b. Jesus in Egypt

Jesus in Egypt.

"When Joseph arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod."

Matthew 2:14-15a.

Copts are the Christians of Egypt, and the fact that Jesus with his parents passed the first years after his birth in Egypt has deeply impressed the early Egyptian Christians.

Matthew does not give details, but that has not prevented the Copts te weave many legends around his stay.

They tell how heathen idols collaps when Jesus passes, and how this caused feelings of hate in the priests belonging to those idols.

They also tell about a tree in Belbees, where Mary has been sitting under.

When much later the soldiers of Napoleon wanted to cut that tree, it started to bleed.

And about a well, in which Mary washed the cloths of Jesus, Joseph and herself. Water of that well is still used for ritual ceremonies.

And there are many other places with stories of Jesus staying there are told.

In later times churches and monasteries were founded in these places.

There is a famous Mary-monastery near Deir El Mouharrak. It has a chapel standing on a place where the Holy Family should have lived for half a year.

We of course put question marks with these stories. How can the way Jesus and his family traveled be reconstructed after a few hundred years?

And how is it possible that Mark, who brought Christianity to Egypt according to the Copts does not mention this story in his Gospel?

The present-day gouvernment of Egypt has no problems with that: following the track of Jesus, Joseph and Mary is much propagated. Many beautiful churches and monasteries can be seen that way.

There is no religious problem for the Muslims either: the Muslims recognize Jesus as een great prophet, the greatest after Muhammed.

The Flight to Egypt is a popular subject in painting.

The Copts have devoted many icons to the flight to Egypt. Two of them are displayed here.