled to the desert for the sake of safety during the Decian persecutions in the middle of the third century. In some cases anchorites occupied tombs in upper Egypt, which often had habitable cells attached, used by priests in pagan times. The first anchorite who made his permanent abode in the desert is believed to have been St. Paul of Thebes, who fled at the age of sixteen to spend the rest of his life in the eastern desert and died in 340. By 270 however, there were many anchorites living near their own villages. Among them was St. Anthony, who is generally considered the true founder of Egyptian monasticism. He was the first anchorite to gather followers in order to establish a monastic community life. He laid down formal rules for the spiritual guidance of his disciples. Gradually these anchoritic communities retreated into the inner desert to avoid the distractions of the "world." At the same time, monasteries also existed along the edges of the cultivated land near villages and towns. Throughout the Nile valley many monastic communities for men and women were established. In the diocese of Oxyrhynchus (al-Bahnasa) alone there were ten thousand monks and twelve thousand nuns. Monastic settlements existed on both banks of the Nile from Crocodilopolis (al-Fayyum) to Hieraconpolis (al-Minya) to Hermopolis Magna (al-Ashmunein). Monastics occupied the pharaonic tombs on the slopes of the mountains west of Lycopolis (Asyut) and east of Panopolis (Akhmim) as well as in and around the regions of Chenoboskion (Qasr al-Sayyad) and Dandara. On the west bank of the Nile a chain of monastic establishments extended from Naqada to Qamula and Thebes. Literally hundreds of monastics inhabited the monasteries and hermitages in and around Hermonthis (Armant), Latopolis (Esna), and as far south as Apollinopolis Magna (Edfu) and Syene (Aswan).
To some extent independent of this line of monastic evolution in the Nile valley and Upper Egypt, which was originally inspired by St. Pachomius and later by St. Shenuda (Shenute), monastic colonies emerged in the desert of Scetis (Wadi al-Natrun), the eastern desert between Cairo and Alexandria. Here, under the leadership of St. Macarius, St. John the Short (Colobus, the Little), and St. Bishoi (Pshoi), monastics settled as anchorites and in small and large communities. The fame of the desert fathers and mothers of Scetis spread to distant lands and attracted pilgrims from Syria and Palestine, Ethiopia and Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and even Ireland. Indeed, the desert of Scetis became the focus of the monastic movement which spread from Egypt to almost every part of early Christendom. During the latter part of the fourth century, Coptic monasticism showed its intercultural character. According to Coptic tradition, Maximus and Domitius, sons of Valentinian (364–375), emperor of the West, settled in the inner desert of Scetis, where they were instructed in the disciplines by St. Macarius the Great. After their death, their cell became known as that of "the Romans" or Paromais (al-Baramus). Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia (fourth century) mentions the Ethiopian robber Moses the Black, who joined St. Isidore at the cell of the Romans. Other visitors from overseas included the historian Rufinus, who travelled with the Roman lady Melania and spent eight years in Egypt. St. Jerome, a great admirer of monastic life, was in Jerusalem in 386 and went from there to Egypt to visit the monastics in Scetis. In 390, St. John Cassian went to Egypt with his friend Germanus; and around 420, he compiled two important works in Latin about his experiences in the East, which greatly influenced Western monasticism. In fact, the multicultural aspect of early monastic life in the Egyptian desert was considered more important than adherence to theological orthodoxy. In spite of the decisions of the third ecumenical council at Ephesus in 431, which had condemned Nestorius and his followers for their christological heresies, Nestorian monastics like Rabban Sari, Abraham of Kashkar (492–586), and Rabban bar Idta visited the Coptic monks to be instructed in ascetic discipline, and the monks of Scetis served as a model for many Nestorians like Rabban Hudhwi, Rabban Yunan of Anbar, and Mar Yuhannan of Qanqal.
The popularity of desert monasticism also inspired several notable women to follow the example of the male "athletes of God." Hilaria, the daughter of the emperor Zeno (474–491), clothed herself in the monastic habit and joined the monks of Scetis. The same is reported of Eugenia, the daughter of the Alexandrian prefect Philippus; Apollonia, the daughter of Anthemius, emperor of the West (467-472); and the distinguished women Theodora, Euphrosyne, and Anastasia. Having assumed male attire, these women lived in the caves and cells just as the monks did. Only after their death was the truth of their identity revealed. This practice was so widespread that one of the canons of the synod of Gangra in Paphlagonia (345) stated: "If a woman, under pretence of asceticism shall change her apparel, and instead of a woman's accustomed clothing, shall put on that of a man, then let her be anathema."
In the middle of the fifth century the Egyptian Church played a significant role in the christological controversies which sadly divided the whole Church. In the fifth-century dispute, the Alexandrian patriarchs and theologians Sts. Cyril the Great and Dioscorus were the two principal personalities representing the miaphysitic christology as opposed to the dyophysitic views of St. Leo, pope of Rome, and the hierarchs of Constantinople. St. Dioscorus (444–454) stood firm in the christological faith of his predecessor, St. Cyril the Great (412–444), who had stated, "One nature (physis or hypostasis) of the incarnate God-Logos," giving to the term physis its primary meaning of "nature." The definition of faith, as set forth by the theologians of the fourth council of Chalcedon (451), that "Our Lord is to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably," was categorically rejected by the Egyptian theologians as a form of "splitting the very nature of Jesus Christ." Thereupon, the council fathers proceeded to condemn and depose St. Dioscorus, though, be it noted, not for heresy but because he "had disobeyed the canons of the holy fathers...."
The post-Chalcedonian developments, the struggle for supremacy in Alexandria, the irenic attempt of the emperor Zeno (474–491) to heal the theological estrangement with the "Edict of Unification" by omitting the word "nature" from the document merely led to additional schisms. By the end of the fifth century, the Church was sadly divided into Miaphysites and Dyophysites, Arians and Nestorians.
