Listed 5 sub titles with search on: Religious history for wider area of: "ALEXANDRIA Airport EGYPT" .
ALEXANDRIA (Ancient city) EGYPT
How Morton Smith's Discovery of a Lost Letter by Clement of Alexandria Scandalized Biblical Scholarship.
The Church of Alexandria, founded according to the constant tradition
of both East and West by St. Mark the Evangelist, was the centre from which Christianity
spread throughout all Egypt,
the nucleus of the powerful Patriarchate of Alexandria. Within its jurisdiction,
during its most flourishing period, were included about 108 bishops; its territory
embraced the six provinces of Upper Libya,
Lower Libya (or Pentapolis), the Thebaid, Egypt,
Acadia (or Heptapolis), and Augustamnica.
In the beginning the successor of St. Mark was the only metropolitan,
and he governed ecclesiastically the entire territory. As the Christians multiplied,
and other metropolitan sees were created, he became known as the arch-metropolitan.
The title of patriarch did not come into use until the fifth century. Up to the
time of the second ecumenical council (381) the Patriarch of Alexandria ranked
next to the Bishop of Rome.
By the third canon of this council, afterwards confirmed by the twenty-eighth
canon of the Council of Chalcedon
(452), the Patriarch of Constantinople,
supported by imperial authority and by a variety of concurring advantages, was
given the right of precedency over the Patriarch of Alexandria. But neither Rome
nor Alexandria recognized the claim until many years later.
During the first two centuries of our era, though Egypt
enjoyed unusual quiet, little is known of the ecclesiastical history of its chief
see, beyond a barren list of the names of its patriarchs, handed down to us chiefly
through the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius. They were, in order: Anianus (d.
84); Abilius; Cerdon, Primus, also called Ephraim, Justus (d. 130); Eumenes; Mark
II; Celadion; Agrippinus; Julian (d. 189).
With the successors of Julian we have something more than a mere list
of names. Demetrius governed the Church of Alexandria for forty-two years, and
it was he who deposed and excommunicated Origen, notwithstanding his great work
as a catechist. Heraclas (d. 247) exercised his power as arch-metropolitan by
deposing Ammonius, Bishop Thmuis, and installing a successor. Maximus and Theonas
(282-300) were followed by Peter, the first occupant of the See of St. Mark to
die a martyr (311 or 312). Then came Achillas, who ordained Arius through ignorance
of the man's real character. On the death of Achillas, Alexander, who proved himself
a zealous defender of the orthodox faith in the contest against Arius, was elected
bishop by unanimous consent of clergy and people, and in spite of the interested
opposition of Arius.
Of the ante-Nicene bishops who ruled this church, Dionysius and Alexander
were the most illustrious, as also were St. Athanasius and St. Cyril among those
who subsequently filled the see. The interval between the death of Athanasius
and the accession of St. Cyril (412) was filled by Peter II, a zealous bishop,
who was obliged to seek refuge in Rome
from the persecuting Arians (d. 381); Timothy I (381-385), Theophilus (385-412),
the immediate predecessor of Cyril. Under St. Cyril (412-444) the Patriarchate
of Alexandria reached its most flourishing epoch. The decline of his office dates
from the middle of the fifth century. Under Dioscurus (444-451), the unworthy
successor of St. Cyril, the Church of Alexandria became embroiled in the Monophysite
heresy. Dioscurus was deposed, and later banished.
The election of Proterius as Catholic patriarch was followed by an
open schism. Proterius was murdered in 457, and Timothy Aelurus, a Monophysite,
was intruded into the see. The schism thus began by Dioscurus and Timothy gave
rise to two factions, the orthodox, or Catholic, party, which maintained the faith
of the two natures in Christ, as prescribed by the Council of Chalcedon
(451), and the Monophysites, who followed the heresy of Dioscurus. The former
came to be known as Melchites or Royalists, i. e., adherents or favourites of
the emperor, and the latter as Jacobites.
