Date: Wed, 16 Mar 94 18:00:00 -0700 Subject: Copt-Net Newsletter: Issue #8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ___ ___ /___\ ___ IHC | | nXC ______| |______ /______| |______\ | _|_ | |______ | ______| | | | ______ ______ ______ | | __ _____ _______ /_____/\ /_____/\ /_____/\ | | /\_\___ /\____\ /\______\ \ ___\/ \ __ \ \ \ __ \ \ | | / / /___\ / / ___/ \/__ __/ _\ \ \_____\ \ \ \ \_\ \_\ \ \___| |____/ / ___ /_/ / /_\___ / / / / \ \ \____ \ \ \ \ \ \ ___\/ | | / / // / / / / ___/ / / /\ / \ \/___/\ \ \_\ \ \ \ \ \ | | / / // / / / / /_\ / / / \ / \_____\/ \_____\/ \_\/ | | \/_/ \/_/ \/____/ \/_/ \ / \ /____________________________________________________________________________\ \ / \ An electronic newsletter about the Coptic Orthodox Church / \ / \ "Blessed is Egypt My people" / \____________________________________________________________________/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents ----------------- 1. The Copts and Christian Civilization (Part 1). 2. Saint Demiana and the Forty Virgins. 3. The Dead Sea Scrolls and their significance. 4. The Origin, Development, and Philosophy of Coptic Art. Readers' Corner --------------- 1. What are the rules of fasting taught by the Coptic Orthodox Church? 2. Announcing the Copt-Net Home Page on the World Wide Web. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- H A P P Y A N D B L E S S E D L E N T ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Copts and Christian Civilization Aziz S. Atiya Introduction ------------ Occasionally, the Copts have been described as a schismatic eastern Christian minority, a lonely community in the land of their forebears. They have been forgotten since they chose living in oblivion after the tragedy of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) which was followed by a new wave of persecution inflicted upon them by fellow Christians and Byzantine rulers. Though they were not unknown to mediaeval and early modern travellers from Europe, Western Christendom appears to have lost sight of the Copts until 1860 when a Presbyterian mission came to convert them to Christianity, and the Coptic archbishop of Asiut asked them the rhetorical question: "We have been living with Christ for more than 1800 years, how long have you been living with him?" However, since the rediscovery of the Copts and their Christianity, interest has been intensified in the attempt to explore the religious traditions and the historical background of this most ancient form of primitive faith. Scholars of all creeds were stunned as the pages of Coptic history began to reveal the massive contributions of the Copts to Christian civilization in its formative centuries. This brief essay is intended to outline the major segments of these contributions and to show the need for the rewriting of numerous chapters of early Christian history. But let me first define the term Copt [1] and introduce you to some of the relevant data about that community. In all simplicity, this term is equivalent to the word Egyptian. It is derived from the Greek "Aigyptos", which in turn is a corruption of the ancient Egyptian "Hak-ka-Ptah", i.e., the house of the temple of the spirit of Ptah, a most highly revered deity in Egyptian mythology; this was the name of Memphis, the oldest capital of the unified Upper and Lower Egypt. When the Arabs came in the seventh century, Egypt became known as "Dar-al-Qibt", home of the Copts, who were the Christian Egyptians to distinguish them from the native Muslims. Ethnically, the Copts were neither Semitic nor Hamitic, but may be described as the descendants of a Mediterranean race that that entered the Nile valley in unrecorded times. As such they are the successors of the ancient Egyptians, sometimes even defined as the "modern sons of the Pharaohs" [2]. Traditionally, the Copts kept together in the same villages or the same quarters of larger cities until the dawn of modern democracy in the Middle East during the Nineteenth century, which rendered their segregation quite meaningless. Numerically, it is not easy to give a precise estimate of the Copts. Whereas the official census tends to reduce their number to less than three million [6% of the population] for political and administrative reasons, some Copts contend that they are ten million [20% of the population], which may be an exaggeration. A conservative estimate may be set between six and seven million [12-14% of the population], until an authoritative and factual census conducted by the church reaches its completion. The wider circle of Coptic obedientiaries who are not ethnic Copts, however, includes at least twenty million Ethiopians, more than five million other Africans, and another million of mixed racial origins in other continents. Doctrinally, therefore, followers of the Coptic Alexandrine Christianity must be reckoned in excess of thirty million, making the Coptic Church one of the largest units in Eastern Christendom. [All the figures in this essay reflect the populations of 1978]. The origins of Coptic Christianity need no great elaboration. Saint Mark the Evangelist is its recognized founder and first patriarch, in the fourth decade of the first century. During the first two centuries, there was a continuous admixture of paganism and Christianity in many parts of Egypt. But the fact remains that Christianity must have penetrated the country far enough to justify the discovery of the oldest Biblical papyri in Coptic language buried in the sands of remote regions in Upper Egypt. Most of these predate the oldest authoritative Greek versions of the Scripture in the fourth and fifth centuries including the Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Alexandrinus, the Vaticanus, and the Codex Ephraemi Syri Rescriptus [3], which constitute in all probability four of the fifty copies of the Bible ordered by Constantine the Great after he declared Christianity the official religion of the state by the Edict of Milan in 312 A.D. Fragments of those papyri dating from the second century, both Coptic and Greek are to be found in numerous manuscript repositories in the world. The most monumental collection is the Chester Beatty Papyri [4], now in Dublin, Ireland. These manuscripts have been dated by the classical scholar