Among the Copts [Hardcover]

"His scholarship is well attested to and his knowledge of the present state of the Coptic Church rivals any from within or without the church. I am sure it will make an excellent contribution to our knowledge of Coptic Church history. St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter I warmly commend 'Among the Copts' as a substantial contribution to Ecumenical understanding. George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury 'Among the Copts' is likely to take its place at once as one of the best informed and authoritative books on the contemporary situation in this great Oriental Orthodox Church...this book will be greatly welcomed by all who have an interest in Eastern Christianity. Dr. Sebastian Brock, Reader in Syriac Studies, University of Oxford I am certain that students of the Coptic Church and visitors to Egypt will find this up-to-date study of the Copts an important and helpful source of information. Dr. Otto F.A. Meinardus, Professor of Philosophy at the American University in Cairo...an invaluable source of information... Canon Hugh Wybrew, Church Times

The book explores all the important themes of the Copts from the earliest moment sof Christian history to the present day.

This book introduces the Christians of Egypt.
Egypt is a wonderland. Many places and people spring to mind. The Nile, Cairo and Alexandria. The Pyramids, the tombs of many other pharaohs and the wonders of Islamic architecture and learning, like Al Azhar in Cairo. Then there are the Copts. The Copts? They are the millions of Christians who live in Egypt today and are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest church in the Islamic world and one of the oldest churches on Earth.

I wrote this book to introduce the worship, leadership and history of this great church to people who might not have the opportunity to read the kind of academic papers people like myself often produce on the Copts.

Above all I wrote to tell how the great traditions of the 4th Century Desert Fathers survived in the twentieth century and continue in this new century. The living desert Mystics of the Copts are a hidden treasure of the universal Church.

If I have introduced one more reader to the Copts that is enough for me.

John H Watson