Fayyum - Page 12 of 13

Apa Nob

APA NOB A third-century saint mentioned in the SYNAXARION of the Copts at 23 Ba’unah. A more complete Life is given by several Arabic manuscripts (Coptic Museum, Cairo, History 469, fols. 348r, 353r; National Library, Paris, Arabe 154, fols. 53r-64r; Arabe 263, fols. 128r-38r; Leipzig University, Orientale 1067, fols. 202r-4v). Nob was a native of …

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Coptic Translations Of Old Testament

Bible / By Armia FAYEZ

COPTIC TRANSLATIONS OF OLD TESTAMENT The earliest of the Coptic translations of the Old Testament, like those of the New Testament, remain obscure. Christianity first took root in Alexandria, a city predominantly inhabited by Greeks, who had no need of a translation of the Greek Bible (the Old Testament in the form of the Septuagint). …

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Onophrius, Saint

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

ONOPHRIUS, SAINT Anchorite (feast day: 16 Ba’unah). The figure of Saint Onophrius (in Arabic Abu Nufar) enjoyed the widest diffusion among the Egyptian desert fathers both in religious literature and in worship and art, both in Egypt and outside. His life was not transmitted independently, but inserted with others into a pilgrimage narrative destined for …

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Coptic Music

Heritage / By Armia FAYEZ

COPTIC MUSIC Description of the Corpus and Present Musical Practice The following remarks pertain only to the music of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Other Christian churches in Egypt (Greek Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, Protestant, etc.) have their own musical practices. Coptic music, an expression of a proud and constant faith, still lives today among the Copts …

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Epistolography

Culture / By Armia FAYEZ

EPISTOLOGRAPHY Anglicized Greek word denoting the writing (graphe) of a letter (epistole). The study of letter writing has as its goal distinguishing and classifying the various kinds of letters, analyzing the form and function of the component elements (introduction, body, conclusion) of these letters, learning of and describing the mechanisms or postal systems through which …

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Elias Of Samhud, Saint

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

ELIAS OF SAMHUD, SAINT a sixth-century (?) monk whose birth was foretold by an angel (feastday: 13 Kiyahk). His Christian parents, who lived in the Fayyum, held a monthly agape (meal) for the poor as well as widows and orphans, and were reportedly visited by the Old Testament prophets Elijah (Elias) and Elisha. Despite their …

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Icons, Coptic

Heritage / By Armia FAYEZ

ICONS, COPTIC Holy panel paintings of Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, or subjects from the Old and New Testaments. The word icon is derived from the Greek word eikon, meaning “image” or “portrait.” Icons are symbols of the invisible presence of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. They are the connection between the church …

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Idfa

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

IDFA A city in the district of Suhaj. Called Iteb in the pharaonic period, and then in Hellenistic times Iton or Itos, Idfa is mentioned in the Christian period only in the summary that the recension of the SYNAXARION of the Copts from Upper Egypt devotes to the martyr hermits PANINE AND PANEU at 7 …

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Interdict

Culture, Liturgy / By Armia FAYEZ

INTERDICT Prohibition against administering the sacraments in a village or a monastery. In the correspondence of Bishop Abraham of Hermonthis from around 600, we learn of a case in which the doing of things that were not fitting either for monks or for the laity in a monastery (we are not told anything more precise), …

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Inscriptions

Heritage / By Armia FAYEZ

INSCRIPTIONS Writing on long-lasting materials. Inscriptions, like texts written on papyrus (see PAPYROLOGY), are important primary sources of information about a society. In Egypt they appear on stone, plaster, clay, wood, metal, and textiles. They may be scratched, carved, engraved, stamped, painted or inked, or woven. Those written on clay sherds or limestone fragments are …

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