V. Wilcken at about 200 A.D. Another staggering papyrus collection, this time in Sahidic and Sub-Akhmimic Coptic dialects, numbering fifty-one texts, thirty-six hitherto unknown, most Gnostic or apocryphal, was discovered far up the Nile Valley at Nag-Hammadi in the 1930's [5]. The importance of this discovery, which is regarded by scholars studying its contents as peer and parallel to the Dead Sea Scrolls, lies in the fact that it was found in the remote regions of Upper Egypt. All this proves beyond a shadow of doubt the depth of the penetration of the new faith among the Copts. The Catechetical School of Alexandria ------------------------------------- In fact the fiery activity which flared up in the field of Biblical and theological studies in Egypt must be identified with the foundation and development of the Catechetical School of Alexandria before 200 A.D. The first mention of it was in the life of Pantaenus, its first president, who died in 190 A.D. This is the earliest contribution of the Copts to Christian civilization and culture. Created as a rival to the ancient pagan Museion of the Ptolemies which survived until the assassination of Hypatia in 415 A.D., the Catechetical School became the first great seat of Christian learning in the whole world. We must remember that primitive Christianity came to the world and to Egypt as what many have described as an amorphous faith, based on the life and sayings or wisdom of Jesus without formal dogmatization. It was in this fortress of Christian scholarship, the Catechetical School, that Christianity and the Bible were subjected to the very rigorous studies which generated the first systematic theology and the most extensive exegetic enquiry into the Scripture. The greatest names of the era are associated with that institution, which continued to flourish in the age of Roman persecutions. Pantaenus [6], the founding father and first president of the School, started by bridging the gap between dynastic Egypt and the Greek Gospels through the propagation of the use of the archaic Greek alphabet instead of the cumbersome Demotic script, thus rendering the Bible more readily accessible to the Coptic reader. His successor was Clement [7] of Alexandria, a liberal who wanted to reconcile Christian tenets with Greek philosophy. The School finally came to age under Origen [8], a scholar of pure Coptic stock who is thought to have been the most prolific author of all time. Six thousand tracts, treatises and other works of considerable bulk have been cited under his name by his old pupil, Bishop Epiphanius of Salamis in Cyprus, though his literary remains now are fragmentary and we must assume that this number could have been possible only by a collaborative effort of the whole School. His Hexapla [9], a collation of texts of the Bible in six columns from Greek and Hebrew sources, is only one instance of his gigantic contributions. His labors in exegesis [10] went beyond those of any other expositor, for he wrote most detailed commentaries on every book of the Old Testament and the New. He established for the first time in history a systematic theology [11] from which all students of divinity start to this day. His philosophy [12] generated much controversy, not only in his time, but in succeeding centuries. We hear of the existence of two camps bearing his name in subsequent periods: the Origenist and anti-Origenist schools of thought [13]. His pupils included some of the most illustrious divines of all time. Among them was Heraclas, whose preferment to the throne of Saint Mark carried with it the title of "Pope" for the first time in history and long before the Bishop of Rome (Episcopus Romanorum Servus Sevorum Dei) claimed that dignity. Another pupil was Didymus the Blind, a forceful theologian and author who combated Arianism. Actually the well-known pillars of the faith in the Alexandrian hierarchy were both graduates of the Catechetical School, Athanasius the Apostolic and Cyril the Great. The international panel of its scholars who contributed to Christian scholarship in the Byzantine and Roman worlds was represented by such immortal names as Saint Gregory Nazienzen, Saint Basil, Saint Jerome, and Rufinus, the ecclesiastical historian [14]. It was a picturesque age, an age of great saints and heretics, an age in which the Copts worshipped openly in defiance of their Roman persecutors and sought the crown of martyrdom rather than pray in catacombs and subterranean galleries, an age in which paganism finally gasped its last idolatrous breath under Julian the Apostate (332-363 A.D.) and in which the Museion was liquidated as the last refuge of Neoplatonist pagan philosophy. In sum, the foundation of an institutionalized system of Christian divinity was laid down within the walls of the Catechetical School of Alexandria and in deliberations and massive writings of its theologians. It was on this foundation that the next universal movement could formulate Christian doctrines and dogmas through the official gatherings of the bishops of Christendom in the General Councils of the Church. In other words, the formal emergence of Christianity as an organized religious system passed through two stages of evolution. The first took place in the open and informal philosophical-theological arena of the Catechetical School, the equivalent of the modern university with its free and unbridled thinking. This stage was in advance of the second, congressional phase of codification of the outcome of those deliberations. in the case of Christianity, the second phase is described as the Oecumenical Movement, in which the hierarchy of all churches met to decide what was canonical and what was uncanonical in Christian beliefs and traditions. References ---------- [1] A.S. Atiya, "A History of Eastern Christianity" (London, 1967, reprinted Notre Dame, Ind., 1968), p. 16. [2] S.N. Leeder, "Modern Sons of the Pharaohs: A Study of the Manners and Customs of the Copts of Egypt" (New York, 1918). [3] Jack Finegan, "Light from the Ancient East: The Archeological Background of the Hebrew-Christian Religion" (Princeton, N.J. 1951), pp. 324ff., 340ff. [4] Frederic A. Kenyon, "The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri", 14 vols. (London, 