Download PDF | The Early Coptic Papacy_ The Egyptian Church and Its Leadership in Late Antiquity (The Popes of Egypt)-The American University in Cairo Press (2017).
281 Pages
Editors’ Introduction
The Copts, adherents of the Egyptian Orthodox Church, today represent the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Over the course of its long history, the Coptic Church in Egypt has celebrated the lineage and leadership of Alexandrian bishops who have been accorded the title of Patriarch, or Pope. The term Pope itself originally derived from the Greek word papas, meaning “father.” By the middle of the third century A.D., however, the term “Pope” (papas) had become a formal honorific title of the Alexandrian archbishop, fifty years before the earliest solid evidence for the use of the term as a designation for the Roman archbishop.
Over the course of the last two millennia—through the vicissitudes of Roman, Byzantine, Persian, Arab, Ottoman, French, British, and finally Egyptian rule—the Popes of Egypt have often been collectively represented as an emblem of historical continuity for the Coptic Orthodox Church. Such representations raise vital questions about the way that Coptic religious and cultural identity has been shaped in relation to church leadership. How has the history of the Popes of Egypt functioned, in effect, as a monument and marker of Christian identity in Egypt? In recent decades, there has been an upsurge of interest in the Coptic cultural heritage. Indeed, the second half of the twentieth century witnessed remarkable progress in the study of Egyptian Christianity.
The discovery of the Nag Hammadi gnostic library, with its codices written in Coptic, encouraged many scholars to study the Coptic language and literature. The exhibitions of Coptic art in great cities such as Vienna, Paris, Munich, Geneva, and Zurich enhanced the interest of the general public in the material culture of Coptic Egypt. Furthermore, archaeological remains were discovered and carefully documented at important sites related to Egyptian monasticism and pilgrimage, including Abu Mina, Kellia, Athribis, Naqlun, Antinoe, and Esna.
The application of modern methods of restoration and conservation in a number of monasteries led to new discoveries of beautiful Coptic wall paintings—most recently, murals in the monastery of Saint Antony at the Red Sea and in the Monastery of the Syrians (Deir al-Suryan) at Wadi al-Natrun. The foundation of the International Association for Coptic Studies and the appearance of the Coptic Encyclopedia have greatly advanced the knowledge of Coptic culture among scholars in the field. Surprisingly, however, despite these significant factors, studies on the history of the Copts in general, and on the Alexandrian patriarchate in particular have remained relatively rare. The most recent comprehensive historical treatment of Egyptian ecclesiastical leadership from the early centuries to the modern period is J.M. Neale’s The Patriarchate of Alexandria, published in 1847.
In the century and a half since the publication of Neale’s two-volume work, much has changed in the application of historiographical methods, and valuable new sources have come to light. The classic primary source for the study of the Coptic papacy is the Arabic chronicle, The History of the Patriarchs, a multi-generational, serial compilation of biographies (including historical sources and traditions) for each of the Alexandrian popes. Edited in the eleventh century, the Arabic History of the Patriarchs also includes later recensions designed to update the catalogue, a process of literary expansion that has extended even into the twentieth century. While this Coptic chronicle will be a valuable—albeit occasionally problematic—historical source for the three volumes in this series, the goal here is not simply to regurgitate its contents or to replicate its structure. To do so would be to miss a golden opportunity to produce a truly new, criticallyinformed reading of this history.
The time is ripe for a fresh treatment, one that draws on recent insights from an array of disciplines, including theology, social history, papyrology, archaeology, the visual arts, literary studies, and ideological and cultural criticism. The Popes of Egypt: A History of the Coptic Church and Its Patriarchs from Saint Mark to Pope Shenouda III represents such an effort. The three volumes in this series draw on the expertise of scholars who have dedicated their careers to the study of Egyptian Christianity, and who are intimately familiar with the material culture and institutional life of the Coptic Church from years of living and working in Egypt. Volume One, on the history of Coptic papacy from its origins to the rise of Islam in the seventh century, is authored by Stephen Davis, who currently teaches Christianity in late antiquity in the Religious Studies Department at Yale University.
Volume Two of the series, on the period from the rise of Islam to the Ottoman Conquest, will be authored by Mark Swanson, an expert in the Arabic Christian theological heritage who directs the Islamic studies program and teaches early and medieval church history at Luther Seminary in Minneapolis. Volume Three, on the modern Coptic papacy from the Ottoman era to the present, will be co-authored by three scholars: Magdi Girgis (Ph.D., Cairo University), a specialist in Coptic documentary sources during the Ottoman era; Michael Shelley, formerly director of graduate studies at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo and a specialist in the history of Christian-Muslim relations; and Nelly van Doorn-Harder, associate professor of religion at Valparaiso University and a specialist in both Islamic studies and the modern history of the Coptic Church.