The Arab conquest of Egypt under Omar's general Amr ibn al-As (639) introduced a radically new and altogether different situation for the Copts. In the beginning, the Arabs were welcomed by many Egyptian Christians as deliverers from the imperial Byzantine yoke and exploitation since the Arabs displayed an appreciable amount of political and religious tolerance. Coptic sources mention that several thousand monks from the desert of Scetis went from Terenuthis, a town in the Delta, to salute the Muslim conqueror and to implore his protection for them and for their monasteries. Yet only a few years later, an increasing number of Christians had accepted the new religion of Islam. The Coptic patriarch Benjamin I (623–662) was the first hierarch to represent the Coptic community and church in an Islamic environment. During his administration, Islam penetrated into the Nile valley, and already by the beginning of the eighth century Arabic had become the official language. The first Arabic document in Egypt is dated 709.
Up to that period, Coptic and Greek had been spoken by the Egyptians in Upper and Lower Egypt. Coptic originally derived from later linguistic developments of hieratic and demotic Egyptian. The Coptic alphabet employs all the characters of the Greek alphabet and in addition seven letters, taken from the demotic, to express certain sounds that do not occur in Greek. There are four main dialects in the language, Saidic, Bohairic, Fayyumic, and Akhmimic; Saidic and Bohairic, however, are the most important. In the eleventh century, the Bohairic dialect was officially declared the liturgical language of the church. However, a century later, many biblical and liturgical texts appeared in Coptic and Arabic, a practice that continued well into the seventeenth century. In some Upper Egyptian villages, Coptic was still spoken in the seventeenth century. Today, Pope Shenuda III tries to revive the Coptic language by offering classes in the Coptic schools in Egypt and the diaspora.
One of the consequences of the Arab conquest was the increasing taxation of the Copts by their Muslim rulers. In the very beginning, although churches were occasionally destroyed, religious life seemed to have suffered relatively little. Still, Islamic pressure provoked resentment which expressed itself in at least six insurrections between 725 and 773. The political failure of these revolutions only increased the prestige of the conquerors so that from then on even more Copts accepted the faith of Islam. At any rate, by the ninth century Muslims were the majority in Egypt, and parallel to the decrease in the number of Christians was the decline in the number of dioceses.
The financial pressure exerted upon the Copts, the confiscation of ecclesiastical treasures, and the temporary imprisonments of members of the hierarchy were largely responsible for the introduction of the cheirotonia, or simony, the payment of sums of money for an ecclesiastical position.
During the reign of the Tulunids (868–905), the Ikhshidids (935-960), and the Fatimids (969–1171), the Copts experienced a general attitude of toleration, which, however, was unfortunately interrupted by the violent persecutions of the insane calif al-Hakim. Thus, during the years 1012–1015, many churches and monasteries were destroyed, and Christians who were public servants were persecuted and expelled from government offices. But al-Zahir, al-Hakim's successor permitted those who had been forced to embrace Islam to return to their original faith. The patriarchate of Christodulus (1047–1078) constituted one of the significant periods in the history of the Coptic Church. During this time, the patriarchate was moved from Alexandria to Cairo, a transfer which symbolized a certain accommodation to the Fatimid dynasty. The sympathetic attitude of the Fatimid rulers toward the Copts, which expressed itself in their participation in Christian feasts and the unprejudiced employment of Christians in the government, was largely due to the Ismaelite nature of their faith, which the Egyptian Sunnis never accepted.
With the invasion of Egypt by the Turkoman general Shirkuh, an uncle of Salah al-Din, the Fatimid rule came to an end and the Ayyubid dynasty came to power (1171–1250). Although this period was not marked by major persecutions and outbreaks of violence, none of the Ayyubid rulers displayed any particular sympathy for the Copts. While the Crusaders had challenged the supremacy of Islam, the Copts as well as the other Eastern Christians had accepted their minority position, and thus, they had little choice but to play the role of loyal Christian subjects.
During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, there was a brief Christian renaissance in the fields of theology, apologetics, ecclesiastical history, and canon law. In fact, the thirteenth century is generally considered the age of Coptic theology and dogmatics, and one of the great theologians of the Coptic Church in this period was al-Rashid Abu'l-Khair ibn al-Tayyib. Being both priest and physician, he served as secretary to the wazir (vizier) of Salah al-Din (Saladin, 1193-1198). The nucleus of thirteenth-century Coptic theology was composed of three brothers with the family name of Ibn al-Assal. Al-Safi Abu'l-Fada' il ibn al-Assal, the oldest of the three, was primarily engaged in polemics against Islam and the study of Coptic canon law. In his apologetic commentaries, he testified to the deity of Jesus Christ, based upon personal experience, the witness of the Gospels, the miraculous power of Christ, and the miracles which were wrought by the apostles in the name of Christ. Abu'l-Farag Hibatallah ibn al-Assal, a brother of al-Safi, wrote between 1231 and 1253. His literary efforts stand out because of his versatility. The younger step-brother of al-Safi and Abu'l-Farag was al-Mu'taman Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Assal, a student of philosophy, linguistics, homiletics, and liturgy. His major effort was his theological summa, the Compendium of the Foundations of Religion, in five parts and seventy chapters.
Shams al-Riasa Abu'l-Barakat ibn Kabar, commonly known as Abu'l-Barakat, was without doubt the most prominent and the last of the great Coptic-Arabic theologians of the Middle Ages. In his day, the great persecutions of 1321 occurred, which gave the final blow to the Copts. Abu'l-Barakat, who had served as secretary to Rukh al-Din Baybars al-Mansuri al-Khitayi, was seized by the Muslim authorities, but fortunately protected by the Mamluk prince whom he served. As a theologian and priest at the church of the Holy Virgin al-Muallaqa in Cairo, he wrote the Lamp of Darkness, a monumental encyclopedia of theology and ecclesiastical knowledge in twenty-four chapters.
