Coptsinmodernity

Copts in Modernity Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium of Coptic Studies, Melbourne, 13–16 July 2018 Edited by Lisa Agaiby Mark N. Swanson Nelly van Doorn-Harder leiden | boston For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV Contents Preface xi List of Figures and Tables xiii Notes on Contributors xvii Notes on Transliteration and Common Abbreviations xxii Introduction 1 Lisa Agaiby, Mark Swanson and Nelly van Doorn-Harder part 1 History 1 The Ottoman Tanzimat Edict of 1856 and Its Consequences for the Christians of Egypt: The Rashomon Effect in Coptic History 21 Heather J. Sharkey 2 A Correspondence between Rome and Alexandria in the Middle Ages: An Example from the Eighteenth Century 39 Magdi Awad 3 A New Contribution to Understanding the Pastoral Care of Pope Peter vii (1809–1852) 56 Bigoul El-Suriany 4 Pope Mark viii (1796–1809), the Author of Psalis for St. Mark 81 Youhanna N. Youssef 5 Printing the Medieval Copto-Arabic Heritage: From the ‘Golden Age’ to the Printed Page 106 Mark N. Swanson 6 The Coptic Papacy in the Twentieth Century and beyond: A Study of the Papal Selection Process in the Modern Era 134 Peter H. Cosman For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV viii contents part 2 Education, Leadership, and Service 7 Habib Girgis: Reformer of Religious and Theological Education in the Coptic Orthodox Church 155 Bishop Suriel 8 An Example of Coptic Leadership and Patronage: Lay-Archon Louis Zikri Wissa and Sixty Years Commitment in the Sunday School Movement 179 Myriam Wissa 9 Bishop Samuel’s Ministry of Teaching and Serving: The Formative Years 199 Cherubim Saed and Nelly van Doorn-Harder 10 The Idea of Personal Ascetic Reform in Kyrillos vi (1902–1971) 216 Daniel Fanous 11 “Draughts of Love and Divine Revelations”: Experiential Theology in Matta Al-Miskīn and Fayek M. Ishak 238 Samuel Kaldas 12 A Multidimensional Understanding of Sunday School in the Coptic Orthodox Tradition 257 Michael Salib 13 Mother Irini’s Visions of Leadership: Pachomian Rule and Teaching of the Fathers 270 Nelly van Doorn-Harder part 3 Identity and Material Culture 14 “Sign of Martyrdom, Heresy and Pride”: The Christian Coptic Tattoo and the Construction of Coptic Identity 295 Nebojsa Tumara For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV contents ix 15 The Cenotaph in the Cave Church of St. Paul the Hermit at the Red Sea: A Case Study of a Dream in the Twentieth Century 321 Lisa Agaiby and Shady Nessim 16 Coptic Religious Heritage: Is There a Future for the Past? 357 Karel Innemée 17 The Ideological Dimensions of Coptic Music Theory: Evolution of Musical Theorization as a Cultural Strategy 390 Nicholas Ragheb Index of Ancient/Medieval Sources 417 Index of Manuscripts 418 Index of Modern Authors 419 Index of Subjects 424 For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV Introduction Lisa Agaiby, Mark Swanson and Nelly van Doorn-Harder To understand human history and human life, it is necessary to understand religion and in the contemporary world one must understand other nations, ideologies and faith in order to grasp the meaning of life, as seen from perspectives often very different from our own.1 ∵ Since first launching its series of symposia in 2002,2 St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Theological College in Melbourne3—a member of the Australian 1 Ninian Smart, The Phenomenon of Christianity (London: Collins, 1979), 312. 2 The first symposium in 2002 was themed ‘St. Athanasius in Christian Tradition’; the second held in 2003 was themed ‘St. Cyril of Alexandria’; the third in 2007 was themed ‘Coptic Monas- ticism’; and the fourth in 2013 was themed ‘St. Severus of Antioch: His Times and Legacy’. 3 Built upon the pioneering efforts of Mr Louis Wahba, who championed the cause to form a center to provide people within the Diocese of Melbourne quality Christian Orthodox theological education and spiritual formation, St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Theological College (sac) was established by Bishop Suriel, the former dean of the College, in 2000. Over the years the College hosted a number of significant symposia and attracted internationally acclaimed guest lecturers. A milestone was reached in 2012 when sac became the eleventh member college of the collegiate University of Divinity, and the first accredited Coptic Ortho- dox Theological College in the world. sac’s primary purpose is to provide theological, litur- gical, spiritual, and clergy formation, as well as provide for those in general leadership roles within the parishes and other settings, such as religious educators, youth workers or counsel- lors, advanced theological study and specialized formational ministry to equip them to serve in a relevant, meaningful and engaging way. Furthermore, sac encourages cross-institutional and cross-denominational study, recognizing they are vital for Christian formation and ecumenical understanding, and thereby enabling the wider Australian community to learn about and experience the uniqueness of Coptic