Fleeing Herod: A Journey Through Coptic Egypt with the Holy Family
“Travel with James Cowan on a unique journey through an Egypt at once modern and ancient, populated by hermits, monks and spiritual friends. In luminous prose, he introduces us to the travels and travails of the Holy Family as we have never seen them before. Dreamlike and illuminated, this is a travel guide through an Egypt of the soul, bringing the reader into the life of the spirit as experienced in the gritty reality of this contemporary yet archaic land. You need to read this book.”-Arthur Versluis, author ofWisdom’s Children,The Mystical Stateand other books     “James Cowan’s new book turns the legend of the Holy Family going to Egypt into a flight of visionary imagination formed from history and hagiography, myth and memory, tradition and travelogue that is easy to enjoy.  The chapters form a colorful and wonderful tableau.”-Matthew Del Nevo author ofThe Valley Way of Souland The Work of Enchantment                                                                                                                             More than a travel book, Fleeing Herod takes the reader to a place beyond conjecture or credulity. Questions are asked about the nature of the Holy Family’s escape into Egypt, and what it means as an aid to the spiritual life for people today. Can we indeed ‘flee Herod’ and embark upon our own voyage of discovery?When the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod Antipas, they journeyed for three years throughout Egypt, mainly along the Nile, to keep Herod’s agents at bay. Using an ancient 4th century text written by Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria as his guide, Cowan takes the reader on a fascinating journey through modern-day Egypt in the footsteps of the Holy Family, about the Delta region and up the Nile to a place called Mount Qussqam, where Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus resided for six months. The itinerary, according to Coptic tradition, was revealed to Theophilus in a dream. Documenting his journey, Cowan finds himself in the midst of a spiritual revolution going on in Egypt itself. He meets with monks and health workers, desert mystics and visionaries, all of whom have a stake in the story of the Holy Family’s journey, as they know it. Through their eyes the reader is drawn into a dramatic story of escape and miraculous interventions.