Egyptian Women in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt

By Aida Beshara

Both Egyptian and foreign historians have testified to the high status of women in all spheres of life during the ancient Egyptian period. Women were queens in their own right; once, the chief physician was a woman. In the spiritual life, there were priestesses and female musicians and dancers serving in temples. This book deals with the role of women in the Christian Coptic Orthodox Church, which was established in the first century AD. The Coptic church has been blessed with thousands of female martyrs and saints, some of whom are of worldwide fame. There are fourteen female saints after whom Coptic churches in Egypt are named. The Virgin St. Mary is the most prominent of them. The two Egyptian saints Demianah and Refqah are also popular. Sts. Verena and Regula are Egyptian saints who were martyred and buried in Switzerland. St. Verena evangelized in Switzerland and taught Swiss maidens hygiene practices. There are more than eighty monuments consecrated to St. Verena in Switzerland. The Egyptian St. Sophia has a world-famous church in her name in Istanbul, Turkey. Unfortunately, after the Arab invasion of Egypt in the seventh century, the role of women in the church diminished considerably. However, since the middle of the twentieth century, a great revival of the role of women has occurred; more women have entered religious life as nuns and deaconesses, serving as Sunday school teachers, writing books about the church, and even teaching in Coptic seminaries. My goal is for this book to reach English language readers all over the world and enlighten them about the contribution of women in the service of Christianity through the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781644926147

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Role of Egyptian Women in the Christian Religious Life since the Introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the First Century AD until before the Present Time.

Part 1

The Role of Egyptian Women in the Religious Life in Egypt, during the Ancient Egyptian Periods

As women, during the ancient Egyptian periods in Egypt, played a noticeable role, in all spheres of life, including the religious one, it is found appropriate to give a very short description of their role in the religious life.

Most writers, who wrote about the ancient Egyptian periods, mentioned the great role that Egyptian women played during these periods in all aspects of life, including the religious life. In fact Durant thinks that The status of women, during The Ancient Egyptian Periods, was better than their status, in most countries, at the present time.¹ Another author, Nazeer, says that Women, during The Ancient Egyptian Periods, completely enjoyed all their rights. Women also contributed, substantially, to work at home, in the fields and in manufacturing; they also played an important role in religion, politics and governing the country.²

In fact, it is found that, since the two regions of Egypt were united in 3150 BC and until the end of the reign of Queen Cleopatra in 30 BC, a few queens governed Egypt in their own right. The most important of these queens were (1) Queen Hatshepsut (1503–1482 BC) and (2) Queen Cleopatra. Other famous queens took part in governing Egypt, as mothers or wives of kings. Among these were (1) the mother of King Pipi, from the sixth dynasty (around 2500–2420 BC), who governed Egypt when her son King Pipi was a boy when he ascended the throne; (2) Queen Nefertiti, who was the most influential queen, during the reign of King Akhenaten, and played a major role in the reigning family; and (3) Queen Tiye, who was King Amenhotep’s third wife and was his partner in running the kingdom.

As for the role of women outside the royal family, there is much evidence that many women were highly respected and some of them held prominent jobs. Nazeer mentions a lady by the name of Bisket, from the Old Period (2780–2280 BC), who was the head physician in the country. It was also accepted that women could be healers. It also seems that there was no discrimination with regard to the education of women. Therefore, there were some highly cultured women, such as a lady by the name of Nefru-Kapith, who owned a large private library in Dandarah (in Upper Egypt), for which she hired a librarian to manage.³

The Role of Women in the Religious Life

According to Oakes⁴:

There were far fewer women than men working in the temples of Ancient Egypt, but the title of priestess (hemet netjer, literally wife of the god) certainly existed. These women, who functioned in the temple cults, tended to be from the upper echelon of society and were usually married to priests, and as a result, their position relied heavily upon the status of their husbands. During The Old and Middle Kingdoms (c.2686–c.1650 BC), the title hemet netjer was most usually associated with the cult of Hathor, the goddess of fertility. It was a priestess, who was in charge of the management of the estates of this goddess, and even some of the high priests were women. We also know of female High Priests serving the cult of the goddess Neith and Pakhet, and during The Old Kingdom, a certain queen Meresankh held the office of the High Priestess of the god Thoth.

