The Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt (New Introduction by Karel Innemee), Volume One (v. 1)

This two-volume work is the result of a seven-month field work in Egypt, during which Alfred Butler was a private tutor to Prince Tawfik from 1880 to 1881. Butler visited most of the old churches and monasteries in and around Cairo and traveled to the Wadi al-Natrun, the monasteries of the Red Sea and a number of churches in Upper Egypt. His descriptions are invaluable and sometimes are the only record of what we know about a certain object or church "It is an important document for its time and an early and influential example of unprejudiced scholarly interest for the culture of the Coptic Church." - Karel Innemée, Leiden University Introduction to this reprint Alfred Joshua Butler was born at Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1850. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and then was elected fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. After being assistant master at Winchester from 1874 to 1879, was private tutor to Prince Tawfik in 1880-81. He has kept an interest for Egypt till the end of his life. He also wrote The Arab Conquest of Egypt (1902), and Court Life in Egypt (London, 1887), partly based on his own experiences. Together with B.T.A. Evetts he published The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt and some neighbouring Countries attributed to Abu Salih, the Armenian (1895, Gorgias Press reprint 2001). INTRODUCTION TO THE REPRINT PREFACE GLOSSARY OF ARABIC OR COPTIC TERMS CONTENTS LIST OF PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I. CHAPTER I. On the Structure of Coptic Churches in general CHAPTER II. Dair Mâri Mîna CHAPTER III. Dair Abu -'s - Sifain CHAPTER IV. The A ncient Roman Fortress of Babylon CHAPTER V. The Minor Churches of Old Cairo CHAPTER VI. The Churches in Cairo CHAPTER VII. The Monasteries of the Natrun Valley in the Libyan Desevt CHAPTER VIII. The Churches of Upper Egypt APPENDIX TO VOL. I. INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME This two-volume book is the result of seven months of field work in Egypt. It is an important document for its time and an early and influential example of unprejudiced scholarly interest in the culture of the Coptic Church. THE seed sown by St. Mark was quick in bearing fruit.