The possession of the See of Alexandria alternated between these parties
for a time; eventually each communion maintained a distinct and independent succession.
Thus the Church of Alexandria became the scene of serious disturbances, which
finally brought about its ruin. The Saracen domination, so gladly welcomed by
the Jacobites, proved to them more of a curse than a blessing. They suffered many
bitter persecutions under successive Moslem rulers. Many among the clergy and
laity apostatized. Nor did the Melchites escape. Indeed they were worse off, ground
as they were between the upper and nether millstones, the Jacobites and the Saracens.
By the eleventh century Alexandria had ceased to be the sole place
where the patriarch was consecrated. From this date Cairo
claimed that honour alternately with Alexandria, though the enthronement took
place in the latter city. The revolutions which subsequently befell the Greek
Empire of Constantinople
had little effect on the fortunes of the Church of Alexandria. The same may be
said of the Crusades; though closely connected with local Alexandrian history,
they do not seem to have had much influence upon its internal ecclesiastical affairs.
Joseph M. Woods, ed.
Transcribed by: Thomas J. Bress
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
In 231 a council of bishops and priests met at Alexandria, called
by Bishop Demetrius for the purpose of declaring Origen unworthy of the office
of teacher, and of excommunicating him.
In 306, a council held under St. Peter of Alexandria deposed Meletius,
Bishop of Lycopolis, for
idolatry and other crimes. The schism then begun by him lasted fifty years and
was the source of much sorrow for the Church of Egypt.
In 321 was held the council that first condemned Arius, then parish
priest of the section of Alexandria known as Baucalis. After his condemnation
Arius withdrew to Palestine,
where he secured the powerful support of Eusebius of Caesarea.
At the Council of 326, St. Athanasius was elected to succeed the aged
Alexander, and various heresies and schisms of Egypt
were denounced. In 340, one hundred bishops met at Alexandria, declared in favour
of Athanasius, and vigorously rejected the calumnies of the Eusebian faction at
Tyre.
At a council in 350, St. Athanasius was replaced in his see. In 362
was held one of the most important of these councils. It was presided over by
St. Athanasius and St. Eusebius of Vercelli,
and was directed against those who denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost, the
human soul of Our Lord, and His Divinity. Mild measures were agreed on for those
apostate bishops who repented, but severe penance was decreed for the chief leaders
of the great heresies that had been devastating the Christian Church.
In 363, another council met under St. Athanasius for the purpose of
submitting to the new Emperor Jovian an account of the truth faith. Somewhat similar
was the purpose of the Council of 364. That of 370 approved the action of Pope
Damasus in condemning Urascius and Valens, and expressed its surprise that Auxentius
was yet tolerated at Milan.
In 399, the council of Alexandria condemned, without naming himself,
the writings of Origen.
In 430, St. Cyril of Alexandria held to make known to the bishops
of Egypt the letter of Pope
Celestine I, in which a pontifical admonition was conveyed to the heresiarch Nestorius.
In this council the bishops warned him that unless he retracted his errors, confessed
the Catholic faith, and reformed his life, they would refuse to look on him as
a bishop.
In 633, the patriarch Cyrus held a council in favour of the Monothelites,
with which closed the series of these deliberative meetings of the ancient Church
of Egypt.
Thomas J. Shahan, ed.
Transcribed by: Christine J. Murray
This text is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
A most valuable Greek manuscript of the Old and New Testaments, so
named because it was brought to Europe from Alexandria and had been the property
of the patriarch of that see. For the sake of brevity, Walton, in his polyglot
Bible, indicated it by the letter A and thus set the fashion of designating Biblical
manuscripts by such symbols. Codex A was the first of the great uncials to become
known to the learned world. When Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Alexandria, was transferred
in 1621 to the Patriarchate of Constantinople,
he is believed to have brought the codex with him. Later he sent it as a present
to King James I of England;
James died before the gift was presented, and Charles I, in 1627, accepted it
in his stead. It is now the chief glory of the British
Museum in its manuscript department and is on exhibition there.
