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The Rose+Croix Journal 2004 Volume 1 Page 10 www.rosecroixjournal.org

THE FIRST GENERATION OF MANICHANS AND OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE EGYPTIAN

DESERTS: METHODOLOGY, THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE, AND CONCLUSIONS

Steven A. Armstrong, Ph.D. (Cand)

Research Librarian, Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, CA USA

Abstract:

Three steps are necessary for a study of the presence of possible Manichan influence on the firstgeneration of monastic and eremitical life of what is commonly known as the Coptic Orthodox tradition,and to study the interactions of Manichans with Coptic Orthodox, Origenists, Meletians and others:

(1) Show the availability of Manichan materials, teachers or communities, temporally,geographically and culturally, to the Egyptian desert communities and hermits. This would, ineffect, be a Manichan prosopography.(2) Show evidence of actual contacts between Manichans, "Orthodox" Christian ascetics, andothers.

(3) Discover in the texts of theApophthegmata Patrum(The Sayings of the Desert Fathers)evidence of Manichan themes, images, etc. This would require distinguishing actual andverifiable Manichan literature and theology from that claimed by heresiologists, without othersubstantiation.

The current study considers the evidence available for each of the areas above, and makes a judgment asto the probability of the thesis: The relationship of the Manichans to the "Orthodox" appears to havebeen substantially different than that between the "Orthodox" and other groups. There is evidence ofoccasional cooperation between Coptic Orthodox, Meletian and Origenist ascetics, but as yet no evidenceof a cooperative connection between Manichans and these other groups, although emerging textualevidence from new finds will be helpful in seeking literary and spiritual connections in future research.

La Premire Gnration De Manichens et Autres Communauts Dans les Dserts Egyptiens:Mthodes de Recherche, lEvidence Disponible et les Conclusions

Steven A. Armstrong, Ph.D. (Cand)Bibliothcaire de Recherche, Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, CA USA

Sommaire:

Ltude de la prsence ventuelle dune influence manichenne sur la premire gnration de viemonastique et rmitique de ce que lon appelle communment la tradition Copte Orthodoxe ainsi queltude des interactions entre les Manichens et les Coptes Orthodoxes, Origenistes, Mltienset autres, demande trois tapes:

(1) Montrer la prsence dcrits, de matres ou de communauts associes dans le temps,

gographiquement et culturellement avec les communauts et les ermites du dsert Egyptien.Ceci en effet serait une prosopographie Manichenne.(2) Montrer lvidence de contacts rels entre Manichens, asctes orthodoxes chrtiens et autres.(3) Dcouvrir dans les textes duApophthegmata Patrum(Les Paroles des Pres du Dsert) vidence

des thmes et des images Manichennes. Ceci demanderait de faire la distinction prcise etvrifiable entre la littrature et la thologie Manichennes et ce que les partisans des hrsiessupportent sans autre justification.

Cette tude considre lvidence disponible dans chacun des thmes ci-dessus et fait un jugement quant a


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la probabilit de la thse suivante : les rapports entre les Manichens et les Orthodoxes semblent tretrs diffrents des rapports entre les Orthodoxes et dautres groupes. Il existe des preuves decoopration occasionnelle entre les Manichens et ces autres groupes, bien que de nouvelles recherchesen matire de textes doivent tre entames dans le futur pour prouver les connections, tant littraires quespirituelles.

La Primera Generacin de Maniqueos y Otras Comunidades en los Desiertos Egipcios:

Metodologa, la Existente Evidencia, y Conclusiones

Steven A. Armstrong, Ph.D. (Cand)Bibliotecario Investigador, Parque Rosacruz, San Jos, CA EUA

Resumen:

Se requieren tres pasos para estudiar la presencia de la posible influencia Maniquea sobre la primerageneracin de la vida monstica y eremita de la que es comnmente conocida como la tradicin CpticaOrtodoxa, y para estudiar las interacciones de los Maniqueos con los Cpticos Ortodoxos, los Origenistas,

los Melesianos y otros:(1) Mostrar la accesibilidad - temporal, geogrfica y cultural - de maestros, de comunidades, o demateriales Maniqueos para las comunidades desrticas de Egipto y para los ermitaos. sto enefecto sera una prosopografa Maniquea.(2) Mostrar evidencia de actuales contactos entre los Maniqueos, los Cristianos Ortodoxosascticos y otros.(3) Descubrir en los textos de laApophthegmata Patrum (Los Aforismos de los Padres delDesierto)evidencias Maniqueas de temas, imgenes, etc.. Esto requerira la actual y verificabledistincin entre la literatura y la teologa Maniquea y lo que dicen los heresilogos, sin ningunaotra substantacin.

