The Lamp of Darkness and the Illumination of the Service

Doctrine, Scripture, and worship meet in this major work of medieval Coptic Christianity.

Composed by the priest and scholar Shams al-Riʾāsa Abū al-Barakāt ibn Kabar, The Lamp of Darkness and the Illumination of the Service is a twenty-four-chapter encyclopedia of Christian belief and church life. It moves from the foundations of faith, biblical books, councils, and canons to church architecture, clerical orders, monastic life, the sacraments, daily prayer, the Divine Liturgy, fasts, feasts, lectionaries, and sacred time. Throughout, Ibn Kabar presents doctrine, order, and worship as parts of one living tradition.

Presented here in one complete English volume, the work has been edited for both close study and sustained reading. Identifiable Greek and Coptic terms are preserved in their original scripts with transliteration. Securely identified biblical quotations are given from the NKJV, while concise Translator’s notes explain important historical and textual distinctions. A scholarly introduction, reader’s guide, and glossary assist clergy, students, researchers, church readers, and those newly encountering the Coptic Orthodox tradition.

At once a treasury of learning and a witness to worship, this volume opens a remarkable medieval Coptic vision of the Church to English readers.