Church In Egypt Research Articles

The Situation of Christian Communities in the Middle East

The article focuses on the study of the situation of Christian communities in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. In the Middle East, where Christianity was born more than two thousand years ago, representatives of this faith witnessed a number of socio-political, economic and demographic changes and faced not only oppression from the Muslim community, but also internal confessional contradictions. Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt have long been of fundamental importance to Middle Eastern Christian communities, with their sectarian diversity. With the ongoing civil war and extremist activities in Syria, the Christian community has been particularly vulnerable. Maronites, who at the beginning of the 19th century. occupied a dominant position in Lebanon, are gradually giving way to the Muslim majority. After the invasion of American troops into Iraq in 2003 and the new stage in the history of the country that followed this event, associated with the activities of various terrorist groups, Iraqi Christians became the first point of impact from extremists and were demoralized. Despite the fact that Christianity was first spread in Alexandria in the 1st century, representatives of the Coptic Church in Egypt throughout history have faced numerous attacks and oppression of their national rights. In the context of the above significant and serious problems, it seems appropriate to study the situation of Christian communities in the four main territories of its settlement — Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt.

Monks and the Hierarchical Church in Egypt and the Levant during Late Antiquity. By Ewa Wipszycka, with a chapter on Persian Christians in Late Antiquity by Adam Izdebski. Translated by Damian Jasiński. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplements 40. Leuven: Peeters, 2021. xviii + 497 pp. €95.00 cloth.

Monks and the Hierarchical Church in Egypt and the Levant during Late Antiquity. By Ewa Wipszycka, with a chapter on Persian Christians in Late Antiquity by Adam Izdebski. Translated by Damian Jasiński. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplements 40. Leuven: Peeters, 2021. xviii + 497 pp. €95.00 cloth. - Volume 91 Issue 3

An introduction to conflict, politics, and the Christian East: towards a theoretical typology

ABSTRACT This introduction to a collection of five studies focusing on church-state relations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) provides a theoretical typology through which to view the complex and varied relationships that exist between Christianity and Christians and the states and political actors that comprise the MENA region. Conceptual insights are discussed in both general terms and in relation to the arguments and conclusions advanced by the contributing authors. Specific cases considered include: 1) the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and its ties to successive governments and leaders in Ethiopia, along with those of other prominent denominations; 2) lay-clerical tensions in the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, as well as the corporatist ties its hierarchs exhibit to the state; 3) the role played by the head of the Chaldean Church in post-invasion Iraq; 4) the degree to which Christians in Lebanon support democracy; and 5) the role of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in relation to the domestic and international politics of the Turkish state.

Matthew the Poor: Towards Modern Birth Control Methods in the Coptic Orthodox Church

The paper is focused on the Matta el-Meskeen (Matthew the Poor) and his reflection of selected bioethical issue: birth control. The paper deals with the forming stages of the bioethical discussions within the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt. The research is based on Matthew the Poor´s articles and books. The first part presents his teachings about theosis as an key concept of his theology in general and bioethics in particular. The second part brings analysis of his birth control reflections and presents his observations about the role of the Church and the state in the decision making process of Christian believers.

3D finite element coupled analysis model for geotechnical and complex structural problems of historic masonry structures: conservation of Abu Serga church, Cairo, Egypt

This research presents the damage mechanism of a historical masonry architecture induced by differential settlement based on 3D FE analysis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the behavior fully-saturated soft clays subjected to self-weight loading from an old masonry structure of Abu Serga church which is the oldest church in Egypt dating back to the fifth century A.D and located in old Cairo area in Cairo city. The church gains its high prestige to having been constructed upon the Holy crypt of the Holy Family where they stayed during their sojourn in Egypt. The main objective of the present study is too accurately record and analysis the geotechnical problems and induced structural failure mechanisms observed and calculated in the field, experimental and numerical studies. The land area is also susceptible to floods. Numerical analysis for such geotechnical problems is largely expected to contribute to the conservation of cultural heritages. The present research presents an attempt and pilot study to design the PLAXIS 3D FE model to simulate ground problems, and to distort and analyze the stress of the complex structure of the Abu Serga church, which is loaded on plane level. Plastic modeling or Mohr–Coulomb model in advanced soil was used during the various stages of numerical analysis. Results are recorded and discussed with respect to stress and volumetric behavior of soil. Finally, the study represents the design studies and implementation of the inter-organizational retrofitting intervention and strengthening project for the oldest Coptic church in Egypt.

