The Alexandrian Church: People and Institutions

499 Pages·2015·34.52 MB·English

by  Wipszycka

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!_ 1o .!J\ UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW
FACULTY OF LAW AND ADMINISTRATION
\ ~/ CHAIR OF ROMAN LAW AND THE LAW OF ANTIQUITY
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INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
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~ THERAPHAELTAUBENSCHLAG
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THE)OORNAL
OF JURISTIC
PAPYROLOGY
Supplements
SERIES EDITORS
TOMASZ DERDA
ADAM t.AJTAR
JAKUB URBANIK
VOLUMEXXV
THE ALEXANDRIAN
CHURCH
PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS
EWA WIPSZYCKA
WARSAW2015
The Journal ofJ uristic Papyrology Supplement Series is jointly published by the
Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, the Insti
tute of Archaeology of the University ofWa rsaw, and the Raphael Tauben
schlag Foundation, Krakowsk.ie Przedmiescie 26/28, 00-927 W arszawa 64
tel. [phone] and ([phone], fax: [phone]
e-mails: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]
web-page: <http://www.taubenschlagfoundation.pl>
Cover design by Maryna Wisniewska
DTP by Joanna Wegner
Scientific Editor: Joanna Wegner
© for the book by Ewa Wipszycka
and the Raphael Taubenschlag Foundation
W arszawa 2015
This publication has been published with financial
support from the University of Warsaw Foundation.
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Wydanie I
Druk i oprawa: Drukarnia Duo Studio, W arszawa
This book is offered to all oft ho!e
who meet on Thursdays at the T aubenschlag Libra_ry
oft he University of Warsaw,joyfully and to great effect
throwing themselves upon altar ofs cientific critique
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LISTS OF MAPS AND FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................... xm
ABBREVIATIONS .......................................... xv
PREFACE................................................. 3
Chapter One
SOURCES...................................................... 9
Church historians - 10. Historians of the Alexandrian Church - 22.
Normative texts - 27. Church archives of documents on papyrus - 34
(The archive ofA braham - 34. The archive ofP isentius - 37).
Chapter Two
THE ORIGINS OF MONARCHIC EPISCOPATE IN EGYPT....... 43
The bishops of Alexandria - 43, The bishops of Egypt - 60.
Chapter Three
THE GREAT PERSECUTION IN EGYPT:
NEW SOURCES, NEW HYPOTHESES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
New sources - 75. The beginnings of the Great Persecution: an
attempt at a reconstruction - 76. The number ofv ictims of the Great
Persecution in Egypt - 92. Appendix A: Chronology of the history of
Christian Egypt in the times of the Tetrarchy and Constantine - 95.
Appendix B: Victims of persecutions in Egypt according to Eusebius
VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 98. Appendix C: On the governor's jurisdiction during the Great
Persecution in Egypt - 99.
Chapter Four
THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH OF EGYPT AD 325-700:
AN OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter Five
THE EPISCOPAL ELECTIONS 127
Introduction - 127. The elections of bishops in the Egyptian chora
- 129. The elections of bishops in the Pentapolis - 146. The elec
tions of the patriarch and their rules - 149. Conflictual elections of
patriarchs - 154.
Chapter Six
CONSTANTINE'S POLICY TOWARDS THE CHURCH.
THE SUBVENTION FOR CLERGY, CHURCH-BUILDING
PROGRAMME, FISCAL PRIVILEGES ............................ 171
Chapter Seven
THEPAYROLLOFTHECLERGY ............................... 195
Chapter Eight
THE ECONOMY OF. THE ALEXANDRIAN PATRIARCHATE
IN THE LIVES OF JOHN THE ALMSGIVER ..................... 209
Chapter Nine
THE PEOPLE OF THE ALEXANDRIAN PATRIARCH ............ 237
Chapter Ten
THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA AND HIS BISHOPS ........ 271
Chapter Eleven
THE BISHOP AND HIS CLERGY ................................ 305
The ordination of clergy - 308. Requirements concerning the
members of the clergy - 321. Means of disciplinary punishment at
TABLE OF CONTENTS IX
the bishop's disposal - 324. The clerics' preparation to fulfil their
liturgical functions - 325. What do we know and what do we not
know about the liturgical service? - 327. The hierarchical order in
the clergy - 330. Appendix A: Chosen examples of churches in
Egyptian cities, towns, and villages - 335. Appendix B: Lighting of
the churches' interior (by Tomasz Gorecki) - 343.
Chapter Twelve
THE BISHOP'S PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITY ................... 349
Chapter Thirteen
THE CHURCH TREASURES OF BYZANTINE EGYPT ............ 365
Chapter Fourteen
CHURCHES IN A CITY:
THE CASE OF PTOLEMAIS IN CYRENAICA 377
Character of the basilicas of Ptolemais and interpretation of their
location in the city - 380. Buildings associated with the churches
-388.
FINAL REMARKS .............................................. 415
Appendix
ALEXANDRIAN BISHOPS FROM THE PATRIARCHATE
OF DEMETRIUS TO THE END OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY ... 439
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................... 441
Primary sources - 441 <M.ajor authors and works-441. Normative texts
- 444. Doctrinal, theological and liturgical writings - 445. Hagiography,
martyrdom accounts and synaxaria - 446. Epistolary works-448. Homi
