The Monastery of the Holy Virgin Mary at al-Muharraq, Mount Qusqam: Reflections of Its Monks Today Introduction The value of ancient monuments, sometimes, is not in the material they are made of, but rather in their living heritage and ancestral spirit.[1] How much more it is if these were blessed by the Lord himself, such …
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Two Witnesses of Christian Life in the area of Balyana: The Church of the Virgin and the Monastery of Anba Moses[1] The town of Balyana stands on the west bank of the Nile in the Sohag governorate. I have had many opportunities to be in touch with Christian life in this area of Upper Egypt …
WOMEN BIBLIOGRAPHY Behlmer, Heike. “Women and the Holy in Coptic Hagiography.” In Actes du Huitieme Congres International d’idudes Coptes, Paris, 28 juin-3 juillet 2004, vol. 1, ed. Nathalie Bosson and Anne Boud’hors, 405-16. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 163. Louvain: E. Peeters, 2007. Chaillot, Christine. “The Diaconate of Women in the Coptic Orthodox Church.” Orthodox Outlook 3 …
APOSTOLIC SEE An apostolic see is a see that was founded by an Apostle. The number of sees and their names differed from century to century. In the fourth century, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Ephesus were considered the four apostolic sees. However, with the foundation of Constantinople as a capital, the emperors started to assert …
VALENTINUS A Christian Gnostic teacher active in Alexandria in the early second century. Born in the Egyptian Delta, he was educated in Alexandria. He is reported by Irenaeus to have adapted the teachings of the Gnostic sect in creating his own system, which conformed to a greater degree to traditional Christian doctrine. Around 140 he …
DAYR ANBA HIZIQYAL A monastery in Armant. The name of this monastery is given in two notices of saints by the recension of the SYNAXARION of the Copts from Upper Egypt, which provides an approximate indication of its geographical location. In the summary at 14 Kiyahk concerning one Ezekiel (Hiziqyal), a native of Armant, whose …
THEOPHILUS A Saint and patriarch. He was the 23rd Patriarch of Alexandria (385-412). He is commemorated on the 18th of Babeh. He was patriarch from 385 to 412 a.d. and played a significant role in increasing the prestige of the See of Alexandria. He was highly educated and an effective dean of the Catechetical School …
PHYSIOLOGOS This Greek text was begun around 200 b.c. by Paul of Mendes, who confused the scientific study of nature with magical traditions. Others continued the work after 200 b.c. In a Coptic text attributed to Eusthatius of Thrace, the book of the Physiologos is attributed to King Solomon. (This tradition survived also in Islamic …