John of Barullos (540-615) / Bishop Kyrillos -- The Relationship between the Monks of Northern Egypt and the patriarchs of the Egyptian church / David Brakke -- Saint Mina monastery in Arabic sources / Sherin Sadek El Gendi -- The Bashmurite revolts in the Delta and the 'Bashmuric dialect,' Frank Feder -- Toward the localization of the Hennaton monastic complex, Mary Ghattas -- The Pachomian federation and lower Egypt : the ties that bind / James E. Goehring -- The relations between the coptic church and the Armenian church from the time of Muhammad Ali to the present (1805-2015) / Mary Kupelian -- Saint Barsoum the naked and his veneration at al-Ma'sara (Deir Shahran) / Bishop Martyros -- The traditions of the holy family and the development of Christianity in the Nile Delta / Ashraf Alexandre Sadek -- Anba Ruways and the cathedral of Saint Mark / Adel F. Sadek -- The perception of St. Athanasius of Alexandria in later coptic literature / Ibrahim Saweros -- The discovery of papyri from Turah at Dayr al-Qusayr (Dayr Arsaniyus) and its legacy / Caroline T. Schroeder -- Nitria / Mark Sheridan -- Yuhanna al-Samannudi, the founder of national coptic philology in the Middle Ages / Adel Sidarus -- The Arabic version of the Miracles of Apa Mena Based on two unpublished manuscripts in the collection of the St. Shenouda the Archimandrite coptic society in Los Angeles / Hany N. Takla -- Life of Pope Cyril VI (Kyrillos VI) / Teddawos Ava Mina and Youhanna Nessim Youssef -- The veneration of Anba Hadid and the Nile Delta in the thirteenth century / Asuka Tsuji -- Kellia and monastic epigraphy / Jacques van der Vliet -- Butrus al-Sadamanti al-Armani (Peter of Sadamant "the Armenian") / Fr. Awad Wadi -- Julius of Aqfahs : the martyrdom of John and Simon / Youhanna Nessim Youssef -- The Bohairic Acts of the Martyrs acts as a genre of religious discourse / Ewa D. Zakrzewska -- Remnants of a Byzantine church at Athribis / Tomasz Górecki -- Architecture in Kellia / Gisèle Hadji-Minaglou -- Kellia : its decoration in painting and stucco / Karel C. Innemée -- Highlights from the polish excavations at Marea/Philoxenite 2000-14 / Krzysztof Babraj and Daria Tarara -- Conservation of mural paintings in the coptic museum / Michael Jones.

Christianity and monasticism have long flourished in the northern part of Upper Egypt and in the Nile Delta, from Beni Suef to the Mediterranean coast. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in northern Egypt over the past two millennia. The studies explore Coptic art and archaeology, architecture, language, and literature. The artistic heritage of monastic sites in the region is highlighted, attesting to their important legacies.

The legacies of the Coptic Christian presence in Alexandria and the Egyptian Deserts from the fourth century to the present day The great city of Alexandria is undoubtedly the cradle of Egyptian Christianity, where the Catechetical School was established in the second century and became a leading center in the study of biblical exegesis and theology. According to tradition St. Mark the Evangelist brought Christianity to Alexandria in the middle of the first century and was martyred in that city, which was to become the residence of Egypt’s Coptic patriarchs for nearly eleven centuries. By the fourth century Egyptian monasticism had begun to flourish in the Egyptian deserts and countryside. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine the various aspects of Coptic civilization in Alexandria and its environs and in the Egyptian deserts over the past two millennia. The contributions explore Coptic art, archaeology, architecture, language, and literature. The impact of Alexandrian theology and its cultural heritage as well as the archaeology of its university are highlighted. Christian epigraphy in the Kharga Oasis, the art and architecture of the Bagawat cemetery, and the archaeological site of Kellis (Ismant al-Kharab) with its Manichaean texts are also discussed. Contributors Elizabeth Agaiby, Fr. Anthony, David Brakke, Jan Ciglenečki , Jean-Daniel Dubois, Bishop Epiphanius, Lois M. Farag, Frank Feder, Cäcilia Fluck, Sherin Sadek El Gendi, Mary Ghattas, Gisèle Hadji-Minaglou, Intisar Hazawi, Karel Innemée, Mary Kupelian, Grzegorz Majcherek, Bishop Martyros, Samuel Moawad, Ashraf Nageh, Adel F. Sadek, Ashraf Alexander Sadek, Ibrahim Saweros, Mark Sheridan, Fr. Bigoul al-Suriany, Hany Takla, Gertrud J.M. van Loon, Jacques van der Vliet, Youhanna Nessim Youssef, Ewa D. Zakrzewska, Nader Alfy Zekry