El artculo considera la evidencia disponible para cada una de las reas indicadas, y expone una opininsobre la probabilidad de la tsis. La relacin de los Maniqueos a los Ortodoxos parece haber sido

substancialmente diferente a la de aquella entre los Ortodoxos y otros grupos. Hay evidencia decooperacin ocasional entre los Ortodoxos Cpticos, los Melesianos y los ascticos Origenistas, pero aunno existe evidencia de una conexin cooperativa entre los Maniqueos y estos otros grupos, aun cuandouna emergente evidencia textual de nuevos descubrimientos ser de ayuda en la bsqueda de conexionesliterarias y espirituales en futuras investigaciones.

A Primeira Gerao de Maniqueus e de Outras Comunidades nos Desertos Egipcios: Metodologia,

a Evidncia Disponvel, e Concluses

Steven A. Armstrong, Ph.D. (Cand)Bibliotecrio De Pesquisa, Parque Rosacruz, San Jos, CA EUA

Sumrio:Trs etapas so necessrias para um estudo da presena da possvel influncia Maniqueia na primeiragerao da vida monastica e eremitica, a qual geralmente conhecida como a tradio Coptica ortodoxa,e para o estudo das interaes dos Maniqueus com os coptico ortodoxos, Origenistas, Melecianos eoutros:

(1) mostrar a disponibilidade dos materiais Maniqueus, professores ou comunidades, temporal,


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cultural e geogrficamente, para os eremitas e comunidades do deserto egipcio. Isto, de fato, seriauma prosopografia Maniqueia.(2) mostrar a evidncia de contatos reais entre Maniqueus, Asceticos Cristos Ortodoxos, eoutros.(3) descobrir nos textos deApophthegmata Patrum(os provrbios dos pais do deserto)a

evidncia de temas, imagens, etc. dos Maniqueus. Isto requereria a real distino e verificao daliteratura e teologia Maniqueia do que aqueles reivindicados por heresiologistas, sem outraconstatao.

O estudo atual considera a evidncia disponvel para cada uma das reas acima, e faz um julgamento arespeito da probabilidade da tese: O relacionamento dos Maniqueus com os "Ortodoxos" parece ter sidosubstancialmente diferente daquele entre os "Ortodoxos" e outros grupos. H uma evidncia dacooperao ocasional entre coptico ortodoxos, Melecianos e dos asceticos Origenistas, mas ainda no haevidncia de uma conexo cooperativa entre Maniqueus e estes outros grupos, embora a evidncia textualemergente dos novos descobrimentos seja til em procurar conexes literrias e espirituais na pesquisafutura.

Die Erste Generation Der Manicher und Anderer Gemeinden in Den Aegyptischen Wuesten:Methodik, Das Verfuegbare Beweissmaterial, und Schlussfolgerungen

Steven A. Armstrong, Ph.D. (Cand)Bibliothekar, Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, CA USA

Uebersicht:

Eine Untersuchung des Vorhandenseins eines moeglichen manechistischen Einflusses in der erstenGeneration des kloesterlichen und eremitischen Lebens der sogenannten koptischen orthodoxen Traditionund der Wechselwirkung der Manicher mit koptisch Orthodoxen, Origenisten, Meletianern undAnderen, muss in drei Stufen geschehen:

(1) Darlegung der Verfuegbarkeit des manichischen Beweissmaterials, der Lehrer oder

Gemeinden; zeitlich, oertlich geographisch und kultuerell mit Bezug auf aegyptischeWuestengemeinden und Eremiten. Dies wuerde, sozusagen, eine manichische Prosopography.(2) Darlegung des Beweissmaterials tatsaechlicher Kontakte zwischen Manichern,orthodoxen christlichen Asketen und Anderen.(3) Entdeckung in den Texten derApophthegmata Patrum (The Sprueche der Wuestenvaeter),Beweissmaterial manichischer Themen, Abbildungen etc. Dies wuerde ein Unterscheidenvoraussetzen von tatsaechlicher und beweisbarer manichischer Literatur und Theologie, undSolcher die nur aus den Aussagen von Herisiologen besteht, und daher nicht als ueberzeugendgelten kann.