Diaspora policy in weakly governed arenas and the benefits of multipolar engagement: lessons from the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt

ABSTRACTMuch of the literature on diaspora policy frameworks assumes states are monolithic, with exclusively centralised decision-making and political and administrative capacity spread across decentralised units. Yet, decentralised units of government do engage directly with diasporas; and many countries seeking to engage their diasporas suffer from limited capacity and reach to jurisdictions far from their capitals. In weak governing structures, diaspora policy is likely to be less formal, and ad hoc. The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt is the de facto public service provider to Coptic communities in Egypt. Like the Egyptian state, it suffers from limited control of its decentralised dioceses. The Church's implicit and decentralised diaspora policy demonstrates the complexity and benefits of multipolar diaspora engagement. It offers a menu of options that may maximise the deepening of diaspora identity and the material contributions diasporas make in the country of origin, and the sustenance of both. The analysis supports a political economy, and especially governmentality, explanation for differences in diaspora policy.

The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity, by Robert Louis Wilken

The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity, by Robert Louis Wilken. New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 2012. x, 388 pp. $35.00 US (cloth). In The First Thousand Years. A Global History of Christianity, Robert Louis Wilken tells story of spread of Christian faith from Jerusalem eastward into Persian Empire, into Indian subcontinent, and as far east as China; westward into Iberian Peninsula and Ireland in Atlantic Ocean: northward into Scandinavia; and southward into Egypt and North Africa, as far south as Ethiopia. In other words, Wilken's purpose is not so much to paint a picture of Western Church in great and overwhelming detail, but to give a general impression of explosive spread of Christianity in centuries after life of Christ, and to paint that picture in all its rich diversity. To that end Wilken discusses at length Coptic Church in Egypt, non-Chalcedonian churches in Syria and eastward, Orthodox Church centred in Constantinople, and of course Catholic church centred on Rome. Temporally, author ends his narrative in west with reign of Charlemagne in ninth century and in cast with conversion of Vladimir, King of Rus, in late tenth century. At this point Wilken claims that, the map of early Christian world was largely complete (p. xi). Or, to frame matter more pessimistically, After end of first millennium, great period of Christian growth and expansion was (p. 359). The manuscript is arranged in such a way that chapters are very short and narrowly constructed thematically. This can at times give sense that book is more a series of essays, but it has advantage from a student's perspective of weaving a complex narrative while presenting material in manageable portions. Wilken also does a fine job of presenting material without getting bogged down in minutiae that some works on Christian history do. For example, Wilken successfully manages to convey diversity of thought on nature of Christ that split church so many times over course of first several centuries without delving into every little detail of seven definitive ecumenical councils. This is not an easy task for historians, but author manages it with grace and integrity. If there is one overarching theme to be identified in book, it is probably relationship of secular power structures with church, both in Western and Eastern worlds. Wilken notes throughout that whereas in west temporal rulers were always in a tug of war with Pope at best, in East, situation was opposite. The Emperors at Constantinople were, in essence, leaders of Eastern Church, on several occasions deposing a Patriarch when it suited their agendas. Wilken also notes that when it carne to various rulers converting to Christian faith, it was probably just as much political motivation that drove them as religious ones. …

Divorce and Remarriage of Orthodox Copts in Egypt: The 2008 State Council Ruling and the Amendment of the 1938 Personal Status Regulations

AbstractIn June 2008, the 1938 Personal Status Regulations for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt were amended to limit the grounds for divorce to adultery and change of religion. This revision followed a ruling of the State Council requiring Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to grant a divorced Orthodox Copt a license to remarry. The amendments ended a long-standing conflict between the Egyptian national courts and the Coptic Orthodox Church regarding the effects of judicial divorce: prior to the revision, thousands of couples divorced before the courts were considered by the Church to be still married. However, by restricting the possibilities for Orthodox Copts to obtain a divorce, the 2008 amendments may lead to an increase in conversions to other religious faiths to escape application of the revised 1938 regulations. In this essay, I analyze the 2008 amendments, the State Council ruling, landmark decisions of the Court of Cassation, comments by legal scholars and articles in newspapers, in an effort to assess the current status of divorce and remarriage among Orthodox Copts in Egypt and the problems generated by the application of conflicts rules between non-Muslim personal status laws in case of inter-religious marriages. At the end of the essay, I mention developments that took place in June 2010 after the release of a new ruling by the State Council.

