Section VIII.

THE LIBYAN DESERT.

Routes:—By the Mariout Railway to Bahig for Abousir and for St. Menas; each expedition takes a day.

By Railway via Tel-el-Baroud and Khatatbeh to the Wady Natrun; 2 or 3 days.

Alexandria, though so cosmopolitan, lies on the verge of civilisation. Westward begins an enormous desert of limestone that stretches into the heart of Africa. The very existence of this desert is forgotten by most of the dwellers in the city, but it has played a great part in her history, especially in Christian times, and no one who would understand her career can ignore it.

The Mariout Railway was originally the property of the ex-Khedive. The line starts from the central station and diverges from the main line at Hadra. Having passed Nouzha station (Section IV) it crosses the Mahmoudieh Canal (p. [91]) then bends westward along the edge of Lake Mariout. Just before Gabbari Garden station is a fishing village built on a tiny creek and quite Japanese in appearance. It is worth going down here when there has been a catch: the lake fish are uncanny monsters. The neighbourhood is very fertile—palms bananas and vegetable gardens. But it does not make pleasant walking owing to the smells.

Mex Station. (Section VI). The train crosses the western or Mellaha arm of Mariout. Right, are the salt pans that turn dull purple and red in the summer beyond them the white spur of limestone that divides lake from sea.

Abd el Kader Station. Now we approach the Libyan desert. The scenery and the people change. From the hill to the right, by the tomb, is a fine view, and wonderful colour effects in the evening.

Amrieh Station. This large village was formerly head of the Eastern district of the Western Desert Province, but the Administration is transferring to Burg el Arab. Bedouins come to the train, bigger and wirier than the Egyptians, and more graceful; they wear rough white robes and soft dark red tarbooshes.—There is a fine walk from Amrieh to Mex—the best day’s tramp near Alexandria. The path leads north from the station, by the communal gardens, then makes for a ridge where limestone is quarried. View from the top over the western arm of Mariout. Take the causeway that crosses the lake and on the further bank turn to the right, finally crossing the coastal ridge to Dekhela (Section VI) and so to Mex by the sea shore.

Ikingi Mariout Station. (Ikingi is Turkish for “second.”)—A good centre for the wild flowers of February and March. Go northward towards the lake, and keep to the lower ground; the local flora is one of the finest in the world.

Bahig Station.—Centre for two fine expeditions—Abousir on the coast, and St. Menas inland.

ABOUSIR.

The ruins of Abousir lie 5½ miles N.W. from Bahig station. They can be found without a guide. (see map). There is a good road as far as Bahig village (¾ mile). Just above the village is a big quarry, worked in ancient times and very picturesque. A path crosses the ridge rather to the left of this quarry, after which the ruins are in sight all the way. The end of Mariout has to be crossed, so the expedition should not be made in winter on account of the mud. The last half hour of the journey is magnificent. The Temple and the Tower stand out on the height, which is golden with marigolds in spring time; and near the top of the ascent the sea appears through a gap, deep blue, and beating against a beach of snowy sand. The flowers can be amazing, colouring the earth in every direction. The ruins are supposed by the Bedouins to be the palace of Abou Zeit; they really mark the Ptolemaic city of Taposiris, whose name is preserved in the modern Abousir.

Taposiris must have been built soon after Alexandria (about 300 B.C.), and it is instructive to compare the two towns. They stand on the same spur—Taposiris at its base, where it has emerged from the mass of the desert. The lake is to their south, the sea to their north, so each commanded two harbours, to the advantage of their trade. Each has a lighthouse, each worshipped Osiris. Little is known of the history of Taposiris—called the “Great” to distinguish it from “Little” Taposiris at Montazah (p. [175]). Its immediate trade was with the lake, its sea-harbour being ½ mile below, at the vanished port of Plinthinus. The Arabs turned the Temple of Osiris into a fortress, and in modern times coast guards have been installed here.

Abousir and District

The Chief remains are:—

(i). Temple of Osiris. The eastern, and main, entrance adjoins the coast-guard station. At first sight it looks no more than a hole in a ruined wall, but it can easily be reconstructed. Each side of the entrance were Gate-towers (Pylons) like those of Edfu or Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt. Their bases project from the main wall, and up the face of each are two grooves for flag staffs, from whose tops crimson streamers floated. Staircases, reached from the inside, ascend each tower, and there are also two square rooms in the base of each.

The enclosure—about 100 yards square—is in a terrible mess. The actual temple has disappeared. There must have been a colonnaded court with an altar in the middle, and beyond it the temple facade: on north and south of temple would have been other courts. The arrangements were Egyptian, but some of the workman were Greek; mason marks with Greek letters (e.g. Alpha Kappa Rho) have been found on the stone in the boundary wall.