Die vorliegende Untersuchung zieht alle der oben beschriebenen, vorhandenen Beweismaterialien inBetracht und beurteilt die Wahrscheinlichkeit der folgenden These: Die Beziehungen der Manicher zuden Orthodoxen scheint im grossen Masse anders gewesen zu sein als die Beziehung der Orthodoxen

zu anderen Gruppen. Es giebt Anhaltspunkte fuer gelegentliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen Koptisch-Orthodoxen, Meletianischen und Origenistischen Asketen, doch gibt es bis heute noch keinBeweismaterial eines kooperativen Zusammenhangs zwischen Manechern und anderen Gruppen.Dennoch duerften Ergebnisse neuer Forschungen zu weiteren literarischen und spirituellenZusammenhaengen fuehren.


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interpretation of Athanasius of Alexandria, and indeed of the whole of the Orthodox party ofancient Christianity, underwent a considerable change with the seminal work of Walter Bauer inthe 1930s, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity. Bauer argues forcefully that thereceived traditional picture of an Orthodox Ur-Christianity beset by diabolically inspiredheresies is an inaccurate and confessionally-biased view of the reality of the first severalcenturies of the Christian era. Ultimately this view, he contends, is a creation of Rome, whichfinds political and religious advantage in such a stance.5

Deconstructionists and other scholars today might see in Bauers thesis itself a hint ofconfessionalism (or at least trace some of the motivations for his viewpoint) in his EvangelicalProtestant Christianity, since the Reformation was at odds with Roman Catholicism on severalfronts. Nevertheless, theBauer-thesishad profound effects in the scholarship of the followingdecades. His lively defense of the heretics as other forms of early Christianity was theinspiration for much of the rethinking in historical theology of the early period throughout the20th Century. Indeed, this approach is not new: for example, some Baptist Christians, as well asUnitarian Universalists officially trace their history back to persecuted individuals and groups inthe first centuries of Christianity. Other mystical, esoteric and fraternal groups have establishedtheir historical lineage in an analogous fashion.

Coupled with the trend toward the emergence in the late 20th Century of many groupspreviously excluded from significant societal power in western society (e.g. Women, non-Europeans, et al.), this re-evaluation was both scholarly and culturally popular, and it bore muchgood fruit. Apostolic, Sub-Apostolic and Patristic era texts were reexamined with the tools ofliterary analysis (historical-critical, genre-critical, etc.) as well as those of archology, and thesocial sciences. The view that late antiquity was a rich and complex world into which manydiffering interpretations of Christ and the Christian message flourished, is by now wellestablished.

This scholarly understanding of the diversity of understandings of Christ and his mission

contrasts rather sharply with the trend in North American popular culture during the second halfof the 20thCentury and the beginning of the 21st. Increasingly rigid orthodoxies in literature, filmand preaching popularize approaches to both Christology and Church history which do not seemto accept the evolutionary nature of ecclesial life and doctrine, or its early and foundationaldiversity.6The phenomenon of fundamentalism is now receiving increased academic attention,using the tools of textual analysis, anthropology, sociology and history of religions.7

In the process of this 70-year re-evaluation since Walter Bauer, several significant thingshave emerged. Hagiographic figures such as Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria have been re-assessed as political and cultural leaders as well as Churchmen. Since Saints were associatedwith Orthodoxy, it was common (as in the case of these two Alexandrian Popes) that thepolitical motivations of early figures were seen as tarnishing their halos.

