This manuscript includes books of the Old Testament with notes and commentary about their interpretation according to the Coptic Orthodox faith. Chapters from the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings are included.
The manuscripts of Saint Anthony, the first Christian to live a life of consecrated solitude, include correspondence, pedagogy, and excerpted speeches. The letters were written by Saint Anthony to the monks of Kīmān Fāris, or Arsinöe and they feature teachings in the principles of monasticism and urge the monks to pursue the ascetic and spiritual life of devotion. . Known as the Father of Monasticism, Saint Anthony, also referred to as Antonious, was born in Coma, Egypt, near the ancient site of Heracleopolis Magna. He was the proto-hermit and, in spite of his Greek name, was a Copt who spoke only Coptic, even when in conversation with the learned and spiritual master Athanasius (circa .296 - 373 C.E.) who was his biographer.
"This manuscript comprises the second volume of a two volume set. It contains 15 essays that begin with numbers 16 - 30. It consists of laudatory doctrinal essays and sermons written by the Coptic Church Fathers in the fourth century CEpaying tribute to St. Gregory of Nazianzus (circa 330-90 C.E.)the theologianwho was Bishop of Constantinople from 379 to 381 C.E. This manuscript is the first Arabic translation from the Greek manuscript written by St. Gregory of Nazianzen to the priest Claudianus (d. circa 404 C.E.). It was a counter argument to Apollinaris of Laodicea's (circa 315-390 C.E.) doctrine on the nature of Christ. Apollinaris reasoned that God's human nature is incompleteas it lacks human reasoning. Apollinaris opposed Arianism and was a pro-Nicene."
This manuscript features three books of the Torah or the Pentateuch, including Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The book is described as the property of Fahim Moftah.
This manuscript is an epiclesis to the Virgin Mary. This invocation of Saint Mary and the Holy Spirit at the consecration of the elements is a common practice in the Coptic Orthodox Church.
This manuscript, entitled Al-Rahmah wal Adl Talaqiyyan, is a dissertation on the divine justice and mercy of God according to Coptic Orthodox Church dogma. It describes the book of Genesis.
Records of the trial of Sulayman al-Halabi, who had assassinated the general of the French campaign in Egypt, Kleber, on 14 June 1800. The text contains colloquial Arabic elements.
"The first comprehensive description of ancient and modern Egyptcompiled by the 165 members of the Institut de l'Egypte established by Napoleon to accompany his expedition to Egypt in 1798-1801. This exhaustive survey of all aspects of ancient and modern life in Egypt was carried out under the supervision of the mathematician Gaspard Mongethe appointed President of the new Institute (of which Napoleon was Vice-President)."
This text included excerpts of the sayings of Saint John Chrysostom, translated from Greek to Arabic, and thirty-four spiritual essays. The manuscript was composed by Butrus Girgis, and it was handwritten by Yusuf Hanna in 1843. It includes decca, a typical form of Coptic Orthodox illustration. Saint John Chrysostom, the author, served as the patriarch of Constantinople, a position forced upon him in 389 C.E. Born in Antioch circa 347 C.E., he devoted several years to monastic life, spending part of this time as a hermit. Chrysostom means "golden-mouthed."
Text in Arabic reads: "The first map for Egypt governorates was drawn by the French expedition cartographers at the beginning of the 13th century H. (1213-1216 H.), but the hardships and resistance they have faced during their work, in addition to their ignorance of the Arabic language misled them to put the Arabic names on the right locations. All that lead to various mistakes in the French map and the maps that copied from it until we produced this map.\r\nTherefore, Khedive Ismail of Egypt, ordered me “Mahmoud Bey al Falaky” to draw a new map with the needed corrections. As the needed cartographic tools were not available at the time, I resorted to the astronomical coordinates.\r\nThe map was finished in 1287 H. representing all the cultivation and urbanization that has been implemented upon the orders of the khedive on that year."\r\n\r\n\r\nLithography by F.A. Brockhaus, Leipzig.Scale: 1:200,000
This manuscript includes the great Anaphora, or prayer of consecration. The holy gifts of bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ and are shared by the people. In no other Christian tradition is the matter expressed more starkly than with the Orthodox Coptic Church.