Coptic CALENDAR - Page 4 of 4

Feasts, Major

FEASTS, MAJOR There are seven major feasts celebrated by the Coptic church. Annunciation The Annunciation is one of the seven major feasts of the Coptic church; it commemorates the announcement of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she should conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. According to the Coptic …

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Paganism And Christianity In Egypt

History / By Armia FAYEZ

PAGANISM AND CHRISTIANITY IN EGYPT During the Roman era, the religious life of Egypt was characterized by great diversity. First, there was the traditional religion inherited from the pharaonic age. The theology and the rituals of the past were preserved by the priests in a number of pharaonic-style temples, such as those in Dandarah, Isna, …

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Macarius II

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

MACARIUS II The sixty-ninth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1102-1128) (feast day: 4 Tut). Macarius, or Abba Maqarah according to the HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS, was a monk of Dayr Anba Maqar when his selection for the patriarchate was decided by the Cairene delegation of bishops and the clergy together with the Coptic …

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Mass Of The Catechumens

Liturgy / By Armia FAYEZ

MASS OF THE CATECHUMENS The eucharistic service comprising two distinct, inseparable, and complementary sections: the Mass (or Liturgy) of the Catechumens and the MASS OF THE FAITHFUL, so-called because catechumens, who could attend the first part of the service, were not permitted to attend the second until they had satisfactorily completed their course of religious …

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Martyrs, Coptic

Culture / By Armia FAYEZ

MARTYRS, COPTIC The souls recognized in Egypt who suffered persecution and died for their faith. The majority of martyrs belong to the period of Roman persecutions from the time of Nero in the mid-first century to the time of Diocletian in the early fourth century. It is, of course, impossible to assemble the names of …

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Abu Al-Fakhr Al-Masihi

Eminent / By Youssef Matta

ABU AL-FAKHR AL-MASIHI According to G. Graf (1947, pp. 435-36) author of the chronology for the oldest history of the Chronicon Orientale, suggesting that he lived at the latest before the end of the thirteenth century. He was born a Jew and became a Christian (al-Masihi). There exists an exchange of letters between him and …

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