lies and rhetorical works-448. Documantary sources-448. Otherworks-
449.) 2. Secondary sources - 450.
INDICES ...................................................... 467
1. Persons - 467. 2. Places - 473. 3. Modern scholars - 475. 4. Sub
jects - 479.
MAPS
Map 1. Egypt in the Byzantine period (drawn by Szymon Maslak) . . . . . . . . xv11
Map 2. Bishoprics in the Delta (drawn by Szymon Maslak) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Map 3. Bishoprics in in Upper Egypt (drawn by Szymon Maslak) . . . . . . . . . 65
Map 4. Bishoprics in in Cyrenaica (drawn by Szymon Maslak) . . . . . . . . . . . 67
FIGURES
Fig. 1. Basilica in Hermopolis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
(photograph courtesy of PCMA)
Fig. 2. Basilica in Hermopolis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
(plan courtesy of Peter Grossmann)
Fig. 3. Basilica in Hermonthis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
(plan courtesy of Peter Grossmann)
Fig. 4. Church in Medinet Habu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
(plan courtesy of Peter Grossmann)
Fig. 5. Church in Narmuthis ....................................... 340
(plan courtesy of Peter Grossmann)
Fig. 6. Church in Ain el-Gedida, Dakhla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
(plan courtesy of Nicola Aravecchia)
Fig. 7. Church in Ain el-Gedida, Dakhla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
(photograph courtesy of Nicola Aravecchia)
Fig. 8. Elements of lighting equipment of Egyptian churches - part 1 . . . . . 346
(drawn by Ewa Brykowska-Liniecka)
Fig. 9. Elements of lighting equipment of Egyptian churches - part 2 • . . • . 347
(drawn by Ewa Brykowska-Liniecka)
XII LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES
Fig. ro. Localisation of Christian monuments in Ptolemais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
(drawn by Wieslaw Malkowski; courtesy of the Institute
of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Fig. n. Aerial photograph of the area of the Central Basilica in Ptolemais 387
(taken by Miron Bogacki; courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology,
University of Warsaw)
Fig. 12. Plan pf the Western Basilica in Ptolemais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
(drawn by Jakub Kaniszewski; courtesy of the Institute
of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Fig. 13. Reconstruction of the Western Basilica in Ptolemais . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
(designed by Jakub Kaniszewski; courtesy of the Institute
of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Fig. 14. Cross-sections and plan of the Eastern Church at Apollonia . . . . . . 393
(after]. B. Ward-Perkins, R. G. Goodchild,]. Reynolds,
Christian Monuments ofC yrenaica, London 2003, p. 37)
Fig. 15. Plan of the Western Church at Apollonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
(after Ward-Perkins, Goodchild, Reynolds,
Christian Monuments ofC yrenaica, London 2003, p. 86)
Fig. 16. Plan of the fore-complex of the Western Church at Apollonia . . . . 395
(after Ward-Perkins, Goodchild, Reynolds,
Christian Monuments ofC yrenaica, London 2003, p. 87)
Fig. 17. Plan of the Eastern Church at Taucheira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
(after Ward-Perkins, Goodchild, Reynolds,
Christian Monuments ofC yrenaica, London 2003, p. 204)
Fig. 18. Plan of the bishop's complex at Gerasa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
(after]. Lassus, Sanctuaires chritiens de Syrie: Essai sur la genese,
la forme et !'usage liturgique des edifices du culte chritien en Syrie,
a
du III' s. la conquete musulmane, Paris 1947, fig. 18)
Fig. 19. Plan of the Central Basilica at Ptolemais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
(drawn by Wieslaw Malkowski, based on the results
of geo-magnetic research conducted by Krzysztof Misiewicz;
courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
T
HE FACT THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE worked on the translation of this
book aroused vivid anxiety in my colleagues directing the JJurP Sup
plements series. A native speaker was needed to standardise the whole text
and to point out stylistic and grammatical deficiencies. Having failed to
find such a person in our own circle, Tomasz Derda asked Roger Bagnall
to suggest a person able to carry out the editorial work. To our utmost
surprise and delight Bagnall himself undertook the task and accom
plished it wi~h his usual proficiency. He was a careful and competent
reader. In the summer of 2014 I received back my chapters from him
with various suggestions, in which I found criticism of some of my ideas,
but also remarks made in the margins during the reading. With Bagnall's
consent I inserted his observations into my text, as they often contained
information and interpretations extending beyond my own knowledge
and skills.
Therefore, the book owes a lot to this friendly service. However,
should the readers find any formal shortcomings in the text, they ought
to remember that after Bagnall's reading I made my own amendments ,
following Bagnall's suggestions, and taking into consideration the works
I read during the months of autumn. It is possible I may have blundered
in the process.
When at last I started working on the final version of this book: col
lating and correcting the translations, editing the text, finding and elimi-