Coptica 15, 2016

Abstracts Coptica 15 (2016)

A Little Known Episode in Coptic-Roman Relations: An Unpublished Letter by Anba Yūsāb, Bishop of Jirjā and Akhmīm (18 th c)

This essay examines an unpublished theological letter that Anba Yūsāb (1735-1826), bishop of Jirjā and Akhmīm, wrote on behalf of Pope John XVIII (r. 1769-1796), the 107 th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to Bartholomew, a Catholic monk and envoy of the Roman papacy, in response to Rome’s proposal that the Coptic Orthodox Church submit to the Pope of Rome. The research is based on a rare manuscript that exists in only five known copies and is published here for the first time. This letter is a significant contribution to the thin eighteenth century Coptic theological library. It was written at a time when Egypt was going through a major political, social, education, and historical changes that had a lasting effect on the Church; in addition to the western religious missionary campaigns that targeted the Coptic Orthodox Church. Dr. Lois Farag Associate Professor of Early Church History Luther Seminary 2414-1 County Road D West, Roseville, MN 55112, USA lfarag@luthersem.edu

Commemorations in the Coptic Arabic Synaxarium Part I

This is the first part of a study based on the collation of eighteen manuscripts of the Coptic-Arabic Synaxarium. Each entry notes various spellings and forms attested for specific saints. Along with documenting a plethora of saints and events that have not been preserved in the published editions of the Synaxarium, this study demonstrates the stability of certain entries across most of the manuscripts surveyed, along with the various regional fluctuations that are attested with regard to the commemoration day(s) of other saints and events. Mr. Ashraf W. Hanna Independent Researcher

5952 N. Willard Ave. San Gabriel, CA 91775 ashrafwhanna@yahoo.com