The north boundary wall of the enclosure is very fine; it projects over the slope of the hill and rests on substructures: in it is a gate for the descent to the sea. Note the projections in the masonry. In the north west corner are some architectural fragments, piled up by the Arabs. (ii). Lighthouse. The ruined tower on the hill to the east of the temple was once mistaken for a tomb, since it stands in the ancient cemetery. It is really the Ptolemaic lighthouse of Taposiris, first of a chain that stretched from the Pharos at Alexandria all down the North African coast to Cyrene. It has, like the Pharos, three stages: a square basement, an octagonal central stage and a cylindrical top. On the north, where the outer wall of the octagon has fallen, one can see the marks of the staircase by which the wood was carried to the top—a simpler version of the double spiral that ascended the huge Alexandrian building. There can be no doubt that the Taposiris lighthouse was modelled on its gigantic contemporary—scale about ⅒th—and it is thus of great importance to archaeologists and historians. (see throughout p. [133]).

There are tombs close to the lighthouse, and tombs and houses all along the slope to the south of the temple.

(iii). Causeway. South of the town, in the bed of the lake, are traces of the embankment that connected with the desert. It was doubtless pierced with arches like the Heptastadion at Alexandria, to allow boats to go through.

The other point of interest in the district is Burg el Arab (Modern Bahig). It lies some miles west of Bahig village (see above) but is easily located by the tower of the new carpet factory. Here is to be the capital of the Eastern District of the Western Desert Province Frontier Districts Administration; it is being planned and executed with great taste, thanks mainly to the genius of the Officer Commanding, W. E. Jennings Bramly, M.C. The factory consists of a great cloister and of two halls, one each side of the big tower. Fragments of antique sculpture and architecture have been cleverly introduced. The carpets are woven from camels’ and goats’ hair by Bedouin and Senussi women—the industry was started at Amrieh, during the late war. Specimens can be had in the Alexandrian shops. Further to the west other buildings are rising, including a small walled town. It is all most interesting, and one of the few pieces of modern creative work to be seen in these parts.

ST. MENAS.

Seven and a half miles south of Bahig Station, in the loneliness of the desert, lie the ruins of a great Christian city. They can be visited between trains on a good horse, but it is better to camp out. The track passes over gently undulating expanses of limestone. The scenery grows less interesting, the flora scarcer, as the coast is left behind. At last the monotony is broken by the square hut where the excavators used to live. The ancient name of the place is preserved in the modern—Abumna.

St Menas
Plan I. The Sanctuary Group
Subterranean work thus .........

Menas, a young Egyptian officer, was martyred during his service in Asia Minor because he would not abandon Christ (A.D. 296). When the army moved back into Egypt his friends brought his ashes with them, and at the entrance of the Lybian Desert a miracle took place: the camel that was carrying the burden refused to go further. The saint was buried and forgotten. But a shepherd observed that a sick lamb that crossed the spot became well. He tried successfully with another lamb. Then a sick princess was healed. The remains were exhumed, and a church built over the grave.

This church can still be traced. It is the Basilica of the Crypt (Plan I p. [196]) date 350, to which, at the end of the century, an immense extension was added by the Emperor Arcadius. What caused so rapid a growth? Water. There were springs in the limestone that have since dried up, and that must have had curative powers. Baths were built, some of them opening out of a church (Plan II). Little flasks, stamped with the Saint’s image, were filled from the sacred source by his tomb. The environs were irrigated, houses, walls, cemeteries built, until in the pure air a sacred city sprang up, where religion was combined with hygiene. Nor did the saint only protect invalids. He was also the patron of the caravans that passed by him from Alexandria to the Wady Natrun, the Siwan Oasis, and Tripoli, and so he is always seen between two camels, who crouch in adoration because he guides them aright. By the 6th century he had become god of the Lybian Desert, then less deserted than now, and his fame, like that of his predecessor Serapis, had travelled all round the Mediterranean, and procured him worshippers as far as Rome and France.

Islam checked the cult. But as late as the year 1,000, an Arab traveller saw the great double basilica still standing. Lights burned in the shrine night and day, and there was still left a little trickle of “the beautiful water of St. Menas that drives away pain.”

The site, entirely forgotten, was discovered in 1905. It has been carefully excavated. Little more than the ground plans of the buildings remain, but they are most interesting, and the marble decorations delightful.

St Menas – Plan II.
The Sacred Baths

The Sanctuary Group. This lies a little to the south of the excavators’ huts. Combined length, nearly 400 ft. In the centre is the original church covering the tomb. To its east is the impressive addition of Arcadius; to its west a baptistery. On its north side a monastery. The best view of the group is from a mound outside the baptistery. The general arrangement is quite clear. (Plan I, p. [196]). Taken in detail:—

(i). Church of Arcadius.—Length nearly 200 feet. A cruciform basilica with a nave and two aisles, and aisled transepts. Over the intersection was a dome, beneath which, now much ruined by its fall, is the High Altar. Behind the altar are curved steps that supported the ecclesiastical throne. Both altar and throne are in a square enclosure where the priests and singers stood; a narrow alley connects it with the nave. The eastern apse has been used for burials.