Between 1279 and 1447, the Mamluks tried to expel all Coptic civil servants from government posts eight times. By the fourteenth century, the number of Copts in Egypt had significantly decreased. Moreover, Coptic history, that is, recorded history, comes to an end with the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This means that for the period between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries we are largely dependent upon the occasional references by Muslim authors or the observations of Western pilgrims and travellers.
From the study of the history of the monasteries, which no doubt reflects in some measure the general conditions of the church, one gets the impression that during this period the Coptic Church declined sadly and had lost almost all of its former spiritual vitality. This spiritual impoverishment is also revealed by the almost complete absence of theological creativity from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. True, there were no longer any serious persecutions or destruction of Coptic property and the church as a whole was tolerated, yet the poll tax was collected from Copts until the middle of the nineteenth century. It is noteworthy that neither the French nor the British succeeded in winning the cooperation of the Copts as a group for their respective politics. Although individual Copts, just as some Muslims, aligned themselves with the interests of the European invaders, the church as such remained aloof and continued its conservative adherence to the traditions of a more glorious past. This aloofness, especially during the French expedition, may have been one reason for Muhammad Ali's ready acceptance of many Copts into the civil service.
If it was Muhammad Ali (1805–1848) who did the most to wrestle Egypt into the modern world, it was the patriarch Cyril IV, the Reformer (1854–1861), who tried to do the same for the Coptic Church. Thanks to his enlightened leadership, Christians gained a new sense of ecclesiastical prestige and position. Education was one of Cyril's primary interests, and he established schools at the patriarchate and at Harat al-Saqqayin with emphasis on language study. Schools for girls were also opened and the upper classes of Coptic society did not hesitate to send their children to these schools, which helped to prepare much of the lay leadership later in the century. As part of the educational efforts, the patriarch purchased a printing press from Austria and had it paraded through the streets of Cairo from the railway station to the patriarchate. Cyril was also concerned about the education of the clergy and introduced regular theological discussion classes and seminars; from the priests he demanded church discipline. He also reorganized the management of church property and instituted strict bookkeeping.
The rule of the khedive Said (1854–1863) closely paralleled the patriarchate of Cyril IV, with whom he had a rather ambiguous relationship. He gave more equality to the Copts by ordering their young men to do military service along with all other Egyptians, while also canceling the traditional discriminatory poll tax on Christians and Jews. Unfortunately for the Copts, Said's measures towards equality backfired because conscription came to be used as a tool against the Christians; for example, every male in Asyut, a city with a large Christian community, was drafted. The patriarch was able to intervene and get the khedive to restore the Christians' exemption from military service.
The latter part of the nineteenth century as well as the first part of the twentieth were characterized by intense struggles between the various patriarchs and the maglis al-milli, the Community Council, centering mainly upon the issue of responsibility for the administration of the ecclesiastical endowments (awqaf). When the idea of a lay community council crystallized in 1874, Butrus Pasha Ghali asked the khedive for his permission, which he granted. The story of the Community Council reflects the power politics between the patriarchs, the clergy, and the laity. Immediately following his enthronement, Cyril V (1875–1927) even rejected the idea of having a Community Council. Throughout his administration, which lasted more than half a century, there was constant strife between the three parties. The situation did not improve under Cyril's successors, John XIX (1928–1942), Macarius III (1944–1945), and Yusab II (1946–1956). On the contrary, more than once, the government was forced to intervene to settle the disputes between the laity and the patriarchs, and compromises lasted for only brief periods. In June 1955, the Copts grew increasingly rebellious and demanded that Yusab II resign. Finally, under pressure from the Holy Synod and the Community Council, he was deposed and some of the responsibilities of the Council (like the personal status laws) were passed to the government. The story of the emergence of the lay movement in the Coptic Church is one of unfortunate disputes about the exercise of power, control, authority, and influence between the patriarchs, the clergy, and the laity.
The Coptic Renewal of the Twentieth Century
The Revival of the Biblical Altar Lot
Throughout the centuries Egyptian Christians employed several methods for nominating and electing their successors to the apostolic throne of St. Mark. We can distinguish between the following five practices: 1. nomination and appointment of the candidate by his predecessor; 2. nomination by consultation and election by members of the clergy and the laity; 3. nomination by consultation of the clergy and the laity in conjunction with the government; 4. nomination and/or election by means of a dream or vision of a devout Christian; 5. nomination by consultation and election by casting the altar lot (see Acts 1:23-26).
During the first few centuries, it was customary for the patriarch to nominate and prepare his successor. Dionysius the Great had served Demetrius (d. 230) and received the nomination from him, which he solicited. The custom of serving a "spiritual apprenticeship" for the patriarchal office is attested in numerous instances. Athanasius the Great (328-373) served as a scribe for Alexander (311–328), and Theophilus (384–412) was the secretary of Athanasius. Theophilus, uncle of Cyril I (412–444), diligently prepared his nephew for the patriarchal office, and Dioscorus II (516–518) was the scribe of John II (505–511).
By far the majority of the patriarchs between the second and twelfth centuries, however, were nominated by consultation and elected by the Orthodox people gathered in Alexandria. After the Arab conquest, the Islamic government became increasingly involved in the administrative affairs of the church. By the middle of the twelfth century, its influence in the internal affairs of the church had increased so much that at the time of the election of John V (1147–1166), the episcopate, priests, and archons met in the government center in Alexandria. When a dispute concerning the candidate arose among the electors or the electors were divided into two or more interest groups, then a supernatural revelation in the form of a dream or vision experienced by a devout person determined the future patriarch. In some cases, the dream or revelation served as a divine confirmation of the electoral deliberations and consultations.
