EGYPT, CHRISTIAN"
107
EGYPTIAN VEPvSIONS
sembly of the Church in the United States. A flour- ishing theolofiical school has been established at Osi- oot, for whicli the Kev. Mr. Hogg, in 18G6, raised in Great Britain about $2500. In 1867 the patriarch of the Coptic Church manifested the fiercest hostility to the mission ; and obtaining, it is believed, at least the tacit consent and authority of the civil government, hs instituted proceedings that at one time threatened the mission churches with great disaster. Finalh', however, the Egyptian government, chiefly in conse- quence of the remonstrances of the English and Amer- ican consuls, stopped the persecution. The last an- nual report on this mission, made to the General As- sembh' of the United Presbyterian Church in May, 18G8, states that in nearly all the churches gratifying accessions have been made to the membership during the past year, and that during the persecution only four shrunk back, all of whom subsequently returned. The Presbj'tery have taken the projjer steps for each native church to have a native pastor duly called, or- dained, and installed. The churches of Ghous and Cairo already have called native pastors, and taken steps for providing the necessary salaries. The Pres- bytery of Egypt, in 1867, also adopted strong resolu- tions against the slave-trade, which is still carried on in Egypt with the connivance of the government.
2. Staiistics. — The largo majority of the inhabitants are Mohammedans. The theological school connect- ed with the mosque of Caiio is one of the most fre- quented schools of the Islam. All the elementary schools and higher institutions for the Mohammedan population are of a strictly religious character. Me- hemet Ali established several schools after the Euro- pean model, in which young Egyptians were to be educated, partly bj' European teachers, for civil and military offices. Such schools were the medical school at Abu-Zabel, the cadet school at Gizeh, the marine school at Alexandria, the school of engineers at Chan- ka, the medical college of Casr-el-Ayin, the artiller}' school of Turrah, and the musical institute in the Cit- adel of Cairo. A special college for young Egyptians was also established in Paris. Several of these schools were, however, suppressed under the reign of Abbas Pasha. The most numerous body of Christians are the Copts, who have a patriarch, four metropolitans, and seven other bishops, and a population estimated from 1.50,000 to 250,000 souls. See Copts. The num- ber of United Copts, who recognise the authority of the Pope, is about 10,000. They have a vicar apos- tolic at Cairo. For the Latin Roman Catholics there is another vicar apostolic at Alexandria, who is at the same time delegate for the United Orientals of other rites than the Coptic. According to letters of Roman Catholic missionaries, Alexandria had, in 185.3, 7020 Latins, 600 United Copts, 240 IMaronites, 350 Mel- chites (United Greeks), 50 Sj'rians, GO Armenians — to- gether 8320. The Roman Catholic population of Cai- ro at the same time consisted of 4148 Latins, 200 Melchites, 800 Copts, 300 Maronites, 300 Armenians, 200 Sj'rians, 100 Chaldees. Since then the Roman Catholic population of these two cities has undoubtedly largely increased in consequence of the rapid growth of the total population of the two cities ; but no later trustworthy statistics are known. There are PVancis- can monasteries at Alexandria, Damietta, Cairo, and two in Upper Egypt. The orthodox Greek Church has in Egypt a population of al)out NOOO souls. The}^ are under the patriarch of Alexandria, who resides at Alexandria or Cairo, and whose official title is " Tlie most Blessed and Holy Patriarch of tlie great City of Alexandria, and of all Eg3'pt, Pentapolis, Lil)ya, and Ethiopia, Pope, and QDcumenical .Judge." Four met- ropolical sees belong to the Greek patriarchate of Al- exandria, viz.: 1, Libya; 2. Memphis; 3. Pelusium ; 4. Metelis ; but the last three appear to have been va- cant for some time.
The mission of the American United Presbvte-
rian Church reported at the General Assembly for 18G8 the following statistics : missionaries, 12, includ- ing one medical missionary ; congregations, 5 ; organ- ized out-stations, 9 ; communicants, 125. The mission occupies five central stations : Alexandria, Cairo, Osi- oot (the metropolis of Upper Egypt), Fayoum, and Ghous. The theological school at Osioot had in 18G7 13 theological students. Schools for boys and girls are organized in connection with each of the five churches and at each of the out-stations. The distribution of the Bible is prosecuted by the agents of the British and Foreign Bible Societ}', by the American missionaries, by the Crischona mission, and b}' others. There were, in 1866, three depots in Cairo for the sale of the Bible, and the yearly sale of the Scriptures averaged from 7000 to 10,000 copies. The Crischona, or Pilgrim mission, at Basel, Switzerland, intended to establish a so-called "Apostles' Street," or series of twelve sta- tions, from Alexandria far into the heart of Abyssinia. Of these, the following stations were, in 1866, in active operation in Egypt : St. Matthew's in Alexandria; St. Mark's in Cairo ; St. Peter's at Assouan, at the falls of the Nile ; St. Thomas at Khartoum, at the junction of the White and Blue Niles ; and St. Paul's at Ma- tammah, on the borders of Abj'ssinia. The deacon- esses of Kaiserswerth have a hospital in Alexandria, and the first German Protestant church of Egypt was opened in 18G6. — Princeton Review, 1850, p. 260 ; 1856, p. 715; Newcomb, Cyclop, of Misdons, s. v.; llard- wick, Christ and other Masters, vol. ii ; Jonrn/il of Sac. Lit. viii, ix ; Bibliotheca Sacra, vi, 707 ; Christian Year- book for 1867, p. 289; the Annual Reports of the U. P. Foreign IMission Board, in July number of Evangel. Rejwsitory (18G0-1868). (A. J. S.)