http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/875/heritage.htm
13 - 19 December 2007
Issue No. 875
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875
Egypt's Christians and their heritage
The Churches of Egypt -- From the Journey of the Holy Family to the Present
Day, by Gawdat Gabra and Gertrud J.M. van Loon, edited by Carolyn Ludwig with
photographs by Sherif Sonbol
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to view caption
Deir Anba Bishoi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Churches of Egypt -- From the Journey of the Holy Family to the Present Day
was launched at an American University in Cairo Press "Book and Author
Reception" in mid- November. This was a bumper affair which took place in the
small central garden of the Old Wing in the Coptic Museum. On display round one
part of the enclosed area were a dozen and more mounted enlargements of some of
the most beautiful photographs in the book. A buffet dinner was set out on the
other side of the garden, and seating at small high tables with bar-height
stools was provided. A wide range of AUC Publications on Coptic heritage was
stacked for sale; they ranged from such large publications as Be Thou There,
Monastic Visions, and Coptic Life in Egypt, to regular books on The Early
Coptic Papacy, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, and my own
Christianity in the Land of the Pharaohs.
The Churches of Egypt is the brainchild of Carolyn Ludwig. Addressing the
invited guests, Ludwig explained how the book came about. During her travels to
Egypt over the last 25 years, she said, she had come to appreciate the rich
Christian heritage that is woven through the country's history "along with the
threads of its more famous Pharaonic past." She noted that the brief reference
to the Flight of the Holy Family in the Gospel of Matthew "offers a glimpse
into the three-and-a-half years they spent in Egypt", but that most of the
stories about this important episode in Jesus's life "are recorded only in the
various infancy narratives". When, in 2000, the Coptic Orthodox Church defined
the route of the Holy Family's journey, she said she was determined to follow
in their footsteps. She did so, sand was deeply moved by the humanity of the
stories "that are told, until this day, about the few years in the life of
Christ spent in Egypt," as well as by the humble simplicity of Egypt's early
churches which stand "in stark contrast to the granite and marble, the gold
inlays and bronze statues of churches in Rome..."
Ludwig travelled in the company of photographer Sherif Sonbol, whose
photographs, she wrote in the introduction to her book, "reveal the beauty of
Egypt's ancient and modern churches and monasteries, all of which testify to
the determination of the Coptic Church for nearly two millennia to keep the
Christian faith alive in Egypt -- often in the face of adversity."
I can only describe the book as a hefty publication. It weighs all of two
kilogrammes, and I use that adjective advisedly because it is not only large in
size, but substantial in content. It covers churches of all denominations --
from the Delta and Sinai to Cairo and its suburbs; it includes Fayoum and Upper
Egypt, and even the most remote of monasteries, some of which I have never
visited. As I flip through the pages of the publication to get a feel for its
contents, my eye falls on page after page of impressive photographs: images of
churches, ancient and modern, domed monasteries, altars, sanctuaries and icons.
More than 300 original photographs enhance the volume, and all are brilliant.
Sonbol has captured religious buildings in their environmental setting,
focussing on details in their interiors -- whether details of the decoration of
a dome, a layer of a painting flaking off an ancient church wall to reveal
earlier images beneath, or altar screens constructed of reused sculpture. This
book thus presents an opportunity to appreciate details that can rarely be seen
on site. One eye-catching image is followed by another to remind us of details
that we may have missed, or that introduce us to images we have never seen,
and, I may add, are unlikely to see because they are in churches located in
little-known and difficult-to-reach areas of Egypt.
Sonbol says they had trouble in locating many of the distant monasteries. "Even
when we got there, we faced some problems," he says. "In rock churches like the
Monastery of Al-Ganadla south of Assiut, for example, extremely heavy benches
had to be removed in order to photograph the interior of the church. I must add
that the monks were courteous and only too willing to be of help.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same of some of the better-known monasteries!"
The Churches of Egypt is a quality production, laid out with taste and
beautifully bound. It might be heavy but is not too burdensome to handle,
largely because the images are so captivating that they encourage the viewer to
turn to the next page. One photograph in particular caught my fancy. It shows
the tip of a dome with a cross silhouetted against a blue sky, rising above a
desert strewn with rocks. It captures the essence of monasticism, and it took
an artist to capture it.
The concept of the book was later expanded from churches associated with the
Holy Family to include a historical overview of Christianity in Egypt from
ancient to modern, including all denominations: Egypt's Coptic Orthodox, Greek
Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Armenian churches. Coptologist Gawdat
Gabra wrote the historical introduction; Gertrud J.M. van Loon wrote about art;
while Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom covered Christian architecture.
Reviewed by Jill Kamil
<<_her01.jpg>>