The first reference to the apostolic practice of casting lots in the election procedures for the Coptic patriarchate is mentioned in the vita of John IV (777–799). The bishops assembled in Alexandria and many names were mentioned. They wrote the names on small sheets which they placed in the sanctuary. Then they brought a young child, ignorant of sin, who drew out one of the sheets. They promoted the one whose name was drawn to the patriarchal dignity. This method was employed in only eleven out of the one hundred and seventeen elections! Both Cyril VI (1959–1971) and the present pope and patriarch Shenuda III ascended the throne through election by the biblical practice of the altar lot.
The Patriarchate of Cyril Vi
On August 2, 1902, Azir Yusuf Ata, the second of three sons, was born in Tukh al-Nasara, governorate of al-Minufiyya in the Delta. After his graduation from secondary school, he worked for a while in the firm of Thomas Cook and Sons. At twenty-five, he joined the monastery of al-Baramus in Wadi al-Natrun, where the monk Abuna Abd al-Masih al-Masudi became his spiritual father. In 1931, he was ordained priest and given the name Abuna Mina al-Muttawahad al-Baramusi. For several years he lived as a anchorite in a cave in the vicinity of the monastery, which had previously been occupied by Abuna Sarabamun, who was well known for his strict asceticism. Miles away from civilization, Abuna Mina met with the prophet of the desert, Abuna Abd al-Masih al-Habashi (the Ethiopian), who lived in a cave until 1970. This fellowship strongly influenced the asceticism of Abuna Mina al-Muttawahad. In 1936, Abuna Mina retreated to the slopes of the al-Fustat hills, outside Old Cairo, where he lived in one of the deserted Napoleonic windmills until 1942. It was during this time that he was appointed abbot of the monastery of St. Samuel at al-Qalamun, in the desert sixty kilometers south of al-Fayyum. With the donations and gifts he received he bought a piece of land where he built the small church of St. Menas along with a hostel for students.
On April 19, 1959, the altar lot was cast in favor of Abuna Mina as he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in his simple church of St. Menas in Old Cairo. Immediately after his enthronement, Cyril VI, his pontifical name, devoted his attention to the eighty-year-old thorny problems regarding the relation of the Copts to the Ethiopian Church. In the same year, on June 19, the two churches signed a joint declaration whereby the new patriarch-catholicos of the Ethiopian Church received the right to consecrate bishops for Ethiopia while still recognizing the supremacy of the pope of Alexandria. Then, on November 27, 1959, he laid the foundation stone of the ninth monastery of the Coptic Church, the monastery of St. Menas, built on a historic site in the desert of Maryut (Mareotis). During his patriarchate the church entered into ecumenical dialogues with Western and Eastern churches. Already in 1954, the Coptic Church was officially represented at the second general conference of the World Council of Churches, held in Evanston, Illinois. In 1962 the patriarch consecrated Abuna Makari al-Suriani as Bishop Samuel for Social and Ecumenical Affairs of the church, thereby initiating an active participation of the church in theological and organizational discussions with Eastern and Western churches. One of Cyril's major accomplishments lead to the translation of the relics of St. Mark from Venice to Cairo in June 1968.
The 1960s will be remembered for an active program for the construction of churches and monasteries, crowned by the building and inauguration of the new cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo, an occasion which brought together representatives from most of the Christian communities throughout the world. In terms of social and economic reconstruction, the endeavors of the rural and urban diakonia were milestones in the offering of relevant Christian services to the needy and alienated. Cyril's patriarchate left a lasting impression upon the life of the Egyptian Church. Throughout the critical time of the Six Days' War, in June 1967, the church identified itself with the national aspirations of the people, calling upon its sons and daughters to withstand the threat of the Israeli army. On March 19, 1971, Cyril VI, one of the truly great patriarchs of the apostolic see of Alexandria, died of a heart attack at the age of 69.
Following the death of Cyril, Archbishop Antonius of Sohag served as vicar until Sunday, October 31, 1971, when a new pope and patriarch of the see of Alexandria and all Africa, the 117th successor of St. Mark, was elected by altar lot. Six hundred twenty-two electors participated, and for the first time the church of Ethiopia was represented by forty electors. The three candidates who received the highest number of votes were Bishop Samuel (440), Bishop Shenuda (433), and Qummus Timotaus al-Maqari (306). Under the supervision of Dr. Kamal Ramzi Stino, the minister of tourism, and Mr. Ibrahim Nagib, president of the Coptic awqaf (religious foundations), the names of these three were placed in a silver case, which for the past three hundred years had been used to keep the holy chrism. On the appointed day of the drawing of the lot, many distinguished members of Church and state attended the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. At the beginning of the service the names of the three candidates, which had been kept on the altar since the preceding Friday, were publicly announced. The deacons had assembled ten young boys. The smallest of them, Ayman Munir Kamel, was chosen by Archbishop Antonius to select one of the three papers on the altar. Bishop Shenuda was proclaimed the 117th successor of St. Mark the Evangelist.
The Patriarchate of Shenuda Iii
Nazir Gayed Rufail was born on August 3, 1923, in the province of Asyut in Upper Egypt. His schooling began at the Coptic school in Damanhur. Subsequently, he attended the American School in Banha and the Secondary Eman Coptic School in Shubra. At the age of seventeen he joined the Sunday school of the church of St. Anthony in Shubra. In 1943, Nazir matriculated at the University of Cairo and four years later received his B.A. in English and history. The following year he completed his compulsory military service. Being a reserve officer, he participated in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. Afterwards, he received his degree in theology from the theological College, which led to his appointment as lecturer at the theological school for monks at Helwan. Then, on June 18, 1954, he joined the monks of the monastery of the Syrians at Wadi al-Natrun, where he was placed in charge of the library. Under the religious name of Abuna Antonius al-Suriani he excelled in spirituality and asceticism. In 1959, Pope Cyril VI appointed him his personal secretary; however, Abuna Antonius returned to the monastery, preferring a life of solitude. He selected a cave some ten kilometers from the monastery at the edge of Wadi al-Faregh. On several occasions, Cyril had wanted to ordain him bishop. Finally, in September 1965, the pope summoned Abuna Antonius to the patriarchate in Cairo. As he bowed his head to receive the pope's blessing, His Holiness laid his hands on the anchorite and said, "I consecrate you, Shenuda, bishop for the theological college and the sunday schools...."
