Coptic bishop (of Sandafah) apostatized to Islam. To the eternal credit of the Egyptian Christians, this is, during thirteen centuries of cruel persecution, the only known case of an apostate bishop. Cyril III further made a great quarrel with the Jacobites in Syria by ordaining a bishop for Jerusalem to minister to the Copts; although a Jacobite bishop already sat there. In spite of Jacobite protests, this arrangement still lasts (p. 335).
During all this time the wearisome recurrence of fierce persecution against Christians continues. There are over and over again incidents of excited mobs massacring Christians, defiling churches, robbing Coptic property. And even when no massacre was going on, the Copts were always subject to the same humiliating laws affecting their dress[1] and habits, stamping them as an inferior caste. During all this time there were apostasies in vast numbers, to escape massacre. Then it was death to return to Christianity. Few had the courage to risk this; so the number of Copts diminishes steadily; there were many people outwardly Moslems, who would be Christians again if they dared.
Al-Maḳrīzī here enlivens his pages with contemporary poems about the Copts:
"The unbelievers were forced by the sword to profess Islam; But as soon as they were free they returned to unbelief. They professed Islam for love of money and peace; Now are they free, but not Moslems."[2]
Again:
"The unbelievers are forced to wear bad hats, Which by God's curse increase their shame. I spoke to them: we have not put turbans on you; We put on your heads old shoes."[3]
2 Maḳrīzī, p. 31 (Arabic text). The last lines contain two plays on words such as Arabs love: "Aslamū min rawāḥi māli wa-rūḥ": "Fahum sālimūni, lā muslimūn."
3 Ib. p. 32.
- ↑ The law was made and repeatedly enforced that Christians were to dress in black and wear black turbans. Each time they gradually modified this into dark blue, which became the special Coptic colour (p. 253). A special part of their dress is a girdle. This appears to have its origin in a symbolic linen girdle given at baptism (Abū-Daḳn with Nicolai's notes: ed. cit. pp. 51, 126-127, 162). This girdle was sometimes commanded, sometimes forbidden, by law. But they always wore it. One of the names for Copts is "People of the girdle (Ahl-almanṭalḳah)," in Italian, "Cristiani della cintura."
- ↑ 2
- ↑ 3