Music and Dance: An important part of the cult of Hathor was music and dance—the priestesses accompanied ceremonial dances and rituals by shaking their sistra (rattles), instruments, the handles of which were often decorated with carved heads of Hathor, and rattling their broad, beaded necklaces with long counterpoises called menat necklaces. From the Old Kingdom onwards, women often functioned as the cult singers, dancers and musicians, playing such instruments as harps, tambourines and clappers in the temples of both gods and goddesses. By the beginning of The New Kingdom (c.1550 BC), the title Chantress of Amun was in fairly common use—once again, it was usually the wives of priests, who gained positions of this kind. The most prestigious title held by a woman was God’s Wife of Amun, which was also, from the 18th Dynasty, a position of great political significance. The office was based in Thebes, and was held by a daughter of The King, in order to insure royal control of The Theban Area. From the reign of the 23rd dynasty, King Osorkon III (c.777–c.749 BC), The God’s Wife of Amun was expected to remain celibate, so she had to adopt a daughter and successor. She was also given the second title Hand of The God, possibly giving her a symbolic role in the act of creation. By the Late Period, The God’s Wife was more important than The High Priest. She controlled the vast estates of Amun, employed huge numbers of people, and had access to great wealth.⁵

It is interesting to note that music, musical instruments, and chanting are still a part of the religious rites of the Coptic Orthodox Church, as well as almost all churches of all Christian denominations all over the world.

It is also believed that the religious consecrated life for women was known before the introduction of Christianity into Egypt. This is deduced from the fact of the presence of women refugees in the temples of idol worshippers. We hear about women who took refuge in the temple of Serapis and others who took refuge in other temples, dedicated to the god Amon, in the city of Thebes (present-day Luxor).⁶

Part 2

The Role of Egyptian Women in the Christian Religious Life in Egypt, since the First Century AD and until before the Present Time

It was clear to us, in the few previous pages, that women played a significant role in the religious life in Egypt since the beginning of history, meaning since the invention of writing and the possibility of recording history. That historical recording happened in Egypt around 3400 BC.

As for the first centuries of Christianity (AD) in Egypt, though not much is known about the contribution of women in the Christian religious life in the first three centuries, luckily, there is an abundance of knowledge about their contribution after the third century. It is found that, since the fourth century AD, in almost all parts of Egypt, increasing numbers of women were joining the monastic life and some became hermits. Martyrdom of women was also significant. These features are one of the reasons for the Egyptian Copts and the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt to be proud of the significant contribution of women, not only in the Christian fabric of Egypt but, to some extent, in the Christian fabric of the whole world.

Female Monasticism

It is not arguable that, the same as male monasticism, female monasticism started in Egypt in the first centuries AD and then spread to other parts of the Christian world. Our Coptic Orthodox Church is rightly proud and thankful of the fact that the number of convents for women, the number of nuns, and the location of the convents in Egypt are known and documented in many references and other sources, written in the Coptic, Arabic, and foreign languages. In one of these sources, it is noted that, during these first Christian centuries, the number of convents in the region of al-Bahnasa, in Upper Egypt (in present-day al-Minya Governorate), was more than the number of monasteries. It is also known that the number of convents in Egypt, in those first Christian centuries, was bigger than those numbers in any other nation or region in the Christian world.

Another phenomenon of women’s contribution to the religious Christian life in Egypt has reappeared at the present time; it is that of deaconesses. This service had stopped for a long time. The restarting of the service of deaconesses will be the subject of our study, in some detail, in part 2 of chapter 2 of this book.

