Teaching
and conducting seminars on the graduate level and supervising M.A. theses
at Lakehead University until my retirement in 1987.
Being
Internal and External Examiner of Master and Doctorate dissertations.
Professional
Associations
(Past and
Present)
-
Association
of Canadian University Teachers.
-
The
American Oriental Society.
-
The
Medieval Academy of America.
-
The
Renaissance Society of America.
-
The
Northeast Modern Language Association.
-
The
International Society for Neoplatonic Studies
Editorships
-
Editor
of the Teachers College Review.
-
Co-editor
of The Forum. Notre Dame
University. Nelson. British Columbia.
-
Co-editor
of The Art and Literary Review.
Lakehead University. Ontario. Canada.
-
Editor
of COPTOLOGIA: Journal of Coptic Thought and Orthodox Spirituality.
-
Editor-in-Chief
of Coptologia Historia
Coptica: Journal
of St. Mark’s Foundation and St. Shenouda’s Society for Coptic
Historical Studies.
Fellowships
-
Fellow
of the International Biographical Association. Cambridge, England.
-
Fellow
of London House and William Goodenough Association. London, England.
Distinctions
Received
an award in the form of a plaque prepared by the world-renowned firm of
Kenning and Spencer, official supplier of insignia to Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II and requested by the International Biographical Association.
The
award is granted for distinction in research work.
Received
other awards for distinguished scholarly achievements.
Gold Medal
-
Coptologia
Journal which has been edited by Prof. Fayek Ishak since its
inception in 1981, was awarded the GOLD MEDAL of the Centro
Cultorale Copto Ortodosso, Venezia, Italia for exceptional
distinction in research work in 1986.
-
This
prestigious medal was tendered by his Eminence Abba Marcos, Métropolitain
Copte Orthodoxe de Marseille, Toulon et toute la France.
Books and Pamphlets and
Articles
-
Professor
Ishak has had some books and several articles published in periodical
publications. In
view of the limitation of space and by way of example , we may take
only one year as a specimen illustrating his work.
-
The
year 1980-1981 marked the inception of COPTOLOGIA: the
International Journal of Coptology and Egyptology.
In the issue of this year (incidentally it is out of print), we
come across the following studies:
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Textual
Sources: Greek and Coptic Papyrus Codices and Scrolls.
-
A
Moment of Mystical Unity.
-
The
Divine Presence.
Biographia
Monastica: Saint Antony the Great.
The
Monasteries of Saint Antonios and Saint
Paul the Hermit.
Hermitage:
Between Anba Antonios and Anba Boula.
Book
review of Pierre du Bourguet's book
Coptic Art, trans. Caryll Hay-Shaw. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.,
1971. Copyright by Holle Verlag GMBH, Baden-Baden, 1967.
Review
of Aziz S. Atiya's Book A History of Eastern Christianity. Notre Dame, Indiana: University
of Notre Dame Press, 1968.
Presentation
of Papers in 1980-1981
1.
Codicum Manuscriptorum Copticorum: A
Metaphysical Tractate in two parts (a) On the Unity of Being and (b) On
the Perpetuity of Being.
This
paper was presented in the Coptic Section of the International Conference
in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. San Francisco 1980.
2.
A Quary into the Hypostasis and
Ousia: A Triumph of Athanasian Orthodoxy.
This
paper in Coptic doctrine deals with the unity of Essence and Substance in
the Holy Trinity as ably explained by St. Athanasius the Apostolic. It was
presented in the Coptology and Egyptology Section of the International
Congress that was held in the Brooklyn Museum at Philadelphia in the
summer of 1981.
3.
Is the Son of God the Son of God? An
Orthodox Concept.
A
paper presented in a symposium hosted by the Division of Religious Studies
at Lakehead University in the winter of 1981.
A
version of this paper was published in Religion
and Reason, ed. J. Douglas Rabb. Winnipeg: Frye Publishing Co., 1983.
Selected Papers
Presented in Learned Societies and International
Congresses and Church Organizations
-
On
Reviving the Great Serapiana and Alexandriana of the Ancient World:
Fact or Fiction? American Research Center for Egyptian Studies.
University of Philadelphia, 1989.
-
The
Copts and their Missionary Enterprises: Past and Present.
This
paper was delivered at a special meeting celebrating the admission of the
Coptic Orthodox Church to the Canadian Council of Churches. Christian
denominations were widely represented in this meeting which was held in
St. Mark's Coptic Church (Toronto) on October 15, 1978.
Paper
presented in the International Congress in Medieval Studies that was held
in Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo in
the summer of 1976.
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Revelatory
Insights and Afterlife Knowability in the Light of Patristic Studies.
-
This
paper was presented in the Coptic Section of the International
Congress in the Social Sciences and the Humanities that was held in
the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in the summer of 1983.
This
paper was presented at St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church. Toronto 1993.
Scholarship
in Family Name
After his retirement in 1987, Lakehead University established a
scholarship or a prize (as the University Senate sees fit) in the name of
his family. This award is tenable to a student who has earned the highest
academic standing in his or her Honors Degree before
proceeding to Postgraduate Literary Study in English.
