The St. Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society has felt a sense of urgency with regard to the acquisition of manuscripts of Christian Egypt. In addition to their educational value, their sale to private collector will drastically affect their availability for scientific research as well as the Coptic community. Also, it has been the practice of some of these dealers to dismember these manuscripts and sell them by the page for maximum financial gain. There are several manuscripts that were sold in this fashion on eBay by a variety of dealers. So the Society is encouraging all that value the preservation of the treasures of our heritage to support the project through their prayers and their offerings. More specifically we are starting a special fundraising campaign to acquire two manuscripts shown below. Because the seller values our cause, he agreed to essentially sell us the two manuscripts at cost for 5,400 US Dollars. The descriptions and photos of these manuscripts are found below. This page will be updated daily until the financial target is achieved. For tax deductible contribution, click on the PayPal button here:
Fundraising Progress (as of May 17, 2018): $5,400 out of $5,400 from 17 different contributors. $2,700 has already been paid to the seller and the balance ($2,700) will be paid by Monday. Any extra funds received will be applied to future purchases. Thank you all for your support of this worthy cause.
You can also donate by check in US funds to (indicate it is for the Mss Funding Proj):
St. Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society
1494 South Robertson Blvd
Suite 104
Los Angeles, CA 90035
USA
Hymns about St. George the Great: Arabic, about 150 years old, original leather cover with claps, 106 leaves with 212 pages, measuring 18 cm x 14 cm x 5.0 cm.
Heavily decorated Annual Psalmodia: dated AD 1886, 318 leaves with 636 pages, measuring 20 cm x 13 cm x 5 cm, and in excellent preserved condition. It was written and owned by a monk priest from Deir al-Baramous, Fr. Priest Abdelmasih (most like Fr. Abdelmasih Salib al-Masoudi). The manuscript has a 2-page insert with the year 1900 transcription of a 14th century certificate document of a deacon ordination in upper Egypt. The scribe of this insert is Pope Cyril V at the time!