SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

enrolling at the Coptic Studies Institut in Münster for advanced degrees in the field, a very hopeful sign. A Last Word about the Host: Only good things can be said about the effort and the accomplishment of the congress organizers. Under the guidance of the Congress Secretary Prof. Martin Krause, everything went or was made to go smoothly. He spared no effort to make everyone, especially us, feel welcomed and at home. My personal apprehensions about how we would be received were not only alleviated but rather replaced with very warm feelings. However a general can not be successful on a difficult mission unless he had an excellent staff. Dr. Sofia Schatten and Dr. Cäcilia Fluck were just the right people for that task. Their tireless efforts prior, during, and even after the congress concluded can only be admired and praised especially in our regards. There were many other students helping and all performed beautifully. The day of the trial coincided with a major event. It seems that a naval parade was under way. This brought people from nearly every known nation, rank, and profession. The summoned Saint was brought before the king amid the customery noise that one would expect from such a gathering. There, the king made another attempt to dissuade the Saint from his intentions by such lucrative offers as royal gifts, money, and high government appointment. The reponse was made in the same polite way that the Saint has done before. Either to give him back his faith or purify him by the edge of the sword. The king took the advice of his chief justice and his Elder of Elders, the chief religious cleric. The latter suggested, on religious grounds, the punishment of Martyrdom (continued):

On behalf of the Society, THANK YOU, you made this experience memorable!

Conclusion: It was a great experience to put it mildly. It is necessary for our youth to be exposed to such atmosphere to broaden their horizon and such objective was successful with the three youth that were part of the Society's delegation. However, not many are afforded that opportunity. Also it has become obvious that this gathering needs to be more frequently held. For these two reasons the Society will be making an attempt to get the scholarly communities as well as the Coptic Diocese in Los Angeles to arrange for a smaller regional gathering in 1998. More details will be coming on the subject in the next issues of this newsletter. Meanwhile we and more of our Coptic youth should plan for a stronger presence in the 2000 Congress in Leiden. A presence in terms of more Copts and more scholarly-grade papers presented. beheading; and the king agreed. However he drafted the services of a mamluke knight, named Philim, to use undeadly force to persuade the Saint to abandon his firm stand. This Philim, a European Christian that converted to Islam, failed in his mission. He eventually was ordered by the king to carry on the Elder of Elders sentence. The gallantry of the Saint apparently made Philim nervious enough to fail to completey sever the head from the body! The execution of the sentence unleashed the mob feelings that was brewing throughout the trial. They directed their actions toward stoning the body of the Saint, which the king ordered it to be hung upon a wood column just north of where the Saint was martyred. Then their anger turned toward any Chrsitian they could find in the area. We are also told of the severe beating that some Non-Coptic

A FORGOTTEN COPTIC MARTYRDOM FROM THE 13TH CENTURY ST. JOHN OF PHANIDJOIT (2) (by Hany N. Takla)

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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