The Nave is paved with white marble from the Greek archipelago. Green and purple marbles (verde antico and porphyry) were also used. From its south aisle, three doors open into a fine atrium. This was the principal approach to the church. The north aisle opens—at its east end—on to a staircase that ascended to the roof of the church; the other doors to the monks’ apartments and hospice (see below). The west end of the nave is irregular, because the apse of the primitive church impinges.

(ii). Primitive Church. A small, three-aisled basilica, not well preserved, but with interesting crypt. The descent to this is by a marble staircase that starts in the Arcadian church, passes by a portico with a vaulted roof of brick, and then, after a little, turns to the south into an oblong subterranean chamber. Here, amid rich decorations, the ashes of the young saint once lay, is a tomb that was probably visible from the church above. A bas-relief of him was fixed to the south wall; the place for the marble slab can still be seen there. The ugly bas-relief in the Alexandria Museum (Room I) is a copy. Attached to the crypt is a chapel once vaulted with gold mosaic; the well in it was made by treasure-hunters.

On the west of the church runs the sacred water course from which the sanctuary derived its fame. It is a subterranean cistern, over 80 yards long; a shaft was sunk into it from the nave. Passing, as it did, so near to the saint’s remains, it had special sanctity. The water was used to fill flasks, and also in the adjacent Baptistery.

(iii). The Baptistery is square without and octagonal within. In its centre, down steps, is the chief font, which had an over-flow canal; we do not know how it was filled. The floor was richly inlaid with serpentine, porphyry and other marbles. There was a dome. On its south side is an atrium. On its western exterior, niches for statues.

A Baptistery of this type—separate from the rest of the church—is common enough in the West. But in the East it is unique. Only at St. Menas, where water was so prominent in the worship, does it occur.

Immediately to the north of the Sanctuary Group are the Monastery Buildings and Hospice, a confused labyrinth. Best is a hall paved with marble and one supported by eight columns. It lies 40 yards due north from the gate of the Primitive Church. These buildings, together with the Sanctuary Group that they served, cover an area of over 40,000 square yards.

The Sacred Baths (Plan II). About 80 yards from the Monastery Buildings. Best located by the fine circular cistern of well-cut limestone blocks. The main building has a heating apparatus and three baths. Also a small but finely finished church; basilica type; apses at each end; three aisles. Two baths open straight out of its south aisles, and in its nave are two marble fountains that were probably filled from the source in the central sanctuary (see above). Throughout the arrangements are significant. The line between the hygienic and the miraculous is nowhere clearly drawn; heating apparatus and church have each to play their parts. Date of the group, probably 5th century. Another group lies beyond.

Northern Cemetery.—This, the most important in the city, is some way from the groups above described. Indeed the visitor from Bahig leaves it to his left on his way to the hut. There is a good view of it from a mound. The main object is a church (150 ft. long), with three aisles, a square apse and numerous mortuary chapels where the more prominent invalids were buried. Others lie outside. Late date—7th-9th cent.

This by no means catalogues the ruins of St. Menas. There is a Southern Cemetery, private houses, wine presses, a kiln where the terra cotta flasks were made. All the desert around shows remains of the curious cult, which in some ways anticipated the methods of Lourdes.

Half a day over the desert southward brings a rider to the Wady Natrun.

THE WADY NATRUN.

The Wady is best visited by arrangement with the Egyptian Salt and Soda Company, who have the concession for developing that section of it where the Lakes and the Monasteries lie. The Company’s private railway starts at Khatatbeh, on the branch line between Cairo and Tel-el-Baroud (see Map. p. [174]). The train curves up the desert to Bir Victoria, where it waters beneath a solitary tree. Then it leaves civilisation, and for three hours nothing is seen except an occasional gazelle. At the end of that time the ground falls away to the left, and the monastery of St. Macarius appears far off. Then is seen the chain of the lakes, and across them, often in mirage, the monasteries of St. Pschoi and The Syrians. The train descends to the terminus of Bir Hooker, close to the Company’s factory and rest house.

The Wady Natrun (i.e. Natron, Soda) is a curious valley that begins near Cairo, and slopes north-westward into the heart of the Lybian Desert. It may have once been an outlet of the Nile, though it is barred now from the sea by coastal hills. Its upper and lower reaches are both barren, but in the central section—that which the railway taps—water survives in the form of a chain of mineral lakes.

The deposits were worked from antiquity, but with the rise of monasticism the Wady took a new importance, owing to its discomfort. As early as A.D 150 St. Fronto retreated here from Alexandria. St. Ammon followed in 270; St. Macarius or Mercury a hundred years later. The more moderate ascetics extracted soda with the assistance of laymen; the extremists sought a waterless stretch called Scetis—probably the southern portion of the valley where the monastery to St. Macarius still stands. There were soon 5,000 monks. It is natural that so remote a community should lose touch with the theological niceties of the capital, and in 399 the Patriarch Theophilus was obliged to rebuke the monks for minimising the divine element in the Second Person. Their reply was startling. They crossed the desert, stormed Alexandria, and made the Patriarch apologise. A few years later he led an army into the Wady to punish them, but by now, oddly enough, they had veered to the opposite error; they minimised the human element. The truth is they represented native Egypt, the Patriarch the Hellenising coast. (see p. [51]). The quarrel was racial rather than theological, and when in the 6th century it came to a head, the Wady became the natural stronghold of the national or Monophysite party who, under the name of Copts, worship there to this day.