Codex A contains the Bible of the Catholic Canon, including therefore
the deuterocanonical books and portions of books belonging to the Old Testament.
Moreover, it joins to the canonical books of Machabees, the apocryphal III and
IV Machabees, of very late origin. To the New Testament are added the Epistle
of St. Clement of Rome and
the homily which passed under the title of II Epistle of Clement -- the only copies
then known to exist. These are included in the list of New Testament books which
is prefixed and seem to have been regarded by the scribe as part of the New Testament.
The same list shows that the Psalms of Solomon, now missing, were originally contained
in the volume, but the space which separates this book from the others on the
list indicates that it was not ranked among New Testament books. An “Epistle
to Marcellinus” ascribed to St. Athanasius is inserted as a preface to the
Psalter, together with Eusebius's summary of the Psalms; Psalm 151 and certain
selected canticles of the Old Testament are affixed, and liturgical uses of the
psalms indicated. Not all the books are complete. In the Old Testament there is
to be noted particularly the lacuna of thirty psalms, from 5:20, to 80:11; moreover,
of Genesis 14:14-17; 15:1-5, 16-19; 16:6-9; I Kings 12:20-14:9. The New Testament
has lost the first twenty-five leaves of the Gospel of St. Matthew, as far as
chapter 25:6, likewise the two leaves running from John 6:50, to 8:52, and three
leaves containing II Corinthians 4:13-12:6. One leaf is missing from I Clement
and probably two at the end of II Clement.
Codex A supports the Sixtine Vulgate in regard to the conclusion of
St. Mark and John 5:4, but, like all Greek manuscripts before the fourteenth century,
omits the text of the three heavenly witnesses, I John 5:7. The order of the Old
Testament books is peculiar. In the New Testament the order is Gospels, Acts,
Catholic Epistles, Pauline Epistles, Apocalypse, with Hebrews placed before the
Pastoral Epistles. Originally one large volume, the codex is now bound in four
volumes, bearing on their covers the arms of Charles I. Three volumes contain
the Old Testament, and the remaining volume the New Testament with Clement. The
leaves, of thin vellum, 12 3/4 inches high by 10 inches broad, number at present
773, but were originally 822, according to the ordinary reckoning. Each page has
two columns of 49 to 51 lines. The codex is the first to contain the major chapters
with their titles, the Ammonian Sections and the Eusebian Canons complete. A new
paragraph is indicated by a large capital and frequently by spacing, not by beginning
a new line; the enlarged capital is placed in the margin of the next line, though,
curiously, it may not correspond to the beginning of the paragraph or even of
a word. The manuscript is written in uncial characters in a hand at once firm,
elegant, simple. The handwriting is generally judged to belong to the beginning
or middle of the fifth century or possibly to the late fourth. An Arabic note
states that it was written by Thecla the martyr; and Cyril Lucar the Patriarch
adds in his note that tradition says she was a noble Egyptian woman and wrote
the codex shortly after the Nicene Council. But nothing is known of such a martyr
at that date, and the value of this testimony is weakened by the presence of the
Eusebian Canons (d. 340) and destroyed by the insertion of the letter of Athanasius
(d. 373). The character of the letters and the history of the manuscript point
to Egypt as its place of
origin.
The text of Codex A is considered one of the most valuable witnesses
to the Septuagint. It is found, however, to bear a great affinity to the text
embodied in Origen's Hexapla and to have been corrected in numberless passages
according to the Hebrew. The text of the Septuagint codices is in too chaotic
a condition, and criticism of it too little advanced, to permit of a sure judgment
on the textual value of the great manuscripts. The text of the New Testament here
is of a mixed character. In the Gospels, we have the best example of the so-called
Syrian type of text, the ancestor of the traditional and less pure form found
in the textus receptus. The Syrian text, however, is rejected by the great majority
of scholars in favour of the "neutral" type, best represented in the Codex Vaticanus.
