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Letters, Essays, and Sermons by Saint Gregory Nazianzus
This 18th-century manuscript is a
collection of letters, essays, and sermons by Saint Gregory Nazianzus
(died circa 389). The manuscript is thought to be the first Arabic
translation from the original Greek and has not yet been edited or
published. It is the second volume of a two-volume work. Gregory of
Nazianzus, also known as Gregory the Theologian, is recognized as a
Father of the Church in both the Eastern and Western traditions. He was
born in Cappadocia (eastern Anatolia), where he spent much of his life.
He was a ...
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Pentateuch
This manuscript is an Arabic
translation of the first five books of the Old Testament (Pentateuch),
which is called on the first leaf, “The Holy Torah.” The book contains
little information about its production other than a note at the end
indicating that it is of Coptic origin. Framed cruciform patterns appear
at the top of the first leaf and are the only illustrations in the
work. There are chapter and verse headings in red as well as guidewords
and occasional directions for recitation during fasts and feasts. At the
...
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Letters, Pedagogical Teachings, and Sayings of Saint Anthony of Egypt
This manuscript opens with the 20
letters “to the sons who follow his [Anthony’s] gentle path…and prayers
to keep us from Satan’s example.” The letters are for the most part
short, many not exceeding five folios. According to an introductory
note, they are addressed to both men and women. The work is in a bold
but relaxed hand. Each letter or other significant section is set off in
red. There are no contemporary marginal glosses, but comments and
corrections (some in English) in pencil were made by ...
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Historical Books of the Old Testament
This Biblical manuscript contains
portions of the Old Testament historical books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, and Kings. The volume is incomplete at the beginning and end.
The scribe, whose name might have appeared in the missing colophon, is
unknown. The copying was done in 1748 (Joshua) and 1749 (Second Kings).
There are guide words but no page numbers. Chapters are inconsistently
marked. The work is carefully written but appears to have received
little use, as indicated by the lack of the fore-edge smudging observed
in some other manuscripts in the ...
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Gospel of Saint Mark
This manuscript copy of the Gospel
of Saint Mark can be dated to the 18th century. The text is copied
clearly and enclosed in a double-lined frame in red. The folios are
numbered with Coptic numerals. The manuscript has many marginal notes
and Old Testament references in Arabic, with Coptic numerals employed
for chapter and verse citations. The marginalia may have been added by
Wadi’ Muftah, whose name appears on the front endpapers. The text is
complete and is in excellent condition. The binding is brown leather
over boards with ...
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Gospel of Saint Luke
This manuscript of the Gospel of
Saint Luke can be dated to the 18th century. The text is written clearly
and enclosed in a double-lined frame in red. The folios are numbered
with Coptic numerals. The manuscript has many marginal notes and Old
Testament references in Arabic, with Coptic numerals employed for
chapter and verse citations. The marginalia may have been added by Wadi’
Muftah, whose name appears on the front endpapers. The text is complete
and is in excellent condition, although the last page is copied in a
different ...
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Gospel of Saint John
This Arabic manuscript of the Gospel
of Saint John dates from the 18th century. The text is written clearly
and enclosed in a double-lined frame in red. The folios are numbered
with Coptic numerals. The manuscript has many marginal notes and Old
Testament references in Arabic, with Coptic numerals employed for
chapter and verse citations. The marginalia may have been added by Wadi’
Muftah, whose name appears on the front endpapers. The text is complete
and is in excellent condition, although the last page is copied in a
different hand ...
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The History of the Roman Provinces of the Near East
This Arabic manuscript is a history
of the Roman provinces of the Near East, with special reference to King
Herod the Great and the dynasty he founded. The manuscript lacks
numerous pages at the beginning and end. The remaining portion contains
the history of Roman Palestine during the first century BC until the
destruction of the temple by Roman emperor Titus in 70 AD. The author,
title, and date of copying are unknown. The work has been tentatively
ascribed to the 17th century. The text is unadorned except for marking
...
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The Sublime Pearl in the Sacrament of the Eucharist
This manuscript volume contains two drafts of a work on the Eucharistic sacrament (Arabic, sirr al-‘Afkharistiya).