Women Martyrs

With regard to Christian women martyrs, it is known that, all over the Christian world, during the first centuries AD, besides male martyrs, there were a large number of women martyrs. In Egypt also, it is known, with certainty, that during these first centuries AD, besides male and children martyrs, there were a large number of women martyrs. Though the exact number of women martyrs in Egypt, during these first centuries of Christianity, is not known, however, luckily, the writings of many Egyptian and foreign historians, as well as other sources of documentation, exist, about the numbers and even the names and places of martyrdom of some Egyptian women martyrs. Moreover, some sources write, sometimes in detail, about the stories of some of these Egyptian women martyrs. In chapter 3 of this book, some of those glorious stories of the martyrdom of Egyptian women will be described.

In the following section, there will be a very brief description of examples of the consecrated life of women in all the Christian world—of that time—at the very beginning of Christianity, which will be followed by a more detailed description of the monastic life for women in Egypt, since the first century AD until before the present time.

A Few Examples of Consecrated Christian Women in the First Centuries of World Christianity

There is no doubt that, since the introduction of the Christian religion, some women had a role in the Christian religious life, such as being evangelists, deaconesses, or women in consecrated life. However, except for the great role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the introduction and spread of Christianity, we know about some, but not all, of those female saints or women who played that role. Prominent among those saints, about whom we know, is St. Mary Magdalene, who played a big role as an evangelist and, as described in the Coptic Synaxarion (the book about the history of saints in the Coptic Orthodox Church), was the woman That the disciples ordained as a ‘deaconess’ to teach women and help in their baptism.¹ Thus, apart from the Virgin St. Mary, St. Mary Magdalene can be considered the first female evangelist and deaconess. Besides St. Mary Magdalene, we hear of the names of a few others, such as (1) the martyr St. Apollonia (the Egyptian), (2 ) the deaconess Phoebe, (3) St. Martha, (4) St. Takla, (5) St. Petronella, (6) St. Afgania, (7) St. Flavia Dumitella, and (8) St. Irene, who served in the second century.

As for the ascetic life for women in the first three centuries of Christianity in the Christian world, the only documentation of that is what is stated in the New Testament about those widows who were known for their good conduct and who were assigned to live in those houses for virgins, which were under the supervision of the church. Undoubtedly, those same houses also housed a number of virgins who preferred to lead a life of chastity and serve the cause of evangelism.²

Luckily, there are some writings about women who played a role in the first Christian eras in Egypt. One of those important women is the martyr St. Apollonia, the deaconess, who was martyred in the first half of the third century AD (the year 249). Thus, the martyr Apollonia would be one of the Egyptian female martyrs of the early Christian era, about whom we got to know. The Abu-Seifein monastery for women, in the district of Old Cairo, in Cairo, has issued a useful booklet about St. Apollonia.³

A short description of St. Apollonia’s life story will be given in the following passage. As for St. Apollonia’s story of martyrdom, it will be described in chapter 3 of this book, which speaks about Some Eminent Female Saints or Nuns in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Briefly described in the following passages will be the life stories of four of the most important saints—known to us—who served the church at the very beginning of Christianity.

The Egyptian Martyr St. Apollonia: The Deaconess

St. Apollonia was one of the virgins of the city of Alexandria, who lived an ascetic lifestyle. She was a good example of those virgins who had angelic lifestyles since a very young age. Apollonia was the daughter of one of the rulers. She had an enormous wealth and a luxurious life. However, she was influenced by the Christian teachings and the life of chastity, holiness, and communion, which characterized the church, since the first centuries of Christianity. For this reason, Apollonia discarded all her jewelry and the things she owned. She grew in virtue, asceticism, and her love for praying and fasting; she lived a life of piety and holiness. When she matured, she refused a marriage arranged for her by her father, preferring a life of chastity. An angel led her to the desert, where she met a hermit, who advised her to lead a life of loneliness. After some time, an angel appeared to her and advised her to go back to the city in order to evangelize and preach the gospel there. Since that time, Apollonia consecrated her life to serve the church as a deaconess and take care of the poor and needy. The booklet, which is quoted here, explains the duties of a deaconess during that time as follows:

