SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

presentation with no follow-up discussion. The second type is the regular presentations where the researcher briefly presents the work that he/she has or is doing in the field. These presentations will be structured in a 20-minute format with a 10-minute follow-up discussion. The maximum time allotted to these presentations, including the discussion, will be 30 minutes. Notification and Abstracts: Those interested in participating need to notify the Society in writing by

March 1, 1998. Written abstracts will be due by June 1, 1998. Publication of Proceedings: The papers presented at the Conference will be published in the 5th volume of the Society's bulletin for the year 1998-99. A final draft of each paper shall be submitted by the presenter no later than October 31, 1998.

St. Mark in Egypt - Historical Investigation (by Mary Farid)

This paper was presented in Last June's St. Shenouda Coptic Symposium, by Miss Mary Farid, a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This paper represents a collaborative effort of Miss Farid and Mr. Hani Abdel-Sayed (also of UCLA) made under the guidanc of Prof. Antonio Lopreino of UCLA. Both of the participants were former students of Prof. Loprieno's Introductory Sahidic Coptic course in 1995.

The Tradition: It has been a long standing belief of the Coptic Orthodox Church that its origins trace back to the early church founded in Alexandria in the first century and that the founder of this church was St. Mark. Unfortunately, St. Mark's journeys to Alexandria are not mentioned in the Book of Acts, and there are few documents which provide any useful information about this early period in Egypt. As a result, the tradition of him being the first to preach Christianity in Alexandria has been under attack recently by historians and scholars. The purpose of this paper is not to prove one side or the other but rather to first explain the Church tradition, present the opposing arguments, and finally bring to light some of the evidence in support of St. Mark going to Alexandria. The tradition of the Church can be found in The History of the Patriarchs , written in the 10th-11th century. It begins by stating that it is a biography of the history of the holy Church and that St. Mark, the Disciple and Evangelist, was the first bishop of the great city of Alexandria. He was not one of the original twelve apostles, but he was one of the seventy disciples. He was among the servants who

poured out the water which Jesus turned to wine at Cana of Galilee, and he entertained the disciples at his house several times, including after the Resurrection when Jesus entered through shut doors. After the Ascension of the Lord, St. Mark went with Peter to Jerusalem where they preached the word of God. After a time, he was commanded by the Holy Spirit to go to Egypt, particularly Alexandria, and preach there. The people in Alexandria worshipped many gods and idols and were in need of someone to teach them about Jesus Christ. So after receiving a vision from the Holy Spirit, St. Mark went to Alexandria. When he entered the city, the strap of his sandal broke, so he took it to a cobbler named Ananius so that he could mend it. As Ananius was fixing the sandal, he injured himself with the needle and he immediately shouted, "God is One". When St. Mark heard him mention the name of God, he rejoiced and thanked God. He then spat on the ground and made clay and put it on the place where Ananius had injured his hand saying, "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One living and eternal God, may the hand of this

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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