1933-1958); idem, "Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts (London, 1940). [5] "The Facsimile Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices", 14 vols. (Leiden, 1972). [6] J. Quasten, "Patrology", 3 vols. (Westminster, Md., 1951-1960), II, 4; A. von Harnack, "Geschischte der Altchristlichen Literatur bis Eusebius", 3 vols. (Leipzig, 1895-1904), I, 291-296; G. Bardy, "Aux origines de l'Ecole d'Alexandrie, Recherches de sciences religieuses", XXVII (Paris, 1937), 65-90. [7] J.E.L. Oulton and H. Chadwick, "Alexandrine Christianity" (Philadelphia, 1956), pp. 56ff.; J. Quasten, "Patrology", 3 vols. (Westminster, Md., 1951-1960), II, 4; A. von Harnack, "Geschischte der Altchristlichen Literatur bis Eusebius", 3 vols. (Leipzig, 1895-1904), II, 5-36; J. Patrick, "Clement of Alexandria" (Edinburgh, 1914), passim. [8] J.E.L. Oulton and H. Chadwick, "Alexandrine Christianity" (Philadelphia, 1956), pp. 171ff.; J. Quasten, "Patrology", 3 vols. (Westminster, Md., 1951-1960), II, 37-101; W.E. Barnes, "The Third Century Greatest Christian -- Origen, The Exposition Times", no. 44 (Edinburgh, 1932-1933), pp. 295-300; W.R. Inge, "Origen", British Academy Lecture on a Master Mind (London, 1946). [9] H.H. Howorth, "The Hexapla and Tetrapla of Origen", Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, no. 24 (1902), pp. 147-172; H.M. Orlinsky, "The Columnar Order of the Hexapla", Jewish Quarterly, XXVII (1936), 137-149; W.E. Staples. "The Second Column of Origen's Hexapla", Journal of the American Oriental Society, LIX (1939), 71-80. [10] A. von Harnack, "Der Kirchengeschichtlische Erfolg der exetischen Arbeiten des Origenes" (Leipzig, 1919); F. Prat, "Origene le theologien et l'exegete", 3rd ed. (Paris, 1907). [11] W. Fairweather, "Origen and Greek Patristic Theology", (New York, 1901); J. Quasten, "Patrology", 3 vols. (Westminster, Md., 1951-1960), II, 75ff.; A. von Harnack, "History of Dogmas", translation from 3rd ed. by N. Buchanan, 7vols. (London, 1987-1999), IV, 340ff. [12] G.W. Butterworth, "Origen on First Principles" (London, 1936). [13] L.B. Radford, "Three Teachers of Alexandria -- Theognostus, Pierius and Peter: A Study in the Early History of Origenism and Anti-Origenism" (Cambridge, 1908). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- Saint Demiana How many of us ever stand up and tell other people what we believe about Jesus Christ? How many of us are really convinced that our faith is so completely a part of what we are that is worth proclaiming happily to those who question us? Being one of Jesus disciples can not be easy, for as Jesus once said: "Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils... You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, and bear testimony before them and the Gentiles... Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you will say... It will be given to you in that hour... You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:16ff) Toward the end of the third century, there lived a Christian man named Marcos. He was the ruler of the Borolos and Zahfaran districts in Egypt. Marcos had only one daughter called Demiana. Her beauty and good character were legendary. Her father loved her dearly, and he did his best to raise her up in a true Christian way. Demiana loved to pray and read the holy books in the seclusion of her room. She often cried, while praying, as she felt the love of her Savior the Christ fill her little heart. When Demiana was old enough, her father wanted her to get married to one of his noble friends, but Demiana refused. She said that she gave herself up as a bride to Christ, and that she intended to live without marriage all her life, so she could serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Demiana also asked her father to build a house for her on the outskirts of the city, so that she could live in it, with her friends, as a nun away from the world and its temptations. Knowing her deep desire for a righteous life, her father reluctantly granted Demiana her wish, and built her a large palace. Demiana changed the palace into a convent, and lived in it with forty of her friends. They were all unmarried girls, and the Lord's hand was with them, giving them strength and comfort. At that time Diocletian the Emperor began to torture and kill the Christians who refused to worship his idols (Apollos and Artemis). When Marcos was invited to kneel before the statues and offer incense, he refused. But Diocletian convinced him by promising to give him a higher position in the Roman Empire. When Demiana heard that her father had knelt before the idols, she left the palace and went immediately to him. She said, "How could you deny your Savior who shed his blood to save you, and kneel down to stone idols dwelled by satan. What you did, my father, is cowardly and shameful." When Marcos heard his daughter's words he came back to his senses. He said, "Woe to me, how could I fall in the Devil's trap and worship those idle statues." Then he got up immediately, and went to Diocletian. He crossed himself in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in front of everybody, and cried with a loud voice, "Let every one know that I worship the God of heaven and earth, my only God and Lord Jesus the Christ." Diocletian was troubled and tried his best to change Marcos' mind, but this time the Holy Spirit had filled his heart, and he testified even boldly that he was willing to die than to deny his Savior. Diocletian got really infuriated, and ordered the soldiers to kill him. When the Emperor learned that it was Marcos' daughter Demiana who had changed her father's mind, he ordered one of his commanders to take one hundred soldiers and attack the palace. "First, try to convince her to worship our idols", said Diocletian. "But, if she refuses, threaten her, torture her, and even kill her so that she will be an example for the other Christians." When Demiana saw the soldiers approach the palace, she prayed to God to strengthen their faith until death. Then she told her friends, "If you are willing to die for Jesus' sake you can stay, but if you can not stand the torturing of the soldiers, you would better hurry and escape right now." The forty virgins answered that they would not lose the eternal life just to enjoy a few