The Virgin and the Apse by George Makary

INTRODUCTION

The Virgin and the Apse An Examination of the Iconography of the Virgin in Coptic Apsidal Tradition GEORGE MAKARY

The Iconography of the Virgin Mary predates the first-century spread of Christianity, and thus finds itself as a pivotal example of Pre-Christian and Christian artistic syncretism. Although St Luke the Apostle is credited with having painted the earliest images of the Virgin, the precursors of Marian imagery appear much earlier. The image of a mother nursing her infant, once popular in Ancient Egypt, quickly became a symbol of the humanity of the uniquely Christian God and the Virgin compositionally adapted the role of existing as the “space” where Christ abides. With that role, she also quickly became idealized as the goal for every Christian: the bearer of Christ, both physically and spiritually. The icon of the Virgin essentially became the icon of the incarnation itself, the visual embodiment of the love of Christ for humanity and the uniting of the Divine with the human race. The image of the Virgin became the focal point of worship and the epitome of Coptic liturgical practice. It is fitting for her then to be placed in the apse of the Coptic church, as was dictated by the visual tradition of the Copts between the 6th and 14th centuries.

ARCHITECTURE The architecture of the Coptic church was derived largely from that of the Pharaonic temples (e.g. the mammisi at Dendera and Philae) and Roman basilica and were introduced into the repertoire of Coptic usage in the fourth century. Both structures consisted of a linear axis which culminated in an apex at the furthermost end of the structure. This apex was often also perpendicular with the entrance, which made these structures conducive for processional activities. The apex of the Pharaonic temple was the sanctuary, while that of the Roman basilica was the tribunal. In the Egyptian sanctuary the space was reserved for clergy and Pharaoh himself, while in the tribunal sat the Roman magistrate or emperor himself. These spaces became the sanctuary of the Coptic church, containing an altar, reserved for the clergy, and the primary focal point of the building. Behind the altar was an apse- often defaced with the aim of repurposing Pharaonic temples- and these apses became common elements in the landscape of rising monastic architecture in Bawit, Saqqara, and Kellia.

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSE

ICONOGRAPHY OF MARY

In Ancient Egypt, the goddess Isis (Ⲏⲥⲉ, Coptic) was among the major deities of the ancient faith, up until late Antiquity. She was primarily venerated as a “Divine Mother”, and was a prototype for the Pharaoh’s mother. As mother to both Pharaoh and the god Horus, she also played an intercessory role among Egyptian laymen to the gods. Often depicted anthropomorphically, she bore either the Sun as a disc or the Egyptian hieroglyph for “throne” on her head. The imagery of the goddess nursing her son Horus (or Harpocrates in Antiquity) does not appear until the first millennium BCE.1 The goddess Isis is also alternatively depicted as a sycamore tree that suckles Pharaoh. The worship of Isis continued well into the third century CE, as the imagery of Mary also developed. The more Christianity spread, the more analogous Mary and Isis began to be. The Virgin Mary, described as “Wider than the Heavens”, usurped the role of Isis as the bearer of the sun on her head. The Virgin now bore the Sun in her womb, and the goddess that once bore and protected the throne of Osiris and Pharaoh became the throne of God Himself, the dwelling place of the Incarnate Logos. The primary qualities in the construction of the imagery of the Virgin were her holiness, virginity, modesty, and her fruitful motherhood.2 By the 5th century the iconography of the Virgin began to develop, and that of goddesses such as Isis and Selene (the Roman virgin-goddess of women) began to disappear. The Virgin Mary, the icon of humility, lost all jewelry previously worn by the goddesses that were painted before her. All nudity, weaponry and signs of material wealth are removed and the Virgin was presented as an antithesis to the glorious and sensual goddesses that precede her: Aphrodite, Isis, Athena, Nephthys, Selene, Demeter, and Kore. The absence of Joseph in the development of the iconography of Mary was also crucial to the emphasis of her Virginity. What was once an image of Isis nursing Horus became the image of the Virgin nursing Christ, Maria Lactans in Latin and Galaktotrophousa in Greek, and the throne that once belonged to the goddesses now belongs to the Queen of Heaven.

The earliest painted indications of this syncretism appear in a wall painting in Karanis (now northeast Fayum), an example of the final stages of the cult of Isis (Figure 1). Isis is depicted with both breasts exposed and flattened, in indication of her generous motherhood. Images like these were often painted for an audience of young mothers and women, who looked to Isis as a goddess of fertility. Also novel in the transition of Isis to Mary was the introduction of the imagery to domestic compounds during the late Antique period. The image of Isis was no longer a statue reserved for temple use, but now rested on the walls of everyday individuals, accessible for veneration and everyday usage3. In short, Isis began to become more “human” and accessible as she became a model for the iconography of the Virgin Mary. The abundant maternity of Isis (and later Mary) became emphasized in the desexualized presentation of her breasts. In fourth and fifth century mosaics, as well as in earlier paintings found in catacombs, the Virgin was depicted with her hair uncovered. In the monastery of Abu Menas in Alexandria, small figurines of the pregnant Virgin Mary were found alongside ampullae (flasks) of St Mena. As seen previously, these figurines parallel Isis, carried around as votive objects or tools in worship involving the fertility of a particular woman. The image of the Virgin breastfeeding Christ and early depictions of the Nativity of Christ also begin to emerge in Roman catacombs by the end of the third century as well in various wall paintings and sarcophagi.

FIGURE 1 Isis Nursing Harpocrates, Karanis House B50, 4th cent. CE

Oppenheim, Adela, et al. Ancient Egypt Transformed: the Middle Kingdom. Page 109 2 athews, Thomas F., and Norman E. Muller. The Dawn of Christian M Art in Panel Paintings and Icons. Page 153

Mathews, Thomas F., and Norman E. Muller. The Dawn of Christian Art in Panel Paintings and Icons. Page 103

GEORGE MAKARY

While imagery of Mary appeared sparsely in cultic sites such as that of the monastic Abu Menas complex, she also began to make the earliest known painted appearances in Bagawat. In the Kharga Oasis, one of the earliest Christian cemeteries preserved, the Virgin appears in an extensive program of wall paintings dating as early as the third century,4 enforcing her role as an intercessor for the dead. In the “Chapel of Peace” the Virgin appears as a young woman with her hands raised outwards (a gesture of prayer and a precursor to the “orans” position), with her hair veiled and her figure directly facing the viewer. She is flanked by figures of Adam, Eve, Thekla, and Paul.