Orthodoxy. Since 2016, the College has offered all courses both in face-to-face and online modes, hence expanding sac’s footprint both nation- ally and internationally. Over the years since accreditation, the College successively grew its credentials and today offers specializations in the disciplines of Theology (Systematic, Pastoral, Moral), Biblical Studies and Biblical Languages, Mission and Ministry, Religious Edu- cation, Counselling, Church History, and Coptic Studies. sac offers awards for study from diploma to doctoral levels. For more information go to: www.sac.edu.au/. © Lisa Agaiby et al., 2021 | doi:10.1163/9789004446564_002 For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV 2 agaiby, swanson and van doorn-harder collegiate University of Divinity4—has provided a forum for the interdisci- plinary exchange of knowledge, research and collaboration between scholars, students, and the general public on themes pertaining to Coptic Studies. These symposia have also captured the growing hopes as well as concerns about mod- ernizing the preservation of Coptic religious as well as communal identity. The growth in the interest of Coptic Studies occurred round about the same time as the unprecedented revival that has characterized the Coptic Church from the early twentieth century; a revival that has had significant consequences within the context of modern Egyptian culture and society. The century also witnessed the phenomenon of emigration of many well-to-do Copts that began in the 1950s with Nasser’s nationalization policies, followed by a deteriorating domestic economic situation, in particular following Egypt’s defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and then because of the resurgence of polit- ical Islam in Egypt from the early 1970s onwards. Consequently, these emigrant Copts established churches in Europe, North America, Canada, and Australia that have become vibrant diaspora communities. It has been 50 years since the establishment of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia,5 and to celebrate the occasion, as well as acknowledge the reli- 4 The University of Divinity was established in 1910 as the Melbourne College of Divinity for the purposes of providing tertiary level theological education to Australians and to be a self- accrediting issuer of degrees. In 2012 the College gained approval to become Australia’s first university of specialization, offering awards in theology, philosophy, counselling, and ministry from diploma to doctoral levels. The University of Divinity is constituted by eleven theological colleges representing eight denominations: Anglican, Baptist, Churches of Christ, Coptic Orthodox, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, and Uniting Church in Aus- tralia. The University’s vision is to address the issues of the contemporary world through critical engagement with Christian theological traditions. For more information go to: www .divinity.edu.au/. 5 The mid-60s marked the slow migration of Copts into Australia and they settled mostly in the major Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne where employment was expanding. By 1967, there were around 20 to 30 families who constituted the Coptic community in Sydney. In July 1967 they sent a letter to Pope Kyrillos vi (1902–1971) requesting that a Coptic Church be established and a priest be sent to serve the small growing community in Sydney. In Novem- ber 1967 Bishop Samuel (1920–1981), the bishop for Public, Ecumenical and Social Services, responded by letter saying that His Holiness would ordain for them a priest. In 1968 Fr. Mina Nematalla (1927–2000), the nephew of Pope Kyrillos vi, was ordained to be the first priest for Australia. Arriving by ship into the port of Melbourne on January 21, 1969, he prayed the first Coptic liturgy on Australian soil in an Antiochian Orthodox Church, before he set sail to Syd- ney. Once a month Fr. Mina would travel to Melbourne to celebrate the liturgy for the small Coptic community there. By 1969 the number of Coptic families in Melbourne had grown to around 30, and so they likewise wrote to the patriarch requesting a permanent priest to serve the growing community. Consent was given to establish Australia’s second Coptic church in For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV introduction 3 gious renaissance that has taken place within the Coptic Church in contemporary times, St. Athanasius College hosted its fifth international symposium of Coptic Studies themed Copts in Modernity that focused on the history of the Coptic Church and community between the eighteenth and twenty-first cen- turies. Held at the College’s new state-of-the-art city campus in Eporo Tower Melbourne Australia from Friday 13 July to Monday 16 July 2018, the symposium was attended by more than 150 participants and brought together 27 local and international scholars from Scotland, London, Geneva, Amsterdam, Cairo, Cal- ifornia, Chicago, North Carolina, Moscow, Tokyo, as well as from Sydney and Melbourne.

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