In the Acts and Catholic Epistles, and still more in St. Paul's Epistles and the
Apocalypse, Codex A approaches nearer, or belongs, to the neutral type. This admixture
of textual types is explained on the theory that A or its prototype was not copied
from a single manuscript, but from several manuscripts of varying value and diverse
origin. Copyist's errors in this codex are rather frequent. Codex Alexandrinus
played an important part in developing the textual criticism of the Bible, particularly
of the New Testament.
John F. Fenlon, ed.
Transcribed by: Sean Hyland
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
The tradition of the Church of Egypt
traces its origin to the Evangelist St. Mark, the first Bishop of Alexandria,
and ascribes to him the parent liturgy from which all the others used by Melchites,
Copts, and by the daughter-Church of Abyssinia are derived. These three bodies
possess the three groups of liturgies used throughout the original Patriarchate
of Alexandria. There is the Greek Liturgy of St. Mark, the oldest form of the
three, used for some centuries after the Monophysite schism by the orthodox Melchites;
there are then three liturgies, still used by the Copts, translated into Coptic
from the Greek and derived from the Greek St. Mark, and, further, a number of
Abyssinian (Ethiopic) uses, of which the foundation is the “Liturgy of the
Twelve Apostles”, that also descends from the original Greek Alexandrine
rite. By comparing these liturgies and noticing what is common to them, it is
possible in some measure to reconstruct the old use of the Church of Alexandria
as it existed before the Monophysite schism and the Council of Chalcedon
(451). There are, moreover, other indications of that use. Clement of Alexandria
(d. c. 217) makes one or two allusions to it, St. Athanasius (d. 373) has many
more; the Prayer Book of Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis in the middle of the fourth
century, and the descriptions of Pseudo-Dionysius, at about the same time, in
Egypt, make it possible to
reconstruct the outline of the Egyptian Liturgy of their time, which is then seen
to coincide with the Liturgy of St. Mark.
I. THE LITURGY OF ST. ATHANASIUS, SERAPION, AND PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS
The Mass was divided into two chief parts, the Mass of the Catechumens
and that of the Faithful. The Mass of the Catechumens consisted of Lessons from
Holy Scripture, Psalms sung alternately, and Homilies. Then follow the blessing
and dismissal of various kinds of people who are not allowed to be present at
the Holy Eucharist, the catechumens, penitents, and energumens. In Serapion and
Pseudo-Dionysius the Mass of the Faithful begins with the bringing of the oblations
to the altar; they are then covered with a veil. The deacon reads out a litany
for various causes (he katholike), to each petition of which the people answer
“Kyrie eleison”, and the bishop sums up their prayers in a collect.
Then follows the kiss of peace. St. Athanasius appears to place the offering of
the gifts at this point. The diptychs are read, followed by another collect and
a prayer for the people. The bishop washes his hands and begins the Eucharistic
Prayer. The opening of the Eucharistic Prayer has always been very long in the
Egyptian Liturgy and the diptychs are read before the Consecration. These two
notes are characteristic of all the Egyptian uses.
II. THE GREEK LITURGY OF ST. MARK
This rite as it now exists has already undergone considerable
development. A Prothesis (preparation of the oblations before the beginning of
the actual liturgy) has been added to it from the Byzantine Liturgy; the Creed
is said as at Constantinople
just before the Anaphora; the Epiklesis shows signs of the same influence; and
the Great entrance is accompanied by a Cherubikon. Since the Monophysite schism
this use was more and more affected by the Byzantine Liturgy, till at last it
entirely gave way to it among the Melchites. However, it is possible to disengage
it from later additions and to reproduce the original Greek Alexandrine Liturgy,
the parent rite of all others in Egypt.
After the Prothesis, the Mass of the Cathechumens begins with the
greeting of the priest: “Peace to all”, to which the people answer:
“And with thy spirit.” The deacon says “Pray” and they
repeat Kyrie eleison three times; the priest then says a collect. The whole rite
is repeated three times, so that there are nine Kyrie eleisons interspersed with
greeting and collects. During the Little Entrance (processions of the priest and
deacon with the books for the lessons) the choir sings the Trisagion (Holy God,
Holy Strong One, Holy Mortal One, have mercy on us). The lessons begin with the
usual greeting: “Peace to all”. Response: “And with thy spirit”.