THE APSE AND THE LITURGY

By the third century CE, around the same time wall paintings in Bagawat were produced, the earliest recorded versions of the Coptic Psalmody appeared. Authorship of these versions are attributed to Bishop Nipos of Fayum (ca. 3rd century)5, produced under the auspices of Pope Dionysius of Alexandria (248-264 CE). The fourth century also experienced the legalization of Christianity (313 CE), and, as a consequence, the gradual standardization of many of the Church’s structural paradigms. According to St Cyril of Alexandria, liturgies were already being prayed daily as early as the 5th century in Alexandria. Scripted anaphorae were being used as early as the fourth century6, and the transition of the liturgy from private to public occurrences facilitated the need for a particular visual rhetoric that collaborated with the developing liturgies. For instance, the prayers of Serapion of Thmuis and the Strasbourg and Barcelona papyri7 (both dated to the fourth century) include some of the earliest records of the divine Liturgy attributed to St Mark the apostle and preserved and rearranged by St Cyril of Alexandria. By the fourth century, the liturgy was instrumental in the public understanding of the theology of the Church. For those who were illiterate, roughly 95% of the Coptic population (an inheritance from antiquity8), the wall paintings that adorned the walls of churches and monastic settlements were the largest communicator of that theology. Thus, from the earliest points of 4

Atalla, Nabil Selim. Coptic Icons. Lehnert & Landrock, 1998, pg 132.

Mikhail, Albair. Article, The Kiahk Sunday Vespers Praise. Toronto. 6 ikhail, Ramez. Various Lectures on the Holy Liturgy in the M Alexandrian Rite. Germany, 2019. 7 ikhail, Ramez. Various Lectures on the Holy Liturgy in the M Alexandrian Rite. Germany, 2019. 5

Hartwig, Melinda, The Making of a Theban Tomb Chapel.

development, Coptic art fused form with function, serving as a vehicle to communicate liturgical, scriptural, and pastoral paradigms, merely rather than decorative purposes. By the 5th century, the liturgy, architecture, and art were all relatively structured. Much like in ancient Egypt, the walls dictated the liturgical offices enclosed in the walls that surrounded them. As the architecture developed, so too did the emergence of niches, apses, and semi-domes conducive to liturgical worship. What distinguishes the apses from niches, (smaller, apse-like spaces that are not the focal point of the structure) are their location on the eastern end of the space, which began to be decorated as early as the third century. The most common themes in the earliest figurative representations were the Virgin, Christ, and the ascension. In monastic settlements such as Bawit, Saqqara, and Kellia, one sees a consistent recurrence of the Virgin in these apsidal spaces. The Virgin is depicted either enthroned or standing, often as lactans in the former or as a witness to the ascension in the latter. In both depictions she is flanked by the archangels Michael and Gabriel (both bearing their names in accompanying inscriptions), the apostles, and sometimes intercessory saints. Many of the aforementioned apses, located in the sanctuary, or haikal (“altar,” Arabic) were double tiered- also a Pharaonic visual device- with the Virgin exclusively populating the bottom register and Christ dominating the top one. The apse was once a seat for the emperor or dignitary to be contained in as a deity. Once a space for figural depictions of divinized rulers, figures of Christ and the Virgin displaced the preceding Pagan monarchs. With the transformation of the popular Roman basilica into the church, this space became reserved for seating clergy, and above all, the ultimate head of the Church, Christ. The theme of the descent of Christ in His incarnation was present in the depiction of the Virgin, whilst His ascent was simultaneously suggested in the inclusion of the ascension within the same space. Liturgically, then, the Epiclesis9 completes the narrative of ascension and Pentecost. The descent and ascent of the Son of Man10 would consume the monk or worshipper, enclosed in the apsidal space, and would allow for them to ascend and descend with The liturgical call for the descent of the Holy Spirit on the offering of bread and wine. 9

Badawy, Alexander. Coptic Art and Archaeology: the Art of the Christian Egyptians from the Late Antique to the Middle Ages. Page 319.

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSE

Christ in their prayers and in their Eucharistic activities. The Virgin was also often depicted bearing Christ, reinforcing her identity as the dwelling place of the Uncontainable. Confronted by the enthroned Virgin, the worshipper would join and be called to imitate her in their participation in the Eucharist. It was also an ascetic calling for monastics to be the image of purity and humility, veiled as she is and being in constant communion with God. The apse in the sanctuary is also the focal point of the Coptic liturgy, and just as Christ promised the second coming in the East during the Ascension, so also the congregation looks earnestly towards the East to the image of that same ascension. Christ is born in the Paten, a symbol of the womb of the Virgin, and rests in Bethlehem, under the star of the East, the silver “dome.” He is baptized by the Priest who washes Him11 in water after proclaiming that He is the “Lamb of God.” The censer, a clear symbol of the Virgin, is also used extensively in the altar, and during its usages the hymns for the Virgin are sung, ⲭⲉⲣⲉ ⲛⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ and ⲧⲁⲓϣⲟⲩⲣⲓ/ϯϣⲟⲩⲣⲓ. Thus, the sanctuary becomes the entry point into the divine mystery of salvation. The Virgin becomes the uniting place of Heaven and Earth, as does the sanctuary, and this reference is made in the Psalmody: ‘Hail to the uniting place of the undivided oneness of the natures that came together, without ever mingling.’12 Shortly after the painting of Bawit, the singular apse of the churches and chapels in the area transform into elaborate triconch sanctuaries in Sohag and Wadi el Natrun, where the Virgin appears yet again, however in a much more dynamic, symbolic, and narrative arrangement that persisted into the eleventh centuries.