Since the Apostolic Times as appeared in The Laws of The Council at Cartagena in 339 AD, deaconesses were ordained to serve The Church. Some of their most important duties were: 1 – Helping the bishops and priests in the baptism of women, 2 – teaching women the good conduct, 3 – helping the poor and needy, 4 – visiting sick women, 5 – be prepared to go on journeys for serving, preaching and the delivery of epistles. During the apostolic era, the laws decreed that a deaconess should be either a pure virgin or a widow, who had been married once only. After her parent’s death, St. Apollonia lived in a simple home, at the entrance of the city (Alexandria). She carried out many services to all, with humility and love. Therefore, she was a lively example of virtue. Her great love for all influenced the souls of her idol worshipping friends, so that a great number of them were attracted to become faithful to The Only Savior: JESUS CHRIST.⁴

St. Martha: The LORD’s Hostess

St. Martha was endowed with unique qualities, not only because of the high status and prestige, which she enjoyed among the Jews, but also because of her whole life of chastity. She was also one of the women who followed the LORD JESUS and became HIS disciple during HIS life on earth. St. Martha had a clear mission. Because of the Jews’ fear of the Lazarus family, they boarded all members of the family onto a ship, which had no sail, ridge, or equipment. Under GOD’s care, the ship was led to the port city of Marseille, in France, where members of the Lazarus family preached the faith. GOD performed many miracles. As for Martha, she wished to live in a forest, near the city of Taraxon. This forest was called the Black Forest. Soon, many maidens, who had believed in CHRIST, surrounded St. Martha. Those maidens wanted to be St. Martha’s companions. She built a place for them to live in, where they lived in community, in an angelic lifestyle, while being mentored by the LORD JESUS CHRIST’s hostess. When GOD wanted to reward HIS servant and hostess for her love for HIM, HE told her in a vision about the day of her departure from the world. Then, St. Martha became ill with a strong fever, which lasted a whole year. When the hour of her departure arrived, she gave her maidens, who gathered around her, her last advice and urged them to cling to their love for GOD. She then crossed herself. Her spirit left her peacefully to go to GOD; that was either in the year 68 or 70 AD. She was seventy-five years old. The faithful carried her body to the city, in which place a church in her name was built over where her body was laid. GOD performed many miracles for those who were blessed by her holy remains.⁵

Saints Petronella, Afgania, and Flavia Dumitella

St. Petronella, the Virgin. She was a disciple of our teacher the apostle St. Peter.

St. Afgania, the Virgin. She was the daughter of King Egypius. She, together with members of her household, accepted the Christian faith and received holy baptism by the hands of the apostle St. Matthew. St. Afgania then consecrated her life to GOD, and St. Matthew put on her the virgins’ attire. She lived in a community of virgins, numbering more than two hundred.

St. Dumitella, the Virgin. She was Consul Flavius Clement’s niece. She was martyred in 95 AD. Pope Clement the Roman placed on her head the virgins’ headwear.⁶

Meanwhile, Habib comments about those virgins of the first centuries of Christianity by saying:

It is to be noticed that those virgins, did not start by living an isolated life, but, they lived in their homes. In case, one of them found herself capable of leading an ascetic life and that of chastity; she would isolate herself, in the same home, from her peers. She would then move to one of the homes for virgins, in order to lead an ascetic life. In one of those homes for virgins, Abba (Anba) St. Athanasius, the founder of monasticism, placed his sister, when he decided to live an isolated life in the desert and become a monk. Anba Demetrius Al-Karaam, the 12th Pope (188–230 AD), did the same thing, when he placed his wife in one of those homes; he had vowed, together with his wife, when they got married, to lead a life of chastity. Anba Amun, the founder of monasticism in The Nitria Region in al-Natroon Valley, did, as Anba Demetrius had done, when he placed his wife in one of these homes. It could be thus deducted that the beginning of monasticism for women, was probably before that for men.⁷