Under his tenure as bishop and dean of the seminary, the number of full-time students increased from 100 to 207, and of part-time students from 30 to 300. Furthermore, women were admitted for the first time, some of them being appointed lecturers. In 1959, he was elected president of the Association of Middle East Theological Colleges. As bishop for education, Shenuda began his weekly spiritual meetings, which attracted thousands of people. An important feature of these meetings was the innovation of devoting the first part of each evening to replying to questions on theological and social issues. Deeply attached to the monastic life, Bishop Shenuda continued to spend half of the week in Cairo, lecturing and delivering sermons, the other half at the monastery in prayer and contemplation. He represented the Coptic Church at numerous ecumenical conferences. The last conference he attended as bishop for education and the Sunday schools was the Pro Oriente conference between the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, held in Vienna in September 1971, just one month prior to his election as pope and patriarch of Alexandria. At this conference, the participants agreed to the christological formula, once expressed by St. Cyril of Alexandria: "The one nature of the incarnate Word of God."
This christological formula was officially accepted when Pope Shenuda III visited with Pope Paul VI in Rome in May 1973. This was the first meeting between an Alexandrian and Roman pontiff since the great schism in 451. Both popes signed the common declaration, containing among other things, the confession of common faith in the mystery of the Word Incarnate.
Following the enthronement of Shenuda as the 117th successor of St. Mark, he continued his concern for the religious education of the Copts. Owing to his personal attention, the theological seminary expanded and enlarged. Six branches of the institution were established in Egypt: Alexandria, Tanta, Minufiya, Minya, Balyana, and the monastery of the Holy Virgin al-Muharraq. In the diaspora, three seminaries were opened, two in the United States and one in Australia. At the centenary celebrations of the theological seminary on November 29, 1993, the pope officially opened the Institute of Pastoral Affairs in order to develop the training of clergy and church workers.
Shenuda responded to the increasing problems with fundamentalist Muslims with his denunciations of fanaticism and sectarian strife. At the same time, President Anwar al-Sadat and members of the government made repeated allegations against the patriarch and Coptic community. Misunderstandings between the president and the patriarch culminated in the presidential decree of September 3, 1981, ordering the pope's exile to the monastery of St. Bishoi and the imprisonment of eight bishops, twenty-four priests, as well as a significant number of the leading laypersons. President Sadat set up a papal committee to discharge the duties of the patriarchate. However, the Holy Synod issued a decree confirming Pope Shenuda as the spiritual head of the church. For forty months, Shenuda was confined to the desert monastery. In the meantime, many loyal Copts played an important role in ensuring that he be released. Bishop Domadius of Giza paid weekly visits and served as principal mediator between the government and the exiled patriarch. On January 2, 1985, President Mubarak revoked President Sadat's decree. Accompanied by fourteen bishops, the patriarch departed from the monastery of St. Bishoi on Thursday, January 4, 1985. Over ten thousand people filled the cathedral to receive their pope, who after the prayer of thanksgiving, greeted his people by saying: "I have no residence except your hearts, which are full of love. I have never been away from your hearts, not even for the twinkle of an eye." Since his release, Coptic-Muslim relations have somewhat improved as a result of his efforts in promoting a spirit of love and unity.
Because of his deep commitment to the monastic movement, Pope Shenuda has been instrumental in renovating the established desert monasteries and in rebuilding the numerous deserted monasteries in Upper Egypt. A papal residence was constructed at the rear of the monastery of St. Bishoi; it houses a chapel, large conference halls, an amphitheater for lectures, and guest houses. Here the pope has hosted many ecumenical conferences, including the Joint Commission of the Coptic and Roman Catholic Churches in February 1986, the Inter-Orthodox Joint Commission in June 1989, the Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Forum in March 1990, the World Federation of Orthodox Youth Seminar in May 1991, the Pro Oriente forums, and the conferences of the Association of Theological Institutes of the Middle East, etc.
Moreover, the patriarch has established several monasteries in the diaspora: St. Anthony in California, United States; St. Anthony in Kröffelbach and Sts. Mary and Mauritius in Höxter, Germany; St. Anthony in Melbourne and St. Shenuda in Sydney, Australia; St. Shenuda in Milan, Italy; St. Anthony in Nairobi, Kenya; and St. Anthony in Windhoek, Namibia. Because of the continued exodus of Copts from Egypt, large diaspora congregations have been established in the West: in the United States, about seventy; Canada, fifteen; Australia, twenty-seven; South and Central America, four; Great Britain, eight; and Central Europe, thirty. These overseas communities are guided by seventeen bishops.
To help the Holy Synod function more effectively, Pope Shenuda has divided its responsibilities into several subcommittees, for example, pastoral affairs, liturgy, ecumenical relations, monastic affairs, education, diocesan affairs. Also, the community council (maglis al-milli), chaired by the pope, is divided into subcommittees such as public relations, construction, legal affairs, financial affairs, rural development, education. Moreover, he has organized the clerical council, which now has two divisions, a disciplinary tribunal for priests and an ecclesiastical tribunal for divorces and annulments.