The
Coptic Encyclopedia
Prof. Ishak is, moreover, a contributor of seven entries for the
Coptic Encyclopedia.
Recent
Presentation of Paper
He presented a paper in the Sixth International Congress of Coptic
Studies which was held at Mûnster (Germany) from July 20 to 26, 1996
titled "The Orthodox Eschatological and Ontological Metaphysics of
Being and the Incessant Quest after Supernal Knowability. The Manuscript
Treasures of Dayr as-Suryân(the
Syrian Monastery) and Dayr Anba Maqâr
(The Monastery of Saint Macarius).
COPTOLOGIA
SPIRITUAL PUBLICATIONS
1.
Coptologia: Journal of Coptic Thought and Orthodox Spirituality (annual).
Volumes 1 to 15.
2.
A Complete Version of the Coptic Orthodox Horologion: The Book of the
Seven Nocturnal and Daylight Canonical Prayers (al-Agbeya)
in English and Arabic.
3.
An Inquiry into the Essence of Soul Revelations: The Elevation to the
Pinnacle of the Illumined Heights (in English and Arabic).
4.
The Holy Coptic Icon: Pharaonic Origins, Theological Sources, Artistic
Evolution, Miraculous Essences, Universal Symbolism and Aesthetic
Relations with the visible and the godly invisible worlds.
5.
A Source Book of Alexandrine Orthodoxy:
A Study of Distinct Layers of Meaning.
Publications
in the Last Six Years
Books:
1.
Selected Hymns (Taratil) and Lauds (Madayih)
of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Toronto: Coptologia Spiritual Publications, 1996.
2.
An Inquiry into the Essence of Soul
Revelations: The Elevation into the Pinnacle
of the Illumined Heights. Toronto: Coptologia Spiritual Publications,
1993
3.The
Horologion and Selections from the Absolutions, the Supplications and the
Prayers. A Bilingual Edition. Toronto: Coptologia Spiritual
Publications, 1992
Books
Scheduled for Publication in 1996:
4.
On the Ultimate Quest of Being in the Presence of God .
5.
A Source Book of Alexandrine Orthodoxy.
Periodical
Publications
1.
"On Reviving the Orthodox Way of Life through a Spark of
Asceticism."
2.
"An Analytical Study of Abuna Matta al_Maskin's Johannine
Gospel."
3.
"Manuscript Study: Kitab ma Istatar min Lahot
al-Massih" [A Book Concerning what is Concealed as Pertaining the
Divinity of Christ].
4.
Review of a Rare Book: John Nalson,
Toleration and Liberty of Conscience.
University of Toronto Manuscript and Rare Book Holdings.
5.
Article review of Readings in
the History of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
6.
Article Review of the
Sociological and Moral Studies in the Field of Coptic Monasticism.
7.
Book review of The Historic Coptic
Churches of Cairo.
8.
Book review of the Life and
Sufferings of Saint Catherine the great Martyr.
Coptologia:
An International Journal of Coptology and Egyptology,
Vol. XV 1995.
9.
"Saint Mary of Egypt".
10.
"Liberality and Tolerance; A Quest for the Freedom of Conscience and
the Promptings of Truth."
11
.Review of the two volumes of The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Dogmas.
.
Coptologia , Volume XIV 1994.
12.
"A Study in the Meaning and Understanding of Genuine Unity and
Ecumenism as Globally Considered by Fr. Matthew the Poor."
13.
:"Christian Unity: Fact or Fiction?"
14.
Book review of Christ in East and
West.
15.
Book review of Orthodoxy,
Catholicism and Anglicanism.
16.
Book review of The Doctrine of
Sanctification in St. Athanasius's Pascal Letters.
17.
Book review of Education in the Coptic Age.
Coptologia,
Volume XIII, 1993.
18.
"The Orthodox Life of the Spirit and the Mysteries of Divine
Revelation and the Pressing Need for Reform."
19.
"Invaluable Library Treasures in the Monastery of Mount Sinai."
20.
A Rare Book: What is the Codex Sinaiticus?
Coptologia,
Volume XII, 1991.
21.
"Mystical Theology and Metaphysics: Orthodox Life of Grace and the
New Currents in Theological Thought."
22.
"The Copts and their
Missionary Enterprises, Past and Present."
23
A Rare Book: What is the Codex Alexandrinus?
24
Review article of The Coptic
Church as a Church of Erudition.
25.
Review article of Monks and
Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts.
Coptologia,
Volume XI, 1990.
Papers
Presented in Learned Societies
1.
"On Reviving the Serapiana and the Alexandriana of the Greatest
Library of the Ancient World: Fact or Fiction?"
This
paper was presented in the American Research Center for Egyptological
Studies that was held in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia on
April 21-23, 1989.
2.
"Eliot and Plotinus: The Neoplatonic Explorations into the Unity and
Perpetuity of Being."
