Home_files/2000 Fall.Vol22.#3.pdf - Coptic Church Review

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BOOK REVIEWS 111decades, have been suffering from discrimination, attacks of the Moslem extremistsand even the occasional frank persecution by government officials.In the section 'Thinking with the Church', Father Watson examines the writingsof contemporary Coptic authors and gives a sympathetic, though frank, portraitof Coptic Orthodox theology that is still trying to keep its biblical and patristicTradition against a background of rising Islamic fundamentalism, infiltration ofLatin philosophical terms, a tendency for clericalization of teaching positions, andthe rise in publications that deal with monastic spirituality at the expense ofneglecting patristic theological studies.Biographical summaries of representative Copts are found throughout thebook. Among these we find the neomartyr Father Rueiss Fakher (1956- 1988);Abba Justus, a monk of St. Antony who the author believes to be one of the greatmystics of the 20th century; Fr. Marcos El-Eskiti; the Coptology scholar ProfessorAziz Atiya, Boutros Ghalli, the previous Secretary General of the UN; the iconograherIsaac Fanous and others.This book, which is finely printed and well illustrated with pictures of Copticlife and historical sites, is one of the best informed and most authoritative books onthe contemporary situation in the ancient Church of Alexandria. It fills a gap in theliterature on the recent history and contemporary status of the Coptic Church andwill be greatly welcomed by all who have an interest in Eastern Christianity.If this book is to receive the wide attention it deserves then it must appear inpaperback as soon as possible. It is far too expensive for many who will be anxiousto read it.Lives of The Jura FathersTim Vivian, Kim Vivian, and Jeffrey Burton Russell. The Lives of the JuraFathers (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 199). Pp. 240, Index,Bibl. $ 21.95 (paper).The three monastic lives translated here for the first time into English describethe transformation of monasticism in the Jura Mountains of Eastern France from itssolitary origins into two thriving monastic communities. The lives are those of themonastic pioneer of the Jura Mountains, Romanus, his brother Lupicinus, and theirsuccessor Eugendus. It is under Eugendus that we see the monks achieve a classiccenobitic community in which all possessions were held in common and monkslived together, ate together, and prayed together. In addition to the Lives, this volumecontains three appendices: Bishop Avitus’ twenty-eighth letter to Viventiolus,and two works by bishop Eucherius, “The Martyrs of Agaune, Saint Maurice andhis Companions,” and “In Praise of the Desert”.The lengthy introduction (66 pages) and comprehensive footnotes situate the
112 Fall 2000 • Coptic Church Review - Volume 21, Number 3Lives within their historical context and highlight the literary works which bothinfluenced the monastic vocation of the Jura Fathers and molded the narrative thatis the Lives. The translators are particularly thorough in citing parallels betweenthe Lives and The Life of St. Antony, The Life of St. Martin, The Rule of St.Benedict, and The Life of the Fathers by Gregory of Tours.The Lives of the Jura Fathers introduce three distinct monastic figures.Romanus, a prayerful and gentle soul, was a deliberate imitator of St. Antony (pg.106) who attracted many to his way of life. His brother and successor, Lupicinus,was his first convert to the monastic life. He was not the gentle spirit that Romanuswas; rather, we might euphemistically call him a “disciplinarian.” Despite theirpolar dispositions, the author of the Lives is quick to note that Romanus’ gentlenessand Lupicinus’ austerity complemented one another and actually benefitedtheir community. This is best illustrated by an account in which a group of monkstook such advantage of Romanus’ gentleness that he had to call on his brother todeal with them (pg. 119-21). Finally, the author relays the life of Eugendus, whoentered the monastery as a child. Though remembered as a wonderworker, perhapsmore impressive is the fact that “Eugendus never taught anything about authoritythat he did not first accomplish by his own example or with his own work” (pg180).On a technical note, footnote 60 (pg. 176) treats the practice of anointing thesick with holy oil—one of the recurring events in the Lives. Though it providesmany literary parallels, the volume entitled The Oil of Gladness: Anointing inthe Christian Tradition, edited by M. Dudley and G. Rowell (SPCK, LiturgicalPress, 1990), may also be consulted for a treatment of this practice in the NewTestament and early church.Undoubtedly, The Lives of the Jura Fathers will be the definitive Englishwork on the subject for many years to come.Severus S.A. MikhailUniversity of California, Los Angeles
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