In a book entitled The Angelic Life: The Virgin St. Mary, it is also said that ‘St. Moisees’ of Alexandria, placed his sister, ‘St. Sarah’ (who will be studied among the saints of Alexandria in chapter 3 of this book), in a community of virgins outside Alexandria. This was during the time of ‘Emperor Decius,’ who started persecuting Christians (249–250), during the episcopate of Pope Demetrius 12.⁸

Those homes for virgins became more widespread during the third century AD all over Egypt. Besides, during that century, there were more women evangelists and preachers who had been students of the Christian teachers of that time. As for the community convents, as we know them today, these started at the same time as those for men, toward the end of the third century AD and the beginning of the fourth. In the coming passages, the monasticism of women will be studied in two different time periods. These are (1) since the beginning of Christianity in Egypt in the first century AD until the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 AD and (2) since the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 AD until before the present time. As for the geographical distribution of convents, it will cover three regions, namely, (1) Lower Egypt, which includes (A) the Nile Delta, including al-Baraari, and (B) the Alexandria region, including the Northern Coast; (2) the Cairo region; and (3) the upper Egyptian region, which includes (A) the Nile Valley and (B) the al-Fayoum region. The upper Egyptian region will be studied first, as it has preserved more of its ancient convents than the Lower Egypt and Cairo regions.

Women’s Monasticism since the Introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the First Century AD until the Arab Conquest of Egypt in 641 AD

As stated previously, the study of women’s monasticism during this historical period will be done in three geographical regions.

Women’s Monasticism in the Nile Valley and al-Fayoum Region (Upper Egypt)

As geography is my major subject of specialization, I wished to study the geographical distribution, by diocese, of convents during this period. I also wished to study the chronological establishment of those convents. However, it was found that many of the sources used for this book gave neither a date for the establishment of a certain convent nor an exact location for it. Therefore, the exact location and exact date of establishment of a certain convent were given whenever they were available in the source. It is a known fact that St. Pachomius (292–346 AD) of Egypt (also written in Arabic as St. Bakhoum) was the founder of cenobitic monasticism (monastic community life), with its laws governing it as are known at the present time. For this reason, St. Pachomius was entitled the father of the community.⁹ The following is written about St. Pachomius: All those who studied the ‘Pachomian Community Life’ agree that St. Pachomius established 9 monasteries and 2 convents, located between the city of Akhmeem in the North and that of Esna in the South.¹⁰ It is also known that all the monasteries and convents established by St. Pachomius were established in the fourth century AD. It could thus be said that these two convents established by St. Pachomius were, if not the first convents established in Egypt, certainly among the first of these convents. Habib adds to what has preceded, with regard to those convents established by St. Pachomius, the following:

With regards to the development from the life of sanctification for virgins, to that of community life in convents. This life style settled down and became fully established, when Anba Pachomius established a convent for his sister, near the city of Akhmeem, which housed 400 virgins. A second convent was established to house the increasing number of virgins. A law, which the nuns followed, was drawn for these convents. Thereafter, convents became widespread in the whole of Egypt.¹¹

Habib writes the following about St. Pachomius’s convent, which he named the Convent for Virgins: This convent was in the ‘district’ of ‘Al-Sulaymat,’ in the jurisdiction of the city of Deshna.¹² Presently, the city of Deshna is the capital city of Deshna County, in Qena Governorate, near which the book written by a monk in Deir al-Shayeb gives as the location of St. Pachomius’s convent.

The Coptic Encyclopedia also writes the following about the way that St. Pachomius established cenobitic monasticism and probably the first convent:

Gradually, without Pachomian planning, a style of life, a politeia, emerged. It was inspired, to a great extent, especially from the point of view of the setup of the community, by the organization of the contemporary Coptic villages. Gradually, a distinction was made between