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 COPTS 333 and practice they sympathize. There is a con- vent of Abyssinian monks in the Nitrian des- ert; they share the same chapel at Jerusalem; and the abuna of the church of the mountains is dependent on the head of the church of Egypt. Portions of three separate versions of the Scriptures into the Coptic tongue have been found among the MSS. brought from the Egyptian monasteries, which were probably made in the beginning of the 4th century. Of these, that used in Lower Egypt and the Ni- trian desert is called the Memphitic ; that used in Upper Egypt, the Thebaic ; and the third, which it is conjectured may have been used in the eastern part of the Nile delta, the Bash- muric. The Thebaic version, which is often called the Sahidic, is the most important in the textual criticism of the New Testament ; while the Memphitic, which is usually styled the Coptic, has the most authority in the existing Egyptian church. The first printed edition of the Memphitic New Testament was issued by David Wilkins (4to, Oxford, 1716), with a Latin translation. A later and more accurate edition was begun by the Prussian Schwartze in 1846, but only the four Gospels were pub- lished before his death. Since 1852 Dr. Paul Botticher of Halle has published the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. Another edi- tion, under the superintendence of Dr. R. T. Lieder of Cairo, has been published by the London society for promoting Christian knowl- ledge. The Thebaic version has been collated and fragments of it published since 1779 by "Woide, Mingarelli, Giorgi, Mtinter, and Ford. Fragments of the Bashmuric version have been published by Zoega and Engelbrecht. The Copts have three liturgies. The principal is a translation from the Greek liturgy of St. Basil, in which, however, several alterations are made to adapt it to the variations in doc- trine and discipline. Another, which bears the name of St. Gregory, was probably bor- rowed from the Armenian church (of which Gregory was the apostle and founder), after that church lapsed into the Eutychian heresy. A third is doubtfully attributed to the Alex- andrian Cyril, who in all the churches of Egypt has great authority, and is honored by the pompous title of " doctor of the world." Of these liturgies there are Arabic translations in use in all the churches. Most of the priests are unable to understand their sacred dialect ex- cept in a translation. (See COPTIC LANGUAGE.) In 1442 the Copts were prevailed upon to enter into communion with Rome; but the union was soon dissolved. In 1713 the Coptic patriarch again recognized the supreme author- ity of the pope, but this act appears not to have had any lasting results. The missionaries of the Roman Catholic church, in particular the Franciscans and reformed Minorites, suc- ceeded in gaining over a number of Copts for a reunion with Rome, and thus established a united Coptic church, for which the pope in 1781 instituted a vicariate apostolic, which still exists. The vicar apostolic, who is a bishop in partibus, resides at Cairo, and in his house young men who wish to devote them- selves to the ministry receive free board and instruction. Since 1840 the vicar apostolic has also had under his jurisdiction as delegate of the apostolic see the church of Abyssinia, to which country the Propaganda at that time intended to send a bishop of the Coptic rite. The number of united Copts is estimated at about 3,500, who have 9 churches, 7 chapels, and 25 priests. The average morality of the Copts in Egypt is about the same as that of the other races, with the single exception of the vice of drunkenness. The Copts whom travellers usually meet are of the more respect- able class, and hide their avarice under the mask of courtesy. They are more familiar and fluent than the Turkish effendis, and show in their intercourse none of that contempt for the infidel which the most polite Moslem can hardly refrain from manifesting. The domes- tic customs of the Coptic people differ but slightly from those of the Arabs of the Nile valley. There are some peculiarities, however, in their marriage ceremonies. The Copt bride, unlike the Moslem, has no canopy to cover her in the procession to the bridegroom's house ; at the preliminary feast pigeons are released from pies and fly around the room shaking bells attached to their feet; in the church, besides the sacrament of communion, there is a ceremony of coronation, and the priest sets on the foreheads of the new couple a thin gilt diadem ; the bride, in entering her husband's house, must step over the blood of a newly killed lamb ; and the whole pageant, after lasting eight days, ends with a grand feast at the bridegroom's house. This is the custom with the wealthy and on the occasion of a young girl's marriage. The poor are wedded more simply, and no parade is made when a widow goes to the house of her second hus- band. All marriages, to be religiously lawful, must, be licensed by the patriarch or bishop ; but as civil contracts marriages licensed by the cadi are valid, and many of the poorer Copts prefer the disgrace of that resort to the extor- tion of their own spiritual rulers. Such mar- riages, moreover, are more easily dissolved than those which the priest solemnizes. The respectable Copt women live in the harem in seclusion. The wife's adultery is the only ground for divorce, notwithstanding that the incontinence of the husband is regarded as a sin. In most of the cities and large towns the Copts form but a fraction of the population. In the city of Cairo they have been estimated as high as 60,000 ; other writers put their number at 80,000, 20,000, or even 10,000. At Negaddeh, in Upper Egypt, there are 2,500 ; and Minieh, Osioot, Ekhmin, and Girgeh have each a considerable Coptic population. The whole race, from the sea to the Nubian fron- tier, number somewhat more than a 15th of the entire population of Egypt. In Nubia