Editor in Chief
Youssef Sidhom
Watani
عربى English French
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Watani
ع Fr

Claremont Graduate University Celebrates The Churches of Egypt

15 December, 2011 - (9:04 AM)
0 0

Nicholas Riegels

2
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

More than 150 people gathered at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) on Sunday, 2 December to celebrate the publication of a new book, The Churches of Egypt: From the Journey of The Holy Family to the Present Day. The group included students and faculty from CGU’s School of Religion (SoR), members of the Claremont community, and parishioners and clergy from Coptic churches throughout the greater Los Angeles area. The diversity of those in attendance underscored their shared enthusiasm for Coptic subjects and the broad appeal of Coptic studies, irrespective of culture, ethnicity or religious affiliation.

Churches and churchgoing fulfill a central role in the Coptic experience, serving as a focal point for expression, evangelisation and celebration of faith, and as the audience at Claremont learned, The Churches of Egypt greatly enhances our understanding of this role. The authors, Gawdat Gabra, Visiting Professor of Coptic Studies at Claremont Graduate University and Gertrud J.M. van Loon, a researcher at Leiden University in The Netherlands are both leading authorities in Coptic art, and their mastery of the subject matter shows in this deeply nuanced text. Edited in a lucid, eminently readable style by Carolyn Ludwig, herself a noted author and lecturer on Coptic subjects, and endowed with the work of acclaimed photographer Sherif Sonbol, the book is an instant classic in its field.

Karen Torjesen, Dean of the School of Religion, was on hand to provide a gracious welcome and called attention in her opening remarks to Claremont’s longstanding commitment to Coptic scholarship. Saad Michael Saad, Chair of the SoR’s Coptic Studies Council, provided further welcome and highlighted the Council’s role in fostering Coptic academic endeavor. By capitalising on the formidable intellectual resources of the SoR, its history of excellence in Coptic studies, and the rich cultural assets of the Coptic community, the Council hopes to cultivate a unique environment that will serve as a focal point for Coptic scholarship within the University and around the world. Throughout the 2 December event it was clear that these aspirations are well on the way to becoming a reality.

True to its name the book’s reach extends from churches associated with the Holy Family’s stay in Egypt to such modern edifices as the Cathedral of St Mark in Alexandria. Along the way it surveys countless treasures including the newly restored monasteries of St Antony, St Paula, and St Mary (The Syrians); much of the iconography brought to light by these restorations is documented here for the first time. The book contains unparalleled photographs of St Simeon the Tanner’s in Muqattam, the White and Red Monasteries of St Shenouda in Sohag, and St Mary’s Monastery in the Mountain of Assiut (Drunka), to name but a few examples of the outstanding material found in its pages. Ms Ludwig captivated the audience with a narrative of her visits to these sites, while an accompanying slideshow featuring Mr Sobol’s superlative photographs drew gasps of awe and exclamation from the admiring crowd.

The depth of Dr Gabra’s scholarship was evident to all during his subsequent presentation on Papal residences, in which he elucidated the pervasive and ongoing role of monasticism in the lives of the Patriarchs of the See of St Mark. Two of Dr Gabra’s students, Prinny Stevens and Carolyn Patterson punctuated the evening’s proceedings with energetic remarks on their experience of Coptic Studies at Claremont. Through the efforts of such promising students as these, we can surely look forward to a bright future for Coptic scholarship and celebrations of further books in the mold of The Churches of Egypt.

Released in handsome 10 x12 inch hardcover format by the American University in Cairo Press in conjunction with Ludwig Publishing, the book contains over 300 exquisitely rendered full-color photographs, and would make an excellent gift to anyone with an interest in sacred art and architecture, Egyptian history or the Coptic experience. It is available from major booksellers and also directly from Ludwig [email protected]

This book and the celebration at Claremont testify to the breadth and depth of Coptic religion and culture. More than a Christian minority seeking justice in their Egyptian homeland, the Copts are heirs to a civilisation with origins beyond the reach of recorded history and continued vitality in our present day. This sense of stewardship pervades Coptic faith and spirituality: by upholding an unbroken lineage that began with the visit of the Holy Family to Egypt, the Copts are blessed to share and grow in a tradition that enriches not only the churches of Egypt, but those of the entire world.

