Coptic Prayer Books in Ottoman Egypt

Overview & Observations on the Collection of Euchologia of the Monastery of the Syrians

Abstract

Throughout the medieval and early modern periods, manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic Euchologion were repeatedly copied to supply monastic, cathedrals, and parishes  with the necessary prayer texts for the celebration of the eucharistic liturgy according to the standard Bohairic Northern Egyptian rite. Although the broad features of the Coptic Euchologion have been largely stable at least since its earliest extant witnesses of the 13^th century, subtle differences of contents, choices of optional prayers, and other textual features shed light on the diverse scribes and users of these Euchologia across time, geographical regions, and types of communities that used them. As part of the Bohairic Coptic Euchologia Project (BCEP), this article provides a preliminary report on the collection of Bohairic Euchologia housed in the Monastery of the Virgin Mary Al-Suryān in terms of their dates, provenances, and contents. We follow this with observations on certain liturgical features seen across the collection.