Christianity and Monasticism in Aswan and Nubia

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.

Gawdat Gabra is the former director of the Coptic Museum and the author, coauthor, or editor of numerous books on the history and culture of Egyptian Christianity, including The Treasures of Coptic Art (AUC Press, 2006) and The History and Religious Heritage of Old Cairo (AUC Press, 2011). He is currently visiting professor of Coptic studies at Claremont Graduate University, California.


Hany N. Takla is the founding president of the Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society.

Language and Literature

Coptic Ostraca from Hagr Edfu
Anke Ilona Blöbaum

Imagining Macedonius, the First Bishop of Philae
James E. Goehring

Apa Hidra in Difnar
Nashaat Mekhaiel

Christianity on Philae
Samuel Moawad

The Indexing of Manuscripts of the Monastery of the Great Saint Pachomius in Edfu
Fr. Angeleous el-Naqlouny

Beginnings of Christianity in Nubia
Siegfried G. Richter

A Foreshadowing of the Desert Spirituality in Ancient Nubia and Upper Egypt
Ashraf Alexandre Sadek

Contested Frontiers: Southern Egypt and Northern Nubia, AD 300-1500: The Evidence of the Inscriptions
Jacques van der Vliet

The Veneration of the Saints in Aswan and Nubia
Youhanna Nessim Youssef

Art, Archaeology and material Culture

Dayr al-Kubbaniya: Review of the Documentation on the 'Isisberg' Monastery
Renate Dekker

The Development of the Church at Dayr Anba Hadra: A Study of the Plasterwork and Dated Inscriptions
Renate Dekker

An Updated Plan of the Church at Dayr Qubbat al-Hawa
Renate Dekker

The Christian Wall Paintings from the Temple of Isis at Aswan Revisited
Jitse H.F. Dijkstra and Gertrud J.M. van Loon

The Monastic Life in Makuria
W
Christian Aswan in the Modern Era and the History of Its Cathedral
Metropolitan Hidra

The Word and the Flesh
Karel C. Innemée

The Ascension Scene in the Apse of the Church at Dayr Qubbat al-Hawwa: A Comparative Study
Mary Kupelian

The Nubian Marble Object Preserved in Dayr al-Surian in Wadi al-Natrun
Bishop Martyros

The Digital 3D Virtual Reconstruction of the Monastic Church Qubbat al-Hawa
Howard Middleton-Jones

Coptic Objects in the Aswan and Nubia Museums
Atif Naguib

Sources for the Study of Late Antique and Early Medieval Hagr Edfu
Elisabeth O'Connell

Christianity in Kom Ombo
Adel Sadek

Identification of the Monastery of Nubians in Wadi al-Natrun
Fr. Bigoul al-Suriany

Monneret de Villard (1881-1954) and Nubia
Fr. Awad Wadi

Preservation
The Conservation of the Mural Paintings of Anba Hatra Monastery
Ashraf Nageh