The Time of Patriarchs Peter IV and Damian As the Nodal Point of the Genesis of the Coptic Church: Problems and Proposed Solutions

Introduction. The article examines a recently put forward hypothesis that the time of the Coptic Church’s final genesis was the period of the Alexandrian anti-Chalcedonian Patriarchs Peter IV (576–578) and Damian (578–607). Methods. A comparative research method and factor analysis are used. The main research task is to identify all the factors that contributed to the making of full-fledged ecclesiastical structures by the Theodosians (one of the trends of the Egyptian Miaphysites), and a correlation of these factors with each other to single out the main of them. Analysis. The successful establishment of the Miaphysites (Theodosian) episcopate resulted from the configuration of objective and subjective factors. Objective factors include the following: the weakening of control by the central authorities over the structures of the Miaphysites after Justinian I (482/483–565), the increasing regionalization of the empire and the strengthening of the role of local elites in the provinces, the growing importance of the Coptic language in secular and clerical office work. Subjective factors include the victory of the Miaphysite Patriarch Peter IV over his rival Theodore and the appearance of Damian as Peter’s successor. Results. On the whole, the proposed hypothesis quite thoroughly explains the emergence of the Coptic Church during the period. However, it has several disadvantages, which open up a number of prospects for further researches. Firstly, there is almost no explanation for the success of Damian’s personnel policy. Secondly, insufficient attention was paid to the Egyptian anti-Chalcedonian monasticism. From the author’s point of view, Egyptian Miaphysite monks, suffering from the pressure of the central and local authorities after the Chalcedonian schism, managed to establish an effective network functioned as a “rhizome”, on which the episcopate risen during Peter’s and Damian’s time relied primarily in rebuilding stable ecclesiastical structures in Egypt.

Reflections on the City of Alexandria and the growth of the early Christian faith

The city of Alexandria in Egypt was and remains the centre of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, and it was one of the major centres of Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire. St. Mark the Evangelist was the founder of the See, and the Patriarchate's emblem is the Lion of Saint Mark. It was in this city where the Christian faith was vigorously promoted, and in which Hellenic culture flourished. The first theological school of Christendom was stablished which drove catechesis and the study of religious philosophy to new heights. It was greatly supported in its quest by numerous champions of the faith and early Church Fathers such as inter-alia, Pantaenus, Clement, Dionysius, Gregory, Eusebius, Athanasius, Didymus and Origen. Both the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and also the Coptic Church, lay claim to the ancient legacy of Alexandria. By the time of the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 CE, the city had lost much of its significance. Today the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria remains a very important organ the dissemination of Christianity in Africa especially due to its missionary activities. The head bishop of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa, Theodore II, and his clerics are performing meritorious works on the continent to the glory of God’s Kingdom. This article traces, albeit it in a limited sense, the history of the faith in Alexandria using a desk-top research methodology. In order to trace Alexandria’s historical development and especially its Christian religious focus, existing relevant primary and secondary data considered to be relevant was utilised including research material published in academic articles, books, bibliographic essays, Biblical and Church documents, electronic documents and websites.

The Coptic origins of the Yoruba

The theory according to which the Yoruba ancestors were Coptic Christians seemed unpopular amongst many Yoruba people despite the fact that the theory was proposed by the most revered Yoruba historian, Samuel Johnson. The aims of this research are firstly, to study Johnson’s Coptic theory of the Yoruba origins and secondly, to highlight the circumstances that might have informed him to associate the Yoruba people with the Coptic Church. This research is achieved through a historical study of a possible interaction between certain ethnic groups in Nigeria and the Coptic Church, and through a comparative study of Church liturgies amongst the Copts and those of the Yoruba traditional churches. The researcher explained that Johnson’s Christian background influenced his narrative of connecting the Yoruba origins with the Copts. The researcher is of the opinion that there is no evidence provided by Johnson according to which the Yoruba people originated from the Copts.

Tasting the milk of celestial knowledge. Note about the rhetoric of the portrayal of the sacred in Alonso Cano’s painting The Lactation of St. Bernard (1653–1657) from the National Gallery in Prague

This is an attempt of interpretation of a picture that draws from mystical tradition. It is about the comprehension of a topic in a painting by the Spanish artist Alonso Cano (1601–1667, Granada), from the National Gallery in Prague (O 14 690) Lactatio S. Bernardi – presenting the miracle of lactation, in which the Virgin Mary is squirting milk from her breast into the mouth of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (a historically very famous saint and major representative of the Cistercian Order). Traces of iconography lead up to the Coptic Church, where the typology of the milking Virgin was probably first originated (Galacto Trofusa in Greek or Maria lactans in Latin). The starting point is perhaps the portrayal of the virgin goddess Isis milking her son Horus. In many cultures, milk symbolises physical and spiritual food (e.g. the Milky Way evoking the ancient myth about spurted divine milk). On the other hand, milking is also present in the Old Testament as the image of special blessing; it is a symbol of eternal beatitude and wisdom. The dream/vision of her milk is then – apart from the rest – a sign of abundance, fertility, love, and fullness. The lactation of St. Bernard is an allegory of the penetration of the divine science in the soul. Thanks to this act the saint receives God’s guide, which he can then discharge into his writings.