moments in this evil world. When the commander relayed Diocletian's message to Demiana, she answered, "How can I leave my Lord and God Jesus Christ and bow in front of blind, dumb, and deaf statues! You and your Emperor should be embarrassed of your shameful deeds, and I am telling you that even if you kill me, my faith will not be shaken." The commander was very embarrassed, and he ordered the soldiers to torture Demiana in different cruel ways. As she felt the terrible pain through her body, she lifted her face up toward heaven, and prayed, "My Lord Jesus, the Son of the Most High who was crucified in order to save me, give me the strength to stand the pain." The forty virgins were watching and crying, but Demiana told them, "Do not cry, my sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ was tortured and killed because He loved us, even though He did not commit one sin. How much more should I welcome death in His name, especially if I am sure of the heavenly glory awaiting me!" After the soldiers got tired of torturing Demiana, they threw her half- dead body in jail. But the Archangel Michael appeared to her, touched her with his heavenly wings, and healed her wounds. The next day, the commander thought that she had died, but when she stood in front of him in perfect health he was very puzzled. When some people saw what had happened, they cried, "We are Christians. We believe in the God of Demiana. We have no other God but Jesus Christ." The commander was even more troubled, and killed all of them. The torturing of Demiana continued in an even crueller way for many days, but again, and again the Archangel Michael appeared and healed her. On the last day before her martyrdom, our Lord Jesus Himself came to her and told her, "Have courage, my chosen one. I have prepared for you the crown of your wedding in heaven. Your name will be remembered forever as it will be the cause for many miracles, and in this place a great church will be built to honor your blessed name." Finally the commander ordered the soldiers to behead Demiana by the sword, along with the forty virgins. The total number of people who were martyred with Demiana was about four hundred. Few years later, when King Constantine (the first Christian king) came to power, he sent his mother Queen Helena to Demiana's palace. Helena buried all the bodies that she found in great honor. She put Demiana's body on a bed made of ivory and decorated it with silk linen, and in the same place she built a church. Saint Demiana has also a great convent in Belkas and many churches in Egypt bear her name. May the prayers and the blessings of this great martyr, Saint Demiana be with us all. Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- The Dead Sea Scrolls -------------------- Introduction ------------ In 1947, young Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave and found jars filled with ancient scrolls. That initial discovery by the Bedouins yielded seven scrolls and began a search that lasted nearly a decade and eventually produced thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. During those same years, archaeologists searching for a habitation close to the caves that might help identify the people who deposited the scrolls, excavated the Qumran ruin, a complex of structures located on a barren terrace between the cliffs where the caves are found and the Dead Sea. Within a fairly short time after their discovery, historical, paleographic, and linguistic evidence, as well as carbon-14 dating, established that the scrolls and the Qumran ruin dated from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. They were indeed ancient! Coming from the late Second Temple Period, a time when Jesus of Nazareth lived, they are older than any other surviving biblical manuscripts by almost one thousand years. Since their discovery nearly half a century ago, the scrolls and the identity of the nearby settlement have been the object of great scholarly and public interest, as well as heated debate and controversy. Why were the scrolls hidden in the caves? Who placed them there? Who lived in Qumran? Were its inhabitants responsible for the scrolls and their presence in the caves? Of what significance are the scrolls to Judaism and Christianity? The Dead Sea ------------ The Dead Sea is located in Israel and Jordan, about 15 miles east of Jerusalem. (A map of the Dead Sea Region is available). It is extremely deep (averaging about 1,000 feet), salty (some parts containing the highest amount of salts possible), and the lowest body of water in the world. The Dead Sea is supplied by a number of smaller streams, springs, and the Jordan River. Because of its low elevation and its position in a deep basin, the climate of the Dead Sea area is unusual. Its very high evaporation does produce a haze yet its atmospheric humidity is low. Adjacent areas to it are very arid and favorable for the preservation of materials like the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Bible's description, in Genesis 19, of a destructive earthquake near the Dead Sea area during the time of Abraham is borne out by archaeological and historic investigation. While no evidence remains of the five cities of the plain (Zeboim, Admah, Bela or Zoar, Sodom, and Gomorrah) their sites are believed to be beneath the waters at the southern end of the sea. The Qumran Library ------------------ The scrolls and scroll fragments recovered in the Qumran environs represent a voluminous body of Jewish documents, a veritable "library", dating from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. Unquestionably, the "library," which is the greatest manuscript find of the twentieth century, demonstrates the rich literary activity of Second Temple Period Jewry and sheds insight into centuries pivotal to both Judaism and Christianity. The library contains some books or works in a large number of copies, yet others are represented only fragmentarily by mere scraps of parchment. There are tens of thousands of scroll fragments. The number of different compositions represented is almost one thousand, and they are written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. There is less agreement on the specifics of what the Qumran library contains. According to many