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The Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa Christianity In This article was downloaded by: 10.3.98.104 On: 30 Sep 2021 Access details: subscription number Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG, UK The Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa Elias Kifon Bongmba Christianity in Egypt Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315890012.ch2 Youhanna Nessim Youssef Published online on: 21 Dec 2015 How to cite :- Youhanna Nessim Youssef. 21 Dec 2015, Christianity in Egypt from: The Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa Routledge Accessed on: 30 Sep 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315890012.ch2 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DOCUMENT Full terms and conditions of use: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/legal-notices/terms This Document PDF may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproductions, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. 2 Christianity in Egypt The Coptic Church Youhanna Nessim Youssef The word “Copt” originated from the Greek word “Aigyptius,”“Egyptian” which is the name of the sanctuary near Memphis “Het-Ka-Ptah,”“The dwelling of the ‘Ghost’(ka) of Ptah” and was disfigured by the Arabs to “Copt.” Nowa- days, for a visitor to the Middle East, the word “Coptic” may signify a lot of meanings – like Christian Egyptians, mostly Orthodox – but there is a minority of Catholics and Protestants, or Christian Nubians from the seventh to eleventh centuries or Ethiopians living in Abyssinia. This word is used 1 To designate a people a Exclusively, the population of Egypt (nearly 100% Christian before the Arab conquest –641 AD). b The Christian Egyptian today a minority – from the Arab Conquest till today. 2 To designate an activity (professions, language, creed, art, etc.) a In a narrow meaning, the activities of this population and then the Christians minority in Egypt. b In a wider meaning, the activities of the pagan compatriots which are common such as language, art, craft, etc. c In the largest meaning, the religious activities of this population or this minority hence the dogma, ecclesiastic hierarchy and liturgy of Ethiopian Christians. 3 To designate a historical period a In a narrow sense, Christian. b In a wider sense, pagan and Christian from the third to seventh centuries. Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 20:52 30 Sep 2021; For: 9781315890012, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315890012.ch2 45 Y.N. YOUSSEF The language is common between pagans and Christians from the third to seventh century and became the usage of the Christian minority after the Arab Conquest. The same could be applied for art and other activities. The beginnings of Christianity in Egypt According to the Gospel of Matthew, Christ and the Holy Family came to Egypt fleeing from Herod (Matthew 2:15). It is the only country where Christ lived other than Palestine. The Pentecost account in the Book of Acts mentions among the devout Jews in Jerusalem in attendance at Peter’s sermon persons from “Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene” (Acts 2:10). The disputants in the controversy with the “Hellenist” protomartyr Stephen included Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria (Acts 6:9). A hint of the existence of a Christian community in Egypt in the middle of the first century of our era is provided by the story of Apollos, one of Paul’s co-workers in Ephesus and Corinth (Acts 18:24). According to tradition, the Egyptian church was founded by Saint Mark the Evangelist. A fragmentary letter of Clement of Alexandria (second century) mentioned that Mark wrote his Gospel during Peter’s sojourn in Rome, and after Peter’s martyrdom he came to Alexandria. Eusebius, in his Church History, stated that it is said that this Mark was first to be sent to preach in Egypt. By the end of the second century, extant documentary papyri testify to the presence of Christians in Egypt – some of these fragments were found in Middle Egypt, which reflects the expansion of Christianity along the river valley. The Church in Egypt before Constantine During the second and third centuries the history of the Coptic/Egyptian church is characterised by the School of Alexandria, the martyrs and Gnosticism. Alexandria by the second century was a vital economic and commercial centre located as it was at the junction of the great maritime and land route connecting Europe to Africa and Asia. It also had a cultural role and was known as a seat of learning, which cannot be exaggerated. It was ranked as the second most important city in the Empire after the capital, Rome. Among the