Coptic Christology in Practice: Incarnation and Divine Participation in Late Antique and Medieval Egypt (Oxford Early Christian Studies)

390 Pages·2008·2.72 MB·English

by  Stephen J. Davis

OXFORD EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES
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Coptic Christology
in Practice
Incarnation and Divine Participation
in Late Antique and Medieval Egypt
STEPHEN J. DAVIS
1
3
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Preface
Throughoutitslonghistory,thechurchinEgypthasbeenhometoadynamic,
multi-sensorytraditionofreXectiononthepersonandworkofJesusChrist.In
thesecondcentury,ClementofAlexandriaspeaksofChrist,thedivineWord,as
a‘NewSong’thathas‘manytonesofvoice,andmanymethodsforthesalvation
of humankind’.1 In an early Wfth-century sermon, Theophilus of Alexandria
callsChrist’sbodyintheeucharist‘thefruitofobediencethatwardsoVtheevil
of the terrible one’, and repeatedly exhorts his listeners to ‘taste and see that
I,theLord,amgood’.2Agenerationlater,CyrilofAlexandriausesthemetaphor
ofaXoweranditsaromaticfragrancetodescribetherelationofthedivineand
the human in the person of Christ.3 For other Copts in late antiquity—from
Coptic-speaking pilgrims to the increasingly Arabized theological elite—the
powerful touch of Christ’s hand in the Gospels and in local traditions about
theHolyFamily’sXightintoEgyptwasseenastangibleevidenceforhisdivine
powerandlordship.Finally,inantiquityaswellastoday,fromtheUpperNile
ValleytothemodernCopticdiasporainEuropeandNorthAmerica,Egyptian
Christians have worshipped in churches and monasteries where their eyes
gaze on images from the life of Christ—images woven into textile hangings,
carved into limestone and marble reliefs, and painted on wooden icons and
plasteredwalls.
As seen in these examples, the history of Egyptian Christology cannot be
traced merely through an examination of systematic rubrics in theological
treatises: also required is a keen sensitivity to diVerent social and linguistic
contexts, to diVerent media and metaphors of communication. The aim of
thisbookistonarratesomeofthecontoursofthishistory.Whilemyprimary
focuswillbeonlateantiqueandmedievalEgyptianChristology—especiallythe
waysthatCopticChristiansrepresented(andworshipped)ChristfromtheWfth
1 ClementofAlexandria,prot.1.7.3and1.8.3(Sta¨hlinandTreu,7and8).Forarecent
discussionofClement’smusicologyanditsrelationtohisChristology,seeCharlesH.Cosgrove,
‘ClementofAlexandriaandEarlyChristianMusic’,276–81.
2 Theophilus,HomilyontheInstitutionoftheEucharist(PG77:1016–29);seeG.W.H.Lampe,A
PatristicGreekLexicon,xxiii(underCyrillusAlexandrinus).ThishomilywasattributedtoCyrilof
Alexandria(hom.div.10),butM.Richard(‘Unehome´liedeThe´ophiled’Alexandrie’,46–56)has
arguedthatTheophiluswastheactualauthor,onthebasisofcloseparallelswiththeanti-Origenist
polemicfoundinhisfestalletterof401.
3 Cyril of Alexandria, schol. inc. 10 (PG 75. 1380); also Jo. 11. 2 (Pusey, i. 639); and
L.R.Wickham,‘SymbolsoftheIncarnationinCyrilofAlexandria’,46.
vi Preface
to the thirteenth century—I plan to use my introduction and conclusion to
situatethismaterialwithinanevenlongerhistoryofchristologicalreXectionand
interpretation.