scholars, the chief categories represented among the Dead Sea Scrolls are: Biblical Those works contained in the Hebrew Bible. All of the books of the Bible are represented in the Dead Sea Scroll collection except Esther. Apocryphal or pseudepigraphical Those works which are omitted from various canons of the Bible and included in others [The Coptic canonical Bible includes some of these works]. Sectarian Those scrolls related to a pietistic commune and include ordinances, biblical commentaries, apocalyptic visions, and liturgical works. While the group producing the sectarian scrolls is believed by many to be the Essenes, there are other scholars who state that there is too little evidence to support the view that one sect produced all of the sectarian material. Also, there are scholars who believe there is a fourth category of scroll materials which is neither biblical, apocryphal, nor "sectarian." In their view, such scrolls, which may include "Songs of the the Sabbath Sacrifice", should be designated simply as contemporary Jewish writing. The Qumran Community -------------------- Like the scrolls themselves, the nature of the Qumran settlement has aroused much debate and differing opinions. Located on a barren terrace between the limestone cliffs of the Judean desert and the maritime bed along the Dead Sea, the Qumran site was excavated by Pere Roland de Vaux, a French Dominican, as part of his effort to find the habitation of those who deposited the scrolls in the nearby caves. The excavations uncovered a complex of structures, 262 by 328 feet which de Vaux suggested were communal in nature. In de Vaux's view the site was the wilderness retreat of the Essenes, a separatist Jewish sect of the Second Temple Period, a portion of whom had formed an ascetic monastic community. According to de Vaux, the sectarians inhabited neighboring locations, most likely caves, tents, and solid structures, but depended on the center for communal facilities such as stores of food and water. Following de Vaux's interpretation and citing ancient historians as well as the nature of some scroll texts for substantiation, many scholars believe the Essene community wrote, copied, or collected the scrolls at Qumran and deposited them in the caves of the adjacent hills. Others dispute this interpretation, claiming either that the scroll sect was Sadducean in nature; that the site was no monastery but rather a Roman fortress or a winter villa; that the Qumran site has little if anything to do with the scrolls; or that the evidence available does not support a single definitive answer. Whatever the nature of the habitation, archaeological and historical evidence indicates that the excavated settlement was founded in the second half of the second century B.C.E., during the time of the Maccabees, a priestly Jewish family which ruled Judea in the second and first centuries B.C.E. A hiatus in the occupation of the site is linked to evidence of a huge earthquake. Qumran was abandoned about the time of the Roman incursion of 68 C.E., two years before the collapse of Jewish self-government in Judea and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Today - 2,000 Years Later ------------------------- About two thousand years elapsed between the time the scrolls were deposited in the caves of the barren hills surrounding the Dead Sea and their discovery in 1947. The fact that they survived for twenty centuries, that they were found accidentally by Bedouin shepherds, that they are the largest and oldest body of manuscripts relating to the Bible and to the time of Jesus of Nazareth make them a truly remarkable archaeological find. Since their discovery, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been the subject of great scholarly and public interest. For scholars they represent an invaluable source for exploring the nature of post- biblical times and probing the sources of two of the world's great religions. For the public, they are artifacts of great significance, mystery, and drama. Interest in the scrolls has, if anything, intensified in recent years. Media coverage has given prominence to scholarly debates over the meaning of the scrolls, the Qumran ruin, as well as particular scroll fragments, raising questions destined to increase attention and heighten the Dead Sea Scrolls mystery. Did the scrolls come from the library of the Second Temple or other libraries and were they hidden to prevent their destruction by the Romans? Was the Qumran site a winter villa for a wealthy Jerusalem family or was it a Roman fortress? Was it a monastery not for Essenes but for a Sadducean sect? Does this mean we need to revise our view of Jewish religious beliefs during the last centuries of the Second Temple? Do the Dead Sea Scrolls provide clues to hidden treasures? Since the late 1980s, no controversy has been more heated than that surrounding access to the scrolls and the movement to accelerate their publication. The push by scholars to gain what the "Biblical Archaeology Review" characterized as "intellectual freedom and the right to scholarly access" has had significant results. In 1988, the administration for scroll research, the Israel Antiquities Authority, began to expand the number of scroll assignments. By 1992, they included more than fifty scholars. In 1991, a computer-generated version as well as a two-volume edition of the scroll photographs were published by the Biblical Archaeology Society. Late in the same year, the Huntington Library of California made available to all scholars the photographic security copies of the scrolls on deposit in its vault. Closing the circle, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced that it too would be issuing an authorized microfiche edition, complete with detailed indices. Judaism and Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls ------------------------------------------------- The Dead Sea Scrolls include a range of contemporary documents that serve as a window on a turbulent and critical period in the history of Judaism. In addition to the three groups identified by Josephus (Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes), Judaism was further divided into numerous religious sects and political parties. With the destruction of the Temple and the