With the 19th century came a new colony—the industrial. It is the factory chimney of the Salt and Soda Company that now dominates the scene. The lakes are dredged for their deposits. The chief product is caustic soda which is poured red hot into metal drums, and exported all over the east. Ordinary soda (natron) is also produced. The factory is interesting. It, and the surrounding settlement, are due in their present form to Mr. A. H. Hooker, after whom the settlement is named.

More than eighty different species of birds have been identified in the marshes surrounding Bir Hooker.

The Mineral Lakes.

These lie between the factory and the monasteries. Some of them are squalid, others are indescribably beautiful, especially in summer. The deposits form at the bottom. As they reach the top, the lake seems to be covered with white and crimson ice, in the midst of which are pools of blue and green water, and trickling streams of claret, and tracts that blush like a rose. When the scene is in mirage, its strangeness passes belief. A bird looks as big as a man, and the lump of salt it perches on shows like a boat of snow. The finest of these lakes is just to the left of Bir Hooker.

The Natrun Monasteries
Plan I. Church Of St. Pschoi

The Natrun Monasteries—Plan II
Convent of the Syrians—Church of the Virgin.

The Monasteries.

Four of these survive, and there are the ruins of many others. They are all of the same type, and to avoid repetitions it may be thus summarised:

Exterior:—an enclosure of stone laid in the middle of the desert, covering about an acre. Palm trees and buildings show over its walls. The walls are blank except for one high arch, which indicates the position of a little door, the only entrance. The black-robed monks, when the bell has been rung, look down from the parapet, then unbar the door, and take the traveller to the Guest House for coffee and lemonade. They are dirty and ignorant, but most courteous and hospitable. All payment is refused.

In the enclosure:—two or three churches, normally consisting of nave, choir, and sanctuary (kaikal). Refectory. Sleeping cells for the monks. Mill for grinding corn. Oven, where is baked the hard brown bread, and also the “isbodikon” (somatikon, sacrament), a cake of fine flour beautifully stamped with a cross and used for the Eucharist. Olive press. Granary. Garden of palm trees, bananas, capsicums, etc. Keep (kasr) for final retreat when attacked; reached only by a drawbridge from the parapet of the wall; contains library, dungeons, chapels; usually dedicated to St. Michael.

Date: general appearance and arrangement are of the 6th century. Most of the details are later.

Extract from the Thanksgiving offered at the arrival of a distinguished visitor:—

He who visits these mansions with firm faith, fervent desire, true repentance and good works, shall have all his sins forgiven. Then, O my reverend fathers and my beloved brethren, come that we may pray for these our dear and honourable brethren, who are come upon this visit and have reached these habitations, let us pray that Jesus Christ, who was with his servants in every time and every place, may now be with them, and may deliver them from all sins and iniquities. May he grant them the best of gifts and full reward, recompensing them for all that they have endured through toil and peril and the weariness of the journey as they travelled hither; giving them abundance of blessing; bring them back to their homes in safety; and after long life transport them to the brightness of Paradise and the life of bliss, through the intercession of Our Lady the Virgin, and of all our holy fathers. Amen.[[7]]

[7]. From A. J. Butler’s Ancient Coptic Churches.

The Four Monasteries.

(A). Convent of St. Pschoi (Deir Abou Bishoi). About an hour’s ride from Bir Hooker. Dedicated to St. Pschoi or Besa. “B” is the Coptic article, so the saint’s name is ultimately “Isa” i.e. Isaiah. Little is known about him.

The convent enclosure contains:

(i). The Church of St. Pschoi (Plan I, p. [202]). 6th-11th cents. with later additions. A spacious entrance porch leads to the dark but impressive interior. There are three divisions: Nave, Choir and Sanctuary.

The Nave has an arched vault; massive piers with pointed arches divide it from its aisles. In it is an Ambon (lectern for reading the Gospel), and a small marble basin level with the floor, where the priest washes the feet of the people on Maundy Thursday in commemoration of the action of Christ. Many of the Nave arches have been blocked up to strengthen the building. High and narrow folding doors—recalling a Japanese screen—close the lofty arch that leads from the Nave into the Choir; they are set with fine carved panels, enclosed in ivory borders. Other doors lead from the aisles.

The Choir too has vaulting, but it is at right angles to that of the Nave. At each side of the Choir are chapels, probably of later date. Left—Chapel of the Virgin, with a chest containing the relics of St. Pschoi, whom the monks state remains intact. Right—Chapel of St. Ischyrion; off it is the Baptistery. The entrance into the Sanctuary is through ancient carved doors; over them is a triumphant arch.