BAWIT

The imagery of the Nursing Virgin reached its zenith in the monastic compounds of Bawit and nearly disappeared in Medieval Coptic Egypt. There also exists from Fayum, a fifth century stele incised with the Virgin lactating Christ, with her hair curly and unfolding much like in the wall painting from Bagawat. The depiction of the Virgin nursing Christ with her milk brings to life the writings of St Clement of Alexandria, who says,

“Christ, the fruit of the Virgin, did not pronounce the breasts of women blessed, nor selected them to give nourishment; but when the kind and loving Father had rained down the Word, [He] Himself became spiritual nourishment to the good… I love to call her [the Virgin] the Church. This mother, when alone, had not milk, because alone she was not a woman. But she is once virgin and mother — pure as a virgin, loving as a mother. And calling her children to her, she nurses them with holy milk.13”

The Virgin almost exclusively appears with Christ in her presence, however a possible (and potentially the earliest) exception to this is an apse in Manqabat (also from the sixth century), in which remains of her figure from above her upper waist exist with her arms outstretched in an orans position. A tondo (liturgical fan) with a bust of the Virgin also exists from the same time period, also with her depicted alone. The only other extant depiction can be found in a Byzantine-style thirteenth-century apsidal wall painting in the Hanging Church in Old Cairo, in which the Virgin likely stands in the same position, flanked by two angels and standing above the twenty four priests. Throughout Bawit, the Virgin is almost exclusively dressed in brown, and occasionally appears to be dressed in purple. When she is not depicted in orans or lactans, she is sometimes shown holding Christ in a clipeus, a shield in classical antiquity that is sometimes also seen in the hands of Archangel Michael. The clipeus is described by the first century writer Pliny the elder14 to have been used as a shield-portrait to depict the victorious in battle15 in Roman funerary and private complexes. This later evolved into a vehicle for presenting Christ in images of the Virgin as Platytera (“Wider than the Heavens”) and Hodegetria (“She who points the Way”). Furthermore, emerging from Bawit are the use of monograms for the name of the Virgin, in which the letters that spell Ⲏⲁⲅⲓⲁ and Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ overlap to form single entities. Also inscribed are the letters ⲘⲢ ⲐⲨ, short for ΜΗΤΗΡ ΘΕΟΥ (Mother of God). The use of this transcription never changes in the imagery of the Virgin and continues into contemporary usage. The depiction of the Virgin in the apse continues from Bawit into the monasteries of Sts Antony and Paul at the Red Sea, the Red Monastery in Sohag, and the Monasteries of the Romans (“Paramos”) and the Syrians (“Surian”) in Wadi el-Natrun. Her fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies is exemplified by her timeless placement among Old Testament figures, as is seen in Bagawat.

Mettaous, Bishop, et al. The Spirituality of the Rites of the Holy Liturgy in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Page 101. The paten and star are liturgical vessels used in the Coptic church. 12 Wednesday Theotokia - Fifth part

Clement of Alexandria, The Paedagogus, Chapter 6 Pliny the Elder, Natural History 35, 3–14. 15 Psalm 24:8 14

GEORGE MAKARY

FIGURE 2 Detail of the ascension in the eastern apse of Chapel XVII FIGURE 4 Detail of the eastern apse of a Chapel

FIGURE 3 Detail of the ascension in the eastern apse of Chapel XLII FIGURES 2-7 The Virgin Mary in various apsidal spaces, Bawit,

FIGURE 5 Detail of the eastern apse of Chapel XXVIII

6th-7th century CE. While figures 2 and 3 reflect the Virgin as part of a narrative scheme, figures 4 to 6 depict the Virgin enthroned without contextualization to a particular Biblical event. Figure 3 depicts the Virgin as lactans despite being flanked by the apostles in that appears to be an ascension, while figures 4 and 5 depict the Virgin as a “presenter” of Christ, or Hodegetria, with figure 5 showing the Virgin carrying Christ in a clipeus. Figure 6, much like figure 3 also depicts the Virgin as lactans, this time independent of any other accessory figures. Thus throughout Bawit it is the Virgin rather than Christ enthroned that seems to be the consistent figural element across apsidal spaces in both cells and chapels. She is rarely depicted with prophets throughout Bawit, as this depiction first appears in Sohag.

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSEÂ

GEORGE MAKARY

SOHAG In Sohag, the Virgin appears in four major depictions in the iconographic program, twice as a nursing mother and twice as a bust in orans position. In the former, as a nursing mother, she is shown surrounded by prophets in the left conch of the triconch sanctuary, dressed in a deep red and flanked by angels who praise her. In the latter, isolated in the orans position, she is dressed in red and once dressed in deep brown. The largest and most elaborate of the four paintings in Sohag consists of a scene populated with the nursing Virgin in centre, the prophets Elijah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, and Moses, as well as Joseph, Salome, Peter and Paul, and the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The painted architectural space is elaborate and transcendent, filled with oil lamps and curating the environment for the sanctuary beneath it. The Virgin holds a thin cloth in between the fingers of her hand holding Christ, recalling the handkerchief used by the faithful in receiving communion (or the maniple of the clergy for enshrouding the Eucharist), yet another allusion to the Eucharist. The prophets all support this Eucharistic depiction of the incarnation with the prophecies they bear in their hands. This image contributes to the liturgical narrative of salvation occurring throughout the space, with the Virgin becoming the ultimate vehicle for the distribution of the Word to humanity and the completion of the words of the prophets. Joseph and Salome also push forward the Incarnational importance of the Nativity, and this is one of the first few large scale representations of the Virgin to be painted after the council of Ephesus (431 AD). Additionally in the Red monastery are three other depictions of the Virgin Mary. These depictions are from later phases of painting and are flatter and much less elaborate. Within the two paintings of the Virgin enthroned, there is a synthesis formed by continuities between the images, painted a century apart. The fourth phase image of the Virgin was likely painted in an area used for the preparation of the Eucharistic bread, making the space comparable to what is known as “Bethlehem” in the Coptic church today. Thus far then the placement of the Virgin in Coptic religious spaces begins as funerary and devotional from the third to fourth centuries, Eucharistic in the fifth to 7th centuries slowly more narrative towards the 8th to 11th centuries, and Eucharistic once again in the medieval period.