Thus,IbeginmystudywithanextendedintroductiontoearlyAlexandrian
GreekChristologyinlateantiquity,inordertolaythegroundworkforshowing
howearlyAlexandrianwritingsservedasaninterpretativebasisforlaterEgyp-
tiandiscourse(bothverbalandvisual)aboutChrist.Buildingonthis,Chs.1–4
explore the way that this Alexandrian Christology was contextualized in the
teachings and ritual practices of Coptic-speaking communities in the Nile
Valley. Here,I guidethe readeronavirtualtourof variousritualizedsitesfor
thetransmissionofchristologicalknowledgeandpraxis,withspecialattention
tothemonasticliteratureofShenouteandtheWhiteMonastery(Ch.1),Coptic
liturgy (Ch. 2), processional and pilgrimage practices (Ch. 3), and the role of
Coptic visual art in the christological construction of human bodies and
church space (Ch. 4). Finally, in my last two chapters, I examine the early
Arabization of Egyptian Christology in the tenth-century writings of Sa¯w¯ırus
ibn al-MuqaVa# (Ch. 5) and the continued Arabic Christian reception of
Alexandrian Greek Christology into the thirteenth century (Ch. 6). Thus,
my story formally ends with the Copto-Arabic ‘Golden Age,’ a Xourishing
oftheologicalliteraryexpressionthattookplaceinthecontextofChristian–
Muslim cultural encounter. In my postscript, however, I provide the reader
with something of an epilogue to this tale—a few select glimpses into how
Coptic christological reXection and practice has continued into the modern
period,inthewritingsofsuchWguresasPatriarchMatthewIV(17thcentury),
Matta¯ al-Misk¯ın and his fellow monks at the Monastery of Saint Macarius
(20th–21stcentury),andPopeShenoudaIII(20th–21stcentury).
In tracing this history, my intention is not to provide a comprehensive
accountoftwomillenniaofEgyptianreXectiononthepersonandroleofChrist.
NordoIaspiretoprovideanencyclopedictreatmentofeachWgureorworkthat
I discuss inthisbook. Such anapproach to thistopicwould require multiple
volumes,anundertakingthatlieswellbeyondthescopeofthisstudy.Instead,
Iintendtopresentaseriesofvignettes,orillustrativecasestudies,thatwillshed
lightontwoparticularaspectsoftheEgyptianchristologicaltradition:(1)the
doctrine of the Incarnation (i.e. the divine Word’s act of becoming Xesh in
Christ), and (2) its implications for human salvation—especially notions
of human participation in the divine, sometimes described by Alexandrian
patristic theologians in terms of human deiWcation. How have Christians in
Egypt understood the union of the divine and the human in the person of
Christ? In what terms have they addressed the problem of embodiment as it
relatestothedivineWord?HowhaveChristiansinEgyptunderstoodtheactof
Incarnationitselftoberelatedtohumansalvation?Whatwereitsconsequences
Preface vii
for human nature, and more speciWcally, what were its eVects on the human
condition of embodiment? How have Egyptian Christians understood the
Incarnation to enable human participation in divine or heavenly realities? In
what ways have such christological beliefs been enacted in the life of local
communities?
In order to answer such questions, I seek to analyse Coptic Christology
from an interdisciplinary perspective. If one wants to understand how the
doctrineoftheIncarnationfunctioned—how notionsofhumanparticipation
in the Incarnation were lived out in the life of Egyptian communities—it is
necessarytofocusnotsimplyonthetraditionalliterarysourcesforhistoriesof
doctrine(i.e.theologicaltreatisesandletters),butalsoonothernon-traditional
sources. I have in mind here monastic, hagiographical, homiletical, and litur-
gical texts, as well as visual art—alternative media that provide the historian
with more direct access to church practices intimately tied to christological
reXection.Inusingthisrangeanddiversityofsources,oneofmygoalsistobreak
down(oratleastdestabilize)thecustomarymethodologicaldividebetweenthe
disciplines of historical theology and social history. In the end, my goal is to
provide a more textured description of how the history of doctrine may be
fruitfullyrelatedtoahistoryofreligiouspractice.
Thisbook,therefore,seekstoforgeanewpathinthestudyofearlyChristian
Christology.Inadditiontothewell-triedapproachesofhistoricaltheologians,
Iwill draw on the Welds of social history, discourse theory, ritual studies, and
thevisualartsinorder toshowhowChristianidentitywasshapedbyasetof
replicable christological practices. How exactly did Egyptian Christians repre-
sent—and ritually enact—their beliefs about Christ in monastic liturgy,
inpilgrimage,andinthevisualproductionofsacredspace?Inwhatwayswere
such christologicalpracticescontested—i.e.shapedby theologicalcontroversy
and inter-religious debate? Egypt provides an ideal geographical setting for
the exploration of these questions: not only is it rich in ancient Christian
documentation, but it is also a place where the survival of the Coptic church
undermedievalIslamicruleallowsforadiachronicstudyofliteraryandmaterial
sourcesacrossperiodsoflinguisticchange—fromGreek,toCoptic,andeven-
tuallyintoArabic.Asasocialhistorianoflateantiquitytrainedintheology,Iam
keenlyinterestedininvestigatinghowtheCopticchurchnegotiatedthecultural
transitionfromlateantiquitytoDaral-Islambothinthoughtandinpractice.
