|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the fourth century A.D., Egyptian speakers of Greek and speakers of Coptic entered into a dispute, which had several dimensions. Some factors were political, while religious issues focused on the nature of ''the person of Christ". By the fifth century, dividing lines were drawn with the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) representing the issues involved. Copts opposed the council, while most Greek speakers supported it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Various attempts were made by Byzantine emperors to achieve settlement by compromise, but the See of Rome and the Orthodox churches opposed any surrender of the authority of the Council. From the fifth century A.D., the Egyptian Christians belonged to a minority church known as Monophysite to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In 6401 A.D., the Arabs invaded and conquered Egypt. After this time, the communication of the Egyptian Christians with their fellow believers was cut off by the wave of Islamic conquests. The Copts found it to their advantage to emphasize their differences with the church in Byzantium. For its part, Byzantium lost interest in communicating with the Copts. The Arab caliphs adopted a reasonably tolerant position and did not interfere in the internal affairs of the Coptic Church. Both the Coptic language and Coptic art eventually disappeared under the influence of Islamic culture and were all but extinguished by the 13th century A.D. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.2.1.2.2
Coptic Calendar History |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Several foreign rulers of Egypt attempted to induce the Egyptians to use a leap year rule in order to add intercalary days to their calendar and bring the length of the vague year of the Egyptian civil calendar in line with the length of the tropical year. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ptolemy III Euergetes decreed an intercalary day every four years in 237 B.C. The Egyptians ignored the decree. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Following the Roman conquest of Egypt, Augustus instituted the Julian reform throughout the Empire, adding an intercalary day to the Egyptian calendar and synchronizing it to the Julian calendar so that 29 August became, theoretically, perpetually the first day of the year. The Egyptians ignored the decree. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the fourth century A.D., the Egyptian Christians were finally persuaded to adopt the Alexandrian calendar and to begin dating by the regnal years of the emperor Diocletian. With this act, a Coptic calendar was created, with its New Year Day set to 29 August. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the SCDTL text on the CD for the discussion of the code. |
|
|
|
|
|