In the White Monastery, on the Eastern wall is another Medieval painting of the Virgin Mary16 (ca. 1300-1335 CE). She holds a benedicting Christ in a clipeus, who carries a closed gospel book in His left hands. The patterning in the throne is now strikingly arabesque, as well as the varying line weights and formatting of the Coptic inscriptions. The execution is very similar to those of the Studios of Theodore, responsible for the program of the monasteries of Sts Antony and Paul. It is worth noting that by this point in time, most major depictions of the Virgin exist on the eastern spaces of the complexes they are painted in, whether in the apse or at least on surrounding walls (and in the khurus in St Antony’s Monastery). Also distinct to the Red Monastery is the repetitive usage of the colour red in the dress of the Virgin, previously unseen and otherwise very rare thus far in the trajectory of Coptic artistic development. The usage of the colour red is short lived, and its usage in the maphorion of the Virgin makes scattered appearances in the monasteries of the Syrians and the Romans, builds consistency in the Medieval ages, continues into the Ottoman periods and dies out by the eighteenth century. From that point onwards the only iconographers to continue the usage of a red maphorion in contemporary Coptic art are the husband and wife painters, Bedour Latif and Youssef Nassief. The significance and interpretation of the red maphorion within the Byzantine tradition varies, and is at times inconclusive, however within the Coptic context it is most likely that it indicates the deep love of the Virgin. It could alternatively be an indication of her glory and vibrant holiness, or her royalty. At times it is difficult to distinguish the colours between brown and deep red, and for that reason it is likely that the two colours were interchangeable symbols of the deep humility and obedience of the Virgin to the will of God. Christ is at times also depicted dressed in similar browns over a golden mantle (or vice versa), and in these contexts the colours reinforce the juxtaposition of the humanity and divinity of Christ. Also worth noting is the likelihood that the depiction of the Virgin in “deisis” form is introduced into the repertoire of Coptic art here for the first time, in two different wall paintings, one with Christ enthroned and the other with a draped cross in His stead. The former is painted by Theodore, an Armenian artist who produced work at the White Monastery in 1123 CE, 16

Bolman, Elizabeth S. The Red Monastery Church: Beauty and Asceticism in Upper Egypt. Page 213-215

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSE

marking an introduction of Armenian influence even before the Ottoman era. The former depicts the interceding Virgin in a clipeus or roundel, and the latter as a full standing figure. The deisis reappears in the monastery of St Macarius (also in a roundel or clipeus), St Antony, and the studios of Yuhanna and Ibrahim. Another rare combination of pre-Medieval elements manifests itself in a panel icon (the oldest one in existence of this subject) found in the monastery of St Antony, of the nursing Virgin dressed in all red. Christ, in an unusual gesture, holds the Eucharist17 in His left hand. The artist combines disparate motifs into a singular presentation of the Virgin. As the Galaktotrophousa, she feeds Christ, and as the Hodegetria, as she points to her Son with her left hand. There is a compositional parallel between the loaf and the Virgin’s breast, as the two mirror each other in shape and tone, and the trajectory of the folds of the Virgin’s maphorion directs the viewer's attention to the two. Although by the time this icon was produced the imagery of the nursing Virgin had fallen out of practice and was no longer being painted in the sanctuary (or at all for that matter), it is clear that there was still an understanding of the Eucharistic value of the Virgin as the source of divine milk for her Son even into the 13th century.

MARY IN THE MONASTERY OF THE SYRIANS The iconography of the Virgin Mary is most spectacular and diverse in the monastery of the Syrians. Painted in several phases, the most significant of them date to the 8th, 10th, and 13th centuries18, with the Virgin painted numerously19. Unique to the monastery of the Syrians is the plethora of Syrian influences and narrative scenes from the life of the Virgin. The sanctuary in the monastery of the Syrians underwent many renovations, beginning as a large and elaborate triconch sanctuary. Within it is a northern and southern conch, with a dome above the altar. The eastern conch likely contained a scene of 17

Skalova, Zuzana, Gawdat Gabra. Icons of the Nile Valley. Page 71

Innemée, Karel C., and Lucas Van Rompay. “Deir Al-Surian (Egypt): New Discoveries Of 2001-2002 18

he first phase of paintings include the Virgin Galaktotrophousa, T the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the dormition. The 10th century phases include a second Ascension, a Virgin enthroned bearing a clipeus, and a standing Maria Lactans. The medieval phase includes an Annunciation, Nativity, Ascension, and Dormition. 19

the ascension which was destroyed during renovations in the first quarter of the 10th century, under Moses of Nisibis, who also built the dome above the sanctuary. In this arrangement the Virgin appears in both side conches, the ascension scene in the dome, and likely also appeared in the Eastern conch/apsidal space .

THE NORTHERN SEMIDOME

In the Northern semidome, an unusual scene of the nativity is depicted as a culmination of two separate events- the annunciation of the nativity to the shepherds and the adoration of the Magi. Above this painting was a 13th century painting of the Dormition. Due to poor adhesion, fragments of the wall painting began to separate from the plaster substrate, causing for its removal and the revelation of the older wall painting underneath. In this older painting, painted in encaustic, the Virgin sits enthroned and holds a vesica-clipeus of Christ, who is both benedictive and holding a gospel book. She gazes down to the viewer and sits underneath the star of the East. The Magi carry their gifts (“They offered Him frankincense for He is God, and gold for He is King, and Myrrh as a sign of His life-giving death. 20 ”) and are each accompanied by their horses and inscriptions of their names, two of which are legible- Dikastia and Melchior21. The shepherds on the other side stand among their flock, and both simultaneously receive the news of the birth of Immanuel from two angels who fly out from underneath the star. Both Theophylact of Ochrid and John Chrysostom suggest that the star was “a divine and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star22.” Underneath the star of the east appear seven smaller stars, and underneath those stars are the archangels Michael and Gabriel who, much like in Bawit, flank either side of the enthroned Virgin. The Virgin is dressed in a greyish-brown maphorion. The shepherds tend to rams (an allusion to the sacrifice of Isaac, a sacrifice that would be re-enacted in the Eucharist underneath these semi domes). The composition of the Virgin enthroned on a richly decorated throne and flanked by Michael and Gabriel emphasizes her role in the Incarnation and the cycle depicted in the semi-domes, bringing repetition to her motif and further reinforcing the idea of the descent of Christ, not just 20

