The early Coptic papacy : the Egyptian church and its leadership in late antiquity / Stephen J. Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Stephen J.

Series:

Popes of Egypt ; vol. 1.

Popes of Egypt ; vol. 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Coptic Church--History.

Coptic Church.

History.

Christianity--Egypt--History.

Christianity.

Coptic fathers of the church.

Coptic Christian saints.

Coptic monasticism and religious orders.

Egypt.

Physical Description:

xvii, 251 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cairo ; New York : American University in Cairo Press, [2004]

Summary:

The Copts today represent the largest Christian community in the Middle East, and their presiding bishops have been accorded the title of pope since the third century A.D. This major new three-volume study of the popes of Egypt covers the history of the Alexandrian patriarchate from its origins to the present-day leadership of Pope Shenouda III. The first volume analyzes 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 addressing such questions, Stephen J. Davis examines a wide range of evidence to discover what the patriarchs did as leaders, how their leadership was represented in public discourses, and how those representations definitively shaped the Egyptian Christian identity in late antiquity.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-180) and index.

ISBN:

9774248309

OCLC:

57536284