Egyptian

Ancient Egyptian constitutes one of the main branches of the Afro-Asiatic phylum. It was used as a written and spoken language in the Lower Nile Valley and the Nile Delta by the ancient Egyptians. Though its latest form, Coptic, was gradually replaced by Arabic as a spoken language from the tenth century ad onward, it remains the liturgical language of the Coptic Church in modern Egypt. With hieroglyphic and hieratic writing appearing in the late fourth millennium bc, it is the language with the longest documented history, more than four millennia, during which profound diachronic changes occurred. The decipherment of the hieroglyphic writing in 1822 led to the establishment of a new academic discipline—Egyptology—but also to the realization that Ancient Egyptian forms a distinct group together with other African languages, such as Berber and Cushitic, as well as Semitic.

Parish or Synaxaria? To the Basic Elements of Religious Self-Identity of Ethno-Confessional Communities of the Christian Orient

Introduction. The article focuses on the issues of the basic elements of keeping ethno-religious identity in the communities of the Christian Orient, which found themselves either as a minority under the dominance of another religious tradition, or within the almost complete external isolation suggesting a significant reduction of the former religious tradition and / or excluding its reactivation. The actual basis for the analysis is the history of the Coptic Church (from the period of the late Antiquity / early Byzantium to the modern period), as well as the history of the Alans / Ossetians from the 13th – 14th to the mid 18th centuries. Methods. The system analysis is used as the main research approach. Religious communities of the Christian Orient are regarded as closed, self-replicating systems. The paper aims to identify inside these systems the elements that make up the “content” or “superstructure” (preserved and translated to prevent assimilation with the dominant religious tradition and loss of their former identities), and basic elements that provide essential conditions for their successful survival. Analysis and Results. Studies of the cultural and religious rise of the Coptic community in the Middle Ages and New Times manifest that the basic elements of its identity preservation and transmission in the new conditions may be found in the transformation of churches / parishes and monasteries into a communicative space and area of religious socialization. The study of the religious situation of Alans / Ossetians in the conditions of almost complete external isolation and reduction of the Orthodox tradition to “popular Christianity” suggests that the sacred space of Christian churches becomes (already as an archetypical model) a point of the syncretic “content” formation, which has a certain strength and defines the cultural and religious identity of the Ossetians for a long time.

The Legend of St. Sisynnios in Ethiopian Charms: Interconnection with His Life

The legend of St. Sisynnios has been widespread in both Christian and popular Ethiopian tradition up to the present time. It exists in the form of written texts in the Ge’ez language, inserted in so-called magic scrolls among other closely connected texts of both magical and religious character. These scrolls have a protective function, and St. Sisynnios is venerated by the Ethiopian Church. There are two versions of his life. The shorter one comprises part of the Synaxarion whilethe longer one is included in a corpus of hagiographical compilations entitled “The Lives of the Martyrs”. Both of these were translated from the Arabic prototype, borrowed from the mother Coptic Church of Alexandria. There is a notable interconnection between the legend in the amulets and the religious texts. It is unknown whether the text of the legend once existed in form of verbal charm or not. In any case, different elements of the saint’s life passed to the legend. Some have remained unchanged while others have undergone transformations or lost some elements. It is important to study different elements of the legend using the examples conserved in the available manuscript scrolls. Analysis of these interconnections and the evolution of the text constitutes the basis of the present research.

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC STUDY OF THE QUBBET EL-HAWA COPTIC CHURCH (ASWAN, EGYPT)

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> This paper presents the method applied and the results obtained in the photogrammetric study of the Qubbet el-Hawa Coptic Church. After several archaeological interventions, the ruins of this church were completely uncovered of sand. Therefore, a geometric documentation is justified in prevision of possible damages or deterioration that could affect it, considering the weakened status of several structures. In this context, we selected close-range photogrammetry because of the site conditions which include several vertical walls and occlusions that complicated the use of other terrestrial methods. In addition, a real texture of the object was demanded in order to obtain a complete documentation of the church. In this sense, some decorations and wall paintings were still visible causing this requisite of documentation based on real textures. However, the use of terrestrial photogrammetry was complicated due to the presence of occlusions, and in addition the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) was not allowed. So a method using a mast of about 4 to 6 metres was considered in order to lift the camera, avoiding these obstacles and reducing the amount of photographs needed. Applying this method, a great set of photographs was acquired and the scene covered with convergent images. The results of the photogrammetric processes were several metric products such as a 3D model with real textures, a ground Digital Elevation Model (DEM), several orthoimages, sections, etc. In addition a preliminary virtual reconstruction of the church has been developed based on these results. In conclusion, we have obtained a complete and reliable geometric documentation of the site and other derived products that can be used for other purposes. The method used has demonstrated its efficiency in these types of studies.</p>