Fifth section of the Thursday Theotokia Innemée, Karel. “A Newly Discovered Painting Of The Epiphany In Deir Al-Surian.” Page. 63–86. 21

Theophylact of Ochrid and John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew

GEORGE MAKARY

in His incarnation, but also in the mystery of the Eucharist, as the semi-domes of the incarnation (the Nativity and the Annunciation) would have originally been painted above the altar and formed the sanctuary (now the khurus) . Innemee builds a parallel between this composition and the Monza-ampullae (Palestenian ampullae from the Holy Land) produced in the 5th and 6th centuries- with having provided precedent for the iconographic arrangement of this wall painting.

surrounded by the four incorporeal creatures and an interceding Maqari, after whom the chapel is named. In the lower register rests the Virgin on an elaborate throne, flanked by Peter and Paul the Apostles. The Virgin, dressed in red, holds a clipeus with both of her hands and almost pushes it forward, offering it to the viewer, indicated by the wide forward-stretch of her thumbs and index fingers. Seated within the clipeus is a benedictive Christ child, clasping a gospel book in His left hand. The posture of Christ in the clipeus directly mirrors that of Christ the Pantocrator flanked by the four creatures above.

In the Western semi dome profoundly sits the enthroned Virgin, with her chin resting on one hand and her other raised, the latter a gesture of her submission to the will of God and the former her perplexity to the news of Gabriel who strides towards her. Gabriel raises his right hand in an orator’s gesture of calling attention to a particular announcement, and in his left he bears a staff. By his knee is written his profound greeting, “hail to you full of Grace, the Lord is with you!23” To the left of the Virgin are the prophets Moses and Isaiah, and to the right of Gabriel stand Ezekiel and Daniel. Moses, Isaiah and Ezekiel all wear tunics and palliums, while Daniel is dressed in a Phyrgian cap and trousers as is seen in the Eastern dome and the monastery of St Antony. Behind Moses is the allusion to the burning bush, a bright green tree with red indications of flame surrounding it. Here too, the Virgin is dressed in a greyish-brown maphorion. In both this semi-dome and the Northern one, the Virgin occupies the central spaces of the compositions, marking her centrality in the narratives they entail. All four prophets bear scrolls and point to the messages written on them by using chironomia (Orator’s hand gestures). Plastered over this painting was, unusually, a Medieval painting of the ascension, with the Virgin flanked by the twelve apostles and Christ in a vesica, a scene that was common for the eastern apse or semidome.

CHAPEL OF THE 49 ELDERS & PARALLELS WITH NAQLUN

THE WESTERN SEMIDOME

THE VIRGIN ENTHRONED

In the funerary chapel of Maqari of Tikrit, although there is no apse, the wall on the eastern end of the chapel marks significant continuity in the depiction of the Virgin on the eastern space of a Coptic sanctuary. The chapel dates to the 9th century and consists of an eastern wall divided into two registers-compositionally identical to those of Bawit. In the upper register rests Christ enthroned 23

Luke 1:28

To the north of the church, a chapel dedicated to the 49 martyrs of Scetis (a later addition) contains three eastern apses, with the central one depicting the Virgin Mary. The existent painting depicts the Virgin superimposing an older one, also of the Virgin enthroned, however rather than being seated on her lap Christ rests in a clipeus. The existence of the clipeus does not seem to be contingent on any particular pattern, marking it as interchangeable with Christ simply seated on the Virgin’s lap. The clipeus also does not define the composition as a particular iconographic type, as it appears in both icons of the Virgin as Platytera, Orans, and Hodegetria. T he two apses on either side of the Virgin depict Mark the apostle and another unidentified figure, probably another apostle or church father based on parallels with the Monastery of St Antony and Fayum, where Mark the apostle is seated in the apse in an overshadowing of the clergy who sit there as well24. The style of the wall paintings in this chapel bear It is also worth noting that an unusual apse with similar parameters exists in Tebtunis. Dated to the 953 CE. (but possibly dating as early as the sixth), this apse is rarely documented and contains a double-registered composition. In the top register rests the image of Christ enthroned (according to the visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and John the Celibate, and universal to almost all Coptic apses), and the bottom register contains three major characters in Coptic ecclesiology. The central figure is Athanasius the great, enthroned on an episcopal throne, flanked by Antony the great (left) and Pakhom (right). This unusual arrangement thus parallels the chapel of the 49 martyrs, the apsidal spaces of the monastery of Archangel Gabriel in Naqlun, Fayum, and the side altars of the monastery of the St Antony, however the latter two both maintain the central compositional importance of the Virgin Mary. This also reflects a duality in the purpose of the apse, which is either used as a device to emphasise the role of the clergy who sit in the space, or to serve as a visualization of the Eucharistic and eschatological theology associated with the liturgical offices performed before the apse. 24

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSE

strong resemblance to the Fatimid style brushwork of the painter of the apse of the Monastery of the Romans, also dated to the 10th century. Another exception to the depiction of St Mary is the monastery of Archangel Michael in Naqlun (Fayum), dated to the tenth-eleventh centuries, where Christ is depicted enthroned in an upper register and the apostles depicted below in the bottom register. What is unusual is the absence of the Virgin from the midst of the apostles, particularly in a scene that would allude to the ascension. The Virgin, however, is not absent from this eastern space. There sits below this scene three smaller niches, the central one containing the Virgin and Child enthroned, and the side ones, Mark the Apostle (Northern niche) and Athanasius the Apostolic (Southern niche).

THE EASTERN SEMIDOME

Within the altar remain two fragments of a wall painting dating to the 8th century, one of Mathias (figure 7) and the other of Bartholomew. Both face upwards as witnesses to a scene that supersedes them. The scale of the figures suggests that the scene rose up to an eastern semidome, which, thematically, would compliment the other semi domes in the Eucharistic theme of the ascent and descent of the Logos (parti. Because there exist no other surviving apses of this scale of the ascension, it is plausible that the theme of the ascension discontinued in the Medieval ages but the role of the Virgin and her accompanying archangels remained intact. The Ascension, marked by the presence of the apostles, instead became abbreviated by the presence of individual apostles in the side niches, such as in Naqlun (first half of the 11th century), the chapel of the 49 martyrs, and the monastery of St Antony.