The Sunday School Movement,
Cradle of the Coptic Renewal
To understand the Coptic renewal towards the latter part of the twentieth century, it is imperative to recognize the dynamics of the so-called Takris Movement, in which the participants consecrated their lives, their time, their property to service for and in the Coptic Church. Whereas in the years from 1948 to 1962 most of the members of the movement were laypersons, after 1962 many of them had joined monastic communities, especially the monastery of the Syrians under Bishop Tawfilus (Theophilus), or had been ordained parish priests.
Four major Sunday schools left a lasting impression upon the theology and piety of its members, thereby determining the spiritual and educational climate of the church. The Sunday school center near the church of St. Anthony (established in 1934) was in the eastern part of Shubra, behind Kitchener Hospital. Spiritual growth through prayer and ascetic practices were a main concern of the founders of this institution. The examples of the saints, both martyrs and confessors, played an important educational role. The members of this school had to accept a strict and coherent spiritual life of prayer as well as ascetic discipline over a period as long as two years. In the 1950s and 1960s, several pioneers of this institution joined monasteries; the most important was Nazir Gayed, Pope Shenuda III, who had joined the school at age seventeen. Metropolitan Athanasius of Beni Suef and al-Bahnasa (d. 2000) was also an active member of this school, as was Bishop Gregorius, responsible for advanced theological studies.
The Sunday school center of Giza was located in the church of St. Mark. Among its pioneers were Saad Aziz (Bishop Samuel, assassinated October 6, 1981) and the renowned Abuna Bulus of Damanhur. Here, emphasis was placed on Bible study and social outreach and service. Service to the less fortunate in city and country led to the work of the urban and rural diakonia. The creation of good, solid relationships with the Muslim majority was an integral part of this movement.
The school center of Gezirat Badran was near that of St. Anthony in east Shubra. Its principal purpose was the total involvement of its members in the social and educational program of the church. Besides the traditional course of study, members participated in study trips to churches and monasteries. A new policy of the center was the religious and social education of young women.
Lastly, the center at the church of St. Michael in Tusun, Shubra, combined the various aspects of the other three. Almost all of the young men who had joined monasteries in Wadi al-Natrun, the monastery of St. Samuel at al-Qalamun, or the hermitages in Wadi al-Rayan (1960–1969) had attended one of the four schools, whose character had impressed itself so strongly upon their members that their future roles as church leaders were largely determined by the theology and piety of their Sunday school experiences.
The Resurgence Of Coptic Monasticism
In January 1985, President Hosni Mubarak released Pope Shenuda III from forty months in exile at the monastery of St. Bishoi, and there was great rejoicing in the Coptic community. A few weeks later, I met with the pope. "To be sure," he commented, "the revival of Coptic monasticism and the spiritual reawakening of the church was not endangered by my absence. On the contrary, the experiences of our ancestors proved to be important. During my days at the monastery, I was able to ordain almost one hundred men as monks. Moreover, two new monasteries in Upper Egypt were established at this time."
The spiritual revival of the Sons of the Pharaohs is one of the remarkable developments of Eastern Christianity at the present time. This renewal is visible in Coptic parishes throughout the country from Alexandria to Aswan; it is felt in the work of the Sunday schools, the social and educational institutions, and in the rural and urban diaconia. Every aspect of Christian life seems to be touched by it, including ecclesiastical art and architecture. The twentieth century reawakening, made possible through the reforms in the nineteenth century by Pope Cyril IV (1854–1861), can be dated to the period following the patriarchate of Yusab II. With the accession of Abuna Mina al-Muttawahad al-Baramusi as Pope Cyril VI in 1959, the original monastic ideals in their anchoritic and cenobitic forms regained their initial vitality, thus determining the spiritual life of the church in general and of the monasteries in particular. In the late 1950s, and especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, many academically trained young people took monastic vows and repeopled the desert monasteries. This resulted in a steady change in the average age within the monasteries so that today, many of the monks are between twenty-five and fifty. At the same time, the difference in the level of education between the older and younger monks was obvious, a problem that could be solved only by patient, fraternal love. After all, many of the monks from the fourth to sixth centuries cherished their simplicity and biblically inspired anti-intellectualism. Indeed, the majority of them were peasants: St. Macarius the Great was a camel-driver; St. Macarius the Alexandrian had been a seller of sweetmeats; St. Apollo of Bawit had been a goatherd; Sts. Pambo and Paphnutius were illiterates like so many of the desert monastics who had memorized large portions of Holy Scripture. Of course, there were exceptions to the rule: Sts. Evagrius, Albanius, Maximus, and Domitius were members of the intellectual or hereditary aristocracy. Today, the great majority of desert monks come from middle or even upper-middle class families. They join monasteries after having completed their military service and having spent some time in their respective professions as engineers, chemists, architects, pharmacists, surgeons, teachers. But this does not mean that there are no longer fellahin among Coptic monks.
It is difficult to measure the degree of spirituality, and yet there is no doubt that today the ascetic disciplines practiced in the officially recognized monasteries are considerably more severe than a generation or two ago. This is unquestionably due to the motivations which have led young people to enter the desert monasteries. Some of them join the desert monasteries because of a genuine religious experience, be it in the form of a vision, a dream, or an inspiration resulting from contemplation. A profound sense of guilt has led many to accept a life of asceticism in the hope that by self-denial they may atone for their sins. St. Anthony the Great was moved to his decision to forsake the world upon hearing the teaching of holy Scripture: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor" (Matt 19:21). Consequently, he retired to a cave in Wadi al-Araba near the Red Sea. For the majority of Copts, monastic life is still considered spiritually and morally superior to that lived in the world. Thus, the monks are often referred to as "angels of God." To follow their example is thought to be a surer way to eternal salvation than remaining in the world. Then, there are those monks, such as the late pope Cyril VI and now Shenuda III, who have radiated such a deep spirituality that they have attracted others by their personal example.
