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Saint Fana
Saint Fana, also known as Abu Fana, Abu Fanah, or Apa Bane (; c. 354–395) was a Coptic hermit. The Monastery of Saint Fana in the diocese of Mallawi, Upper Egypt, is named after him. Saint Fana was born to a Christian family in Memphis, Egypt. He became an anchorite due to the inspiration of the Western Desert hermits he visited as a young man. Ancient sources such as ''Sozomen's Church Hisotory (Historia Ecclesiastica)'' make reference to a hermit called Benus or Banus who can be identified as Saint Fana, and who lived in the area where the monastery of Saint Fana was later built. Fana also became noted for his knowledge of the Psalms and would ultimately be linked to miracles. He is noted for his asceticism and concern for the poor. He also reportedly predicted the date of Theodosius I's death. The Monastery of Saint Fana is one of the oldest in Egypt., Rene-Georges Coquin and Maurice Martin in the Coptic Encyclopedia, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991, Vol. 3, p.698 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copts
Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Coptic Oriental Orthodox Christians. They are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. Copts have historically spoken the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian that was spoken in late antiquity. Originally referring to all Egyptians at first, the term ''Copt'' became synonymous with native Christians in light of Egypt's Islamization and Arabization after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. Copts in Egypt account for roughly 5–20 percent of the Egyptian population, although the exact percentage is unknown; Copts in Sudan account for 1 percent of the Sudanese population while Copts in Libya similarly account for 1 percent of the Libyan populat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, (), meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". The book is an anthology of individual Hebrew religious hymns, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many are linked to the name of David, but modern mainstream scholarship rejects his authorship, instead attributing the composition of the psalms to various authors writing between the 9th and 5th centuries BC. In the Quran, the Arabic word ‘Zabur’ is used for the Psalms of David in the Hebrew Bible. Structure Benedictions The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction). These divisions were probably intro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saints From Roman Egypt
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official ecclesiastical recognition, and consequently a public cult of veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. While the English word ''saint'' originated in Christianity, historians of religion tend to use the appellation "in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people", referring to the Jewish tzadik, the Islamic walī, the Hindu rishi or Sikh g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th-century Deaths
The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 ( CCCI) through 400 ( CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. Gaining sole reign of the empire, he is also noted for re-establishing a single imperial capital, choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 (over the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by Diocletian's reforms to Milan in the West, and Nicomedeia in the East) to build the city soon called Nova Roma (New Rome); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor. The last emperor to control both the eastern and western halves of the empire was Theodosius I. As the century progressed after his death, it became increasingly apparent that the empire had changed in many ways since the time of Augustus. The two emperor system originally established by Diocletian in the previous century fell in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th-century Births
The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 ( CCCI) through 400 ( CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. Gaining sole reign of the empire, he is also noted for re-establishing a single imperial capital, choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 (over the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by Diocletian's reforms to Milan in the West, and Nicomedeia in the East) to build the city soon called Nova Roma (New Rome); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor. The last emperor to control both the eastern and western halves of the empire was Theodosius I. As the century progressed after his death, it became increasingly apparent that the empire had changed in many ways since the time of Augustus. The two emperor system originally established by Diocletian in the previous century fell in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu Mena
Abu Mena (also spelled ''Abu Mina'' ; ar, أبو مينا ) was a town, monastery complex and Christian pilgrimage centre in Late Antique Egypt, about southwest of Alexandria, near New Borg El Arab city. Its remains were designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 for the site's importance in early Christianity. There are very few standing remains, but the foundations of most major buildings, such as the great basilica, are easily discernible. Recent agricultural efforts in the area have led to a significant rise in the water table, which has caused a number of the site's buildings to collapse or become unstable. The site was added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2001. Authorities were forced to place sand in the bases of buildings that are most endangered in the site. History Menas of Alexandria was martyred in the late 3rd or early 4th century (see Early Christianity). Various 5th-century and later accounts give slightly differing versions of his burial and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two civil wars, and recognized the Catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians as the Roman Empire's state religion. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire before its administration was permanently split between two separate courts (one western, the other eastern). Born in Hispania, Theodosius was the son of a high-ranking general, Theodosius the Elder, under whose guidance he rose through the ranks of the Roman Army. Theodosius held independent command in Moesia in 374, where he had some success against the invading Sarmatians. Not long afterwards, he was forced into retirement, and his father was executed under obscure circumstances. Theodosius soon regained his position following a series of intrigues and executions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their practices or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterised by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on the practice of religion or reflection upon spiritual matters. Various individuals have also attempted an ascetic lifestyle to free themselves from addictions, some of them particular to modern life, such as money, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, entertainment, sex, food, etc. Asceticism has been historically observed in many religious traditions, including Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Stoicism and Pythagoreanism and contemporary practices continue amongst some religious followers. The practiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American University In Cairo Press
The American University in Cairo Press (AUCP, AUC Press) is the leading English-language publisher in the Middle East. The largest translator of Arabic literature in the world, AUC Press has a reputation for carefully selecting and translating the best writing being produced in the language today. They are the publisher of the Nobel prize winning Egyptian novelist, Naguib Mahfouz. History The American University in Cairo Press was founded in 1960. It is an independent publisher with close ties to the American University in Cairo (AUC). Its offices are in the heart of the Egyptian capital, overlooking the historic downtown landmark, Tahrir Square. Its first publications in 1961 were K.A.C. Creswell’s ''A Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts and Crafts of Islam'', (AUC Press, 1961), Otto F.A. Meinardus’s ''Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts'' (AUC Press, 1961), Edward B. Savage's ''The Rose and the Vine: A Study of the Evolution of the Tristan and Isolt Tale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monastery Of Saint Fana
The Monastery of Saint Fana is a Coptic Orthodox monastery. It is named after Saint Fana, also known as Bane (c. 354–395), Coptic Christian hermit. The monastery is sometimes called the Monastery of Abu Fanah and is also known as the Monastery of the Cross, due to the presence of many beautifully decorated crosses inside its church. Location The monastery is situated in the Western Desert, not far from the cultivated land of the Nile. The monastery is located in Minya Governorate about 300 km south of Cairo, northwest of Hermopolis around from the village of Qasr Hur and east of the village of Beni Khaled. Foundation and history The monastery was most likely built around the burial site of Saint Fana. His tomb was found during excavations of an international team representing seven European academic institutions and led by Austrian scholar Prof. Dr. Helmut Buschhausen in 1992. The 12th-century historian Abu al-Makarim mentions the church of Saint Fana, which was res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Desert (Egypt)
The Western Desert of Egypt is an area of the Sahara that lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the border with Sudan. It is named in contrast to the Eastern Desert which extends east from the Nile to the Red Sea. The Western Desert is mostly rocky desert, though an area of sandy desert, known as the Great Sand Sea, lies to the west against the Libyan border. The desert covers an area of which is two-thirds of the land area of the country. Its highest elevation is in the Gilf Kebir plateau to the far south-west of the country, on the Egypt-Sudan-Libya border. The Western Desert is barren and uninhabited save for a chain of oases which extend in an arc from Siwa, in the north-west, to Kharga in the south. It has been the scene of conflict in modern times, particularly during the Second World War. Administratively the Western Desert is divided between various governorates; in the north and west, the Matrouh Governorate adm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchorite
In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit, unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world, a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority other than the bishop. The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of Christian monasticism. In the Catholic Church, eremitic life is one of the forms of the Consecrated life. In medieval England, the earliest recorded anchorites existed in the 11th century. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
