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Abstract
The testament of Kale (in religion Maria), written in the year 1098 and transmitted by copy in the archive of Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, constitutes one of the most remarkable documents of the Moyen Âge grec. While its contents have hitherto been analyzed through the lens of economic and rural history, her will contains exhaustive commemorative prescriptions which shed light on how Byzantine founders sought to preserve their memory. The present contribution examines this testament, along with related documents, as a remarkable expression of Maria’s concern for the salvation of her soul, and that of her spouse, which she sought to realize through memorial services, charitable distributions and commemorative feasting. The testament makes clear that Maria pursued various commemorative strategies to perpetuate her own memory and that of her deceased husband: to this end, she incentivized several groups of people with bequests to pray for her after her death. A complete translation of the testament into English is offered along with an annotated commentary in an appendix.
Abstract
The article investigates the emergence and transformation of humanitarian associations in Egypt from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. It argues that on the one hand these associations were new institutions echoing the foundation of new charitable organisations worldwide and in Egypt. The colonial domination of Egypt and its refusal by the Egyptians thereby played a prominent role. On the other hand, the humanitarian associations have to be seen in the continuity of long-established practices and discourses of charity, performed in particular by religious endowments (awqāf). Based on the example of the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is explored through a wide range of un explorer Egyptian, British and Swiss archives as well as a broad historiography in European and Arabic languages, this article emphasises the interconnections between international, regional, national and local institutions in Egypt in the field of philanthropy.
Abstract
At the end of the First World War, a profoundly transformed Middle East faced massive population displacements and health crises, which presented crucial challenges for humanitarian actors. North American philanthropy and charity played a decisive role in this context. Among the organisations involved, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (cnewa) is not well known. It was established by American Catholics to help Eastern Christians – especially Greek Catholics – and to thwart the influence of Protestantism in the region, mainly by supporting local Churches and missions in their humanitarian and welfare work. cnewa was quickly placed under the supervision of the US episcopate and the Vatican, partly transforming its operations and purposes. Its activity became closely involved with the Eastern policy of the Holy See, which primarily focused on the “return” of Orthodox Christians to the Roman Church. This article, at the crossroads of the history of mission and humanitarian aid, examines the early developments of cnewa and highlights how the Catholic Church dealt with the emergence of modern humanitarian aid in the mid-twentieth century.