SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

behind the Pope's push for the revival of the language, which was to make it a living language like those in existence in his time. This change in the teaching methodology probably can be attributed to the time it was written in, ie. the era of Pope Cyril V. During his nearly half-century papacy, he returned the Church back to a more anti-foreign and ecclesiastical-centered institution. This was due in great part to the danger that the Church faced from foreign missionaries, Catholic and Protestant. These missionaries turned their attention to gaining converts to their respective churches from among the Copts rather than from among the Moslems of Egypt, as it was orinigally intended. Beside the historical reflection of the time that this book presents to us, the text selections offer the readers, over a century later, other insights. The first is the fact that these texts were put in print is quite remarkable in those days. The publication of Ecclesiastical Coptic texts in the Coptic Church did not come until several years later. So the author must have relied on manuscripts. There is also the remote possiblity that he had access to al- Tukhi's 18 th century publication, in Rome, though it is highly doubtful. Walter Ewing Crum was born on 22 July 1865, the eldest son of Alexander Crum, of Thornlebank, Glasgow. Received his education at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, and graduated in 1888. As an undergraduate student, he showed great interest in Egyptology, which he studied first at Paris, mainly under the great Egyptologist Sir Gaston Maspero (1846-1916), and afterwards at Berlin, under Professor Adolf Erman (1854-1937) who stayed a lifelong friend. In Berlin, he decided to do Coptic Studies. Among his fellow pupils, in that subject, was

Also his selections from the Coptic Horologion tell of an attempt to revive the use of the Coptic in this popular book in the Church. Manuscript tradition tells us that Coptic use has been replaced with Arabic as early as the 17 th Century. Further, his intentional exclusion of the Troporia and the Theotokia of the Vespers and Compline Offices reflects the wide differences found in Coptic manuscripts versus the Arabic ones of that time. Most likely, the author did not want to confuse his audience with the introduction of unfamiliar text, especially because he is including both Coptic and Arabic together of all these text selections. A wise approach for teaching the language at that era, where controversy was not encouraged nor tolerated. Conclusion: This wonderful book is a tribute to the remarkable dedication, knowledge, and humility of those who produced it during such difficult times. It should also serve as a reminder that we, the Copts in the diaspora, having more resources and freedom than any of our predecessors ever had, are expected and even required to do more toward achieving Coptic literacy. Such goal is shamefully neglected by the ones that continually boast of their superior education and intellect!

60 Years to the Departure of an Eminent Coptologist Dr. Walter Ewing Crum (1865- 1944) (by Dr. Mina Abd-el-Malek)

Steindorff. Having once entered that rich field of studies, he realized the great need of a comprehensive and up-to-date Coptic dictionary. For that great project he devoted the larger part of his time and not little of his resources.

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter The Coptic dictionary, which marks an epoch in that field of study, will keep his memory alive as long as men retain an interest in Egyptology.

If Crum had been a descendant of the Ancient Egyptians, he could not have loved the Coptic language more than he did, and he could not have

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