Christianity and monasticism have flourished along the Nile Valley in the Aswan region of Upper Egypt and in what was once Nubia, from as early as the fourth century until the present day. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine various aspects of Coptic civilization in Aswan and Nubia over the past centuries. The complexity of Christian identity in Nubia, as distinct from Egypt, is examined in the context of church ritual and architecture. Many of the studies explore Coptic material culture: inscriptions, art, architecture, and archaeology; and language and literature. The archaeological and artistic heritage of monastic sites in Edfu, Aswan, Makuria, and Kom Ombo are highlighted, attesting to their important legacies in the region.

Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom offers a new history of the field of Egyptian monastic archaeology. It is the first study in English to trace how scholars identified a space or site as monastic within the Egyptian landscape and how such identifications impacted perceptions of monasticism. Brooks Hedstrom then provides an ecohistory of Egypt's tripartite landscape to offer a reorientation of the perception of the physical landscape. She analyzes late-antique documentary evidence, early monastic literature, and ecclesiastical history before turning to the extensive archaeological evidence of Christian monastic settlements. In doing so, she illustrates the stark differences between idealized monastic landscape and the actual monastic landscape that was urbanized through monastic constructions. Drawing upon critical theories in landscape studies, materiality and phenomenology, Brooks Hedstrom looks at domestic settlements of non-monastic and monastic settlements to posit what features makes monastic settlements unique, thus offering a new history of monasticism in Egypt.

After its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 bc, Egypt was ruled for the next 300 years by the Ptolemaic dynasty founded by Ptolemy I, one of Alexander's generals. With the defeat of Cleopatra VII in 30 bc, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, and later of the Byzantine Empire. For a millennium it was one of the wealthiest, most populous and important lands of the multicultural Mediterranean civilization under Greek and Roman rule. The thousand years from Alexander to the Arab conquest in ad 641 are rich in archaeological interest and well documented by 50,000 papyri in Greek, Egyptian, Latin, and other languages. But travelers and others interested in the remains of this period are ill-served by most guides to Egypt, which concentrate on the pharaonic buildings. This book redresses the balance, with clear and concise descriptions related to documents and historical background that enable us to appreciate the fascinating cities, temples, tombs, villages, churches, and monasteries of the Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods. Written by a dozen leading specialists and reflecting the latest discoveries and research, it provides an expert visitor's guide to the principal cities, many off the well-worn tourist paths. It also offers a vivid picture of Egyptian society at differing economic and social levels.

The humanities offer insights into the highest (and lowest) capabilities of our own natures and, at their best, they function as prophetic champions of human dignity and as inspired celebrants of beauty. Envisioning God in the Humanities pays tribute to the career of Melissa Harl Sellew, a scholar and teacher who embodies the ideals of these academic disciplines. The collaboration of these essays attests to the potentialities for transcendence that emerge from rigorous and collective reflection on the texts, images, and ideas produced in ancient societies. Taking its cue from Professor Sellew's own distinguished scholarship, this collection of studies begins with analyses of the New Testament Gospels, then moves more broadly toward the religious life of the ancient world as attested both in literature and materiality, among Jews and Christians, Greeks and Romans. Just as Sellew has done throughout her career, so this volume invites us into to the joy of exploring distant societies and, in so doing, into the fuller discovery of one's own self.