In the most careful academic circles, Church-History data are now analyzed with thesame rigor as non-ecclesiastical materials (by analogy with modern literary and scripturalstudies). This has led to a clearer picture of the first four centuries of the Christian era, in whichindeed many versions of Christian belief and practice competed in the marketplace ofMediterranean religions.8

By the early 21stCentury, however, the very Historical-Critical methods Bauer employs,



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of using all the literary and social science tools available to analyze early Christianity, haveresulted in yet another re-thinking of his thesis. If Orthodoxy (or the vector towardOrthodoxy) was indeed just one of a number of competing versions of Christianity, how did itwin out?

At first, the culturally based presumption that triumphant Orthodoxy must have beenthe party favored by the Rome-Constantinople Imperial government is one possibility. Groupswith governmental and military power backing often win. Indeed, some have argued for thisposition during the 20th Century, and it is fairly widely accepted.

Yet the same careful analysis of politics, sociology, etc. which Bauer began, influencedby the natural sciences, makes it clear that the Roman-Byzantine government often backed theun-Orthodox side, and that the Arians, Monothelites and other heretical parties often heldthe majority political and military power in the Empire, at least for a time.

The Egyptian world offers an excellent example in Athanasius. Outnumbered andpersecuted, his anti-Arian Trinitarian theological viewpoint eventually won the day. Theemergence of The Orthodox Tradition (which nowadays, even in western textbooks, includesthe ancient Eastern Christian Traditions both inside the Roman-Byzantine Empire andexternal to it) is still a bit of a puzzle, but at least is no longer understood as a facile triumph of agovernment-military-religious complex.

While it may be true that forms of Church-State interaction eventually dominate much ofsubsequent Christian history, in these formative stages, the outcome of each controversy does notseem to be solely dependent on political and military strategies and influence. No clearconclusions are yet available to early 21st Century scholars.

The investigation of the emergence of Orthodoxy must employ textual criticism(linguistic, paleographic, etc), the social sciences, prosopography, demographics, and severalkinds of hermeneutics. Of these fields, prosopography and hermeneutics have recently come tothe fore as important tools.9

The prosopographical work that Franois Decret has done for Roman North Africa in the4thand 5thCenturies gives a good idea of the necessary methodology for Roman Egypt. InLAfrique Manichenne10he lays out the origins of Manichans in Africa, their possiblecommunities, a prosopography of known followers of Mani, and the anti-Manichan polemic ofAugustine and others, together with a doctrinal analysis.

This last is particularly vital. In their attempt to be scientific, Church historians can neverlose touch with the fact that the theology of each group and period must be taken seriously asimportant to and understanding of their history. To disregard one of the most important sourcesof data (theological discourse and reflections of the time and culture) would be unscientific.Another excellent example of this kind of scholarship is the 1992 discussion of the origins ofChristianity in the Syriac city of Edessa by Samuel H. Moffett.11

Manichism therefore, and the communities of its faith, cannot be considered solely inopposition to a putative Orthodox mainline group, but in their own right. Indeed, reading theletters and prayers in the most recently translated materials from Kellis,12a modern Christianwould find little to disturb him or her. It is primarily that certain keywords or concepts havebeen tagged as typically Manichan that reveals the texts as anything other than what is todayconsidered mainstream.



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Although considerable work had been done in the past regarding Manichism, its beliefs,structure and origins, it is more evident recently, with the discovery of more and moreManichan Literature13, particularly the new Codices unearthed at Kellis in 1991-1993 andsubsequently,14that a clearer understanding of its place in late antiquity is emerging. Three ofthese finds, the Kellis materials (1990 - 2004), the Medinet Madi codices (1930), and theCologne Mani-Codex (deciphered in 1969), come from Egypt.15 James Goehring, from 1994 tothe present, has collated studies from several disciplines to argue persuasively for the complexityof the Manichan reality, especially in relation to other spiritual trends and developments in 4 thCentury Egypt.16

The Kellis finds, in the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt are of particular interest for the study ofChristian culture in Egypt during its first three centuries, since the city was abandoned in the late4thcentury and never resettled.17This makes it a kind of time capsule which has alreadyyielded valuable evidence of the variety and distinctiveness of Christian and other grouppractices during these vital and formative centuries. Three Christian Churches have beenexcavated at Kellis so far.18Monash University in Australia heads and manages this excavation,providing tremendous benefit to continuing research in this area.19

For a Methodology, therefore, we must distance ourselves from an ideological frameworkof Orthodox Christian Monks being contaminated by non-Christians or Heretics, amongManichan (or Meletian, Origenist or other) groups and consider these as competing perhapseven complimentary forms of Christian variety.

