Filed under: Patristics
Egypt’s Al Ahram reports on a revival of Coptic monasticism — and the resulting benefits for patristic studies.
The Coptic monastery known as Deir Al-Surian, or the Monastery of the Syrians, contains more than 3,000 books as well as a vast number of texts in Syriac, Aramaic (the language of Christ), Coptic, Arabic and Ethiopic. They date upwards from the fifth century and today, as a result of the revival in Coptic monasticism in recent years, a new generation of educated monks are anxious to safeguard this heritage. Both Syrian and Coptic monks are engaged in their conservation, as well as restoration of the monastery itself…
UPDATE: Amy has more news on Copts, these ones Catholic.
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Thanks a lot for this link. It’s a shame that the Syriac heritage has been underprivileged compared to Latin & Greek.
Comment by Jacques 12.15.06 @ 8:56 amI think that’s beginning to change, at least in academia. I remember reading recently that Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ caused a surge of enrollment in Aramaic courses. That’s bound to lead to still more graduate studies. (Great to hear from you, Jacques.)
Comment by Mike Aquilina 12.15.06 @ 9:13 amLeave a comment
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