A Semiotic Investigation of the Architecture of The Coptic Church

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

Spring 5-3-2016

Abstract

Coptic architecture is an important part of our Egyptian heritage. Studies that uncover meanings, concepts and interpret this architecture are quite limited. This paper is presented within the course of research of a PhD thesis, at Ain Shams University, studying semiotic analysis of the Coptic Orthodox Church architecture from the viewpoint of investigating the intended and perceived meanings of this Egyptian architecture. The case study presented is the Church of Saint Mercurius (Abu Sayfayn) in Old Cairo, due to its historical and architectural significance. An analysis is conducted using an innovative tool; semiotics, for the worship space itself. Semiotics is concerned with the study of signs and sign systems, it is a discipline recognized internationally. The analytical framework utilized in this research paper is based on the work of Gerard Lukken and Mark Searle, as applied on a particular church; SS. Peter and Paul in Tilburg, in their book 'Semiotics and Church Architecture' (Lukken, 1993). This paper may be considered a pioneering attempt to investigate ancient traditional Coptic architecture using this tool, discussing if this architectural style has an intended message.

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