ABD AL-MASIH - Page 3 of 9

Butrus Ibn Al-Khabbaz

BUTRUS IBN AL-KHABBAZ A thirteenth-century metropolitan of Ethiopia and copyist of biblical texts. This priest is known from notes found in four Arabic manuscripts of Coptic origin. A fourteenth-century manuscript in the Coptic Patriarchate in Cairo (Theology 220) contains ten monastic texts (Graf, 1934), or seventeen according to Simaykah and Yassa ‘Abd al-Masih (1942), which …

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Dayr Al-‘Azab (Fayyum)

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

DAYR AL-‘AZAB (Fayyum) History The monastery of Dayr al-‘Azab does not seem to have been mentioned, at least under this name, by any author before the traveler J. M. Vansleb in 1672, who placed it halfway between Madinat al-Fayyum and the DAYR AL-NAQLUN (1677, p. 274; 1678, p. 166). In fact, it is about 4 …

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Dayr Anba Palaemon

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

DAYR ANBA PALAEMON On the right bank of the Nile, to the north of the river, which at this point from Qena as far as Nag Hammadi flows from east to west, to the east of the town of Al-Qasr wa-al-Sayyad, is said to be the site of the ancient Sheneset (the Coptic name) or …

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Dayr Anba Pisentius

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

DAYR ANBA PISENTIUS In 1926 W. E. CRUM left unanswered the question of the location of the monastery of Tsenti (al-Qassas in Arabic), where PISENTIUS, bishop of Qift at the beginning of the seventh century, habitually lived and where it seems he died. ‘ABD AL-MASIH SALIB AL-MASU‘DI al-Baramusi (1932, p. 184), however, mentions “in the …

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Dayr Apa Phoibammon

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

DAYR APA PHOIBAMMON History The monastery of Phoibammon is situated between MADINAT HABU and Armant, at the end of a narrow wadi ending in a circular cliff about 80 feet (25 m) high. It was excavated in 1947 and 1948 by Charles Bachatly, secretary-general of the SOCIETY OF COPTIC ARCHAEOLOGY. Graffiti on the cliff face …

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Dayr Al-Ballas (Qift)

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

DAYR AL-BALLAS (Qift) This monastery-village is situated on the left bank of the Nile to the north of the town of al-Ballas, which has given its name to the large jars in which water is carried. There is neither archaeological nor ancient literary evidence, only the name of the hamlet, al-Dayr, to show that a …

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Ya‘Qub Nakhlah Rufaylah (1847-1908)

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

YA‘QUB NAKHLAH RUFAYLAH (1847-1908) Historian. He was one of the most active Copts who participated in the reform movement initiated by Patriarch Cyril IV. He was born in Cairo and joined a Coptic school where he learned English, Italian, and Coptic. He taught at the Coptic school of Harit al-Saqqayin that Patriarch Cyril IV established. …

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Marcus Simaika (1864-1944)

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

MARCUS SIMAIKA (1864-1944) The Founder of the Coptic Museum. He was born in Cairo to venerable and prosperous Coptic parents. From his youth he showed great interest in Egypt’s Christian monuments. It is to his well-deserved credit that he founded the Coptic Museum in 1908. He succeeded in attracting the Coptic Church and the Egyptian …

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Trisagion

Liturgy / By Armia FAYEZ

TRISAGION A Greek for “thrice-holy,” a hymn used in Coptic worship. The Byzantine form of the Trisagion is as follows: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us,” to be reiterated three times, followed by the lesser doxology. But the Coptic form of the Trisagion is as follows (verses 1-5 are …

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Victor Of Shu

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

VICTOR OF SHU An early-fourth-century saint. Victor was born in Asyut. He served as a soldier in the fortress of Shu (Qasr Shu) south of Asyut, at the age of twelve. In accordance with the rescript of Diocletian, he was asked to offer sacrifice to the idols, but refused. His superior tried to persuade him …

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