Nayrouz
Nayrouz or Neyrouz is a feast
when martyrs and confessors
are commemorated within
the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Celebrated on September
11, the day is also the start
of the Coptic new year and
its first month, Thout.
Martyr
A martyr is one who gives
his life for Christ, physically
dying as a witness to the
faith. Martyr itself comes
from the Greek μάρτυς,
which means "witness." By
traditional liturgical ranking,
the martyrs are first among
the saints.
The Feast of Neyrouz
marks the first day of the
Coptic year. Ignorant of
the Egyptian language for
the most part, the Arabs
confused the Egyptian new
year's celebrations, which
the Egyptians called the
feast of Ni-Yarouou (lit. the
feast of the rivers), with the
Persian feast of Nowruz,
from which the word Nayrouz
etymologically comes from.
The
misnomer
remains
today, and the celebrations
of the Egyptian new year on
the first day of the month
of Thout are known as the
Neyrouz. Its celebration
falls on the 1st day of the
month of Thout, the first
month of the Egyptian year,
which for AD 1901 to 2098
usually coincides with 11
September, except before a
Gregorian leap year when it
begins September 12.
The Coptic year 2017 A.D.
1733-1734 A.M.
The chronology of the Coptic
Orthodox Church begins
when Diocletian became
Roman emperor in 284 AD.
His reign was marked by
torture of Christians to force
them to deny their faith, as
well as by mass executions,
especially in Egypt. It is
believed this time was one
45
of the worst times that
the Coptic church faced,
known to believers as "the
martyrdom era". Hence, the
Coptic year is identified by
the abbreviation A.M. (for
Anno Martyrum or "Year of
the Martyrs"). It should not
be confused with the A.M.
abbreviation used for the
unrelated Jewish year, which
is Anno Mundi ("year of the
world").