The sacrament is revered in many Christian churches, including the
Coptic Orthodox Church, as the transformation of bread and wine into the
body and blood of Jesus Christ. It is the central event of every mass
in the Orthodox tradition and in many Western denominations. The volume
contains two versions of the same essay. Authorship is ascribed to Iryan
Moftah (1826–86), even though his name does not appear anywhere in the
notebook ...
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Reconciling Mercy with Justice
This manuscript is a notebook
containing the draft of a sermon or essay by Coptic thinker and teacher
Iryan Moftah (1826–86) on the theme of the reconciliation of justice
with mercy. The author’s notes are in a careful Ruqah script on unlined
commercial notebook paper with holes punched for insertion into a
binder. The main text is heavily annotated with Biblical citations and
textual emendations in the margins. Some pages are missing, as are the
last pages of the volume. The author is not named in the text ...
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Litanies of the Virgin Mary
This Arabic manuscript contains two
works pertaining to the Virgin Mary, who is recognized as the mother of
Jesus Christ in both Christian and Muslim scriptures. The first
manuscript is a personal prayer to the Virgin, to be recited daily for
spiritual benefit. It includes a review of Mary’s place in the life of
Jesus as recounted in the New Testament, beginning with the Archangel
Gabriel’s announcement of the birth of Jesus and ending with Mary’s
presence at the crucifixion. The second manuscript is a litany, or ...
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Coptic Language Primer
This manuscript is a basic
introduction to the alphabet, pronunciation, and grammar of the Bohairic
dialect of the Coptic language written for Arabic speakers by Iryan
Moftah (1826–86). It is copied in a commercial notebook. The author
divides each page vertically with text in Coptic script on the left and
Arabic translation or explanation on the right. The manuscript is
written in a bold black ink. Title and author are given on a label
pasted on the front cover. The work is undated, but it is most likely
from ...
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Coptic Grammar
This manuscript consists of a
portion of a Coptic primer by Iryan Moftah (1826–86). It lists useful
phrases, with the Coptic in the left column and the Arabic on the right.
Moftah avoids explanation of linguistic complexities or conjugations.
This, along with the simple, everyday phrases, leads to the conclusion
that the book is aimed at schoolchildren or young seminarians rather
than advanced learners. Although the textbook is aimed at Arabic
speakers, there is no assumption that students are acquainted with the
complexities of classical Arabic grammar. There are ...
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Untitled Notebook of Coptic-language Lessons
This manuscript contains a Coptic
grammar and vocabulary notes compiled by Father Girgis Murqus of Akhmīm,
Upper Egypt. It includes lists of common phrases in Coptic with Arabic
translation. It probably was used by the author as a teaching guide for
beginning Coptic classes. It is similar to the primers of Iryan Moftah
(1826–86), a prominent teacher of Coptic and linguistic reformer, but it
also includes verb exercises. The notebook is missing several pages and
the binding is in poor condition. Arabic words are occasionally
misspelled. The exact date ...
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Calculating Coptic Orthdox Easter
This manuscript deals with the
calculation of Easter Sunday according to the Coptic calendar. Fixing
this date each year governs much of the liturgical and devotional life
of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Coptic calendar begins in 284 AD,
which is called Anno Martyrum (AM), or Year of the Martyrs. The
first folio contains a table of the four seasons with their
corresponding Coptic months and zodiacal signs. The following pages,
some of which are torn or badly stained, provide instructions for
calculating the movement of the moon and reconciling ...
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Towards Salvation through Fervent Prayer
This manuscript of devotions
attributed to Butrus al-Sadamanti appears to have been copied in the
19th century by an anonymous scribe. The manuscript includes a 40-page
introduction to the devotions. The title is not found in the work
itself, but is noted on the inside front cover. The binding is small and
tight and the text block is generally sound except for the last pages,
which are missing. Little is known of the life of the presumed author,
named in the incipit as anba (bishop) and qiddis (saint) Butrus al-Sadamanti ...
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