“The Apostle” is read, and then, after incense has been put into the
thurible, follows the Gospel. The deacon tells the people to stand while they
hear it. After the Gospel follows the Homily. Before the Catechumens are dismissed
a litany (the great Ekteneia) is said by the deacon. He tells the people to pray
for the living, the sick, travellers, for fine weather, and the fruits of the
earth, for the “regular rise of the waters of the river” (the Nile,
an important matter in Egypt),
“good rain and the cornfields of the earth” for salvation of all men,
“the safety of the world and of this city”, for “our Christ-loving
sovereigns”, for prisoners, “those fallen asleep”, “the
sacrifice of our offerings”, for the afflicted, and for the Catechumens.
To each clause the people answer: “Kyrie eleison.” The priest meanwhile
is praying silently for the same objects, and when the deacon's litany is finished,
he ends his prayer aloud with the doxology. The “verse” is sung, and
the deacon says “The Three”, that is, three prayers for the whole
Church, the Patriarch, and the local Church; in each case the priest ends with
a collect.
The catechumens are then dismissed, and the Mass of the Faithful begins
with the “Great Entrance”. The priest and deacon bring the offerings
from the Prothesis to the altar while the people sing the Cherubikon. The kiss
of peace follows, with the prayer belonging to it; then the Creed is said and
the Offertory prayer at the altar. The Anaphora begins, as always, with the greeting
to the people. The peculiarity of all the Egyptian Liturgies is that the Supplication
for various causes and people, which in all other rites follows the Sanctus and
the Consecration, comes at this point, during what we should call the Preface.
The Alexandrine Preface then is very long; interwoven into it are
a series of prayers for the Church, the Emperor, the sick, fruits of the earth,
and so on. Again the priest prays God to “draw up the waters of the river
to their right measure”; he remembers various classes of Saints, especially
St. Mark, says the first part of the Hail Mary, and then goes on aloud; “especially
our all-holy, immaculate, and glorious Lady Mary, Mother of God and ever Virgin”.
The deacon here reads the diptychs of the death; the priest continues his supplication
for the patriarch, the bishop, and all the living; the deacon calls out to the
people to stand and then to look towards the east; and so at last comes the Sanctus:
“the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim. . . sing, cry out,
praise Thee, and say: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts”. And then aloud
he goes on: “Sanctify all of us and receive our praise, who with all who
sanctify Three, Lord and Master, sing and say” (and the people continue):
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.”
After the long Preface the Canon up to the words of Institution is
very short. The priest, as usual, takes up the people's words and almost at once
comes to “Our Lord, God, and great King (pambasileus), Jesus Christ, who
in the night in which he gave himself to a most dreadful death for our sins, taking
the bread in His holy, pure, and immaculate hands, and looking up to heaven to
Thee, His Father, our God and God of all things, gave thanks, blessed, broke,
and gave it to His holy and blessed Disciples and Apostles, saying [aloud]: Take,
eat [the deacon tells the concelebrating priests to stretch out their hands],
for this is My Body, broken and given for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
Response: Amen. The words of Institution of the Chalice are said in the same way.
The priest lifts up his voice at the end, saying: “Drink of this all”;
the deacon says: “Again stretch out your hands”, and the priest continues:
“this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many and given
for the forgiveness of sins.” Response: Amen. “Do this in memory of
Me, . . . ”And the Anamnesis follows, referring to Our Lord's death, resurrection,
ascension, and second coming and going immediately on to the Epiklesis: “Send
down upon us and upon this bread and chalice Thy Holy Ghost that He as Almighty
God may bless and perfect them [aloud] and make this bread the Body.” Response:
“Amen.” “And this chalice the Blood of the New Testament, the
Blood of our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and great King, Jesus Christ.”
