Department of Ancient Studies

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Browsing Department of Ancient Studies by Subject "Alexandria (Egypt) -- Religion"

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    Egyptian Christianity : an historical examination of the belief systems prevalent in Alexandria c.100 B.C.E. - 400 C.E. and their role in the shaping of early Christianity
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-03) Fogarty, Margaret Elizabeth; Cook, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis sets out to examine, as far as possible within the constraints of a limited study, the nature of the Christianity professed in the first centuries of the Common Era, by means of an historical examination of Egyptian Christianity. The thesis contends that the believers in Christ's teachings, in the first century, were predominantly Jewish, that "Christianity" did not exist as a developed separate religion until its first formal systematizations commenced in the second century, through the prolific writings of the Alexandrians, Clement and Origen. It is noted that the name "Christianity" itself was coined for the first time in the second century by Ignatius of Antioch; and that until the fourth century it is more accurate to speak of many Christianities in view of regional-cultural and interpretative differences where the religion took root. The study examines the main religions of the world in which the new religion began to establish itself, and against which it had to contend for its very survival. Many elements of these religions influenced the rituals and formulation of the new religion and are traced through ancient Egyptian religion, the Isis and Serapis cults, Judaism, Gnosticism and Hermeticism. Alexandria, as the intellectual matrix of the Graeco-Roman world, was the key centre in which the new religion was formally developed. The thesis argues, therefore, that despite the obscurity of earliest Christianity in view of the dearth of extant sources, the emergent religion was significantly Egyptian in formulation, legacy and influence in the world of Late Antiquity. It is argued, in conclusion, that the politics of the West in making Christianity the official religion of the empire, thus centring it henceforth in Rome, effectively effaced the Egyptian roots. In line with current major research into the earliest centuries of Christianity, the thesis contends that while Jerusalem was the spring of the new religion Alexandria, and Egypt as a whole, formed a vital tributary of the river of Christianity which was to flow through the whole world. It is argued that without the Egyptian branch, Christianity would have been a different phenomenon to what it later became. The legacy of Egyptian Christianity is not only of singular importance in the development of Christianity but, attracting as it does the continued interest of current researchers in the historical, papyrological and archaeological fields, it holds also considerable significance for the study of the history of religions in general, and Christianity in particular.