Chiefly interested in the early modern period, 1517-1798.

A presentation of the life and thought of the Coptic Orthodox Church at the turn of the millennium. The book explores all the important themes of the Copts from the earliest moments of Christian history to the present day, combining a critical re-examination of Coptic history with original research. The work contains several small biographies and numerous vignettes to illustrate the Coptic experience as it is lived. These are presented in sections on history, liturgy, art, theology, monasticism, politics, mission and martyrdom.

In the light of the escalation of sectarian tensions during and after Mubarak's reign, the predicament of the Arab world's largest religious minority, the Copts, has come to the forefront. This book poses such questions as why there has been a mass exodus of Copts from Egypt, and how this relates to other religious minorities in the Arab region; why it is that sectarian violence increased during and after the Egyptian revolution, which epitomized the highest degree of national unity since 1919; and how the new configuration of power has influenced the extent to which a vision of a political order is being based on the principles of inclusive democracy. The book examines the relations among the state, the church, Coptic citizenry, and civil and political societies against the backdrop of the increasing diversification of actors, the change of political leadership in the country, and the transformations occurring in the region. An informative historical background is provided, and new fieldwork and statistical data inform a thoughtful exploration of what it takes to build an inclusive democracy in post-Mubarak Egypt.

This work explores all the important themes of the Copts from the earliest moments of Christian history to the present day, achieving a balance between a critical re-examination of Coptic history and research. It contains small biographies to show the Coptic experience as it is lived.

Review: "Christians versus Muslims in Modern Egypt is the first study of Christian identity politics in contemporary Egypt. S.S. Hasan begins by looking at how the Coptic generation of the 1940s and 1950s remembered, recovered, and imagined the ancient history of Christianity in Egypt in order to weld the Copts into a unified nation, resistant to the growing encroachments of Islam. She argues that this interpretation of history, in which Egyptian martyrs figure prominently, made possible the rebirth of the Coptic church and community - in much the same way as the preservation of Hebrew and the historical memory of Jewish tribulations served the purpose of national reconstruction of the state of Israel."--Jacket

The Coptic Christians of Egypt have traditionally been portrayed as a 'beleaguered minority', persecuted in a Muslim majority state and by the threat of political Islam. Vivian Ibrahim offers a vivid portrayal of the community and an alternative interpretation of Coptic agency in the twentieth century, through newly dicovered sources. Dismissing the monolithic portrayal of this community, she analyses how Copts negotiated a role for themselves during the colonial and Nasserist periods, and their multifaceted response to the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood. She examines reform within the Church itself, and how it led to power struggles that redefined the role of the Pope and Church in Nasser's Egypt. The findings of this book hold great relevance for understanding identity politics and the place of the Coptic community in the fast-changing political landscape of today's Egypt.

Egypt, land of the Bible, has been home since the time of Christ to an ancient sect of Christians called the Copts. According to legend, Mark the Evangelist founded their church in Alexandria in the 1st century AD, when Egypt was under Roman rule and practiced polytheistic religions. Though Egypt long ago became a Muslim nation, the Copts maintained their traditions and rites at monasteries and villages throughout the Nile Valley, the river delta, and the Mediterranean coast, and still do so today.

Looks at the history, traditions, theology and structure of the ancient and modern churches and monasteries.

Samuel Tadros provides a clear understanding of Copts—the native Egyptian Christians—and their crisis of modernity in conjunction with the overall developments in Egypt as it faced its own struggles with modernity. He argues that the modern plight of Copts is inseparable from the crisis of modernity and the answers developed to address that crisis by the Egyptian state and intellectuals, as well as by the Coptic Church and laypeople.

Copts and the Security State combines political, anthropological, and social history to analyze the practices of the Egyptian state and the political acts of the Egyptian Coptic minority. Laure Guirguis considers how the state, through its subjugation of Coptic citizens, reproduces a political order based on religious identity and difference. The leadership of the Coptic Church, in turn, has taken more political stances, thus foreclosing opportunities for secularization or common ground. In each instance, the underlying logics of authoritarianism and sectarianism articulate a fear of the Other, and, as Guirguis argues, are ultimately put to use to justify the expanding Egyptian security state. In outlining the development of the security state, Guirguis focuses on state discourses and practices, with particular emphasis on the period of Hosni Mubarak's rule, and shows the transformation of the Orthodox Coptic Church under the leadership of Pope Chenouda III. She also considers what could be done to counter the growing tensions and violence in Egypt. The 2011 Egyptian uprising constitutes the most radical recent attempt to subvert the predominant order. Still, the revolutionary discourses and practices have not yet brought forward a new system to counter the sectarian rhetoric, and the ongoing counter-revolution continues to repress political dissent.