Coptic Art 2
to their cells take their water pots and fill them with
Dr. Medhat Ibrahim
Characters of Coptic
Art:
Coptic art is divided into six
phases, the most important
of which was the third phase.
At the peak of its glory,
Coptic art took a religious
form and was dedicated to
the services of the Christian
faith. The influence of Coptic
art was widespread in the
Christian world, and Coptic interlacing patterns may
have been the source for the designs of Irish and
Northumbrian illuminated gospels.
Among the most important aspects of Coptic art were
its folkloric and symbolic representation and its
tendency to use geometrical lines and miniatures.
Coptic art reached its mature phase in the late 5th and
6th centuries. Coptic spirituality and culture flourished
during this time, especially in the almost legendary
monasteries of the Nitrian and Red Sea Deserts, as
well as in Upper Egypt, at Bawit and Saqqara in
particular, where wonderful examples of Coptic
painting were retrieved, dating from the 4th – 6th
centuries.
The development of Coptic art was interrupted by the
Arab invasion of Egypt between 640 and 642. Its
subsequent course was marked by the influence of
Islamic art and a repetition of earlier forms. Coptic
artists and craftsmen were also quite prolific during
the Fatimid period, 10th – 12th centuries; a period of
renewal in Coptic art.
38 Mighty Arrows Magazine
the elders of the monastery slept, he used to go around
Coptic art is
characterized by a
high degree of
stylization verging
on abstraction.
Forms are flattened
out, and individual
motifs acquire
simplicity and
decorative
character. Subject
matter represents
both Christian and Roman sources. Typical features
of Coptic art are also found in Byzantine and late
Roman art in general. Human figures are very often
depicted frontal. Eyes are drawn wide, as if
expressionist rather than realist. Each gesture has a
precise significance. Colors carry symbolic meaning.
Designs are uncluttered, free of unnecessary elements
and decorations, presenting the viewer with the
essential information to understand and experience the
icon. In Coptic art, Christ was almost always depicted
as triumphant, reborn, benevolent and righteous and
this is one of the most significant and continuous
characteristics of Coptic art. In fact, the early Egyptian
Christians did not delight in painting scenes of torture,
death or sinners in hell.
Coptic Icons characterized by large eyes and ears,
gentle lips, and small mouth and nose. The large and
wide eyes symbolize the spiritual eye that look beyond
the material world “the light of the body is the eye”
[Matthew 6:22]. The large ears listen to the word of
God; “if any man have ears to hear, let them hear”
[Mark 4:23]. The gentle lips are used to glorify and
water which he brought from a well at a far distance
from the monastery. After many years in spiritual
struggle, the devil envied him, and struck him with a
sore on his foot which made him sick and bed-ridden.
When he knew that this was from the devil, he
increased in his asceticism and worship, until his body
became as a burnt wood. God looked to his patience,
healed his illness, and removed all his pains. The
blessing of the Lord came upon him. After a while, he
became the father and the spiritual guide of 500
brothers, who elected him to be ordained a priest.
When he came before the Patriarch to be ordained,
the Patriarch wanted to test him by asking the elders,
who brought this black here? Cast him out. He obeyed,
and left saying to himself, It is good what they have
done to you, O black colored one. The Patriarch,
however, called him back and ordained him a priest,
and said to him, Moses, all of you now has become
white.
One day, he went with some elders to St. Macarius
the Great, who said to them, I see among you one to
whom belong the crown of martyrdom. St. Moses
answered him, probably it is me, for it is written: ‘For
all they that take with the sword, shall perish with the
sword.’ (Matt. 26:25) After they returned to the
monastery, it did not take long until the Barbarians
attacked the monastery. He told the brethren, whoever
wants to escape, let him escape. They asked him, And
you O father, why do you not also escape? He replied
that he had waited for this day for long time. The
Barbarians entered the monastery and killed him with
seven other brothers. One of the brethren was hiding,
and saw the angel of the Lord, with a crown in his
hand standing by and waiting for him. He went out
from his hiding place to the Barbarians and he was
also martyred. His body is located now in the
Monastery of El-Baramous.