FIGURE 8 Upper Fragment of the Hodegetria Enthroned, M onastery of Archangel Gabriel, Naqlun, Fayum, eastern wall of the sanctuary, 11th century CE. Photo by Calaforra Rzepka.

THE MONASTERY ST MACARIUS

Although barely visible today, there rests in the monastery of St Macarius an apse in the Haikal of St Benjamin containing a scene of the ascension, recorded by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in their expeditions of Wadi el Natrun in the 1930s (Figure 8). Dated to the eleventh century, the Virgin is depicted with her arms outstretched, with nine of twelve figures recorded, three of which carry gospel books. Remnants of winged figures suggest two angels bearing a vesica, such as in the Medieval ascension of the Western semi dome in the monastery of the Syrians.

FIGURE 9 Detail of the Ascension M onastery of St Macarius, Wadi el

Natrun, eastern apse of the haikal of St Benjamin, 11th century CE. Photo by the W.J. Palmer-Jones.

GEORGE MAKARY

MARY IN MEDIEVAL COPTIC APSES THE MONASTERY OF THE ROMANS

Although mostly in faint traces, the monastery of the Romans also contains the Virgin in an apsidal space. Dated to the 10th century, the apse differs from the Red monastery and the monastery of the Syrians but proves to be a link of continuity between Bawit, the chapel of the 49 Martyrs, and the Monasteries of St Antony and St Paul, however by now the trend of depicting her nursing her Child has worn off. She, once again, sits in a double-tiered composition, surrounded by the archangels Michael and Gabriel. She is dressed in a red maphorion, enthroned, and does not hold any particular associations to a Biblical theme or narrative within the apse. Christ sits in her lap with His right hand outstretched in blessing, central to her and framed by her shoulders, a visual suggestion of her as the “Royal throne”, yet again an allusion to the Eucharist and her liturgical importance in the sanctuary.

In the monastery of St Antony (painted by Theodore between 1232-1233 CE), the Virgin appears three times: Once in the khurus, once in the main apse, and once in the apse of the chapel. She is depicted distinctly in all three cases, but consistently wears a red-brown maphorion over a white chiton. In the apse, she is depicted as Hodegetria, in the chapel, she is depicted as an intercessor in a Deisis, and in the khurus she is depicted as a “Victory-bearer”, carrying a clipeus of Christ, much like in the monastery of St Paul. Christ in both cases is dressed in red and white and is benedictive with one hand and carries a gospel or scroll in the other. In the apse He points to His mother (who also points to Him), and in the khurus He confronts the viewer frontally, paralleling the compositional frontality of His mother who carries Him. In the main apse she is seated under a canopy and flanked by the archangels Michael and Gabriel.

THE RED SEA MONASTERIES

Within the monasteries of Sts Antony and Paul are four major wall paintings of the Virgin Mary. It is in the monastery of St Antony that the Virgin appears for a third time in Deisis form. Panel icons of this period depicting the Virgin also displayed strong Byzantine craftsmanship. The wall paintings of the monastery of St Antony were painted by Theodore the “Writer of Life”, while those at St Paul’s were likely painted by an affiliated studio. At the monastery of St Paul, dated to the first half of the thirteenth century, the top half of a wall painting of the Virgin and Child (figure 9) remains in the apse. She sits frontally, dressed in a red maphorion and holding Christ in a clipeus. Parallels in the design painted on the throne can be drawn between patterning in medieval paintings in the churches of Old Cairo and St Antony’s, although all carry stylistic differences. The strongly delineated facial features of the Virgin recall those of the Virgin in the Surian Nativity wall painting. The Virgin is flanked by Michael and Gabriel, who frame the composition with their wings. Above the apse rests a depiction of the annunciation. The combination of the enthroned Virgin and the annunciation are painted below a Christ Pantocrator, however by now the inclusion of the apostles in the central apse has disappeared, removing narrative links from the paintings.

FIGURE 10 View of the Virgin from the iconostasis, painted by Theodote the Writer of Life, the Monastery of St Antony (Main apse), thirteenth century.

OLD CAIRO

Within the Medieval period, the Virgin appears in a significant wall painting on an apse in the chapel of St Tekla in the Hanging Church, painted by one trained in Byzantine iconography. The apse is unusual not only in that it possesses a Byzantine style, but in content as well. The apse is divided into two registers, the first bearing a standing Virgin as

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSE

Platytera (“Wider than the Heavens”) flanked by two angels, with the lower register depicting the twenty four elders of revelation- all facing frontally. This is the first appearance of the twenty four elders in an apse in Coptic art, as previous appearances were restricted to the dome above the Sanctuary (namely the Red Sea monasteries and the monastery of St Macarius). They swing censors and are dressed in liturgical vestments. The relationship between these elders and the Platytera above is unclear, as well as their location, however it is plausible that they serve as a continuity of the pre-existing iconographic program in the church, as they do not appear elsewhere. Prior to the Ottoman period, the Virgin Mary existed in all surviving wall painting programs from the third to the 14th centuries in the apex or eastern space of the monastic or liturgical structures, as outlined. It is in the Ottoman period that this system of representation falls out of usage, perhaps due to the lack of socio-economic stability among the Copts to build and renovate churches. The iconographic programs of churches in the Ottomoan era were also limited to panel painting, as wall painting had fallen out of practice.