To join a monastery means the total identification of the person with the church. This is an important witness in a country or region where the church represents the faith and morality of a religious minority. Again, others embrace monastic life as a sign of protest against the laxity and worldliness of the church. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the higher ranks of the Coptic clergy are nowadays selected exclusively from among monks. This means that there may be cases where a man may enter monastic life out of a desire for eventual leadership. These men would thus regard monastic profession as a means rather than an end.
In order to attain a spiritual monastic motivation, the novice acknowledges in the initiation pledge, "Monasticism is a complete death to the world and all that is in it in the way of wealth and possessions, in the way of relatives and friends, and in the way of appointments and occupations; and it is a life of worship and dedication to God, a life of penitence and deprivation and of perfect obedience and poverty." The novice promises to live in virginity and continence and separation from the world, following the true monastic life, obeying the canons and instructions of the true monks. The novice also promises that he will not solicit any appointment in the world or request to enter the priesthood.
From the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, most Coptic popes came from the monastery of St. Macarius, which served as the pontifical residence during the early Middle Ages. From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, the Red Sea monastery of St. Anthony provided the ecclesiastical leaders for the church. During those years, the popes of Alexandria as well as the heads of the Ethiopian Church and the metropolitans of Jerusalem had been monks of the same monastery. In the middle of the twentieth century, largely due to the personal authority and pastoral qualities of Bishop Tawfilus, the monastery of the Syrians provided the leadership during the important years of the Coptic renewal. Since 1972, the monastery of St. Bishoi has supplied most of the bishops. This is understandable since Shenuda III selected this monastery as his desert residence.
Whereas the revival of Coptic monasticism in the four monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun (al-Baramus, St. Bishoi, the Syrians, and St. Macarius), the Red Sea monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul of Thebes, as well as the monasteries of St. Samuel at al-Qalamun, St. Menas at Maryut and the Holy Virgin al-Muharraq at al-Qusiya has been sufficiently published, there exists virtually no literature about the recent reoccupation of some of the medieval monasteries south of Asyut in Upper Egypt.
Only five of these monasteries have been officially recognized by the Holy Synod, namely, those of St. Shenuda at Sohag (the White Monastery), the Holy Virgin at al-Hawawish, St. Pachomius at Minshat al-Ammari, near Luxor, St. George at al-Riziqat, and St. Pachomius at Edfu. The other formerly abandoned monasteries, which are situated where the desert meets the cultivated land, are smaller places occupied by just one or two monks or a few women monastics. Nevertheless, this development is significant, for it demonstrates the dynamism of the current monastic movement among young Coptic men and women who identify themselves wholeheartedly with the church by accepting the ascetic life in pioneer situations.
The significance of monasticism in Upper Egypt, until recently of interest only to historians and archaeologists, has been called to our attention because of the present monastic renewal and reoccupation of some of the abandoned monasteries. Relatively little is known of the history of these places. Most of them were devastated in the ninth century, during the patriarchate of Shenuda I (859–880). The Islamic historian al-Maqrizi (d. 1441) listed altogether fifty-nine Upper Egyptian monasteries. Of these, only eleven were inhabited, five of them by only one or two monks; thirteen were still visited for the annual festivals in honor of their patrons; at least twelve were either deserted or completely destroyed. As for the rest, he simply mentions their names and locations.
Today, the following monasteries in Upper Egypt are occupied by monks originally from St. Bishoi. The monastery of the Holy Virgin near Durunka is located about ten kilometers south of Asyut, on the slopes of Istabl Antar. Through the efforts of Metropolitan Michael of Asyut, the site as been rebuilt to accommodate large numbers of pilgrims from August 7 to 22, when the sojourn of the Holy Family at Asyut on their flight to Egypt is commemorated. The monastery of St. Shenuda is located about five kilometers west of Sohag, near the edge of the desert. The British architect Somers Clarke wrote in 1912 about this place, "This monastery is the noblest church of which we have any remains in Egypt, the chief monument of the Christians." It was founded by St. Bigol (Pjol), the maternal uncle of St. Shenuda, who became abbot in 385, and followed the rules laid down by St. Pachomius. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, it served the Armenian community in Egypt; in the Middle Ages the relics of the apostles Sts. Bartholomew and Simon the Canaanite were kept there. The Mamluks destroyed it in the eighteenth century and only the church of St. Shenuda has survived. The monastery of St. Michael the Archangel is the northernmost on the mountain ridge east of the village of al-Hawawish, east of Akhmim. Special services are conducted on the feast of St. Michael as well as June 19 and November 21. The monastery of the Holy Virgin, the southernmost on the same ridge, is located within an extensive necropolis and has been rebuilt upon the foundations of a former church or monastery. The monastery of the Martyrs is situated between these monasteries. The monastery of St. George, on the edge of the desert near al-Riziqat and southwest of Armant, has served as a site of pilgrimage for many years. It is well known throughout Upper Egypt because of the annual pilgrimage from November 10 to 16 commemorating the consecration of the church of St. George, and large numbers of Copts and Muslims gather for this feast. The monastery of St. Matthew the Potter, one of the oldest monasteries in the region, having been founded during the patriarchate of Pope Alexander II (704-729), is seven kilometers west of Asfun, two kilometers beyond Nag al-Zineiqa on the edge of the desert. Although destroyed by the Bedouins in the tenth century, it was rebuilt. The monastery of St. Pachomius at Edfu, five kilometers west of the celebrated temple of Horus, was reoccupied in 1975 and today has more than thirty monks living there.
In addition to these monasteries, there are three monasteries for women: the monastery of Sts. Theodore and Acladius at Madinat Habu on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor; the monastery of Sts. Pisentius and Abshai in the village of Tod on the east bank of the Nile south of Armant; and the monastery of St. Ammonius and the thirty-six hundred martyrs of Esna, about four kilometers south-east of Esna at the edge of the desert; its construction should be assigned to the second half of the eleventh century.