The collaborative nature of this series is designed to draw on each scholar’s period of expertise, but also to initiate cross-fertilizing, interdisciplinary conversations in the study of Egyptian Christianity. It is our hope that these three volumes— written by academic experts but in an accessible and engaging style— will be of benefit to a wide range of readers, including scholars, teachers, students, as well as persons simply interested in learning more about the Coptic community in Egypt. Finally, as editors of the series, we want to express our thanks to the American University in Cairo Press, and especially to Mark Linz and Neil Hewison for their vision and abiding faith in this project. The publication of this series is in large part a testament to their professionalism and fine dedication to their craft. Stephen J. Davis and Gawdat Gabra, co-editors November 6, 2003
Author’s Preface
This book, The Early Coptic Papacy, represents the first in a three-volume series on the Popes of Egypt, which will cover the history of the Alexandrian patriarchate (i.e., the Egyptian papacy) from its origins to the present-day leadership of Pope Shenouda III. As mentioned in the Editors’ Introduction, such a study is long overdue. The most recent comprehensive treatment of the topic in English is J.M. Neale’s The Patriarchate of Alexandria, published over a century and a half ago in 1847.1 With regard to the period under consideration in this first volume, we face a similar gap in the history of scholarship. Edward R. Hardy, in his book Christian Egypt, Church and People: Christianity and Nationalism in the Patriarchate of Alexandria (1952), provided a detailed account of the early Egyptian church and its patriarchs, focusing especially on the period A.D. 325–641. However, his study is now over fifty years old and is considerably dated in the methods and sources used.2
Other scholars working in the field have either chosen to narrow their focus to a particular century of patriarchal history,3 or have taken on the much broader task of narrating the history of early Egyptian Christianity (writ large) without concentrating primarily on the leadership role of the Coptic popes.4 In this book, I will attempt to fill this gap by specifically analyzing the development of the Egyptian papacy from its origins to the rise of Islam. How did the papal office in Egypt evolve as a social and religious institution during the first six and a half centuries A.D.? How do the developments in the Alexandrian patriarchate reflect larger developments in the Egyptian church as a whole—in its authority structures and lines of communication, as well as in its social and religious identity?
My goal here, however, is not simply to produce a critical historiography of important dates, events, and figures. Such an approach would, I fear, cause eyes to glaze over and heads to nod (including my own). Instead, I am interested in writing what I would call a discursive history of the Egyptian papacy—one that takes into account how the Alexandrian patriarchate was rhetorically and socially “constructed” at different points and times in its history. Recently, scholars who work in the field of late ancient Christianity have come to a greater appreciation for how discourses (the ways that people speak) play a performative role in shaping their own sense of social and religious identity.5 Within social groups, discourses can function in a variety of ways—to negotiate power relationships and authority structures, to endorse shared values and practices, and to define community boundaries.
Thus, in the case of the early Alexandrian patriarchs, I will examine the sources not only for what the patriarchs did as leaders, but also for how their leadership and actions were represented—or, in the case of their own writings, how they represented themselves. Such representational strategies are laden with cultural value: in this context, how did literary (and artistic) depictions of the patriarchs reflect emerging social and theological concerns within the Coptic church? Or to put it in more dynamic terms, how did such discourses actually shape the church’s understanding of itself and its leaders? In this book, I will argue that the ways in which the patriarchs portrayed themselves, and the ways their leadership was portrayed by their own and subsequent generations, has something vital to say about the formation of Egyptian Christian identity (or identities) in late antiquity.
Acknowledgments
This book has been a pilgrimage of sorts. Begun in Cairo, completed in New Haven, Connecticut, it has been enriched by colleagues—fellow pilgrims—in both places. The idea of writing a book (and later a three-volume series) on the Popes of Egypt grew out of conversations with Neil Hewison and Mark Linz at AUC Press in the spring of 2001. I first want to thank them (along with the other editors at AUC), and to express my gratitude for their vision, flexibility, and expert guidance throughout the process of making this book a reality. I am also indebted to others who have been valuable conversation partners during my research and writing. In particular, I must mention my co-editor, Gawdat Gabra, and the other collaborators on this series: Mark Swanson, Magdi Girgis, Mike Shelley, and Nelly van Doorn-Harder.
Our conversations—by phone, over a cup of tea, or over a shared meal—have done much to sustain and encourage me, and I look forward to more fruitful work together in the future. In the later stages of writing and revision, Mark Swanson, Dale Martin, Bentley Layton, Paul Dilley, and Gawdat Gabra all read the entire manuscript and offered detailed comments and suggestions. The published form of this book has greatly benefited from their critical eye and scholarship. Finally, my students and colleagues at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo and at Yale University also deserve my special appreciation: they often provided fresh insights (or welcome distractions!) that kept my approach to this material from getting too stale. Of all these friends and colleagues, I want to single out my wife, Jenny, who continues to be my most cherished conversation partner in matters both personal and professional. Time and again, her skill as aproofreader and her patience as a “prooflistener” helped her husband through rocky patches in his pilgrimage with the Popes. This book is lovingly dedicated to her. Stephen J. Davis New Haven, Connecticut November 6, 2003
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