commonwealth in 70 C.E., all that came to an end. Only the Judaism of the Pharisees--Rabbinic Judaism--survived. Reflected in Qumran literature is a Judaism in transition: moving from the religion of Israel as described in the Bible to the Judaism of the rabbis as expounded in the Mishnah (a third-century compilation of Jewish laws and customs which forms the basis of modern Jewish practice). The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to the events described in the New Testament, have added to our understanding of the Jewish background of Christianity. Scholars have pointed to similarities between beliefs and practices outlined in the Qumran literature and those of early Christians. These parallels include comparable rituals of baptism, communal meals, and property. Most interesting is the parallel organizational structures: the sectarians divided themselves into twelve tribes led by twelve chiefs, similar to the structure of the early Church, with twelve apostles who, according to Jesus, would to sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Many scholars believe that both the literature of Qumran and the early Christian teachings stem from a common stream within Judaism and do not reflect a direct link between the Qumran community and the early Christians. Conclusion ---------- The Dead Sea Scrolls have been the subject of avid interest and curiosity for nearly fifty years. Today, scholars agree on their significance but disagree on who produced them. They debate specific passages of individual scrolls and are still assessing their impact on the foundations of Judaism and Christianity. For the public in this country and throughout the world, the scrolls have an aura of reverence and intrigue which is reinvigorated periodically by the media--journalists who report serious disagreements among well-known scholars, as well as tabloids which claim that the scrolls can predict the future or answer life's mysteries. Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? How did the Qumran library come to be? Whose scrolls were they? Why were they hidden in the caves? Today, with specialists and scholars throughout the world poring over the newly released scroll texts, solutions to these mysteries undoubtedly will be proposed. But these solutions will themselves raise questions--fueling continuing public interest and scholarly debate. Reference --------- [] The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit of the Library of Congress. This exhibit is available as a hypertext under URL: http://sunsite.unc.edu/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/intro.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- The Origin, Development, and Philosophy of Coptic Art A Book Review and Commentary on Pierre du Bourguet's "Coptic Art" (translated by Caryll Hay-Shaw). London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1971. Influence of Pharaonic and Hellenic Art --------------------------------------- In the early pages of his book Pierre du Bourguet mentions that Pharaonic art continued for some time to dominate the artistic scene after the introduction of Christianity into Egypt by Saint Mark the Evangelist. While most Egyptologists and Coptologists agree on this premise, they differ in the extent of this period of transformation from "Pharaonic" to "Christian" Coptic Art. Truly there were borrowings particulary in the very early Christian era; but it was not long before the swan song of Pharaonic art was heard and the dawn of the new era of Coptic art was about to peep. By the last decades of the fourth century A.D., it was clear that Egyptian (Coptic) art was based wholly on pure Christian themes. The sources which (so to speak) used to nourish Pharaonic art gradually dried up and the whole scene was left to the influence of the new religion. One may mention in passing the influence of Neoplatonism and the emphasis laid by Neoplatonic mysticism on the Unknowable and the composite Harmony and Beauty of the outer world. This mystical trend imbued with metaphysical speculation must have infiltrated through the moral philosophy of the Copts and, in consequence, it has exercised some crucial influence on the early trends of Coptic art. A direct result that we gain here is the attribution of meaning and significance to the work of art rather than the reliance upon the outward appearance of the work itself. It becomes then easy to conclude that this trend in Coptic art is noticeable in Alexandria more than any other center in Egypt because of the origination and development of Alexandrine Neoplatonism. Another artistic trend was establishing itself in Alexandria: namely Coptic art with Hellenistic leanings. Hellenized art, as it is commonly known, sought its inspiration in philosophy and this was responsible for beautiful architectural ornamentation and decorative themes. Apart from Alexandria, architectural schemes developed enormously in other important centers all over Egypt. Church Architectures -------------------- The construction of churches was not long delayed particularly in Alexandria and what is known as Old Cairo. Foremost among these is the "crypt" of Abu Sarga (Saint Sergius) with its basilica which is roofed with three flattened vaults, comprising a nave and two side-aisles, separated from each other by two rows of columns. A nook in the north-east angle contains a basin and may well have served as a baptistery in times past. The columns, apart from one in granite, are of marble and one of these is very classical in style. The only other church one could consider as contemporary with the "crypt" of AbuSerga is that known as "Mari Mina" (Saint Menas), the soldier-martyr who is buried in the Maryut desert near Alexandria. We find once again the rectangular basilican plan with three naves, of which the wider central one is separated from the other two rows of square pillars. The east end was taken up with three returning apses, their widths corresponding to those of the naves. These were headed with arched vaults in brick. Mention should be made of the fact that the cures effected by the tomb of Saint Menas in the Maryut desert near Alexandria, and those attributed to the waters of the miraculous springs running close by, established the fame of this