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The Relationship of St. Shenoute of Atripe with His Contemporary Patriarchs of Alexandria

The Relationship of St. Shenoute of Atripe with His Contemporary Patriarchs of Alexandria WHEN WE SPEAK about the relationship of St. Shenoute with the Alexandrian patriarchs, we speak indeed about a traditional relationship between Coptic monasticism and the official church of Egypt. The basis of this relationship was already established at the dawn of Coptic […]

The Coptic Life of Shenoute

The Coptic Life of Shenoute THE COPTIC LIFE of Shenoute is best known in its Bohairic version. In Bohairic, a virtually complete version of the Vita Sinuthii, that is the Life of Shenoute, has come down to us. It gives an account of Shenoute’s life from his birth to his death and is attributed to […]

Anba Isaac, Bishop of the Fayoum, al-Bahnasa, and Giza, 1834-81

Anba Isaac, Bishop of the Fayoum, al-Bahnasa, and Giza, 1834-81 Anba Isaac, the bishop of the Fayoum, holds a unique place in the history of the Coptic Church during the mid-nineteenth century. This standing is due, in part, to his massive diocese, which included three Egyptian governorates: Giza, the Fayoum, and Beni Suef. It is […]

Scetis

SCETIS A name that historically designated the area of monastic settlement extending about 19 miles (30 km) through the shallow valley known in the medieval period as Wad Habb, now called Wad al-Natrun, which runs southeast to northwest through the Western or Libyan Desert, about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the Nile Delta. In […]

Clysma

CLYSMA An ancient town a few miles north of modern-day Suez and known for its ruins. They were excavated by B. Bruyère (1966). The site (which some texts call the isle of Clysma) appears to have been inhabited by anchorites very early. It is not known exactly where these anchorites lived. The Mountain of Antony […]

Christian Subjects In Coptic Art

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 […]

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 […]

Architectural Elements Of Churches -Index

ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS OF CHURCHES -INDEX Aisle Ambulatory Apse Atrium Baptistery Cancelli Ceiling Choir Ciborium Coffer Colonnade Column Crypt Daraj al-haykal Diaconicon Dome Elements Gallery Horseshoe arch Iconostasis Khurus Maqsurah Naos Narthex Nave Niche Pastophorium Pillare Porche Presbytery Prothyrone Prothesise Return aisle Roofe Sacristy Saddleback roof Sanctuary Shaq al-haykal Sacristye Sanctuarye Synthronone Tetraconche Tribelone Triconche Triumphal […]

Iconostasis – Architectural Elements Of Churches

Iconostasis An iconostasis is the screen or wall in a church that separates the sanctuary, presbytery, or bema, restricted to the clergy, from the naos, or area of the laity. It developed in the fourteenth century in Byzantine areas, earlier in Egypt. The Arab word for it is hijab, which literally means “curtains.” The spatial […]

Coptic Woodwork

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 […]