Saintly Soap Operas: An examination of three Coptic saint dramas

“Walk the streets of Cairo or the village lanes in Egypt in any early evening and you will see the flicker of television screens and hear the dialogue music of the current serial (musalsal) Read the newspapers and you will find articles and cartoons that can be only understood if you are following these televised dramas. The serials…seem to set the very rhythms of national life.”1 This statement by Lila Abu-Lughod affirms what anyone who has spent a significant time in Egypt knows, that the serial drama (musalsal), whether it is on radio or television, has been and continues to be an important aspect of Egyptian popular culture. Abu-Lughod not only recognizes that the serial is a very popular source of entertainment but that it is a uniting factor for the Egyptian national community. It is hardly surprising, then, that a medium that is so pervasive and so intertwined in the national consciousness has been coopted by groups in Egypt to disseminate their ideas or ideologies. This study will focus on a specific incidence of this within the Coptic community: the co-option of the musalsal as a medium to portray the narratives of the lives of their saints, in effect hagiographies. This is, no doubt, an interesting development from a cultural standpoint because it represents the use of a form of entertainment typically reserved for love triangles, murder mysteries and various other mundane topics. The main goal of this study is to answer why the producers of these dramas have chosen the musalsal as a way to present the hagiographies. To help answer this question I have framed my discussion with two brief histories: first, that of television in Egypt, focusing on the importance of the musalsal in its development and second, that of the Coptic Church in Egypt. I then move from the general history to an examination of the importance of the hagiography of saints to the reform movement in the Coptic Church and to the creation of a Coptic “imagined community” or, as Paul Sedra puts it, “Coptism”.

The Relationship of the African Orthodox Church to the Orthodox Churches and its Importance for Appreciating the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black

Although one might not link Orthodox Christianity to Africans and African Americans, Orthodox Christianity has played a role in the religious lives of African Americans and Africans beyond the Oriental Orthodox Churches of Egypt and Ethiopia. This has been especially true in regard to Orthodox Christianity's intersection with the African Orthodox Church. An examination of the relationship of the Orthodox Church to the African Orthodox Church provides a useful context in which to understand the current American movement known as the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black. Fr. Moses Berry started the brotherhood of St. Moses the Black and his concerns, as well as themes found amongst members of the brotherhood, correlate with earlier themes surrounding the African Orthodox Church. This suggests ways by which the Orthodox Churches may reach out to the African-American populations in America in the twenty-first century.

Book Review: The Churches of Egypt: From the Journey of the Holy Family to the Present Day

Book Review: The Churches of Egypt: From the Journey of the Holy Family to the Present Day

Smoke alarm from Afghanistan to Morocco

Smoke alarm from Afghanistan to Morocco

Atanasio di Alessandria: Lettere Festali Anonimo: Indice delle Lettere Festali (review)

Reviewed by: Atanasio di Alessandria: Lettere Festali Anonimo: Indice delle Lettere Festali A. M. Casiday Alberto Camplani Atanasio di Alessandria: Lettere Festali Anonimo: Indice delle Lettere Festali Milan: Paoline, 2003 Pp. 697. €40. Some ten years have passed since Camplani published his first lengthy study of the Festal Letters of Athanasius, and this latest publication on the material is quite extraordinary. The book under review features the first translation of the letters into a modern language that takes into account both the Coptic and the Syriac evidence (as well as the indirect Greek tradition); it also provides a translation of the Syriac Index to the Festal Letters. For the latter, Camplani bases his translation on Martin and Albert's Sources chrétiennes volume; for the former, the underlying basis for the translation is more complex. Camplani has assembled the various published versions and collated them. From oblique remarks in the text (e.g., 185 n. 4), it seems that the next stage of his research will be a published edition of the Coptic and Syriac versions. This will be a handy thing to have because at present the Coptic version in particular has been augmented by numerous finds published in several different journals and books since Lefort's publication in 1965 of the Lettres festales et pastorales en copte (CSCO 150-11). There is to my knowledge less work to be done on the Syriac version, where Cureton's text is after more than a century and a half still the standard. The new volume will be eagerly awaited since it will consolidate the recent discoveries, but more to the point it will also be eagerly awaited since Camplani's work is meticulous and of a very high standard. To support the material translated here, Camplani provides an introduction that is in itself book-length and that is divided into three segments: 1) The Festal Letters: a literary genre of the Egyptian church, 2) Athanasius' church through the Festal Letters, and 3) Theology and the concept of man in the Festal Letters. There are also ten appendices, in which he provides detailed arguments and tabular information regarding the chronology of the letters and other relevant points as well as a threefold index for references to scripture, names (ancient and modern), and analytic themes. Throughout, Camplani is cognizant of contemporary research, especially that of David Brakke, Annick Martin and Ewa Wipszycka. The character of the introduction is dense and often technical, but it is well worth reading for its valuable insights into the history of the church in Egypt. [End Page 366] In all, the volume is an extremely important contribution to the study of Athanasius, and, considering the wide-ranging scope of Camplani's introductory chapters, it should be available to everyone engaged in research on Christianity in Egypt to ca. 400. The price of the book, which is quite reasonable (even modest), ought to facilitate this. At the risk of being churlish, it is appropriate to make a few observations about minor aspects of the book that are not entirely satisfactory. First, since the introduction is generous in length, it is not obvious why the individual letters are given individual introductions that are in a few cases longer than the letters they introduce. The typical letter is prefaced with historical-biographical details, bibliographic notes on the source(s) translated, and an expanded outline of its contents. Had the introduction been published as a monograph in its own right, this expanded coverage would have been indispensable, but I am not certain that the added pages actually contribute information that is not otherwise available in the book. In rare cases the present arrangement creates a situation in which the "Scheda introduttiva" is far more interesting than the letter it introduces. Secondly, there is occasional evidence of the author's preoccupation with how Athanasius stands in relation to Origen, but that interest is not pursued systematically, and it very rarely leads to a conclusion. It is interesting to know how the two compare as regards, e.g., the fundamental difference between God and creatures (123) or the epinoiai (126, n. 15), but Camplani only gives this sort of exercise his sustained attention...

