RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Egypt
Mycenaean and Cretan. With this goes considerable light upon the movements and control of Mediterranean commerce and intercourse prior to 1000 B.C. New light is continually directed upon the two riddles of the Egyptian sphinx — the ethnology and language of the valley and delta. The increase in the number of monuments and cultic and social implements on the one hand and of inscriptions and literary remains on the other promise ultimate solution of these two problems. Single questions of importance settled definitely are : the relations of Egypt to Palestine in the fifteenth century B.C. (see Amaena Tablets); the situation of the Goshen of the Israelites through the location of Pithom (1883) and possibly Rameses (1906) alongthe Tanitic branch of the Nile; the relations of Egypt to Greece in the use of Greek mercenaries from the seventh to the fourth century B.C. by the excavations of the sites of Naukratis and Daphna3 (Tahpanhes); the character of the cult of Hathor (1906) through finding an untouched temple of the goddess with a cow sculptured in sandstone as the cultic object — the first discovery of a shrine with its deity and paraphernalia of worship intact; and the recovery of the site of the Onias temple (1906). Among the unexpected results is the recovery of early fragments of classical, Jewish, and Christian literature, including the famous Logia Jesu (see Agrapha), early bits of the Greek Old and New Testaments, new fragments of Sappho, and Menander, the Epitome of Livy covering several lost books; while of Baruch, Hermas, Pindar, Julius Africanus, Euripides, iEschines, the Iliad and the Odyssey, Plato, Demosthenes, and others, texts, fragmentary to be sure, earlier than any before known have been unearthed. Added to these are a mass of ostraca, accounts, letters, official documents, and other materials of the post-Alexandrine period which has already required a recasting of the history of the Greek language. With the last phase of work and of epoch-making finds the names of Bernard P. Grenfell, Arthur S. Hunt, David G. Hogarth and the versatile W M. Flinders Petrie are indissolubly connected. See Egypt Exploration Fund.
Geo. W Gilmore.
II. Modern Egypt: Egypt fell under the dominion of the Turks in 1517, but retained its independence in great measure. It is now formally dependent on the Sultan, although it has its own prince, who is called Khedive. The present Khedive is Abbas II., crowned 1892. Since 1882 England has exercised actual control, which was secured until further notice by an agreement with France in 1904. The area of the country, which is now officially bounded on the south by Wadi Haifa, amounts, according to Htibner and Juraschek, to 994,275 square kilometers (somewhat less than 400,000 square miles) or a little over three times the area of Great Britain, but only one-
1. Statis- thirtieth is fertile and inhabited. The
tics, Gen- census of 1897, according to the same eral and authorities, showed a population of
Beligious. 9,821,045, a number slightly in excess of that given by the Almanac de Gotha, which includes about 113,000 foreigners, consisting mainly of Greeks, English, French, Aus-
trians, and Hungarians. The majority of the English and Germans belong to the Protestant Church. Hiibner and Juraschek give the number of Protestants as 11,894, while the Almanac de Gotha raises the number, probably with greater correctness, to 24,409. The number of Roman Catholics, according to the former, is 56,343; according to the latter, 61,051. By far the greater number of natives are Mohammedans. The majority of native Christians belong to the Coptic Church (q.v.), which, according to Hiibner and Juraschek, numbers 608,446 members. There are also 53,479 " orthodox Greeks "; but no distinction is made between the members of the Orthodox Church proper, over which the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople presides, and those Christians whom that Church regards as heretical and schismatic. The latter are represented by many denominations, especially the Armenian and Syrian Jacobites.
The Orthodox Church is under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Alexandria. Egypt was for centuries the most splendid seat of the Oriental Church, but has declined more and more since the invasion of the Arabs. The most famous patriarch of modern times was Cyril Lucar (q.v.), who lived for the most part at Constantinople, where he became ecumenical patriarch in 1620. In 1846 the patriarchal residence was restored 2. The to Egypt, and is now at Cairo. The Orthodox present incumbent of the see of Alex- Greek andria is Photios, a man of energy and
Church, ambition, who was consecrated in 1900 with the title of " most blessed and all-holy pope (Gk. papas) and patriarch of the great city of Alexandria and all Egypt, of Pentapolis and Pelusium, of Libya and Ethiopia." Under him are four titular metropolitans. Formerly the patriarchate had large estates in Rumania, but they were sequestrated some decades ago. It must not be supposed, however, that all the Orthodox who live in Egypt belong to the Church of Alexandria, but only those who settled there long ago, whose number is not over 10,000. Although the immigrant Greeks and Russians take part in the service held by the clergy of the patriarch, they have no rights concerning it. The most important privilege vested in the subjects of the patriarchate is his election, in which the laity take a prominent part. The congregations in Cairo and Alexandria are rich, and supply the patriarch with large means. The first patriarch to return to reside in the country founded schools and hospitals with ecclesiastical funds. The patriarch is aided in the government of the Church by a permanent synod, consisting of the four metropolitans, and a council, or committee, for secular and financial affairs. Some important monasteries belong to the patriarchate, especially the large cloister of St. George in Cairo; the monastery of Sinai is ecclesiastically independent.
The Roman Catholic Church has an influential mission in the country, and since the time of the crusades has nominally a patriarch there, although he actually resides at Rome, where he has the church S. Paolo fuori le Mure. The Uniates have a distinct organization. The Anglican Church is largely represented in the principal cities, and Presbyterian
Egypt
Egyptian Research Account