The Precious Pearl in the History of the Coptic Church

From the coming of Christ to the early twentieth century, Anba Isidhoros traces the life of the Church century by century through its teachers, councils, patriarchs, conflicts and encounters with rulers. The result is a sweeping history written from within the Coptic Orthodox tradition.

Beginning with the apostles and the formation of Christian communities, he follows the Fathers of Alexandria and the desert, the controversies that shaped doctrine, and the Church’s relationship with the Roman and Byzantine states. He records the succession of Coptic popes alongside the patriarchs of Antioch and the bishops of Rome, placing their decisions amid wider civil and political events.

His account continues through the Arab, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman eras and into modern Egypt. Letters, quotations, biographies and lists preserve the voices and concerns of earlier generations. His judgments are candid and unmistakably his own, revealing how an early twentieth-century Coptic bishop understood the Church’s past.

This Complete Edition presents the English translation with editorial notes on names, dates, unclear readings and later additions in the Arabic reprint. It retains the author’s sequence and perspective while giving readers a clear path through a vast and often turbulent history.

Anba Isidhoros (1867–1942) was the first bishop of the Monastery of the Virgin Mary at al-Baramous. He wrote this Coptic Orthodox history in the early twentieth century; the exact date of its first publication is not established in this edition.

Arranged by century, the work follows apostles, desert Fathers, councils, Coptic popes, other patriarchs and relations between Church and state from Christ’s coming to the early twentieth century.

Digital tools, including generative artificial intelligence, assisted the cover and new editorial material. The production method of the supplied English translation manuscripts is not established. This accessible edition does not replace the primary Arabic text, printed editions or surviving manuscripts. Scholars should verify quotations, textual readings and academic conclusions against those sources.