The Sanctuary has, behind the altar, a fine tribune of six steps—three straight and three curved. In the centre was the throne of the Abbot. It has gone, and the marble decorations of the steps are ruined. Above the throne is a marble mosaic. In the centre of the eastern dome is a Cross.

(ii). The Refectory.—This solemn room contains the immense stone table, narrow and low, at which the monks break their yearly fast. They do not eat here usually, and use the table as a drying place for onions, bread, etc., while cakes of salt are stacked against the wall. At the head of the table is the Abbot’s seat. The place is rough and indescribably untidy. But one could scarcely find a more striking relic of primitive Christianity.

(B). Convent of the Syrians (Deir es Suriani).—Close to the Convent of St. Pschoi. Founded by monks from Syria. Dedicated to the Virgin. Here Robert Curzon (1833) discovered in the oil cellar priceless Syrian, Coptic, and Abyssinian MSS., now in the British Museum. He describes his find in “Monasteries of the Levant”: it was facilitated by plying the Abbot with liqueurs. More were brought away by Archdeacon Tattam, and nothing valuable remains now.

The enclosure contains:—

(i). Church of the Virgin (Plan II, p. [203])—A fine building 40 ft. by 90, probably the model for the church in St. Pschoi—i.e. originating in the 6th century.

The Nave has piers with high pointed arches, and lofty vaulting, slightly pointed. In the middle, the basin for the Maundy feet washing, a marble slab with a circular depression. In the western semi-dome, fine fresco of the Ascension. Precious folding doors between nave and choir, inlaid with ivory panels of Christ in the nimbus of the Cross, the Virgin, St. Peter and St. Mark; round their posts and lintels a Syriac inscription, dating them back to the 7th century.

The Choir—North semi-dome; fresco of the Death of the Virgin. South semi-dome; fresco of the Annunciation and Nativity. Admirable work. More ancient doors between Choir and Sanctuary; ivory panel representing Dioscurus (Patriarch of Alexandria 450 and founder of Monophysism see p. [51]), Mark, Emmanuel, the Virgin, Ignatius, and Severus (512). Syriac inscriptions of rather later type—8th century.

Sanctuary. Skilful and effective plaster frieze with a border below and panels of conventional trees and vines above. Above the eastern niche a panel of crosses. This unique decoration should be studied closely.

(ii). Smaller Church of the Virgin. Over its entrance to the south-west a marble cross in low relief. Inside, another cross in black marble. Probably dedication crosses. Pulpit in the choir.

(iii). Tamarind tree under the enclosing wall. St. Ephraim the Syrian (date 373) inadvertently, so they say, laid his staff down, and it took root at once. But it is unlikely that St. Ephraim ever visited Egypt.

(C). Convent of St. Baramus (Deir el Baramus). About two hours ride from Bir Hooker. Dedicated to an unknown saint (Romaios?).

In the enclosure are:—

(i). Church of the Virgin. The piers of the nave are built round antique marble columns. There are ten dedication crosses, marking places signed with holy oil at the consecration of the church—six in the nave and four in the choir. Fine carvings on the sanctuary screen. In the reliquary lie the brothers S.S. Maximus and Domitius from whose mouths, when they prayed, fiery ropes ascended to Heaven. Attached to this church are two smaller ones—St. George (Mari Girgis) now used as a granary; it has an ornamented dome—and St. Theodore (Al Amir Tadrus).

(ii). Church of Baramus, ruined by restoration.

(iii). The Refectory—similar to that at St. Pschoi. Date 5th or 6th century. At this entrance is a great book-rest of stone.

(iv). Keep, with chapel to St. Michael.

(D). Convent of St. Macarius (Deir Abou Makar).

This monastery is the least accessible of the four, being ten miles from Bir Hooker.

St. Macarius, or Mercury, the founder, was an Alexandrian who was seen by another saint in a vision killing the apostate Emperor Julian (d. 363). He is also celebrated for a bunch of grapes that he refused to eat, and for a mosquito that he killed. Overcome with remorse at its death, he retired naked to the marshes near, and at the end of six months was so distended by stings that the brethren could only recognise him by his voice. He selected this site for his monastery on account of the badness of the communications and water supply. It was repaired in 880. Of its later history nothing is known.

The monastery enclosure is on the usual plan. It contains:—

(i). Church of Macarius. Byzantine in character; three sanctuaries, a choir, and an irregular western end. The central sanctuary is roofed by a fine brick dome, once covered with frescoes, and still showing traces of its ancient windows, with their stucco partitions and tiny panels of coloured glass. There were also frescoes in the eastern niche, and paintings upon the entrance arch. The sanctuary doors are well carved.

Left of Sanctuary: Chapel of St. John, with a double screen. The outer screen is set with exquisitely carved panels—probably 8th century. Frame later. The plaster of the dome has fallen; it too was once coloured. St. Macarius lies in the Reliquary.

