SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

service of a small army of church youth to tend to our needs, which greatly enhanced the accommodations. Those scores of youth, led by several consecrated servants, were lining up to take our luggage, to fix any problem with the rooms, to generously feed us, and to provide audio-visual support that one would rarely find any where in the world, let alone in rural al- Fayoum. Their diligence, ingenuity, and ever- present smile made us all feel that we are present in a true Christian setting, which is rarely found in our day and age. Dr. Ezzat Salib, Sister Irini, and Sister Ioanna were the leading figures among them. Participants: Dr. Gawdat Gabra proposed a comprehensive list of participants and their specialty in the field, including alternate choices. He personally contacted the prospective presenters. Because of the success of the first Symposium, an overwhelming favorable response was expected and was eventually received. The subject matter, setting of the area under study, and his persuasive appeal also contributed to such a response. Many revisions were made to that list because of scheduling conflict, health problems, and the like. However the final list was not less impressive than the one initially recommended. The following is list of those who presented papers: Prof. Roger Bagnall, USA Mme Dominique Bénazath, France

The Location: This year the Symposium was held in al-Fayoum, 100 Kilometers South West of Cairo at the monastery of El-Azab. The monastery is no longer functioning as such, but as the residence of the bishop of al-Fayoum, the host of the Symposium. However its charm was not in being the Episcopal seat of al-Fayoum but rather in being home to the relics of the great saint of al- Fayoum, St. Abraam, our real host. Attendance and Accommodations: Unlike the exclusive monastic setting that was seen in Wadi al-Natrun, this event was more ecclesiastical and lay. The attendees, for the most part, were a mixture of scholars, students, diocese clergymen, monastic authorities, and local lay members. Also in attendance were a small number of members from each of the organizing groups; St. Mark Foundation, and St. Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society. Instead of the interface between Western Scholarship and the rich monastic tradition that was seen in the first Symposium, this one provided more interaction between those scholars and the Diocese's lay and clergy members. The attendance averaged less than a 100 attendees and participants, who came from 10 different countries on four continents. However, a few hundreds were present at the opening ceremony. Though we convened in a different setting than the previous Symposium, we all cherished such an invaluable experience. Dr. Fawzy during the bus trip to al-Fayoum cautioned us not to expect 5-star accommodations but he guaranteed a 5-star blessing. Of course residing for 5 days in close proximity to the relics of the greatest Coptic saint of the first half of the 20 th Century, Anba Abraam, made his guarantee an obvious one. However the accommodations were much better than expected. The rooms were probably better than what you would find in any hotel in the area and very comparable to the ones provided in the first Symposium in Wadi al- Natrun. The generosity of H.G. Bishop Abraam III of al-Fayoum was boundless. He enlisted the

Fr. Bigoul al-Suriani, Egypt Prof. Elizabeth Bolman, USA Prof. Anne Boud'hors, France Dr. Ramez Boutros, Egypt Dr. Karl-Heinz Brune, Germany (Absent) Dr. Barbara Czaja-Szewczak, Poland Dr. Stephen Davis, USA Dr. Tomaz Derda, Poland Prof. Dr. Stephen Emmel, Germany Prof. Charles Gaubert, France Prof. Wlodzimierz Godlewski, Poland Prof. Wilfred Griggs, USA Dr. Peter Grossmann, Greece (Absent) Dr. Magdi Guirguis, Egypt (Absent)

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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