MARY IN OTTOMAN COPTIC ART

The sixteenth to eighteenth centuries witnessed virtually no iconographic tradition. In the eighteenth century Ottoman Egypt witnessed an iconographic revival under the hands of Yuhanna Al-Armani and Ibrahim Al Nasikh, two iconographers who worked in a large cosmopolitan studio, where disciples and teachers divided and conquered a mass production of what would result in over 400 icons in a fifty-year span. Contemporary to them was Anastasi el-Rumi and the students of his workshop. These icons adorned most of the churches of Old Cairo, and reinstated the use of icons in the church as liturgical objects. It was also during this period that the Akhmim style came into play. It is in these Akhmimic icons that St Joseph the carpenter begins to be depicted with the Virgin and Child without a narrative context, perhaps out of Western influence, as the Akhmim style does not bear any apparent ties to the cosmopolitan schools of Old Cairo. Being of Armenian origin, Coptic art in Egypt experienced an influx of Armenian and Byzantine influence under Yuhanna. The Virgin began to be included in the iconostasis program in the form of an intercessor, or part of Deisis, with John the Baptist opposite her. She

also almost exclusively seems to be dressed in red, with a blue inner garment, and it is in this period that the use of three stars for the indication of her virginity on her maphorion becomes a consistent element in her Coptic iconography. Christ is usually dressed in a white inner garment and a golden or yellow outer garment. The image of Maria lactans does not reappear during this era other than in Western imagery, as the frescoes of the monasteries were either plastered over, buried, or covered in soot at this point of time- particularly the apses. By the Ottoman era most apses being built or renovated simply contained a panel icon of Christ enthroned, and the primary placement of the image of the Virgin was in a Deisis arrangement on the iconostasis. The role of the icon of the panel icon of Christ likely mirrored that of the bishop or clergy who sat on the steps of the apse while overseeing the liturgical offices being performed.

MARY IN CONTEMPORARY COPTIC ART

By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the influx of missionaries pushed the decline of Coptic arts within the country. This decline was further pushed by the introduction of Western Christian imagery during the Sunday School movement. Between 1948 and 1949, Habib Girgis imported 3.25 million religious images from Europe for distribution25. During the early nineteenth century Egypt experienced a spurt of inclination to use Western art as a means to advance the propriety of the Egyptian art landscape. In the early 1960s, Fanous received a grant to study restoration at the Louvre. In 1966 he received a PhD in restoration of icons under Leonid Ouspensky, and in 1975 a PhD from the Academy of Fine arts in Florence. Having also worked in the department of Egyptian antiquities in the Louvre, Fanous returned to Egypt with a robust education in both Pharaonic art and iconography. The Egypt Fanous returned to had a bustling arts scene with growing appreciation for Egyptian heritage. 25

Suriel, Bishop. Habib Girgis: Coptic Orthodox Educator and a Light in the Darkness. Page 16

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Among the major projects of Coptic art produced prior to the work of Fanous was the Church of the Virgin Mary in Zamalek, Cairo- located by the arts district. The architecture, stained glass windows, and tapestries were designed and curated by Ramses Wissa Wassef, the iconostasis and wall paintings painted by Ragheb Ayad and his wife Emma Caly, and the back walls painted by Marguerite Nakhla. The church also contains two icons painted by Isaac Fanous. Although Ragheb Ayad and his wife rarely worked on church projects, their work in this church is of great significance, along with the work of Marguerite Nakhla, particularly in their imagery of the Virgin Mary. Although the Virgin was not included as a theme for the apsidal spaces, it was the first time the Virgin once again bore a prominent role in the visual rhetoric of the church’s interior. Ayad and Caly included several elements discovered in the monasteries of Bawit and Surian in their icons. Being appointed to reorganize the Coptic Museum in the 1950s26, the two must have possessed a strong familiarity with Coptic fresco, particularly from the region of Bawit. While Ayad and Caly seemed to have directed attention to the reproduction of the patterns and nuances discovered in these monasteries, Nakhla was more explicit in reproducing compositions. The icon of the presentation of the Virgin to the temple includes six virgins with olive branches and censers, and this specific imagery has only ever been found in the Monastery of the Syrians in Wadi el Natrun. The same applies for her icon of the Virgin greeting Elizabeth, a composition only discovered in the form of wall painting in the monastery of the Romans from the same valley. Unlike the images painted by Ayad and Caly, however, Nakhla also almost exclusively dressed the Virgin in Red, contrary to the prevalence of dressing the Virgin in blue in her time. Such specificities reflect an explicit effort to synthesize the discovery and restoration of Coptic antiquities with the art movements developing in Egypt. These efforts were limited, however, since none of these painters specialized in iconography, the history of iconography, or the theory and theology behind it. The continuities of certain elements, however, such as the red maphorion, the use of the Hodegetria composition, allusions to monastic wall painting and the monograms all penetrated into the work produced by the School of Contemporary Coptic iconography, established shortly before the iconographic programs of the Church and which reached its zenith approximately a decade afterwards.

The twelve icons in the back of the Zamalek church hold another striking quality- they all hold to the theme of women in the life, and this program is titled “Les Femmes dans la vie du Christ27 ” This prominent role in the church program was previously unseen and does not seem to reappear again. Fanous would’ve come in contact with these, however, and would’ve been influenced by the emphasis of the role of women in the presentation of the life of Christ and the Virgin in narrative New Testament scenes. The narrative importance of the Virgin in the life of the Christ once again reintegrated into a church’s visual program the significance of the Virgin in the incarnational theology of the Church.

FIGURE 11 The Virgin Mary and Child, Ragheb Ayad and Emma Caly, Zamalek, 1959, Photo by Aiman Badi

27 26

Karnouk, Liliane. Modern Egyptian Art. Page 26

Marcos, Marcos A. Moussa, Helene, et al. Marguerite Nakhla: Legacy to Modern Egyptian Art. Page 61