The Manichan Community

Rather than seeing themselves as a rival religion to Christianity, Manichans may wellhave understood themselves to be the true Christians.20Thus what had previously seemed to bea conflict of religions (and is still understood as that by some21), now appears as a struggle within

the larger religious movement of the many approaches to Christianity available in the third andfourth centuries.22

Even Ephrem the Syrian notes this confusion (or, perhaps for us, similarity). Thepersecutions that occurred ca. 287 CE in the Sassanian Empire of the Middle East treatedManichees and Christians in a similar fashion.23Ephrem remarks that Marcion had alreadydivided the sheep of Christ, and that Mani only robbed the robber!24

Formerly seen as a Persian religious movement, perhaps primarily because scholarstended to read Diocletians edict uncritically (We have heard that [the Manichans] have veryrecently advanced or introduced anew unexpected monstrosities into this world from the Persianrace that is hostile to us),25Manichism has finally been accepted today as primarily aproduct of the Syriac Edessa region of Osrhne and the Sassanian province of Asorestan.26

This placed Mani and the beginnings of his movement within the early Christian religiousmilieu on the borderland between the Persian and Roman Empires. Such a location held bothpromise and problem for an approach that consciously attempted to present itself as a universalreligion:27East had been East, and West had been West; and only in Mani had the twain met.28Not at the heart of either great Empire, he and his followers could claim universality; yet, theycould also be accused of foreignness, as the rescript of Diocletian demonstrates.



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From the Syriac-speaking areas, as befits a missionary movement sent out by an Apostleof Jesus Christ, as Mani called himself, this religious movement spread after Manis death (276CE) to much of the Roman Empire, including Egypt.29Like other Judo-Christian relatedgroups, they were able to bridge the gap between Osrhne (quondamRoman quondamPersian),and the Roman Oriens.30

In any case, we know that Manichan communities existed in Egypt by the fourthcentury CE at the latest, and most probably by the end of the third. The liturgical codex found atKellis was submerged in sand by the end of the fourth century.31 We can place the firstEgyptian Manichans earlier than that, however, perhaps as early as 260 CE. The AlexandrianChristian establishment was worried enough to issue a warning about them during the latethird/early fourth century, 32and of course, Diocletians rescript to the Proconsul Julian placesthem in neighboring Africa by 297-302 CE.

If indeed, a Manichan kloster33existed in Egypt in or about 260 CE, it would mean thatthis community pre-existed the rise of the classical eremitical monastic movement by some 45years (Antony having retreated to the desert ca. 305 CE).34

Desert Monasticism

The Fathers and Mothers of the Desert have been studied extensively for their literary andspiritual message. The various collections of theApophthegmata(Sayings) are availablewidely,35and even their hermeneutical style of Scriptural interpretation is being re-evaluated andappreciated today, most recently by Burton-Christies work.36

Nonetheless, it is becoming evident that the earlier studies of desert monasticism are inneed of renewed scrutiny, especially in regard to their verifiable historical value. First,

. . . analysis of the traditional literary sources has increasingly called into

question their value as descriptive documents of actual historical events. Whilethe degree nature of the history preserved in these sources remains a subject ofdebate, there can be little doubt that the authors and compilers of this literaturewere fashioning their subjects as saints. The literature has rhetorical andideological purpose.37

As Goehring then goes on to note,38this complicates the use of these literary texts in thestudy of this history. It does not mean, however that works such as the ApophthegmataorAthanasiusLife of Anthonyare irrelevant to historical study. Rather, it is the soberacknowledgment that these sources say as much or more about the times, circumstances,purposes, etc. of the persons who crafted them as they do about their subject matter.39Indeed, the

same is true of history written today. Contrast the differences in studies of Communism writtenin the United States today with those penned during Senator McCarthys red-baiting spree.

