SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

Their Egyptian Origin" . This paper dealt with icons found in the area monasteries, especially that of St. Macarius. The author provided interesting evidence to prove the Egyptian rather than Byzantine origin of some of these icons. She used a very intriguing yet simple approach to order the original arrangement of such icons. This was done by the calculation of the angle of turn of the head in the icon. Another note worthy of mention is her statement concerning the function of the Altar Screen in these monastic churches as a mean of being an obstacle to intruders. The last paper was by Prof. L. van Rompay, titled, "The Relations between the Syrian-Orthodox Church and the Coptic-Orthodox Church in the Light of the Recent Findings in Deir al-Surian" . The author here dealt with the recently-discovered Syriac inscriptions found in the Deir al-Surian, which shed light on the Syrian-Coptic Church relations especially at their interface in this monastery. The paper however took a more dramatic turn than anticipated by its presenter when Bishop Samuel fell ill before it was c ncluded and was taken to the hospital as a result. Suddenly the attention of the audience shifted from being curious about what these Syriac inscriptions in the monastery tell us to being prayerful for the health of a prominent graduate of this monastery. Fortunately, the health of bishop Samuel improved dramatically in the hospital before the day ended. Field Visits: The Organizing Committee prepared a series of visits to seven different sites in the area as well as in Maryut near Alexandria during the 4- day period of the Symposium. The sites were either the most ancient churches of a particular monastery or an archeological dig in a monastic site. The guide was usually a scholar that has conducted conservation work or headed an excavation team at that particular site. All of them were participants in the Symposium. In each of the inhabited monasteries that was visited, the group was a recipient to the generous hospitality of the monks, including religious plaques and commemorative books about the respective monasteries. These visits were scheduled in such a way to give the audience, as much as possible, a

wall inscriptions found in the area. This would include the ones written in a variety of languages (Coptic, Syrian, Arabic, and Greek) and found either on existing used structures or excavated ones. According to the author, Evelyn-White has significantly contributed to the field through his monumental 3-volume set on the monasteries of the area. Such inscriptions are an important tool for uncovering the history of monasticism in that site or to authenticate chronicled accounts. Examples used included the inscription on the destruction of the monastery of St. John the Little, found on the Khurus wall of the ancient church at Deir al-Surian; and the Nubian plate, found at the same monastery, mentioning the Nubian King David. In his treatment of the language of the inscriptions, the author remarked about the Coptic dialect of these inscriptions being Nitrian Bohairic with the peculiar substitution of the letters h , , for q . The use of these inscriptions is found to be more valuable for distinguishing the different monastic communities that inhabited the area than a mere dating tool. The author also cautioned the audience that some of these inscriptions being not as important as others from a historical perspective. The second paper was by Dr. E. Parandowska, titled, "Results of the last Restoration Campaign at Deir al-Surian" . The author here was part of the Dutch group that was working in Deir al-Surian. She surveyed the work of seven seasons, primarily on the ancient church of the monastery. Up to three layers of decoration/restorations were found. The earliest ones ranged from 7-10 th century followed by a 13 th century decorated layer and a final 18 th century undecorated plaster layer. The author discussed the state of preservation of these layers, their compositions, the cause of their deterioration, and the method of their preservation and conservation. On the basis of this paper, one can see that much has been done and much more needs to be done. Funding seems to be a prime hindrance to completing the work though not the only reason. The third paper was by Dr. Z. Skalova, titled, "Five Byzantine Deeses — Portraits in Wadi al-Natrun:

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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