great fathers of this school we can mention Clement of Alexandria who was born of pagan parents around 150 AD at Athenes; he became Christian and settled at Alexandria as a disciple of Pantaenus. In the persecution of 202 AD he was forced to flee to Palestine, and in 211 AD he was still there, assisting in the work of the church of Jerusalem. His three main works were the Protrepticos Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 20:52 30 Sep 2021; For: 9781315890012, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315890012.ch2 46 CHRISTIANITY IN EGYPT (“Exhortation to Conversion”), the Paedagogus (“The Tutor”), and the Stromateis (“Miscellanies”). Origen (185–255 AD) was one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, and certainly among the greatest of Egyptian Christians. He was born of Christian parents at Alexandria and probably died at Tyre. In 202 his father, Leonidas, was martyred in the persecution under Emperor Septimius Severus. In the year 231 AD he found himself in conflict with Demetrius I (189–231), the bishop of Alexandria. In 249 AD he is said to have been imprisoned and tortured as a confessor during the persecution of Emperor Decius. He probably moved to Tyre about two years before his death. Though Origen started writing late in his life, his output was enormous. Much of it survives in the original Greek, and even more in Latin translations made during the two centuries after his death, some by Rufinus and Jerome. Origen is decidedly the most prolific author of all time. He was condemned by Justinian in 543 AD as a heretic, as confirmed by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 AD. Thirteen ancient papyrus containing Gnosticism codices translated from Greek into Coptic were accidentally discovered in December 1945 by farmers in Upper Egypt near Nag-Hammadi. The Nag Hammadi codices contain fifty-one texts. Some of these are copies or variant versions of other texts in the collec- tion, so that there are actually only forty-five distinct works, thirty-six of which were previously unknown in any form. The codices include several works: Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles; Allogenes; Apocalypse of Adam; Apocalypse of James, First; Apocalypse of James, Second; Apocalypse of Paul; Apocalypse of Peter; Apocryphon of James; Apocryphon of John; Asclepius 21–29; Authentikos Logos; Book of Thomas the Contender; Concept of Our Great Power; Dialogue of the Savior; Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth; Eugnostos the Blessed and Sophia of Jesus Christ; Exegesis on the Soul; Gospel of Philip; Gospel of the Egyptians; Gospel of Thomas; Gospel of Truth; Hypostasis of the Archons; Hypsiphrone; Interpretation of Knowledge; Letter of Philip; Melchizedek; On the Origin of the World; Paraphrase of Shem; Plato’s Republic; Prayer of Thanksgiving; Prayer of the Apostle Paul; Second Treatise of the Great Seth; Sentences of Sextus; Teachings of Silvanius; Three Steles of Seth; Thunder; Perfect Mind; Treatise on the Res- urrection; Trimorphic Protennoia; Tripartite Tractate; Valentinian Exposition; Zostrianus. Among the heresies that were spread in Egypt, in the third century, Manichaeism played a prominent role. In the Roman Empire it suffered severe persecution soon after its emergence and, indeed, was regarded as a concentration of all heresies. Reflecting the number of cultures and peoples among whom it was proclaimed, the tradition has come down to us in many languages: Latin, Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Uigur, Tocharian, and Chinese. Mani (Manichaios, from Mani hajja, the living Mani) came from the Babylonian part of the Iranian empire. He was born on 14 April 216 AD. His father, Pattek, Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 20:52 30 Sep 2021; For: 9781315890012, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315890012.ch2 47 Y.N. YOUSSEF had become a member of the Jewish-Christian Gnostic sect of the Elkasites. Mani received two revelations, the first at the age of twelve and the second at twenty-four. When the Sassanid Ardashir I overthrew the Arsacids in Iran, Mani went to India. He returned under King Shapur I and won his favor, since the king wished to restore the Achaemenian Empire and saw in Mani’s syncretistic religion a common religion that could bind to his empire the regions of the eastern Mediterranean that he wanted to wrest from Rome. Mani prospered under Shapur’s successor Hormizd I (273–274 AD); but when Bahram I (274–276/277 AD) came to the throne in 274 AD, Mani was thrown into prison at the instigation of the Magi, and died after twenty-six days in custody. The year of his death is disputed (276/277 AD).
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