The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-03-14
THE coPTIc CHURCH.
Interesting Description of a Religious
ganizatipn Flourishing in Egypt.

Interesting Description of a Religious Or
ganizatinn Flourishing in Egypt.
The supreme head of the Coptic
Church is the Patriarch of Alexandria,
who, however, lives at Cairo. He
claims direct apostolic succession from
st. Mark, the founder of the Egyptian
Church, who is claimed as having been
the first patriarch, and who is held in
the same reverence as is accorded by
the Western Church TO St. Peter.
The other Coptic ecclesiastical orders
are bishops, arch-priests, priests. dea-
cons and monks. The priests are all
expected to marry, but the patriarch
must be celibate. He is invariably
chosen, either by his predecessor or else
uy lot, from among the monks of the
convent of St. Anthony. There are
lwelve Copt;c bishops, and the patriarch
dominates the Metropolitan of Abys-
sinia.
Though the Copts are remarkable
for their general detestation of all other
Christian sects. their principal tenets
assimilate with those of the Latin
Church. They acknowledge seven sac
raments, enjoin auricular confession
and extreme JUNCTION. The latter is adj
ministered not only to persons at the
point of death, but to persons who have
done meet penaBce after the commits
sion of grievous sin. Evil spirits are
exercised with candle, with book and
with bell In celebrating the Holy
Eucharist leavened bread is used, which
has previously been dipped in wine.
The Copts are more rigorous in their
observance of fast days. Besides every
Wednesday and Friday in the year the
Lenten fast is prolonged to fifty-five
days, during which no manner OF ami
NAL food is allowed-not even eggs,
milk or cheese. Some rites, however,
| appear to be borrowed either from theiI
Moslem or Jewish neighbors. Thus
| cireumeis on is eemed essential, in adj
dition TO baptism by immersion.
The ffeque it services of the Coptie
Church arr ndueted in modern
! G y Il mat is to ay. in Greek Coptic,
which, although not spoken by the
| monks. is understood by them all. But
/ the true Coptie, the language of the
Pharoahs, is literally dead tongue.
| Father Vansteb, who visited Stout in
| 1763, states that he there had the priv
ilege of seeing the last Copt who
understood his own language, and with
whom it was to die. Being eighty year.
| old, and very deaf, he was not able to
| give his visitor much useful informa-
ton. Some porti ms of the se.viee,
such as the Gospel. are first reid in
| Coptic and then explained in Arabic, in
order that it might BE- understood by the
people.
Naturally, the lives of the saints oc-
eupy large place in Coptie literature
! and the place of highest honor, next t1
the Blessed Virgin and St. Mark, is ac
corded 10 st. George whether to the
real st. George, L iglaud patron saint
or to that evil George. also born in
Cappadoeia, who headed the Arian
heresy ia Alexandria, AMI from time &c
time superseded st. Athanasius, is moi
| clear.
| Which of the two is rsvered by the
| Copts | can not say. But | know we
were much interested when visiting 8
very ancient Greek Church in Cairo,
dedicated TO st. George, by watching 6
sisterhood of Latin nuns, who, like our.
selves, were dong a little sightseeing
The kind old priests did the honors O
the saints with charming courtesy, ever
/ producing his veritable head for inspec
| tiOn,-HarDer's Bn zuy