Coptic contributions to the formative theological debates of Christianity have long been recognized. Less well known are other, equally valuable, Coptic contributions to the transmission and preservation of technical and scientific knowledge, and a full understanding of how Egypt’s Copts survived and interacted with the country’s majority population over the centuries. Studies in Coptic Culture attempts to examine these issues from divergent perspectives. Through the careful examination of select case studies that range in date from the earliest phases of Coptic culture to the present day, twelve international scholars address issues of cultural transmission, cross-cultural perception, representation, and inter-faith interaction. Their approaches are as varied as their individual disciplines, covering literary criticism, textual studies, and comparative literature as well as art historical, archaeo-botanical, and historical research methods. The divergent perspectives and methods presented in this volume will provide a fuller picture of what it meant to be Coptic in centuries past and prompt further research and scholarship into these subjects.
Studies in Coptic Culture
Transmission and Interaction
Edited by
Mariam Ayad
14 August 2016
288 pp.
24 illustrations
15X23cm
ISBN 9789774167508
For sale worldwide
$75.00
Related products
Christianity and Monasticism in the Fayoum Oasis
Essays from the 2004 International Symposium of the Saint Mark Foundation and the Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society in Honor of Martin Krause
Edited by Gawdat GabraChristianity began in the large and fertile Fayoum oasis of Egypt’s Western Desert as early as the third century, and its presence has endured to the present day. This volume, which constitutes a tribute to the scholarly work of the father of modern Coptology, Martin Krause, contains contributions on various aspects of Coptic civilization in Egypt’s largest oasis over the past eighteen hundred years. The contributors are all international specialists in Coptology, from Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and the United States. A number of the studies included in this volume deal with recent archaeological discoveries at Deir al-Banat, the early Christian graves in the necropolis at the eastern edge of the Fayoum, and the monastic settlements and medieval Coptic cemetery at Naqlun. Others provide thorough examinations of archaeological sites at Karanis, Tebtunis, and Naqlun. Contributions cover the rich Christian literary heritage in Greek, Coptic, and Arabic, while art historians touch on the famous Fayoum portraits and their influence on the production of Coptic icons, as well as on the medieval wall paintings at Naqlun and in textiles, metal objects, and basketry from the region. This important volume provides for the first time an up-to-date, comprehensive treatment of Christianity and monasticism in the Fayoum Oasis. Contributors: Father Bigoul al-Suriany, Roger S. Bagnall, Dominique Bénazeth, Anne Boud’hors, Ramez Boutros, Karl-Heinz Brune, Barbara Czaja-Szewczak, Stephen Davis, Stephen Emmel, Cäcilia Fluck, Wodzimierz Godlewski, Wilfred C. Griggs, Peter Grossman, Alexi Krol, Suzana Hodak, Anetta Lyzwa-Piber, Ewa Parandowska, Siegfried G. Richter, Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya, Sofia Schaten, Zuzana Skalova, Jacques Van der Vliet, Youhanna Youssef.
...read more
1 August 2005
Hardbound
366 pp.96 b/w illus.
15X23cm
$39.50
Cradle of Islam
The Hijaz and the Quest for an Arabian Identity
Mai YamaniIn 1932 the Al Saud family incorporated the kingdom of Hijaz, once the cultural hub of the Arabian world, into the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The urban, cosmopolitan Hijazis were absorbed into a new state whose codes of behavior and rules were determined by the Najdis, an ascetic desert people, from whom the Al Saud family came. But the Saudi rulers failed to fully integrate the Hijaz, which retains a distinctive identity to this day. Here May Yamani traces the fortunes of the distinctive and resilient culture of the Hijazis, from the golden age of Hashemite Mecca to Saudi domination to its current resurgence. The Hijazis today emphasise their regional heritage in religious ritual, food, dress, and language as a response to the ‘Najdification’ of everyday life. The Hijazi experience shows the vitality of cultural diversity in the face of political repression in the Arab world.
...read more
Paperback
240 pp.23.4X15.6cm
$34.95
Hajj
Reem Al FaisalWith text bySeyyed Hossein Nasr
The great Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the five ‘pillars’ of Islam, required of every Muslim who is fit and able to undertake it. Every year in the month of Dhu al-Hijja, millions of Muslims converge on this desert city on the Arabian Peninsula from all corners of the globe, in one of the world’s greatest and most spiritual human gatherings. Saudi princess and photographer Reem Al Faisal here brings together a portrait of the Hajj in an extraordinary collection of black-and-white photographs that reveal not just the vast scale of the pilgrimage, not just the range of rituals involved, but also the human dimension: the sheer variety of humanity that comes here, the private moments of piety and devotion, the intimate moments of relaxation, and the joy (and sometimes anxiety) of being a part of such an immense community of people in a common purpose.
...read more
Hardbound
192 pp.175 b/w photographs
21X28cm
$39.95
The Coptic Orthodox Liturgy of St. Basil
Box of 4 Audio CDs
The Liturgy of St. Basil is sung in the Coptic language, directly descended from the language of the pharaohs, and the melodies are also thought to have their roots in ancient Egypt. This set of four audio CDs has been produced to accompany the major publication The Coptic Orthodox Liturgy of St. Basil with Complete Musical Transcription (AUC Press, 1998), which provides fascinating documentation of this ancient tradition. The three-hour liturgy is part of a unique musical tradition transmitted orally through some twenty centuries by generations of singers in Egypt’s ancient Coptic Orthodox Church, and still used today. For these CDs, the liturgy was sung by Sadek Attallah, chief cantor of the Institute of Coptic Studies, Cairo, and recorded at the Institute of Coptic Studies under the supervision of Dr. Ragheb Moftah. This unique set of recordings will be of great value to Copts around the world, as well as to musicologists, ethnologists, and students of religious traditions. Also available from the AUC Press: The Coptic Orthodox Liturgy of St. Basil with Complete Musical Transcription Compiled by Ragheb Moftah Music transcription by Margit Toth Text edited by Martha Roy
...read more
Audio CDs
$45.00