. . . The Epiklesis ends with a doxology to which the people answer: “As
it was and is”.
Then follow the Our Father, said first by the priest silently and
then aloud lay the people, with the usual Embolismos, the Inclination before the
Blessed Sacrament -- the deacon says: ”Let us bow our heads before the Lord”,
and the people answer: “Before Thee O Lord”; the Elevation with the
words: “Holy things to the Holy”; and the answer: “One Holy
Father, one Holy Son, one Holy Ghost, in the union of the Holy Ghost. Amen”.
Then come the Breaking of the Bread, during which Psalm is sung, and the Communion.
The form of Communion is: “The holy Body” and then “the precious
Blood of Our Lord, God and Saviour”. A short thanksgiving follows, and the
people are dismissed with the blessing quoted from II Cor., xiii, 13. Some more
prayers are said in the Diakonikon, and the liturgy ends with the words: “Blessed
be God who blesses, sanctifies, protects, and keeps us all through the share in
His holy mysteries. He is blessed forever. Amen.”
The characteristic points of this rite are the nine Kyrie eleisons
at the beginning, the Offertory prayers said at the altar instead of at the Prothesis,
and especially the place of the great Supplication before the Sanctus. In the
Antiochene use, and in all those derived from it, the whole Supplication comes
after the Epiklesis.
III. THE COPTIC LITURGIES
After the Monophysite schism the Copts composed a number of liturgies
in their own language. Three of these became the most important and are still
used: those of St. Cyril, St. Gregory (of Nazianzus), and St. Basil. They differ
only in the Anaphoras which are joined to a common Preparation and Mass of the
Catechumens. The Anaphora of St. Cyril, also called that of St. Mark, together
with the part of the liturgy that is common to all, corresponds exactly to the
Greek St. Mark. When it was translated into Coptic a great part of the formulas,
such as the Trisagion, the deacon's litany, said at the beginning of the Mass
of the Faithful, nearly all the short greetings like eirene pasin ano hymon tas
kardias ta hagia tois hagiois, and everything said by the people had already become
universally known in Greek. These parts were then left in that language and they
are still written or printed in Greek, although in Coptic characters, throughout
the Coptic Liturgy. A few prayers have been added to the original Greek Liturgy.
There are also Greek versions of the other two Coptic Anaphoras: those of St.
Basil and St. Gregory.
V. THE PRESENT USE
Of these three groups two, the Copts and Abyssinians, still keep their
own liturgies. The Copts use that of St. Basil throughout the year on Sundays
and weekdays, and for requiems; on certain great feasts they substitute the Anaphora
of St. Gregory; that of St. Cyril is kept for Lent and Christmas eve. This order
is common to the Monophysite and Uniate Copts. Very soon after the Arabs conquered
Egypt (641) their language
became the only one used ever by the Christians; in less than two centuries Coptic
had become a completely dead language. For this reason the rubrics of the Coptic
liturgical books have for a long tine been written in Arabic as well; sometimes
Arabic translations of the prayers are added too. The Coptic and Abyssinian Uniates
have books specially printed for them, which differ from the others only inasmuch
as the names of Monophysites are omitted, that of Chalcedon
is inserted, and the Filoque is added to the Creed. The Orthodox Church of Egypt
has long sacrificed her own use for that of Constantinople.
For a time after the Monophysite schism she still kept the Liturgy of St. Mark
in Greek. But there were very few Orthodox left in the country; they revere nearly
all officials of the Imperial government, and, after the Arab conquest especially,
the influence of Constantinople
over them, as over the whole Orthodox world, grew enormously. So eventually they
followed the Ecumenical Patriarch in their rites as in everything else. The Orthodox
Patriarch of Alexandria even went to live at Constantinople
under the shadow of Caesar and of Caesar's Court Bishop. The change of liturgy
took place at the end of the twelfth century. Since then the Greek Liturgy of
St. Mark has no longer been used by anyone.
Adrian Fortescue, ed.
Transcribed by: Fred Dillenburg
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
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