(ii). Church of the Elders (Al Shiulah), marked by a detached bell-tower. A small building of similar plan. One of its columns has a late classical capital.

(iii). Church of St. Ischyrion (Abou Iskharun)—one of the martyrs whom Alexandria, in the past, so freely produced. A magnificent low-pitched dome almost covers both choir and nave. It is made of bricks that must have been carried on camels from the Delta.

(iv). The Keep (Kasr), reached by a flight of steps and a drawbridge. On its first floor are three chapels dedicated to:—

St. Michael—Corinthian and Doric capitals in the nave; the Sanctuary Screen has ivory inlay; in the Sanctuary are the bodies of sixteen patriarchs, each in a plain deal box: St. Anthony—three ancient frescoed figures: and St. Suah, with more frescoes. On the ground floor, a chapel to the Virgin, with a triple altar containing depressions of unknown use.

Appendix I.
THE MODERN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES.

The ecclesiastical life of Alexandria is not as intense to-day as in the days of St. Athanasius, but it is even more complicated. The city is the seat of four patriarchates, and many other religious bodies are represented in her. The complications are partly due to the activity of Roman Catholicism, which, in order to win oriental schismatics back to the fold, has in each case created a counter church that shall approximate as nearly as possible to the conditions and ritual that are familiar—e.g. an Armenian Catholic Church for the Armenians, a Coptic Catholic for the Copts. And further complications proceed from the modern, commercial communities who tend to regard religion as an expression of nationality rather than of dogma.

The following list of the Churches may indicate the unsuspected vastness of the subject:—

Greek Patriarchate: “Orthodox Greek,” or “Melchite” church (from Melek, Arabic for King). Present Patriarch, Photius I. His position is curious. He is a subject neither to the Kingdom of Greece, nor to the Patriarch of Constantinople, but holds, or rather held, his position from the Sultan of Turkey direct. Thus ecclesiastically he is independent. His title is “Patriarch of Alexandria, Lybia, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, and all Egypt,” but his patriarchate does not extend beyond Egypt, which he administers through four bishops. Historically he represents the church that kept loyal to Byzantium and to the Emperor at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) when the rest of Egypt began to drift away over the Monophysite question. After the Arab Conquest the Greek Patriarch resided in Cairo, but came back to Alexandria about sixty years ago to the Convent and Church of St. Saba. (p. [106]). As for dogma, the Greek Orthodox chiefly differs from the Roman Catholic and the Protestants over the “Filioque” clause in the Nicene creed. It holds that the Holy Ghost proceeded not from the Father and the Son, but through the Son. This is the point over which the East and West split, and failed to reunite in 1459.

Churches of the Greek Community: These too are Greek Orthodox in faith. But they do not recognise the Patriarch. Indeed their relations with him during the late war were of the liveliest. They are the churches of a body of business men who only owe allegiance to the Kingdom of Greece. They are self-administering, and choose their own priests. The Patriarch however, has the right of examining those priests’ credential, and of giving them permission to officiate. The Community has a Cathedral (The Annunciation) near the Place St. Catherine (p. [142]); also three churches in Ramleh,—St. Stefano, St. Nicolas, and the Prophet Elias.

Syrian Greek Orthodox: The Church of those members of the Syrian Community who hold the Greek Orthodox faith. Independent of the Patriarch. Under an archimandrite. Services in Arabic. Church—“Dormition de la Sainte Vierge” in the Rue el Kaid Gohar.

This completes the Greek Orthodox Churches.

Coptic Patriarchate: The Copts are Monophysites—i.e. believe that after the Incarnation the Divine and the Human in Christ were united into a single nature. (p. [76]). This severs them from the rest of Christendom. Historically the Patriarchate is the opponent of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, from whom it split at the Council of Chalcedon, and it claims to represent Egyptian Christianity. In 960 the Patriarch went to reside at Cairo, and the custom has continued, though the title of “Patriarch of Alexandria” was retained: Besides his powers in Egypt, the Patriarch consecrates the Metropolitan of Abyssinia. Alexandria has a resident archbishop. Cathedral—in the Rue de l’Eglise Copte. (p. [160]).

Armenian Church: Founded by St. Gregory the Illuminator in the 4th Century, and, like the Coptic, Monophysite. Its head is a “Catholicos” at Etchmiadzin, Armenia. The Alexandrian community has a church, SS. Peter and Paul, Rue Abou el Dardaa. (p. [143]).

We now come to the group of churches that are in communion with Rome. Dogma, identical. Rite, differing.

Latin Patriarchate: Founded after the Crusades—13th century. The Patriarch does not reside but lives at Rome, and governs through an Apostolic Vicar who lives at Alexandria. Chief Church—Cathedral of St. Catherine (Place St. Catherine). (p. [142]).

