CHRISTIAN SUBJECTS IN COPTIC ART Whatever its materials and techniques—stone or wood relief sculpture, painted walls or manuscripts, textiles, metalwork, ceramics, or glass—Coptic Christian iconography retained a few rare elements of pharaonic origin and many Greco-Roman elements from Alexandrian tradition. From the fifth century on, these pagan subjects mingled with Christian motifs. The Christian subjects …
COPTIC WOODWORK The functional objects and sculpture made of wood in Egypt from the fourth century into the Middle Ages. By virtue of its geological past, Egypt originally had plentiful and varied supplies of wood, but it was rapidly used. Shortages were already evident in the pharaonic period. Ptolemaic rulers put into operation a policy …
CHRISTODOULUS The sixty-sixth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1047-1077). Christodoulus, whose original name as a monk of the ENATON, west of Alexandria, was Theodore, was a native of the village of Burah, but his date of birth is unknown. The first known event in his life concerns his castrating himself. This happened when …
COPTIC INFLUENCE ON EUROPEAN ART Of all the imports from the East to the West, Coptic monasticism is one of the most important. The spread of the monastic phenomenon (its institution and spirituality) is evident from clear landmarks. Several Christian monuments in the West have led to the notion that this expansion spread into the …
WOMEN’S RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES From the earliest years in the history of Christianity, there have existed communities of virgins, who dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord, free from all family ties. However, in Egypt, some young women preferred to remain with their families while performing such sacred duties toward others. One of the …
LECTERN A four-legged wooden or metal bookstand, about 50 inches (125 cm) in height, on which the Bible and other liturgical books are placed for reading. It is often in the form of an eagle with outstretched wings. The lower part is customarily used as a storage container for books and musical instruments employed in …
COPTO-ARABIC LITERATURE Coptic literature per se, a subject treated elsewhere, is confined to the writings in the Coptic language during the early centuries of medieval Egyptian history when that language was the spoken language of the people as well as their only written instrument. After the ARAB CONQUEST OF EGYPT in the seventh century, the …
ATHANASIUS III The seventy-sixth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1250-1261). Athanasius was peacefully selected to the throne of Saint Mark after an interregnum of seven years, during which the patriarchal seat remained vacant. The reasons are hard to explain beyond the lack of unanimity on any candidate and the general unrest that accompanied …
BABYLON The oldest part of the city of Cairo. Babylon is situated on the east bank of the Nile, to some extent on the border between Upper and Lower Egypt. The same spot marks the mouth of a canal, originally cut about 600 B.C., which connected the Nile to the Red Sea. The city was …
HISTORIC CHURCHES IN ALEXANDRIA As capital of Egypt prior to the ARAB CONQUEST OF EGYPT, Alexandria deserves special attention in regard to its religious institutions. This need is further accentuated by the fact that it was also the seat of the Coptic patriarchate throughout the Byzantine period and during the early centuries of Arab rule. …