Oneofthechallengesinattemptingtowriteabookthatspanshundredsof
years is the need to give adequate account of both discontinuities and
continuitiesoversuchalongperiod.Byorganizingmychaptersasacollection
of vignettes or case studies, I try to convey something of the distinctiveness
(or contextualization) of the Christologies produced by individuals and
communities living in diVerent eras and locales. At the same time, however,
viii Preface
Ialso point to certain diachroniccontinuities in the production of Egyptian
Christology. To this end, I have chosen to highlight three key factors that
deWnitively marked the way that early Alexandrian understandings of the
Incarnationwerereceivedand‘traditioned’acrosssubsequentgenerationsin
Egypt:(1)theinterpretationofbiblicaltextsandpatristicauthorities,(2)the
productionofapologeticalliteratureinthecontextoftheologicalcontroversy,
and (3) worship and other ritual activities that functioned as privileged
venues for christological communication and performance. These three
themes—interpretation, apologetics, and especially ritual practice—serve as
consistentpointsforconversationthroughoutthisbookasIseektoshowhow
EgyptianimagesoftheIncarnationwerevariouslyreappropriated,contested,
andenactedinthelifeofthechurch.
Acknowledgements
TherootsofCopticChristologyinPracticetracebackjustoverhalfadecadeto
the autumn of 2001, when the editors at Oxford University Press prompted
metosubmitaproposalforanew bookthatwouldallow metoexplorethe
receptionofAlexandrianpatristictheologyinlaterCopticandCopto-Arabic
literature, material culture, and ritual practice. Little did I know at the time
howmanypeoplewouldserveasindispensablecompanionsandguidesover
the course of my research and writing. Here, I am very pleased to have the
opportunity to express myheartfelt thanks to all those who helped facilitate
this work and who have so often steered me around hazards and missteps
alongtheway.
IwanttobeginbyexpressingmygratitudetoAndrewLouth,GillianClark,
and the other editors at OUP—Hilary O’Shea, Lucy Qureshi, Tom Perridge,
GeorgiaBerry,AliceJacobsandSylviaJaVrey—fortheconWdencetheyinvested
inmeandfortheirexcellentworkinshepherdingthisprojectfromitsbeginning
to its completion. In addition, I have also beneWted from the critical eye of
severalcolleagueswhotooktimefromtheirbusyschedulestoreadmymanu-
scriptandoVeradviceonspeciWcpoints.Threedeservespecialmention.First,
BentleyLayton,asalways,hasbeenmy mosttrustedscholarly mentor,friend,
and advocate. Once again his unfailingly detailed and insightful comments
have enhanced my work in innumerable ways. Second, Mark Swanson has
demonstrated a deep reservoir of patience in Welding an array of questions
aboutArabicChristianliteraturebyemail,overthephone,andwhilerooming
withmeatconferences.Withouthisguidance,Iwouldsurelyhavelostmywayas
I tried to develop a workable basis of expertise in that Weld. Third, Stephen
Emmel (along with his wife Barbara), has shown incredible generosity to me
and my family during my Humboldt fellowship year in Mu¨nster, Germany.
Stephenprovedtobeanexemplaryhostandinvaluableconversationpartnerin
Coptic studies during the Wnal stages of my writing. Among the others who
oVered feedback on my text, I particularly want to thank Warren Smith for
histhoughtful advice regarding my treatment of Alexandrian Greek theology,
as well as Janet Timbie for her knowledgeable comments related to Coptic
languageandliterature.
ManyotherpersonsandinstitutionshavealsooVeredintellectual,emotional,
and material support to me over the course of my research and writing. This
projectbeganwhileIwasprofessorattheEvangelicalTheologicalSeminaryin
Cairo, and I must thank in particular the seminary president Atef Mehanny