Coptic Patriarchate: Organised in 1895, with title of “Patriarchate of Alexandria and of all the Preaching of St. Mark.” The Patriarch resides at Alexandria, and administers Egypt through the suffragan bishops of Hermopolis Magna and Thebes. Cathedral—Rue de l’Hôpital Indigène. (p. [154]).

Greek Catholic Church: Under the Patriarch of Antioch who now lives at Damascus and governs Alexandria through a Vicar General. Church: St. Pierre, Rue Debbane. (p 160.). The priests generally officiate in Arabic, though the ecclesiastical language is Greek.

Maronite Church: Founded in the 5th century by St. Maro, and at one time adhering to the Monothelite heresy. This was a fainter version of the Monophysite, and asserted that though Christ might have two natures, He only had one will. (p. [77]). The Catholic view is that Christ had two wills, human and divine, which were exercised in unison, and in the 18th century the Maronite Community subscribed to this, and is consequently in communion with Rome. Patriarch at Antioch. Ecclesiastical language—Syrian. Church at Alexandria in the Rue de l’Eglise Maronite. (p. [140]).

Armenian Catholic Church: Under the Patriarchate of Cilicia, formed in the 18th century. There is a Bishop of Alexandria, but he lives at Cairo. Church—Rue Averoff. (p. [160]).

Chaldean Catholic Church: Under the Patriarchate of Babylon, formed 1843, to counteract the Nestorian heresy. The Chaldeans of Alexandria, 100 strong, are said to be looking for a plot of ground on which to build a church.

This concludes the Catholic group. As regards the Protestants:

United Presbyterian Church of Egypt: Most, but not all, native Protestants belong to this body. It is attached to the American Mission, which proselytizes mainly among the Copts. Church—Rue Tewfik I.

Church of England: Alexandria is in the diocese of Egypt and the Sudan. The official church of the British community is St. Marks in the Square, built on land given to the community by Mohammed Ali. (p. [102]). There is another Anglican church at Ramleh (All Saints) built by some residents there. Its living, after some heart-burnings, has been placed in the hands of the Bishop of London. (p. [166]).

Church of Scotland: St. Andrew’s, in the French Gardens.

Appendix II.
THE DEATH OF CLEOPATRA
(p. [27]).

The death of Cleopatra as described by Plutarch took hold of the imagination of posterity, and was dramatised by Shakespeare and by Dryden.

(i). Plutarch. (in North’s Translation which Shakespeare used).

Her death was very sodain. For those whom Caesar sent unto her ran thither in all haste possible, and found the soldiers standing at the gate, mistrusting nothing, nor understanding of her death. But when they had opened the doors, they found Cleopatra stark dead, laid upon a bed of gold, attired and arrayed in her royal robes, and one of her two women, which was called Iras, dead at her feet: and her other woman called Charmian half dead, and trembling, trimming the diadem which Cleopatra wore upon her head. One of the soldiers seeing her, angrily said to her: Is that well done, Charmian? Very well said she again, and meet for a princess descended of so many royal kings. She said no more, but fell down dead hard by the bed.

(ii). Shakespeare. (Antony and Cleopatra, Act V, Scene 2)

Cleopatra. Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have

Immortal longings in me; now no more

The juice of Egypt’s grape shall moist this lip.

Yare, yare, good Iras; quick. Methinks I hear

Antony call; I see him rouse himself

To praise my noble act; I hear him mock

The luck of Caesar, which the gods give men

To excuse their after wrath: husband, I come:

Now to that name my courage prove my title!

I am fire and air; my other elements

I give to baser life. So; have you done?

Come then, and take the last warmth of my lips.

Farewell, kind Charmian; Iras, long farewell.

(kisses them. Iras falls and dies).

Have I the aspic in my lips? Dost fall?

If thou and nature can so gently part,

The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch,

Which hurts and is desired. Dost thou lie still?

If thus thou vanishest, thou tell’st the world

It is not worth leave-taking.

Charmian. Dissolve thick cloud and rain; that I may say

The gods themselves do weep.

Cleopatra. This proves me base:

If she meet first the curled Antony

He’ll make demand of her, and spend that kiss

Which is my heaven to have. Come thou mortal wretch

(to the asp, which she applies to her breast)

With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate

Of life at once untie; poor venomous fool,

Be angry, and despatch. O! couldst thou speak,

That I might hear thee call great Caesar ass

Unpolicied.

Charmian. O eastern star!

Cleopatra. Peace, peace!

Dost thou not see my baby at my breast,

That sucks the nurse asleep?

Charmian. O, break! O, break!

Cleopatra. As sweet as balm, as soft as air, as gentle—

O Antony!—Nay, I will take thee too.

(applying another asp to her arm)

What should I stay— (dies).

Charmian. In this vile world? So, fare thee well.

Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies

A lass unparallel’d. Downy windows, close;

And golden Phœbus never be beheld

Of eyes again so royal! Your crown’s awry;

I’ll mend it, and then play.

(enter the Guard, rushing in)

First Guard. Where is the queen?

Charmian. Speak softly, wake her not.