site from the late third century onward. The tomb, and probably the semi-dome of the apse, were embellished with mosaics; the limestone walls were covered with marble plaques; the columns bore capitals with a double range of acanthus; and the plan was cruciform, analogous to those of Saint John Ephesus and Gaza. As for the church, it forms part of a complex of buildings designed for the accomodation of pilgrims: a complex which includes baths, a secular basilica of baths with two apsese facing each other, dating from the end of the fifth century, a pilgrims' shelter and a cemetery. Near the cemetery is a basilica with the center nave prolonged by a returning apse. This detail hardly exists anywhere else, except in certain churches in North Africa or central Syria but, while becoming more elaborate, will continue to be almost invariable in the architecture of Coptic churches, as we can indeed see near Old Cairo and in Mari Mina. As for the buildings of monasteries they are mostly scattered around two or three and sometimes four courts. Churches follow the basilican plan with tripartite sanctuaries. there is also the lofty vaulted hall and a refectory. Inside paintings are in most cases those of Christ in Glory aove the Apostles, the Virgin with the Infant Jesus and the Coptic saints whose names are inscribed in Coptic martyrology. the paintings, for instance, which decorate the apses in the Church of Saint Mary at the Syrian monastery in Wadi el-Natroun consists of an Annunciation, a Nativity and an Assumption. Tapestry-weaving and Textiles ----------------------------- In tapestry-weaving two themes are prominent: the display of beautiful yellow fish with varied bone color, swimming across a uniform green background. The other theme is directly derived from the ancient Egyptian motifs as related to the gods Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The origin of tapestry-weaving in colors remains in dispute. On the one hand, many scholars attribute it to the Hellenistic Orient, possibly reflecting influences from the Orient proper at earlier times. On the other hand, Pharaonic Egypt of the New Kingdom had provided us with few examples of colored tapestry-weaving, notably -- the famous dalmatic of Tutankhamen; and a piece in the tomb of a noble, preserved in Turin. There is some striking similarity between the scenes printed on funerary urns in ancient Greece and ancient Egypt. The flat tints found on Greek vases of the third century B.C. had their counterpart in the modeling achieved in mosaics of the Alexandrian period. The oldest of these are the large "orbicula" reproducing in tapestry those painted on Egypto-Roman burial shrouds and the small "orbiculum" in the Moscow Museum, representing the head and shoulders of the Nile god. The author draws our attention to the fact that in this context we must not omit the so-called "Faiyum portraits", painted on wood, and usually in encaustic. This technique may have been derived from analogous methods used in Roman mural frescoes of the first and second centuries. Egypt, however, appears to have been the only country to have used it in this manner, no doubt because of its funeral rites, which were often adopted in turn by the occupying race. Coptic textiles are well known for the brightness of their colors and their distribution in broad bands on a variety of garments. Certain hangings and rugs in the Berlin Museum -- fragmentary yet reasonably complete -- show arrangements of male or female dancers used for decorative purposes. A vertical line of trilobate leaves divides the figures one from the other. Another tapestry to which the author refers is the one in the Louvre. All that remains from this tapestry is a dancer with a veil covering her arm. The shape of the face, the noticeable schematization of the features, the outline of the eyes, the ear-rings, and the gesture of the arm -- all correspond to those found in the Berlin hanging, despite some differences in the position of the head and the meaning of the gesture. A fragment of a large "shawl" kept in the Louvre depicts a pastoral scene with shepherds dressed in a sort of loin-cloth worn under an ocellated skin as they stand with one leg crossed over the other, in a pose similar to that of Bacchus on the ivory in the pulpit (ambon) of Aix-la-Chapelle, playing the flute or the syrinx. The facial details, although simply sketched in, are clear. Like the details of the clothing or the musical instruments, the dog's collars or the joints of the limbs, they are simply outlined with the flying shuttle. Coptic tapestry, however, reached the height of its glory in the sixth and seventh centuries. In its evolution, the parallelism with that of sculptured relief is not difficult to establish. in a variety of colors, among which only a few predominate, the vivacity of the tints, as fresh now as the day they left the weaver's hand, is a joy to behold. Furthermore, a contrast is established which brings out the tender, roseate figures against the rich ground: that of the nereid is in violent opposition with the uniform ground. Painting -------- Painting in the early Christian period has developed as a papyrus-illumination rather than painting on stucco. It marked an extension of the Pharaonic tradition particularly of ornamenting the Ptolemaic papyri. From the third century onwards, representations of Christ in Majesty have existed, borrowed from Byzantine art: the prototypes for numerous paintings in the period immediately following this, which showed Him in His glorified aspect. The Virgin provides the subject for numerous sculptures and paintings. The theme, however, has been diversified: instead of a "Virgo Lactans", we find the Virgin enthroned, and even scenes such as the Annunciation. The saints, moreover, began to populate the iconographic field. One reason for this is that the influence of the great monastic figures was making itself felt -- aided by time, which now favoured the Christian cause. It is also probable that an element of popular devotion, more disposed to the representation of personages regarded as in the immediate orbit of daily life, contributed to their multiplication in the iconography. Pottery ------- As for pottery a large number of vases or plates are in the Coptic