May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God
forever. Amen.
Q&A
Question and Answer
Mighty Arrows Magazine received this
question from Leteab Russom , Thanks
to H.G. Bishop Youssef for precious
time he gave to answer this questions...
In the Holy Book of Romans 8:34 it says
that our Lord Jesus Christ is interceding/
intercession for us but as Orthodox
Christians we believe that Christ is the
One Who judges not Who intercedes.
Could you please make that verse clear
to me?
Our Lord Jesus Christ is God all-powerful
and does not have just one role in our lives.
He functions on our behalf and in God’s
behalf. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our
Mediator Who made it possible for us to be
reconciled with God by His death on the
Cross for the forgiveness of man’s sin. He is
now sitting at the right hand of His Father
interceding for us. He is able to save by His
intercession all who come to God through
Him Therefore He is also able to save to the
uttermost those who come to God through
Him, since He always lives to make
intercession for them (Heb 7:25).
However, on Judgment Day when the
time comes to give an account of our
stewardship, when it is past
theintercession time, it is our Lord
Jesus Christ Who will judge us.
Mighty Arrows Magazine 19
 The Great Saint Moses the Black
Simoun Khalil
St. Mary and Archangel Michael
Houston, TX
C ontemplate on the power of
repentance, and what it does. It
transformed an infidel slave, who
was a murderer, adulterer and
robber into a great Father, teacher,
comforter, and priest who wrote
rules for the monks, and saint whose
name is mentioned on the altar in
our prayers.
This saint has a remarkable life story. This saint
took the Kingdom of Heaven by force, exactly as our
Lord Jesus Christ said: The Kingdom of Heaven suffers
violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew
11:12). St Moses was born at around the 4th century
AD. He was an Abyssinian (Nubian) slave to people
who worshiped the sun. He was a mighty man who
loved to eat and drink excessively. He killed, robbed
and committed all evil. Moses escaped from his slavery,
and became the leader of a group of 75 robbers. He
was a large and powerful man, who with his gang
terrorized the entire region. No one could stand up
before him, or challenge him.
He was not convinced of himself and was not
satisfied with the things he was doing, so he began to
search for the one eternal God of the Universe, On
many occasions, he lifted up his eyes to look to the
sun and to talk to it saying, O Sun!! if you are God, let
me know it. Then he said, and you O God whom I do
18 Mighty Arrows Magazine
not know, let me know you. And it
came to pass; a Coptic farmer
guided him to go to the Sheheet
Wilderness where he would find
monks to teach him about the living
God. Instantly, he rose up, girded
his sword and went to the wilderness
of Sheheet and so our saint made
his way through the wilderness. He
met St. Esidorous (Isidore) the
priest, who was frightened when he saw him, because
of his appearance. St. Moses comforted him by saying
that he came to the monks so that they might let him
know the real God. St. Esidorous took him to St.
Macarius the Great, who preached to him, taught him
the faith and baptized him. He immediately felt remorse
for all his past sins, sincerely repented, and begged to
remain at the monastery. He accepted St. Moses as a
monk and taught him to live in the wilderness. Moses
was tortured by his past and for years was tempted to
return to his old ways. One dayas he was confessing
his sins to St. Macarius, an angel appeared with a tablet
full of his sins. As he confessed, the angel began wiping
the tablet clean. The more he confessed, the more the
angel wiped, until by the end it was completely clean.
St. Moses dashed in much worship, and fought a
spiritual fight which was greater than that fought by
many saints. However, the devil fought him intensively
with his old habits of excessive eating, drinking, and
fornication. He informed St. Esidorous about everything
which came upon him in his fight with the Enemy. He
comforted him and taught him how to overcome the
snares of the devil. It was told about him, that when
praise the Lord “My mouth shall praise thee with joyful
lips” [Psalm 63:5]. The eyes and ears on a figure in an
icon are disproportionately large, because a spiritual
person spends more time listening to God’s word and
seeking to do God’s will. On the other hand, the mouth,
which can also be often, be the source of empty or
harmful words is small. The nose, which is seen a
sensual is also small. Figures in Coptic icons often have
large heads, meaning that these are individuals devoted
to contemplation and prayer.