First Guard. Caesar hath sent—

Charmian. Too slow a messenger.

(applies an asp)

O! come apace, dispatch; I partly feel thee.

First Guard. Approach, ho! All’s not well; Caesar’s beguil’d.

Second Guard. There’s Dolabella sent from Caesar; call him.

First Guard. What work is this? Charmian, is this well done?

Charmian. It is well done and fitting for a princess

Descended of so many royal kings.

Ah! Soldier.

(dies)

(iii). Dryden. (All for Love, Act. V Scene I).

Charmian. To what end

These ensigns of your Pomp and Royalty?

Cleopatra. Dull that thou art! why, ’tis to meet my Love;

As when I saw him first, on Cydno’s bank,

All sparkling, like a goddess; so adorned,

I’ll find him, once again: my second spousals

Shall match my first in glory. Haste, haste, both,

And dress the bride of Antony.

Charmian. ’Tis done.

Cleopatra. Now set me by my lord. I claim this place:

For I must conquer Caesar too, like him,

And win my share o’ th’ world. Hail, you dear relics

Of my immortal love!

O let no impious hand remove you hence;

But rest for ever here. Let Egypt give

His death that peace, which it denied his life.

Reach me the casket.

Iras. Underneath the fruit

The aspic lies.

Welcome, thou kind deceiver!

Cleopatra.

(putting aside the leaves)

Thou best of thieves; who, with an easy key,

Dost open life, and, unperceived by us,

Ev’n steal us from ourselves; discharging so

Death’s dreadful office, better than himself,

Touching our limbs so gently into slumber,

That Death stands by, deceived by his own image,

And thinks himself but sleep.

Serapion (within). The Queen, where is she?

The town is yielded, Caesar’s at the gates.

Cleopatra. He comes too late t’invade the rights of death.

Haste, bare my arm, and rouse the serpent’s fury.

(holds out her arm, and draws it back)

Coward flesh—

Would’st thou conspire with Caesar to betray me,

As thou wert none of mine? I’ll force thee to it

And not be sent by him,

But bring myself my soul to Antony.

(turns aside, and then shows her arm bloody)

Take hence; the work is done.

Serapion (within). Break ope the door

And guard the traitor well.

Charmian. The next is ours.

Iras. Now, Charmian, be too worthy

Of our great queen and mistress.

(they apply the aspics)

Cleopatra. Already, death, I feel thee in my veins;

I go with such a will to find my lord,

That we shall quickly meet.

A heavy numbness creeps through every limb,

And now ’tis at my head: my eyelids fail

And my dear love is vanished in a mist.

Where shall I find him, where? O turn me to him,

And lay me on his breast—Caesar, thy worst;

Now part us if thou canst.

(Dies. Iras sinks down at her feet and dies;

Charmian stands behind her chair as dressing

her head. Enter Serapion, two priests, Alexas

bound, Egyptians).

Two Priests. Behold, Serapion, what havoc death hath made.

Serapion. ’Twas what I feared. Charmian, is this well done?

Charmian. Yes, ’tis well done, and like a queen, the last

Of her great race: I follow her.

(sinks down; dies).

Appendix III.
THE UNCANONICAL GOSPELS OF EGYPT.
(p. [73]).

(i). From the Gospel according to the Egyptians.

The Lord said unto Salome, who asked how long death would prevail, “As long as ye women bear children. I have come to undo the work of woman.” And Salome said “Then have I done well in that I have not born children.” The Lord answered and said “Eat every plant, but that which has bitterness eat not.” When Salome asked when would be known the things about which he spake (i.e. the Last Judgement) the Lord said “Whenever ye put off the garment of shame, when the two become one, and the male with the female, there being neither male nor female.”

(ii). From the Gospel according to the Hebrews.

Jesus saith:—“Let not him who seeks cease until he find and when he finds he shall be astonished; astonished, he shall reach the Kingdom, and having reached the Kingdom he shall rest.”

(iii). From uncertain sources (about 200 A.D.)

Jesus saith:—“Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the Kingdom of God; and except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath, ye shall not see the Father.”

Jesus saith:—“Wherever there are two, they are not without God, and when ever there is one alone, I say, I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there am I.”

Appendix IV.
THE NICENE CREED.
(pp. 49 and 75).

Here is the text as originally passed by the Council, including the paragraph against the Arians; additions to the original texts are enclosed within brackets.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible.

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father (only begotten, that is to say of the substance of the Father) God of God and Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made (both things in Heaven and things on Earth); who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, made man, suffered and rose again on the third day, went up into the heavens and is to come again to judge the quick and the dead;

And in the Holy Ghost;

But the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematises those who say that there was a time when the Son of God was not, and that he was not before he was begotten, and that he was made from that which did not exist; or who assert that he is of other substance or essence than the Father, or is susceptible of change.

INDEX
OF MAIN REFERENCES

PLAN OF ALEXANDRIA
(Click on the map to see a higher-resolution version.)