SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

bottom) from the more complex or turbulent past to the more simple and tranquil future. The display of the swastika cross in the lower panels, though commonly used in the Middle Ages, convinced many in modern times that this was truly a prophetic representation of human history as has been claimed by the monks there for centuries. The visit also included a tour of the existing museum set up to display some of the artifacts found there. Manuscript fragments were not on display but rather kept in lower steel drawers along with ostraca, potsherds, and textile fragments. It looked very obvious that a newer and bigger museum was needed to house these treasures as was later explained in Bishop Martyrius paper. The visit concluded with the customary display of generosity and hospitality of Bishop Mattaous, the abbot of the monastery, and its monks at the reception hall. Visit to St. Mina Monastery (or Dayr Mar Mina), in Maryut near Alexandria, February 4, 2002: This visit occurred on the Monday that the Sym osium concluded on. The primary purpose of this trip was to tour the facilities for conservation, microfilming, and digitizing of manuscripts at the monastery. There, the monks escorted the group through the different processes that these manuscripts go through from their receipt from their owner to their eventual return. The conservation process is the main reason an owner would bring a manuscript there. This process is the more labor intensive one. The microfilming and digitizing equipment are grouped together in one room. Other rooms in that building are reserved for office space and computer units. The bibliographic data on these manuscripts is setup on a Microsoft Access database with periodic text extracts made to perform topical search across the manuscripts. After a short conversation with the monks it became apparent that the equipment, the microfilm and digitized media, and the furniture are far more elaborate than the application developed to search for their contents. We were also given a quick tour of the new cathedral under construction there to show examples of how ancient Coptic building elements are utilized in a

Monastery. This is the private chapel of H. H. Pope Shenouda. This liturgy was officiated by H.G. Bishop Youannis, the general bishop, with the participation of Deacon Dr. R. Dous and 10 members of the Clerical College famed choir. The setting of this ancient church and the melodious sounds of the Coptic hymns was a reminder of how great and precious the Coptic Heritage is. Deacon Dous was the one that toiled in the background to organize this liturgy and prepare a full Coptic- English text of it to be made available to each of the Symposium participants. Visit to al-Surian Monastery (or Deir al-Surian), February 3, 2002: This visit occurred on a Sunday, where the monastery and its churches were filled with worshippers and visitors. It took the monks quiet a bit of time to empty the ancient church of the Virgin to allow the group an informative tour by the accompanying scholars: Drs. Hunt, Innemée, and Immerzeel. There, one can witness the fruits of the colossal efforts that the combined The Dutch-Polish team has accomplished over the years. The sight of the wall paintings on the walls and semi-domes was something to behold. Glass or Plexiglas protective covers kept the human touch of the worshippers away to preserve these fragile works of sacred art. In the semidome of the west wall, one can see the beautiful Coptic wall painting of the Annunciation that was discovered over a decade ago, underneath a similar Syriac wall painting. This discovery was a result of an intense fire in the back room, where wax candles were stored, that loosened the outer Syriac painting in part to reveal this magnificent Coptic one. This outer painting is preserved nearly intact on an elevated platform on the south side of the church, protected by a wooden rail from the outreach of the visitors. Dr. Immerzeel explained the beautiful stucco work in the Khurus area, which he talked about earlier in his paper. The group was also privileged to be shown the famed sanctuary door, known as the Door of Prophecy. This 10 th century wooden door is decorated with several panels with ivory, ranging from portraits of saints on the top to a succession of different geometric shapes that progressed in design (top to

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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