A History of the Church in Africa (review)

African A History of the Church in Africa. By Bengt Sundkler and Christopher Steed. [Studia Missionalia Upsaliensis LXXIV] (New York: Cambridge University Press. 2000. Pp. xix, 1232; 8 maps. $140.00.) Bengt Sundkler made a splendid reputation as a missionary, teacher, and scholar during his lifetime, in which he is best known for his painstaking and groundbreaking studies of African Independent Churches. His first major work, Bantu Prophets in South Africa, published in 1948, is widely recognized as a path-breaking study of African religiosity and the syncretic merger of African and Western Christianity. He was also widely regarded as being more sympathetic to the Africans than many churchmen had been, even though as a leader of the Lutheran church he had necessarily to regard the Independent Churches he studied as rivals, and as possessing a less than perfect form of Christianity. Still his reputation was such that Sundkler was challenged in the 1970's to write a comprehensive history of the Church in Africa. He died in 1995, before the work was completed, and Christopher Steed, his close associate, finally brought the work to press five years later. The Church in Africa is necessarily an ambitious book, over 1,200 pages long, for the Christian church has deep roots in the African continent, and Sundkler was prepared in theory at least to take all of it on-the ancient church in Egypt and Nubia, St. Augustine's church in North Africa, the long and tangled, if not fascinating, history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Catholic missionary churches in Kongo or Angola after European expansion. And of course, Sundkler had to deal with the tremendous spread of Christianity in Africa with the evangelical movement in Western Europe and America from the mid-nineteenth century, culminating in the colonial church. A quick look at the composition of the work quickly reveals Sundkler's own priorities. The ancient Church receives a scant thirty-five pages, and another section of less than forty pages covers all the pre-nineteenth century missionary churches as well as the history of the whole Ethiopian Church up to 1800. While this shortchanging of early history certainly deprives the book of its ostensible claim to be a history of the church in Africa as a comprehensive book, it does make the work a very serious and careful survey of the modern church in Africa. For his chosen topic, Sundkler approaches his topic systematically and comprehensively. He covers all the various denominations, Protestant, Catholic, and Ethiopian Orthodox, and covers all regions of Africa. The book is organized regionally and chronologically, and one has the impression that every region and denomination received careful, equal weight. Sundkler's learning and research, not always represented by his footnotes, which are largely to secondary literature, is impressive. One gets the feeling of solidity, comprehensiveness, judgment, and care throughout the later chapters of the book. Yet, for all this scholarship and knowledge founded on half a century of personal experience in the church in Africa, one feels that Sundkler did not always engage his topic fully. …

Government Intervention in the Coptic Church in Egypt during the Fatimid Period

The Muslim WorldVolume 91, Issue 3-4 p. 381-398 Government Intervention in the Coptic Church in Egypt during the Fatimid Period Marlis J. Saleh, Marlis J. Saleh University of Chicago Chicago, IllinoisSearch for more papers by this author Marlis J. Saleh, Marlis J. Saleh University of Chicago Chicago, IllinoisSearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 April 2007 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.2001.tb03723.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Volume91, Issue3-4September 2001Pages 381-398 RelatedInformation

CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM IN TWENTIETH CENTURY EGYPT: CONFLICT AND COOPERATION

PETER E. MAKARI [*] In the Middle East, where Judaism, Christianity and Islam all find their roots, the issue of Christian presence has recently taken on a significant urgency among church leaders. Manifestations of Christian presence can be many, including quantitative, and several forms of quantitative presence. In a region where the Christian population is a numerical minority, presence means daily interaction with, and acceptance by and of the larger Muslim majority. If the commitment to the transformation of society has relevance to the Christian population, that presence also means involvement in social, economic and political life to the extent possible. Egypt is the largest of the Middle Eastern countries, and it might be said that its religious composition is the most homogeneous in the region. Much has been written on Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt over the past fourteen centuries of interaction. It is rich in religious and intellectual history, and has been the focus of much attention. Tolerance by one community of the other is a particularly crucial issue. As we focus on the significance of Christian presence in the Middle East, it is appropriate to examine Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt, where social dynamics and personal identity are highly determined by religious association. Egyptian politics has been an important realm in which manifestations of Christian-Muslim relations have been found, and its examination is therefore relevant. We will focus on the social and political realms, recognizing their importance in 'the assertion of a Christian presence within the context of larger society. Egypt's religious communities: a brief historical background The vast majority of modem Egyptians adhere to one of two main faiths, Islam and Christianity. Historically, Egypt became Christian early in the history of Christian expansion. St. Mark the Evangelist brought Christianity to Egypt in the first century AD. The church he established in Alexandria is the Orthodox Church which today is the largest Christian church in the Middle East. The word Copt, which in common usage refers to Egyptian Christians, particularly Orthodox Christians, is a word borrowed by the Arabic from the language. was the fourth stage of the development of the ancient Egyptian pharaonic language. It borrowed the Greek alphabet, adding four characters to accommodate sounds of the Egyptian language not existing in Greek. The word Coptic literally means Egyptian. By the seventh century, most of Egypt's population, the Copts, was Christian. In 642, the Arab armies, under the leadership of 'Amr ibn al-'As, invaded Egypt, bringing with them the Arabic language and Islam. After less than three centuries the Christians no longer were a majority, most of Egypt's population having converted to Islam. The word Copt, though, has remained in Arabic usage since the Arab invasion, but came to refer to those Egyptians who did not convert to Islam, i.e., the Christians. The language faded as the predominant language as Arabic replaced it in administration and then in daily life, first in the cities, and later in the villages; yet it maintained its central place in the liturgy of the Orthodox Church. Islam had become the majority religion in Egypt by the end of the tenth century, and remains so to this day. According to the 1976 census, the percentage of Christians in Egypt was 6.2%. Many Christians feel this is not a fair representation, and the Orthodox church claimed an unofficial membership of 8 million, or nearly 22% of the population of 36.6 million in 1976. [1] It is therefore difficult to arrive at a reliable figure. Today, the Christian population in Egypt consists of members of the Orthodox Church as well as members of the Catholic Church and members of sixteen Protestant denominations. The largest Protestant church in Egypt, and in fact in the Middle East, is the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church, which was formally established in the 1860s as a result of the missionary efforts of the United Presbyterian Church of the United States. …

Canon Formation and Social Conflict in Fourth-Century Egypt: Athanasius of Alexandria's Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter

In histories of the formation of the Christian biblical canon, the thirty-ninthFestal Letterof Athanasius of Alexandria, written for Easter 367, holds a justifiably prominent place. Not only is this letter the earliest extant Christian document to list precisely the twenty-seven books that eventually formed the generally accepted canon of the New Testament, but Athanasius is also the first Christian author known to have applied the term “canonized” (κανονιςόμενα) specifically to the books that made up his Old and New Testaments. Athanasius's canon is explicitly closed: “In these books alone,” the bishop declares, “the teaching of piety is proclaimed. ‘Let no one add to or subtract from them’ (LXX Deut 12:32).” The significance of this document goes beyond these formal and terminological issues, however, for the extant fragments of the letter provide a glimpse into the social and political factors that accompanied the attempted formation of a closed canon of the Bible in one ancient Christian setting. Christianity in fourthcentury Egypt was characterized by diverse and conflicting modes of social identity and spiritual formation: study groups led by charismatic teachers, Melitian communities centered around the veneration of martyrs, and the emerging structure of imperial orthodoxy headed by Athanasius all presented themselves as legitimate expressions of Christian piety. Within this complex setting, the formation of a biblical canon with a proper mode of interpretation was an important step in the formation of an official catholic church in Egypt with its parish-centered spirituality.

The Church in Egypt

The Church in Egypt

The Early Christian Church in Egypt

The Early Christian Church in Egypt

The Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt. By Alfred J. Butler.

<i>The Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt</i>. By Alfred J. Butler.