Spiritual Supports of the Coptic Renewal
A spiritual and organizational renewal of this magnitude, involving every aspect of Coptic church life, is accompanied by and embedded in a variety of religious events, some of which are typical of the Eastern Christian tradition. Also, the support of the early saints has been manifested by the discovery and translation of holy relics. Besides the relics of St. Mark, which were returned from Venice in June 1968 and repose in the crypt of the new cathedral of St. Mark in Abbasiya, Cairo, Pope Shenuda III received the relics of St. Athanasius of Alexandria from Pope Paul VI in May 1973 and also placed them in the cathedral. In Lent of 1976, the monks of the monastery of St. Macarius claimed to have discovered the relics of St. John the Baptist and the prophet Elisha in the ancient church of St. Macarius; they are now kept in the monastery. In October 1986, a group of Roman Catholic pilgrims from Zurzach, Switzerland, presented Shenuda III with a relic of the city's patron saint, Verena, who is said to have accompanied the Theban Legion from Upper Egypt to Switzerland, where she suffered martyrdom during Diocletian's persecutions in the beginning of the fourth century. Two years later, relics of St. Maurice, the leader of the Theban Legion, were translated from the Benedictine abbey of St. Maurice in Tholey, Saar, Germany, to Cairo by two Roman Catholic priests, who presented these relics to the patriarch on April 14, 1989, at the monastery of St. Bishoi. In November 1991, it was my pleasure and honor to offer the patriarch the relics of the Theban martyrs Sts. Cassius and Florentius from the cathedral in Bonn, Germany. They, too, had suffered martyrdom under Diocletian.
In the monastery of St. Anthony on the Red Sea the incorruptible body of the great theologian Yusab al-Abahh, metropolitan of Girga and Akhmim (1735–1826) has recently been discovered and placed in a glass reliquary in the church of the Holy Apostles. The monks of the monastery of St. Samuel, in the desert of al-Qalamun, testify that in December 1976, the incorruptible body of St. Pisada, kept in the church of St. Misail, bled.
During the summer of 1990, the relics of twelve Coptic martyrs were unearthed near the monastery of St. Gabriel of Naqlun in the Oasis of Fayyum. The bishop of the Fayyum distributed many of these relics to Coptic churches throughout Egypt and also in the United States, Australia, and Europe. In March 1990 large numbers of mummies were discovered near the monastery of the Martyrs, east of al-Hawawish. Many of these relics, believed to be those of Christian martyrs, were distributed to churches in Egypt and the diaspora. In the course of archeological work at Abu Fana, thirty kilometers south of Minya near Qasr Hor, workers discovered in 1992 the mummy of Apa Bane, a famous monk of the fourth century from Upper Egypt, who is venerated by the faithful of the diocese of Mallawi. In August 1991, workers also found the remains of the tenth-century saint Simeon the Tanner in the church of the Holy Virgin of Babylon al-Darag (Old Cairo); the relics were divided between the churches of the Holy Virgin al-Muallaqa, Old Cairo, St. Simeon the Tanner, Muqattam, Cairo, and the Holy Virgin of Babylon al-Darag. At no other time in the recent history of the Coptic church have so many relics been discovered as in the past fifteen years. One is reminded of the severe admonition of St. Shenuda, the fifth century abbot from Upper Egypt, who strongly opposed the growth of this practice.
Moreover, appearances of the Holy Virgin and phenomena of light have provided celestial confirmation. There have been a number of appearances of the Holy Virgin: on the dome of the church of the Holy Virgin in Zeitun, a suburb of Cairo, in the spring of 1968; on the dome of the church of St. Damiana (Dimiana) in Shubra in the spring of 1986; in the church of the Holy Virgin in Edfu in Upper Egypt in August 1981; in the church of the Holy Virgin in the Delta village of Shetana al-Hagar in 1997 and 1998; and in the cathedral of St. Mark in Asyut in the fall of 2000. In all these instances, Christians of various denominations and Muslims have witnessed the manifestations, which are interpreted as signs of special grace in time of social and political adversity. For the biblically oriented Copts, an Arabic pulpit Bible provided the assurance of divine election when, on Sunday, June 13, 1976, this Protestant Bible, floating on the Nile, came to rest on the riverbank at the church of the Holy Virgin in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo. Bishop Gregorius of the theological seminary verified that it was open at Isaiah's prophecy, "Blessed be Egypt my people" (19:25).
The widespread veneration of the great wonderworker of the twentieth century, Pope Cyril VI, is significant. Even during his life he was the most beloved person because of his charismata. His cave, three kilometers from the monastery of al-Baramus in Wadi al-Natrun, and his tomb, in the crypt of the new basilica of St. Menas in the monastery in Maryut, have become popular shrines of pilgrimage for large numbers of Copts.
In conclusion, we should consider one new development. Because of the reclamation of desert land by both the government and the monasteries, one can now reach all desert monasteries by paved roads. For the first time in their sixteen-hundred-year history, these monasteries nowadays sit at the edge of the secular world, of consumer society; only a few gallons of gasoline separate them from golf-courses, beauty shops, fast-food restaurants, and the noise of village life. The silence surrounding them is broken. These venerable fortresses of spiritual austerity are being rapidly integrated into the life of the Coptic Church. Every weekend literally hundreds of pilgrims from cities and villages descend upon the monks. For the sake of the visitors they have installed souvenir kiosks selling pamphlets, medals, leather crosses, and textiles. The days of quiet, solitude, and isolation are gone for ever, except for those few anchorites who have left their monasteries and fled from the world to live in the caves of the inner desert, miles away from the noise of our civilization: "Ama nesciri et pro nihilo reputari" (you should love to remain unknown and to be held for nothing).