SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

of city of al-Fayoum, on 11 th century textiles. The dialect of the inscriptions were either Fayumic or Sahidic. The study of this material sheds a great light on the social conditions and history in these regional areas. The second paper was by Dr. Wurst, titled: The Coptic Manichean Library from Madinet Madi at al-Fayoum . It was read by the session moderator Dr. Richter, because of author inablility to attend. The paper briefly described the history and the distinctive features of the Manichean heresy. Its founder, Mani, lived in the 3 rd Century. The library was found in Egypt, in Madinet Madi in al Fayoum area, in 1929-30. It represents the oldest manuscripts found, related to this heterodox sect. Its contents dates generally to 4 th and 5 th Century with some as early as the end of 3 rd Century. London and Berlin libraries hold most of the known contents of this ancient library. There are seven codices, including the Manichean Psalms, described by some as the best examples of Poetry found in Coptic. This library has advanced our knowledge of this sect and it is slowly replacing the Nag Hammadi texts in importance among Coptic Scholars. Dr. Richter is one of the noted scholars in this branch of Coptic Literature. Although the subject matter is of little interest to members of the Coptic Church, it does provide however valuable information about the competing forces within the Christian population during the time of the Early Church in Egypt. Also it provides a wealth of linguistic material for the study of Coptic. The third paper was by Prof. Dr. Emmel, titled: The Library of the Monastery of Archangel Michael (Hamuli) . In this paper he dealt very eloquently with the famous parchment library found in the western edge of al-Fayoum in 1910. According to him, its significance goes far beyond its home of al-Fayoum and it has been influencing Coptic Studies ever since. The library provides the only information we possess about this monastery. Through its colophons we can see that it was a thriving monastery in the 9 th and 10 th Century. About the region and monasticism in al- Fayoum it provided much valuable information

around the time of the Arabic Invasion in the 7 th Century. This was through the Life of St. Samuel of Kalamoun. He mentioned two other works that were of monumental importance to Coptic Literature, the Martyrdom of St. Colluthus (Kolta) that preserves a more ancient form of this important hagiography, and the oldest Antiphonarium or Difnar found in Coptic. The manuscripts found were but a small part of its original size. Evidence for that lies in the fact that no fragment of the book of Psalms were found there, as is customary in any monastic library. What has survived beyond the biblical material points to volumes used for liturgical purposes in the celebration of feasts performed there. Some of the manuscripts were copied in the monastery, and others came from a scribal center called 'Tutun', which can be equated to Tebtunis at the Southern edge of the area. The study of this well- preserved Library can provide us with the methodology of reconstructing the dismembered library of the White Monastery. To Henri Hyvernat and Emil Chassinat, we owe the preservation of this library virtually intact until it was procured for the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, less than a decade after its discovery. Hyvernat and the library are credited with the monumental photographic edition of this 56- volume library, including the fragments that made their way to few other libraries. Only twelve copies of this edition were made and distributed to the important libraries of the time in Europe and the US as well as Egypt. A microfilm copy of this edition was obtained by the Society 20 years ago . The fourth and final paper of this session and of the Symposium was by Dr. Brune, titled, School Days in the Fayoum in the First Millenium . Due to Dr. Brune's inability to attend, he delegated Ms. Hodak to deliver the paper on his behalf. It dealt with a survey of school exercises texts that were found in the region of al-Fayoum. Such texts were written on a variety of media such as papyrus, ostraca, parchment, …etc. They were dated from the 4 th to the 12 th Century, though it is difficult to be century-precise. These texts are

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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