The Life Of Samuel Of Kalamun

The Life Of Samuel Of Kalamun by Isaac the Presbyter, with translation and notes by Anthony Alcock, is the Coptic account of the life of a monk who lived from about 597 to 695 AD, for any student of the language or history of medieval Egypt.

Samuel entered the monastery of Scetis at the age of 18. In 631 AD, when Emperor Heraclius sent an agent to impose a new Christological doctrine on the Copts, Samuel was driven out by persecution and torture, first to the Fayyum and some years later into the desert, where he spent three years as a captive of the Berbers in the Siwa Oasis. After his release he founded a monastery at Kalamun, where he remained abbot for 57 years.

The text does not mention the Arab invasion of Egypt directly, though one incident it tells may refer to it indirectly. The book gives the Coptic text with an English translation and notes.

The second part is a translation from Arabic of a text about St Samuel: a prophecy about the Arab conquest of Egypt.

Book details

• Author: Isaac the Presbyter
• Translator: Anthony Alcock
• Format: Printed book, 8.5 x 5.5 in
• Pages: 112
• Published: 2020, St Shenouda Press
• ISBN: 9780648865858