Nicholas Riegels, M.D., lives in Seattle, Washington.

The picture shows from left to right: Mr. Azmi Hanna, Editor-in-Chief of Orthodox News; Fr Shenouda Ghattas, St John Church, Covina; Dean Karen Torjesen, Dean of the School of Religion; Mrs Carolyn Ludwig, Editor of The Churches of Egypt; Professor Gawdat Gabra, co-author of The Churches of Egypt; and Dr Saad Michael Saad, Chair of the Coptic Studies Council at CGU.

Comments

comments

Tags: celebratesClaremontGraduateUniversity

Related Posts

Letters to the dead
Books

Letters to the dead

May 10, 2019
Heroes .. Heroes with disabilities
Books

Heroes .. Heroes with disabilities

April 16, 2019
“Leave them with us and browse through Book Fair”
Antiquity

“Leave them with us and browse through Book Fair”

February 11, 2018
Third ICS Coptic Art forum
Coptic Culture

Third ICS Coptic Art forum

December 5, 2017
Fifth Coptic Book Fair
Books

Fifth Coptic Book Fair

November 20, 2017
Palm Sunday: the profound meanings
Coptic Culture

Palm Sunday: the profound meanings

April 9, 2017

Editorial

Heliopolis sacrificed for New Capital?

More

MOST READ

For 28 years in Port Said: Holy Virgin icon still drips miraculous oil
Coptic Affairs

For 28 years in Port Said: Holy Virgin icon still drips miraculous oil

February 26, 2018
0

This February 2018 marks the 28th year in succession since miraculous oil started dripping from a large modern paper icon...

Read more
Popes Francis and Tawadros agree one Easter for all

Popes Francis and Tawadros agree one Easter for all

October 25, 2015
Anba Epiphanius, Abbot of St Macarius’s, murdered

Anba Epiphanius, Abbot of St Macarius’s, murdered

July 29, 2018
Police crime shocks, angers Egyptians

Police crime shocks, angers Egyptians

November 23, 2016
Sohag Copts attacked on rumour of opening church

Sohag Copts attacked on rumour of opening church

November 25, 2016

Features

30 years on Pope Shenouda III Youth Centre in Sydney: “No youth … no future”
Coptic Affairs

30 years on Pope Shenouda III Youth Centre in Sydney: “No youth … no future”

December 10, 2019
0

This month marks 30 years since the Pope Shenouda III Youth Centre was founded in Sydney, by non-other than Pope...

Read more
Watani started as an Egyptian weekly Sunday newspaper published in Cairo. The word Watani is Arabic for “My Homeland”. The paper was founded in 1958 by the prominent Copt Antoun Sidhom (1915 – 1995), who strove for the establishment of a civil, democratic society in Egypt, where all Egyptians would enjoy full citizenship rights regardless of their religious denomination. To this day when Watani is published as a weekly paper and an online news site, the objective remains the same. Those in charge of Watani view this role as a patriotic all-Egyptian vocation. Special attention is given to shedding light on Coptic culture and tradition as authentically Egyptian, this being a topic largely disregarded or little-understood by Egypt’s media. Watani is deeply dedicated to offer its readers high quality, extensive, objective, credible and well-researched media coverage, with special focus on Coptic issues, culture, heritage, and contribution to Egyptian society.
-----------------------------------------------------------

27 Abdel Khalek Tharwat st, Downtown, Abdeen,Cairo

00202-23927201

00202-23935946

 [email protected]

      

categories

  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Egypt – Arab Spring
  • Coptic Affairs
  • Features
  • Watani Special Features

Recent Posts

  • 30 years on Pope Shenouda III Youth Centre in Sydney: “No youth … no future”
  • Education Ministry shifts exams away from Coptic feast day
  • African youth festival for arts wraps up in Aswan
  • Samira Sidhom (1925 – 2019): The woman behind the man and the paper
  • Heliopolis sacrificed for New Capital?
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Egypt – Arab Spring
  • Coptic Affairs
  • Features
  • Watani Special Features

Powered BY 3A Digital.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum

Powered BY 3A Digital.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In