Some icons portray saints who suffered and were
tortured for their faith with peaceful and smiling faces,
showing that their inner peace was not disturbed, even
by the hardships they endured, and suffered willing
fully and joyfully for the Lord. Also, when an evil
character is portrayed on an icon, it is always in profile
because it is not desirable to make eye contact with
such a person and thus to dwell or meditate upon it.
It is interesting to note that the majority of the Coptic
icons’ artists did not sign their names. They were not
looking for self-glorification and fame, even the few
who signed their names, did so in the form of a prayer;
such as “Remember O Lord your servant (name)”.
Coptic art in the 4th – 6th centuries has a wide range of
quality. Some works seem to have been produced by
Byzantine workshops and can be hard to distinguish
from contemporary works in Constantinople or other
metropolitan centers of the Byzantine Empire. Other
works seem to have been produced by local
workshops and carry the pure Coptic influence. The
motifs in Coptic art are often Christian, as might be
expected, but pagan motifs also continued in use; as
Christian art regularly adapted pagan classical motifs
to the message of the new faith.
Remains of wall paintings reveal scenes from the Old
and New Testaments and images of the Holy Mother,
the Child Jesus, Saintly Apostles and Martyrs. Some
of the archaeological sites are El-Bagawat,
Oxyrhynchus, Sakkara, Bawit, and Antinoë. Prominent
categories in Coptic art are relief, painting, textiles,
ivory, illumination and architecture. Free standing
sculpture is not common. The most noted examples of
which are in the Coptic Museum, Cairo. The Coptic
architecture, as shown in the 5th-century White and
Red monasteries near Sohag, showed traces of local
Egyptian traditions.
Although the artistic style of iconography varies a little
from one culture to another, all Orthodox icons have
the same meaning, usage and symbolism (this includes
the Eastern Orthodox Churches; Greek, Russian,
Serbian, Bulgarian, ... etc, as well a the Oriental
Orthodox Churches; Coptic, Armenian, Syrian,
Ethiopian,... etc).
Techniques of Coptic Iconography:
The techniques employed in the making of Coptic icons
on wooden panels have not changed over the centuries.
There are two, namely encaustic and egg tempera. The
first, encaustic on gesso, disappeared around the time
of the iconoclastic period, 8th century. It consisted of
molten bee’s wax, made into an emulsion soluble in
water. It was developed to a very high standard during
the Greco-Roman period (2 BC – 4 AD) as can be
seen in the beautiful funerary portraits from the Fayoum
Oasis, Southwest of Cairo, which can be considered
the immediate predecessors of the Christian icon.
