SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

Good Friday Service. The associated Gospel reading may be heard, but almost always in an abbreviated form and with poor presentation. The Introduction and Conclusion of the Pascha Pauline tune is also common, though not always. Also the Festal III tune of the Psalm has been used in some churches during the Nativity and Resurrection Sunday Liturgies. Other tunes are either too rare or non-existent in these churches. How to Remedy: It is hoped that the reader of this article has realized from this survey the powerful musical legacy that is being laid to waste. To reverse this process and regain these lost treasures the following steps should be taken:  Preserving of what that can be recovered  Recruiting people with appropriate talents for such task  Equipping such people with the necessary tools On the preservation front, most of these tunes have been preserved through the work of the late Prof. Ragheb Moftah in his work at the Cairo Coptic Institute for Higher Studies. Some of this work has fortunately been digitally remastered and preserved in a CD-Rom format, by our affiliate organization COEPA in Australia (consult the News Section of this Newsletter for more details). However, there are more that need to be preserved, and there is no better preservation than to put it back in use.

Recruits need to be of good Christian virtues, adequate musical voice and ear, and possess a spirit of learning and discipleship. They need to be equipped with adequate knowledge of Coptic, i.e. comprehension of the written text, and adequate knowledge of the Rites of the Church. Strict discipline is required along with learning well these tunes. So when they stand to read in the church, they will be able to convey the deeper meaning that the Church intends which in many instances transcends the mere words of such a reading. Final Word: The decay of these endangered tunes threatens the proper existence of the Coptic Church outside of Egypt. This renders the symphonic essence of these liturgical services as long and boring spiritual and physical agony. Neither Arabic in the past nor English in the present in the best of forms has proven to be an adequate vehicle for such tunes. They can only survive in their native Coptic format with proper presentation. The lack of adequate knowledge of Coptic as well as the fierce resistance of many are the greatest obstacles. Now the Church, clergy and laity, would have to decide on what is appropriate to offer in the presence of the Almighty, the sacrifice of Abel or that of Cain.

Text Selections from the Coptic (Bohairic) Old Testament with New Translation(5) Book of Genesis (5) (by Hany N. Takla)

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter Introduction: This is the Fifth of our series of translations from the Coptic Bible. It is provided to the lay as well as scholars to promote the interest in this, the greatest of Coptic treasures. translation of Medieval Hebrew manuscripts, done at a time when the knowledge of Hebrew was not as good as it is now.

The new translation provided is a modest attempt to capture some of the unique features of the text with strict adherence to grammar and vocabulary. It is designed for serious students of Coptic and Old Testament alike. It is not intended to be a replacement English translation for Church use, because such work would be coordinated and

The Coptic text provided is from M. K. Peters edition of the Bohairic Genesis which is primarily based on Codex Vaticanus Copt. 1. Corrections were made at times directly from the manuscript. The KJV text is taken from a published electronic version. Keep in mind that this version is a

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