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Porche – Architectural Elements Of Churches

Porch A porch is a covered entrance to a temple, church, or other building. Greek and Roman buildings had a pronaos (porch) in the form of a portico (with columns and a pediment). The narthex of some early Christian churches was a portico. A porch consisting of a bay and, generally, a large entrance opening …

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Coptic Musicologists

Heritage / By Youssef Matta

Coptic Musicologists Borsai, Ilona (1925-1982) After graduating from the University of Kolozsvar, in her native city of Cluj, Rumania, qualified to teach Greek and French languages, Ilona Borsai attended the Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, where she received the Diploma of Music Education. Completing further studies in the field of musicology under Bence Szalolcsi, …

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Cantors Of The Coptic Music

Heritage / By Youssef Matta

Cantors, Their Role and Musical Training Because members of the clergy were not equally talented as singers, it became and has remained the tradition to entrust performance of the music to a professional cantor (Arabic: ‘arif, “one who knows,” or mu‘allim, “teacher”), who is employed and trained by the church to be responsible for the …

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Dayr Al-Baramus

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

DAYR AL-BARAMUS History This monastery is farthest to the northwest in the monastic colony of Wadi al-Natrun (ancient Scetis). The topographic allusions in ancient literature lend some credence to the statement by the author of the Coptic Life of Saint Macarius (probably of the eighth century; cf. Guillaumont, 1968-1969, pp. 182-83) that Dayr al-Baramus evolved …

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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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