The second, egg tempera on gesso, survived the
iconoclastic period and remains the only technique used
to this day, although unfortunately threatened by the
use of modern media like oil or acrylic which cannot
compare with the brilliance and subtlety of hue of
tempera. Gesso is the name of the white background
upon which the icon is written. Its soundness is of
paramount importance to the overall success of the
work. Gesso is made up of white lime and glue, and
spread on the panel in thin layers to achieve a hard
smooth surface. After a design is applied to it, gilding
takes place. Tempera comes from the Latin word
“tempere”, which means mixing in due measure. Egg
Mighty Arrows Magazine 39
 tempera requires a process of illumination from dark The use of panels also became a common Word Pronunciation Word Meaning
to light, symbolizing the passage of the soul from the fashion among monastic complexes, as seen particularly
darkness of the world to the light of Christ. at Bawit and Saqqara, which flourished between the
sixth and eighth centuries AD. In the oratories of the A0anacioc Atha-nas-ios Athanasius
Examples of Famous Coptic Art: cells and in churches, the walls could present up to Joljo0a Ghol-gho-tha Golgotha
three tiers of adornment. The lowest tier of large panels
Some of the oldest extant Christian art in Egypt can would include a geometrical or floral motif, while the Cerafim Se-ra-pheem Seraphim
be found in the area of Bagawat in the al-Kharga Oasis upper tiers show tall figures of standing monks and
in the Western Desert. The paintings in the various saints, or perhaps scenes narrating a story. Falafel Fa-la-fel Falafel
chapels and tombs of this region display a notable
change from the earlier work in Alexandria, as well as The scenes at Bawit and Saqqara show variety of Filippoc Phi-lip-pos Philip
an expansion of the iconographic repertory. images and the superior workmanship of their artists. Yalmodia Psal-mo-dia Psalmody
Among those scenes are some from the Old and New
There, the famous Chapel of the Exodus, dating to the Testaments, such as the story of David, the cycle of Yali Psa-li Psali
fourth century AD, is so called because of its graphic the nativity and annunciation, the baptism of Christ and Yalmoc Psal-mos Psalm
representations of the Hebrew Exodus to the Promised others mingle with depictions of equestrian saints and
Land under Moses’ leadership. Within the center of rows of saints and monks. Some niches are adorned Lebt Levt Beets
the copula ceiling of the chapel birds weave amongst with depictions of the Holy Virgin seated on a throne $w5 Fo-tee Towel
networks of vine branches, a motif originating in the holding the Baby Jesus in front of her or nursing Him,
east but adopted by the Roman world and used which are references to the divine motherhood of the Lakan3 La-ka-nee Liturgy of the Waters (Lakan)
extensively in Christian monuments. Other scenes in Holy Virgin defined by the council of Ephesus in 431
the chapel, most often rapidly sketched, include Old AD. %bla Ti-vla Drum
Testament themes such as the sacrifice of Abraham,
However, the most amazing images are those of the
Daniel in the lions’ den and Noah’s ark, among others.
apocalyptic visions drawn from the biblical texts of
%‘epictol3 Ti-epes-tolee Epistle
Another building in the region (Bagawat), known as Ezekiel, Isaiah, Daniel and John; Christ is seated on a
the Chapel of Peace and dating to the 5th century depicts fiery chariot and surrounded by the figures of the four Try to read these words on your own:
large, hieratic figures arranged in perfect order. In this living creatures flying on seraphim wings strewn with
chapel, Old Testament scenes are predominate. For eyes, while two angels bow as a sign of veneration. In ‘Fiwt Father
example, among these works are portrayals of Adam the background is a starry sky, with the sun and moon
and Eve after their sin, the sacrifice of Abraham, Daniel personified by busts as was the convention in antiquity. ‘P23ri Son
in the lions’ den, Jacob, Noah’s ark and the They symbolize eternity. On a lower tier, the Virgin
annunciation symbolizing the new covenant between Mary stands among the apostles as an orant (a praying %‘triac The Trinity
God and his people. or kneeling figure), or seated on a throne with the baby
Jesus, who she nurses.
Xere Hail
As Christianity spread south along the Nile River, the
oldest places of worship were often established in what
Conclusion: %ek‘kl3cia The Church
was once pharaonic temples, though only occasional ‘P3i The House
remains of the paintings on their wall may still be In conclusion, the Coptic art, in general and
observed. These places of pagan worship that were Coptic icons in particular, in the Orthodox tradition is
‘nte of
converted to Christian use included temples at Philae, not to be taken as art for art per se but rather, it is to niajjeloc The Angels
Abydos, Deir al-Bahri, Dandara, Luxor, Karnak, be used as windows into spiritual world, designed to
Madinat Habu as well as Wadi al-Sebua further south help us achieve a prayerful mind set and lead us into a
%par0enoc The Virgin
in Nubia, among others. life of prayer and contemplation. ‘etacmec gave birth
40 Mighty Arrows Magazine Mighty Arrows Magazine 17