SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

& ST. SHENOUDA COPTIC NEWSLETTER Quarterly Newsletter Published by the Staff of the St. Shenouda Center for Coptic Studies

1494 S. Robertson Blvd., Ste. 204, LA, CA 90035

Tel: (310) 271-8329 Fax: (310) 558-1863

January, 1997

Volume 3, No. 2

In This Issue: The Coptic Heritage (1) - The Coptic Bible (1) by Hany N. Takla........................................................... 1 Judas at the Feast of Cana of Galilee by Maged S. Mikhail....................................................................... 2 A Forgotten Coptic Martyrdom from the 13th Century - St. John of Phanidjoit (3) by Hany N. Takla ...... 3 St. Shenouda's Writings (7) by Ashraf Hanna and Hany N. Takla............................................................. 4 News by Hany N. Takla........................................................................................................................... 6

THE COPTIC HERITAGE (1) THE COPTIC BIBLE (1) (by Hany N. Takla)

missionary work. This was done to insure the uniformity of the Christian teachings to be given to the new converts. The first translations were in the form of passages mainly from the Gospels. Later on, the whole b oks were translated. Probably the Gospels were translated first, followed by the Acts in the New Testament. Among the Old Testament books, Psalms followed by Genesis was probably the early order of translation. Eventually the entire New Testament was translated, followed by the Books of Moses, the Prophets, the Poetic Books and the Historical Books in that order. Based on manuscript as well as inscription evidence, the whole Bible was translated in Sahidic. This is probably not the case with the Bohairic, which is deficient in the Old Testament Historical Books and most of the Poetic Books also. This translation process may have lasted about a century or even more. Keep in mind that all the translations were done from the Greek whether it Old or New Testament Books. Except on rare occasions, the Hebrew Old Testament was never utilized by the Christians of Egypt. As Egypt rapidly turned to Christianity in the fourth and fifth centuries, more uniform and accurate

Introduction: The Coptic Church like any Christian Church is primarily founded on the Bible. Biblical readings and quotations are found in abundance in its liturgical services. The Bible was the constitution that its saints have lived by, and the inspiration of the writings of its fathers. Its iconography abounds in Biblical themes. It was used by its theologians to define the faith of the Church. In fact, the Bible was, is, and will always be the heart and soul of the Coptic Church History of Coptic Version: Translation of the Bible into Egyptian, written in the Coptic Script, dates back to the second century AD. At first, some missionaries translated orally or informally from Greek into Egyptian, certain passages to use in their missionary work. In the last half of the Second Century, Pantaenus the missionary philosopher, came to Alexandria and became the head of the Theological School. Later on St. Demetrius the first became the Bishop of Alexandria. He was the first known Egyptian to be bishop of that city. The presence of those two sparked a concerted effort to spread Christianity among the Egyptian peasants. Thus the Coptic script was officially christianized for use in translating the Scriptures as needed in the

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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