RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Coptic Church Cociuerel
of Anthony and Paul in the eastern desert; that of Moharrak in Middle Egypt, with some eighty monks and still considerable property.
V. Ecclesiastical Literature: A description of Coptic ecclesiastical literature is equivalent to an account of the literature of Christian Egypt generally; for of all the nations of the Christian East the Copts were the poorest in secular works. The first fruits of conversion were presumably the Bible versions, made independently in at least four dialects, at any rate by the fourth century (see Bible Versions, A, VII., and cf. Leipoldt, in Church Quarterly Review, Ixil. 292 sqq. Of almost equal antiquity would be the translations, on the one hand, of various Gnostic works which have reached us [Pistis Sophia, Books of Jeu, etc.) and, on the other, of the " apostolic fathers " (Hermas, Ignatius) and the apocryphal gospels and acts (ed. Guidi, F. Robinson, RevUlout, Lacau), of which many fragments, showing varying degrees of divergence from the primitive forms, are extant. The Christiaji philosophy of the third century (Origen, Clement) is of course not represented; such works could find little favor with a priesthood revering Theophilus and Cyril. But from the Nicene age till the final schism of 451, the principal Greek writers are represented in translation. The vast bulk of the surviving works — and these all fragmentary — consists of homilies and acta, destined all to be read in the church service, and from the latter of which the synaxaria were subsequently abbreviated. The sole writer whose works we have in their original Coptic form is Shenoute (see above), the chance survival of his monastic library having preserved intact many of his writings, as well as almost all known besides of the literature of the more ancient, southern (Saidic) dialect. The northern (Bohairic) is of far less importance, though its geographical position, around the civil and ecclesiastical metropolis, insured its survival after its more interesting southern rival had been extinguished. Coptic was, it seems, written till about the fourteenth century; but before that its place had been usurped by Arabic, in which language several Christian writers have left original works (see Riedel, ut sup.) or, what is of greater value now, translations of Coptic texts, otherwise lost to us.
W. E. Crum.
Bibliography: Lists of literature are to be found in Bessarione, Rome, 1900-01 (by Benigni), in Litterature chretienne de I'tgypte, Paris, 1899 (by P. Renaudin), in the Archceological Reports of the Egypt-Exploration Fund since 1893 (by W. E. Crum), and in F. Cabrol, Dictionnaire d'archeologie chretienne, pt. iv. 1177-82. Accounts of Egyptian literature may be read in: E. M. Quatremere, Recherches^ critiques el historiques sur la langue et la litterature de I'Egypte, Paris, 1808; G. Zoega, Catalogus codicum Copticarum Musei Borgiani, Rome, 1810; E. Am^lineau, Contes et romans de I'Sgypte chretienne, 2 vols., Paris, 1888.
Sources for history are derived from: .John of Nikiou, H. Zotenberg, in Notices el extraits des MSS. de la Bibliotheque Nationale, xxiv., part 1, pp. 125-605, Paris, 1883; Eutychius, Annates, Lat. transl. in MPG, cxi.; Abu SaUh, The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, ed. and transl. B. T. A. Evetts, in A nerdota Oxoniensia, Oxford, 1895; Makrizi, " History of the Copts," Germ, transl. by F. Wiistenfeld, Gottingen, 1845, Eng. transl. by S. C. Malan, London, 1872; Abu Dakn, " History of the Jacob- 'tes," ed. T. Marshall, Oxford, 1675, S. Haverkamp, Ley-
den, 1740, Eng. transl. by E. Sadleir, London, 1692; Synaxarium, in Corpus scriptorum Christianorum orientalium, xviii. 1, Leipsio, 1906 (w-ith Germ, transl.); Sinuthii vita et opera, ed. J. Leipoldt and W
Crum, Paris, 1906.
For more modern accounts consult: J. M. Wansleben, Histoire de I'eglise d'Alexandrie, Paris, 1677; E. Renaudot, in A. Arnauld, La Perpftuite de la foi de I'eglise catholique, vol. iv., 6 vols., Paris, 1704-13; idem, Historia patriarcharum Alexandrinorum J acobitarum, ib. 1713; M. Le Quien, Oriens christianus, ii. 329 sqq., ib. 1740; M. Lilttke, Aegyptens neue Zeit, Leipsio, 1873; Kummus Feltausj " Modern Catechism," Eng. transl. by N. Odeh, London, 1892; E. Am^Iineau, Monuments pour servir h I'histoire de I'Egypte chretienne, Paris, 1886-89; Ellen L. Butcher, Story of the Church of Egypt, 2 vols., ib. 1897 (good for the modern period); A Coptic Layman, in Contemporary Review, Ixxi (1897), 734 sqq. (the best account of recent times); M. Fowler, Christian Egypt, London, 1901 (gives statistics); S. L. Poole, History of Egypt in the Middle Ages, ib. 1901; K. Beth, Die orientalische Christenheit der Miitelmeerldnder, Berlin, 1902.
On the constitution of the Church consult: W. Riedel, Kirchenrechtsquellen des Patriar chats Alexandrien, Leipsic, 1900; K. Liibeck, Reichseinteilung und kirchliche Hierarchic des Orients, Miinster, 1901.
On the liturgies and church orders consult: E. Renaudot, Liturgiarum orientalium collectio, vol. i., Paris, 1716, Eng. transl., Dublin, 1822, partly in J. A. Giles, Codex apocryphorum N. T., London, 1852; A. J. Butler, Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, 2 vols., Oxford, 1884; Rites of the Coptic Church. Order of Baptism and . . of Matrimony, transl. from the Coptic by B. T. A. Evetts, ib. 1888; F. E. Brightman, Liturgies Eastern and Western, ib. 1896; A. Gayet, L'Art Copte, Paris, 1892.
On monasticism consult: E. Am^lineau, Coptic Texts, in Annates du Musee Guimet, xvii., xxv., 1890, 1894; E. C. Butler, Lausiac History, in TS, vi (1898); M. Jullien, L'&gypte, souvenirs bibliques et chretiens, Lille, 1899; W E. Crum, Coptic Ostraca, London, 1902.
COQUEREL, c6c"rel', ATHANASE JOSUE:
French Protestant, son of Athanase Laurent Charles Coquerel (q.v.); b. at Amsterdam June 16, 1820; d. at Fismes (18 m. e.n.e. of Reims) July 24, 1875. He studied theology at Geneva and Strasburg; was ordained by his father at Nimes in 1843; called to Paris in 1848. His views were even less acceptable to the orthodox party than his father's, and, after suffering much annoyance, in 1864 he was forced to relinquish his pulpit; he opened a free liberal church and became the leader of the liberal Protestants of France. He was one of the founders of the Societe de I'histoire du protestantisme frangais in 1852, and he edited Le Lien from 1849 to 1870. His publications include Des beauxarts en Italic au point de vue religieux (Pa,ns, 1857; Eng. transl., London, 1859); Jean Galas et sa famille (1858; 2d ed., 1869); Precis de I'histoire de I'eglise rejormee de Paris (1862); Lettres inklites de Voltaire sur la tolerance (1863); Le Catholicisme et le protestantisme consideres dans leur origine et leur d<'veloppement (1864); Des premieres transformations historiques du Christianisme (1866; Eng. transl., Boston, 1867); La conscience et la foi (1867; Eng. transl., with memoir by A. R6ville, London, 1878); Libres etudes, religion, critique, histoire, beaux-arts et voyages (1868); Histoire du Credo (1869). Bibliography: E. Stroehlin, Athanase Coquerel fits. Etude biographique, 2 vols., Paris, 1886.