SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

1980 then resumed it again in 1990 and in later years. The excavation yielded oil presses, pottery, three churches built with reused material, and wall paintings. The dates of these excavated items range from the 5 th to the 12 th Century. According to Dr. Boutros, the site has not been fully excavated. He further commented on the economic activities that can be deducted on the basis of the archeological evidence. Sadly the work of this latest excavation has not been published. The paper however depended heavily on the unpublished archives that the excavation kept. The third paper was by Dr. Grossmann, titled, The Churches of Madinat Madi at al-Fayoum . Prof. Bolman read it due to the absence of Dr. Grossmann. It dealt more specifically with the same area that the previous paper dealt with in general. Specifically it dealt with description of the three churches that were discovered in Tebtunis. Originally these churches were excavated by an Italian mission in 1930-1933. And of course it was not published. In this case World War II may have been the reason for that. Fortunately photographs were kept in Italy and the author was able to consult them in order to retrace the steps. It seems that the church designated Church C has provided the best- preserved features. According to the author the church was built with reused items such as column capitals and pedestals. Also evidence of a screen can be seen in the Khurus area, though the Nave is not visible at the present. We are very fortunate now that Dr. Grossmann has done work on these churches because of his prolific publication track record. Session Three, February 7, 2004; Chairman: Prof. Wilfred Griggs. Four paper were presented during this last session of the first day. The first was by Mme. Rutschowscaya, titled, Fayoum Portraits and their Influence on the First Coptic Icons. This paper was read in French but copies of the English translation were distributed to the attendees. It dealt with how these funerary portraits, commonly referred to as Fayoum Portraits, have influenced the style seen in the first

Coptic Icons. The portraits show fusion of the Egyptian and Greco-Roman tradition. They in essence introduced a new style and technique, not known in Egyptian Art until that time.. These portraits disappeared in the 4 th Century following the end of the mummification practice in Egypt. They however reappeared in a Christian setting in the 5 th and 6 th centuries. The two most famous examples came from monasteries. The first was of Bishop Abraham from St. Phoibamon monastery near Luxor, and the other from Bawit in Middle Egypt, depicting the famous St. Mena the abbot with Christ. She later took up the subject of the ecclesiastical icons and how the Coptic has diverged from the Byzantine in style, though emerging from a common Greco-Roman tradition. She also discussed iconographic images found on Coptic tapestries, on which she had previously written an excellent book. This presentation was greatly enhanced by the use of many colorful slides. The second paper was by Dr. Skalova, titled, Hommage to Bishop Abraam . This paper p rtrayed the profound effect that St. Abraam of al-Fayoum had on the author. Iconographer by training she seemed to have been inspired by the icon and the personality of the saint. She gave an overview of the History of the Deir al-Azab, which functioned as a monastery during the period of the 12 th to the 18 th Century. She then gave a short history of the life of St. Abraam who was reposed in 1914. She recounted his meeting with Leeder, the author of the "Modern Sons of the Pharaohs", who did not have any thing good to say about the Copts of his time except for St. Abraam. He, like all of us now, recognized that he was a holy man. She went on to describe the new Reliquary that was built for him in 1987, which we were fortunate to have of tour of a day earlier. She concluded her paper with an iconographic description of the icon that has been placed above the glass case that holds his body. It depicts the moving of the saint's body into the Reliquary, carried by the eight bishops who were present at that solemn occasion. Interestingly, it

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

7