Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-05

which one associates the name Chris
tian" in this era. The church services
are conducted in the ancient Coptic
language which bears the same rela-
ton to the Egyptian language of the
days OF Rameses that the English of
Shakespeare bears to that of Chaucer.
The Coptic language has been dead for
several centuries, and very few of the
clergymen who intone the liturgy know
the meaning of a word of it. The high
err classes of its clergy can read and
write 1t, but no living man can con-
verse in 1t. The sermon, when there
is one, is preached in Arabic. The
church service on Sundays and on holy
days is about three or four hours long
AS the people stand through all of it,
a Copt on his way to church may be
seen carrying a crutch which he uses
to support himself through the firing
ordeal In view of this custom 1t is
all the more remarkable that the Copts
are devout and faithful churchgoers.
The church interiors are much the
same as those of the Greek Orthodox
faith. There are no images, which are
held to be idolatrous, but the priests
have great pride in their pictures. The
Madonna and Child, st. Joseph and the
Infant Jesus, st. George and the
Dragon and the Child Jesus in the
Temple are favorite subjects for sacred
art. Some of these pictures are many
centuries old.
The Copts themselves are a distinct
race from all other inhabitants of
Egypt. Their descent from the an
cient monument builders of glorious
Egypt has been admitted by the great
ethnologists, and it is proved to the lay
man by the striking facial resemblance
between a Coptic clerk .of today and
the monuments of RameSeS, Seti and
the ancient kings.
Partly from necessity and partly
from superior adaptability, the Copts
have been the clerks and scribes of
Egypt since soon after the Arab con-
quest The Arab despised the clerk
with his pen and ink and account
books. The Copt was quick and accu-
rate, so he took the place of book
keeper in chief to the nation. An
Arab, after centuries of inaccurate
thinking and no instruction in num-
bers, cannot be certain about anything
which involves the multiplication ia
BILE. Very few Arabs know their own
age. All old men are "a hundred"
Everything is guessed at. On the 9TH
err hand, the Copts are accurate and
have habits Of thought very much like
those of the Occidental world. For that
reason they have been valuable allies
to the cause of reform in Egypt. They
QO uOl llh0 Tie I1llEiiolls OCSehuSO biiCJ
believe the English ought to throw all
Moslems out of office and employ no
body but Christians but at the same
time they have seized upon English
civilization with rapidity impossible
to the Moslem Arab.
The Coptic women veil themselves, as
do their Mohammedan sisters, yet the
church is strict in enforcing monogamy
and in prohibiting divorce for any 9TH
er than biblical reasons. Moslem
may divorce his wife or his wives at
WILL with or without reason. In this
particular the Copt is, therefore, far
superior to his Mohammedan neighbor
The greatest fault of the Copts is in
temperance The devout Moslem will
not drink intoxicating liquors. 1t is
one of the seven cardinal sins de-
nounced by the prophet. and all Mos
lens are total abstainers except those
who have come under European infiu-
ence. The Copt, like his Christian
brother in other lands has advocated
the middle course of temperance, with
the result that many have fallen into
the lower path. On this account the
Arabs look upon the Copts as the low
est of human creatures.
The patriarch of Alexandria was al
most as conservative as the grand
multi of El-Azhar university. He has
objected to popular education for girls,
and has made some trouble for reform
movements. But his chief fear was
that too much European and American
schooling might undermine the faith OF
his people. Now he is fighting the
devil with fire." and is the most indie
fatigable founder of schools in Egypt:
The Coptic church has been awakened
to the need of popular education. what
this new departure will do for the an
cient organization no one may predict
with certainty.
The Coptic clergy looks askance upon
the activity of the Protestant mission
aries in Egypt, but the laity is inclined
to extend brotherly aid. The majority
of the accessions to Protestant churches
there are many orthodox Copts or
wealth who give largely to the mission
schools. There are about million
Copts In Egypt, most of them living
above the delta on the upper Nile. Re
1igiously, they represent the advance OIL
the cause of modern education; polit-
ically. they are the backbone of the
native sentiment which is in favor OF
continued British occupation.
The ignorance of their priesthood ana
their failure to recognize the fact that
cleanliness is next to goodness separate
them widely from the Christians or
more favored lands, but their tenaclty
and devotion are admirable. inc olu-
est of the separate Christian churches,
cut off from fellowship with any other
Christians for many centuries, the de-
scendants of q great race of ancients,
the Copts are the most interesting peo-
pie of Egypt.
copyright, 1909, by Frederic ]. Haskin)
Tomorrow--Twenticth Century Egypt.
VII. American Missions and Schools.