Museum in Cairo and in the Louvre. These are decorated with vines or undulating stems in which the touch of naturalism is not lacking. Fish and birds appear very often on these vases or plates. Commentary ---------- Coptic art, in contrast to many other trends of art, appears to have a distinctive feature of abstraction and of expressing what is beyond the visible forms through an elaborate technique of symbolism. Parts and wholes of designs and of artistic levels seem to merge and interplay. The overall effect is the exuberance of the reality that is symbolically expressed beyond the work of art which transcends the work itself as a visible entity. Here the imagination had to play a functional role in building up inter-relations together with the inherent flights between parts and wholes. This act of transcendence is the landmark of Coptic art shifting the imagination from the tangible to the invisible and from the temporal to the eternal. It is an essential orientation towards the Everlasting beyond the levels and surfaces of designs and artistic creations in general. To that effect the author has given ample evidence. Actually, the copiousness of the author, who delved in many valuable areas, is impressive. He went even further to mention the minutest detail and in all his expository and careful analysis he shows remarkable familiarity with the internal conditions of Coptic life. the Little halts on the way helped him recapitulate the thematic threads of this subject particularly in dealing with heartfelt beliefs and periods of artistic exuberance. This book by Pierre du Bourguet is a well-rounded exposition of the origins and development of Coptic art, past and present. The author has gone to the very roots of this art in Pharaonic Egypt and Helllenic Greece and Alexandrine offshoots. He was also careful to point out that all these sources helped Coptic art develop throughout the early stages. but with the development of Coptic Orthodoxy in the Land of the Nile there came the time when this art parted company with early sources whether Hellenistic or Pharaonic and in the fourth and the early decades of the fifth centuries Coptic art exhibited its purely Christian and distinctive traits. * This review appeared in Coptologia Studia Coptica Orthodoxa: A Research Publication in Coptic Orthodox Studies, St Peter's Printing and Publishing Company, 1981 (ISBN-0-86489-000-1) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- Readers' Corner --------------- This corner of the Copt-Net Newsletter is dedicated to answering questions regarding the Christian faith and teachings in general and the Coptic Orthodox Church's beliefs and traditions in particular. As much as possible we will try to avoid using any terminology that will not be accessible to the common reader. Also, it must be noted that the opinions expressed here are those of members of Copt-Net Editorial board and do not (and should not be taken to be) the official opinion of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Readers' Corner of this issue addresses one question regarding the rules set by the Coptic Orthodox Church for fasting. We picked this question as it is appropriate to answer at this time of the year when Lent is observed. The other item in the reader corner is an announcement regarding Copt-Net's WWW Home Page. Question -------- What are the rules of fasting as taught by the Coptic Orthodox Church? Answer ------ Fasting is an opportunity for Christians to exercise "spiritually". The Copts have seasons of fasting matched by no other Christian community. Out of the 365 days of the year, Copts fast for over 210 days. During fasting, no animal products (meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, butter, etc.) are allowed. Moreover, no food or drink whatsoever may be taken between sunrise and sunset. These strict fasting rules are usually relaxed by priests on an individual basis to accomodate for illness or weakness. Lent, known as "the Great Fast", is largely observed by all Copts. It starts with a pre-Lent fast of one week, followed by a 40-day fast commemorating Christ's fasting on the mountain, followed by the Holy week, the most sacred week (called Pascha) of the Coptic Calendar, which ends with the joyous Easter. Other fasting seasons of the Coptic Church include, the Advent (Fast of the Nativity), the Fast of the Apostles, the Fast of the Virgin St. Mary, and the Fast of Nineveh. The "change in diet" is not the purpose of fasting, rather it is one of very many tools available for the faithful to exercise spiritually. "Controlling" our diet is one way of proving to ourselves that we are not "slaves" of the flesh and that we can quench our desires (e.g. food, sex, wealth, pride, among many more). Prayer and charity are two other basic tools that must be practiced regularly and, in particular, during the seasons of fasting. The purpose of fasting is to grow spiritually. This growth is possible only if a person devotes of his/her time to reflect inward, to look carefully at his/her life and change. By growing spiritually, we conquer our weaknesses and free ourselves from adiction to earthly matters. Fasting is a time to repent, and if it becomes a mere "change in diet", then it is worthless. Announcement ------------ The Copt-Net editorial board is pleased to announce to its readership that Copt-Net Archives, which include a wealth of articles, prayers, hymns, church directories, as well as a backlog of all issues of this newsletter, is now available on the World Wide Web (WWW). The main Home Page for Copt-Net may be accessed using the following Universal Resource Locator (URL): http://cs.bu.edu/best/copt-net.html Your feedback will be highly appreciated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Newsletter has been prepared by members of Copt-Net, a forum _|_ where news, activities, and services of the Coptic Orthodox Churches | and Coptic communities outside Egypt are coordinated and exchanged. | For any questions, or comments related to this Newsletter, as well as COP|NET any topics that you would like to be addressed in the next Newsletter please send a message to Copt-Net server at: cn-request@pharos.bu.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (C)opyright 1994 by Copt-Net