THE VIRGIN AND THE APSE

Upon his return in 1968, Isaac Fanous would have been well acquainted with Pharaonic art, Russian iconography, and the contemporary art movements emphatic on Egyptian identity within Egypt. This would greatly inform his approach to style and representation. Prior to the reception of his grant in the 60s, Fanous painted his first apse in a church in Mahalla el Kubra. Despite the church being painted prior to his training in iconography, he chose the ascension as his theme for this apse. Several peculiarities arise from this piece however. The first is that this is the only apse in Fanous’ oeuvre that depicts the ascension. The closest apse, thematically speaking, is his last, painted in Riverside in the late 90s and depicting the second coming of Christ (specifically His descent), an event that is directly paralleled with the ascension (particularly when it is depicted in an eastern space). The apse is not divided into two registers, but is a single composition. The Virgin also does not dominate the bottom portion of the composition, nor is she identified by an inscription. This leads the viewer to perceive that the composition is purely narrative, until the third peculiarity is noticed- the Holy Spirit is depicted descending as a dove at the top of the composition. It is unclear whether this is an allusion to the Pentecost, as the depiction of the Holy Spirit is not a part of the vocabulary of the ascension icon. It does, however, corroborate with the liturgical concept of the Epiclesis. The concept of descent and ascent is maintained, although not maintained from an incarnational perspective with the emphasis of the Virgin Mary. After his return from Paris, the composition of the ascension does not appear again. Whether or not Fanous meant something by using parallel depictions of Christ in his very first and very last apse is unclear. In terms of the iconography of the Virgin, many variations appear in his work between the late 1950s and the 2000s, however most elements remain consistent. The Virgin is dressed in a red inner garment and an outer brown maphorion (unless in a narrative scene), and she holds Christ who is dressed in red and white, and occasionally just white. Throughout the work being produced at the institute of Coptic Studies, the Virgin is, as per the suggestion of Pope Shenouda, almost exclusively depicted carrying Christ in emphasis of her role as Theotokos. Fanous did not dress the Virgin in a red maphorion, probably in tribute to the frescoes of Bawit, which he occasionally cited as “true Coptic art.” The use of red may have appeared to reflect Byzantine influence which would degrade the spirit of Coptic aesthetic produced in his work. On the other hand, however,

Bedour and Youssef almost exclusively dressed the Virgin in an inner white or blue garment and an outer Red maphorion, much like Marguerite Nakhla, who Bedour was in contact with. Also in contrary to Fanous, Bedour and Youssef presented her braids coming out from under her maphorion. They would mention that “in Jewish tradition a married woman’s hair had to be covered. However [they] sought to emphasize her youthfulness and virginity” qualities that were publicly exhibited in Jewish culture through the uncovering of hair. These icons of the Virgin, in continuity with the tradition of the Ottoman ages, were largely restricted to the iconostasis, making the iconographic program of Zamalek unique- particularly during its time of production.

FIGURE 12 Detail of the Ascension, Isaac Fanous, the Cathedral of St George (Main apse), Mahalla el Kubra, 1958, Photo by Maria Morcos.

Within his oeuvre, Fanous depicted the Virgin Mary enthroned in an apse twice, once in fresco (St Paul, Tanta, 1985), and once in mosaic (The Virgin Mary, Ard el Gulf, 1988). In both instances the Virgin and Christ are depicted unaccompanied, without angels nor apostles, indicating that she is not depicted in a scene suggestive of any narrative. In both instances these apses were also side apses in the church, not in the main sanctuary. In the Church of the Virgin in Ard el Gulf, and many other churches by Fanous, themes that occurred in the side apse (when he painted them) were the sacrifice of Isaac, the

GEORGE MAKARY

presentation of the Lord into the temple, Christ enthroned in His passion, and the prayer at Gethsemane- all themes with eucharistic implications. It is unclear as to why the ascension was not depicted in the side apses if the Virgin and these scenes were as well, although it is plausible that it is due to existence elsewhere in the iconographic program. It could also be for technical reasons- the compositional weight of the ascension scene does not parallel with these other chosen scenes. Although not divided into two registers, there exists in the repertoire of Fanous’ work one apse painted in fresco, dated to the 1970s, depicting the Virgin flanked by the twelve apostles in the bottom portion, and the Christ Pantocrator in the top, alluding to the ascension. This design was never repeated. While some of the students of Fanous painted or made mosaics of the ascension and the Virgin in the apse, these were very rare instances. It also is not fully clear as to why the tradition of depicting the Virgin in the central apsidal space disappeared, however its existence had disappeared sometime during the sixteenth century and failed to reappear during the renaissance of Ibrahim and Yuhanna. It is feasible that clergy became accustomed to limiting the content of the central apse to Christ exclusively. Among the directives mandated by Pope Shenouda III was that no one else should appear in the apse other than Christ or a scene of Revelation, despite the lack of concrete canonicity or precedent. At times that icon of Christ on the iconostasis is replaced by John the Baptist, so the Virgin and St John on either side of the royal gate form a type of Deisis. In a sermon given in October of 199628 the Patriarch specifically forbids his clergy from placing anything else in the eastern apse other than Christ Himself, specifically Christ as Pantocrator. Many of the mandates given by the patriarch were likewise given in informal contexts, in sermons, commentaries, or when answering questions during weekly meetings. He emphasised a system of icons that responded liturgically to the inaudible prayers lifted by the priest during the offerings of incense, as well as to the rites of Palm Sunday. As for the icon of the Virgin, Pope Shenouda laid down 5 informal requirements for her depictions:

1. 2. 3. 4.

That she be depicted with Christ in affirmation of her role as Theotokos That both the Virgin and Christ be depicted with halos That both the Virgin and Christ be crowned that Christ should always appear on the left hand of the Virgin, in allusion to Psalm 45:9, “Kings’

daughters are among Your honorable women; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.” (For this reason the Virgin also occupies the left hand side of the royal gate of the iconostasis, across from Christ) That the Virgin be adorned with stars, flanked by angels, and presented as the “second heaven.” (The inclusion of the three stars (of Syriac origins) was also recommended by Pope Shenouda.

FIGURE 13 The Virgin Mary and Child Enthroned, Isaac Fanous, Fresco, Tanta, 1985 FIGURE 14 Apse, Galal Ramzy

Of those in the school of “Neo-Coptic” iconography, Adel Nassied, Galal Ramzy, Guirguis Boktor, and Ashraf Fayek all used compositions of the Enthroned Virgin flanked by apostles beneath an enthroned Christ in the central apse of a sanctuary. The earliest of these appear in frescoes painted by Galal Ramzy (figure 11), who also created several apse mosaics of the Virgin flanked by angels in the side apses of several churches. In terms of precedent, it is most reverent to tradition and liturgically accurate to paint a double register in the main apse of the Coptic church, with the top register depicting Christ as Pantocrator (who could be flanked by angels) and the Virgin enthroned bearing Christ in her arms (flanked by the twelve apostles and possibly archangels Michael and Gabriel in the bottom register). It is clear that from the late fifth century into to Ottoman period the Coptic Church had a clear, uninterrupted visual tradition of depicting the ascension (or some form of it or allusion to it) in the central apse of the church.

Pope Shenouda. Sermon, On Icons. 22 October 1996 15

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