SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

visual introduction to the papers that will be read later or just read. This enhanced the audience appreciation to the many of the topics discussed. The only shortcomings of these visits was their brevity. Visit to St. Macarius Monastery, February 1, 2002: This visit was as a private one as any one can hope for in a Coptic monastery, due to its strict rules of visitation. As the bus approached the monastery proper, we passed through many acres of cultivated land owned by the monastery. Upon entering the ancient narrow gateway through the wall of monastic compound, the group was greeted by several monks. After being served refreshments, the group was given a tour of the ancient church of St. Macarius and the small Chapel in the Keep or the monastery watch/refuge tower. There, they all watched in awe the simple yet magnificent architecture and the new wall paintings that have been conserved in the church. The monks continued their hospitality by hosting a sit-down lunch at the spacious refectory (monastic dining room) of the monastery. The quantity and variety of the food was astonishing for being in a secluded desert monastery on a fasting day. The visit was concluded by a visit to the magnificent monastic library. There, the group witnessed a large number of glass-enclosed wooden cabinets. Some containing hundreds of bound manuscript codices, and others filled with thousands of more contemporary Arabic and Western books. Fr. Zanetti, who has earlier published an inventory of the bound manuscript volumes, was invited by the monks to describe the manuscript collection. Worthy of mention here is that the library possesses a large number of manuscript fragments that have not been included in the published inventory. Visit to the Excavation of the Monastery of St. John the Little, February 1, 2002: On the way to the Patriarchal Residence in St. Bishoy Monastery, the organizers arranged for the group to have a tour of the excavation site of the Monastery of St. John The Little. The tour was conducted by the head archeologist of this excavation, Prof. B. Van Elderen, with the help of Dr. P. Grossmann on

some of the architectural history of the site. The main excavation was that of the monastic church which probably occupied a central position within the monastic settlements surrounding it. Prof. Van Elderen, described what was found and how it was found over the three seasons of excavations, including the stone altar, the Khurus, underground vault, and the wall paintings found. Dr. Grossmann commented, at the invitation of Prof. Van Elderen, on the possible three stages of construction that this church has undergone throughout the centuries. Our Coptica Editor, Deacon Severus (Maged) Mikhail was an active participant in the second excavation season in 1996 along with Fr. T. Vivian who also participated in the 3 rd season as well. This participation inspired both of them to translate and publish the first English Version of the Life of St. John the Little. Visit to al-Baramous Monastery, February 2, 2002: This visit began with a tour of the ancient church of the monastery and its beautiful wall paintings that have been conserved. Dr. K. Innemée was the guiding scholar of this tour. It also included a tour of the building ruins that were excavated outside the walls of the monastery. There, Dr. Innemée explained to the group what these buildings represented and what function they might have served at the time. On the basis of such explanation, one finds two different groups separated by a narrow physical street but set apart by the wide gulf of differing Christological beliefs, Orthodox and Melekites (Chalcedonians). This interesting living arrangement probably lasted up to the 8 th or 9 th century. After which the Bedouins in the area must have transformed this surreal setting into what is seen there now, ruins joined under common layers of Western Desert sand. The group was then hosted by the bishop of the monastery in their reception hall where the group enjoyed the hospitality and the generosity of the monastery in the person of its abbot, Bishop Isidorus, and the monks. Coptic Liturgy St. Bishoy Monastery, February 3, 2002: One of the more memorable moments of this Symposium was the attendance of a private all- Coptic, liturgy at the Keep church of St. Bishoy

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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