It should be mentioned that although the majority of current scholarship is of thisopinion, Graham Gould is a vocal proponent of the older reliance on the more straightforwardhistorical value of the literary texts.40Thus, the debate continues.

Second, the Fourth-Century Egyptian landscape is no longer seen as a battleground



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between competing, well-defined sects, but rather a cultural setting in which a wide range ofalternative approaches to ascetical life interacted with, and influenced, one another.41Thepresence of very early communities of women ascetics,42ascetic settings within the Cities,43Melitian finds44all underscore this. In particular, Manichan communities are now known tohave co-existed with other groups,45and to have intermingled with ascetic Communities thatwould later be claimed as Orthodox, even being cited as a formative influence in thedevelopment of coenobitic monasticism46.

This was possible because members of the various groups were meeting as ascetics, notas theologians or politicians. Although outside power-groups (e.g. Alexandrian factions) andalthough contemporary (and particularly later) writers may have differentiated the sects intoMelitian, Manichan, Orthodox, etc., these distinctions apparently did not stop the local

individuals from mingling and interacting.47

Fig 1: Location of Nag Hammadi

In the world of 4thCentury Egypt, therewere many currents of religious thoughtavailable to those seeking wisdom and theascetical life. Oldest of these were the pre-Christian Hermetic schools and teaching. GarthFowdens study of Egyptian Hermeticismexplores in depth this tradition that combinesancient Egyptian teachings, Hellenisticphilosophy, and mystery-school revelations.48Although the Hermetic tradition had affinitieswith emerging Gnosticism, it retained asufficiently separate existence: It would be amistake, then, to imagine that Christian

Gnosticism either substantially influencedHermeticism, or can be used to illuminate it,except by way of general analogy.49

Secondly, an approach to themysteries of Christ appeared in thephenomena we group together under the titleGnosticism or sometimes ChristianGnosticism. Gnostic teachings and textswere certainly present in 4thcentury Egypt,but Gnosticism as a unified, definablereligion is problematic: The literature on

Gnosticism is abundant, but its history stillobscure: Gnostic texts being devoid of

historical information.50Michael Allen Williams work argues persuasively that the entirecategory of Gnosticism must be rethought or even discarded as a useful paradigm. 51

Fig 2: Chenoboschium, where Nag HammadiLibrary was unearthed.

It has been previously argued that the library of materials recovered at Nag Hammadi aresufficiently diverse and contradictory as to virtually rule out their being the Scriptures of a



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unified sect.52It may well be that the diversity and widespread diffusion of Gnostic and Hermeticideas, cells, texts, etc. was an important factor influencing other spiritual movements in the 1stthrough 5thcentury Coptic world. The putative, highly disputed, location of the Nag Hammaditexts (see Figure 1)53in a Pachomian Monastery (see Figure 2)54would be strong evidence ofthis, if it is ever definitively established.55 This would accord with Williams argument that theNag Hammadi Library is precisely a catechetical tool of an Egyptian Christian Monastery, whosaw nothing un-Christian in these varying works.56 Even without such proof, however, theeclectic nature of the Nag Hammadi Library is in itself a useful and informative datum:

More decisive than this philosophical and religious affinity is, however, theevidence they give for the syncretistic setting in philosophy and religion thatprevailed in Egypt in the third and fourth centuries. The combination in the NagHammadi library of texts gathered from Plato, the Hermetic corpus, Syrianencratism, Gnostic sects, and the Alexandrian theological school in the earlyfourth century, is impressive.57As we have seen, Williams uses these data together to suggest that a paleographic

analysis of the Nag Hammadi texts, and a comparison with other contemporary Christiancollections (including the New Testament) demonstrates that the Nag Hammadi Library wasused by a community of Christian Gnostics who combined elements of Hellenistic, Coptic,Hermetic and Gnostic scriptures in a clear and rational didactic plan.58

Thirdly, using commonly accepted names, the Christ-related schools that are more easilydefinable were Orthodox, Meletians, Origenists and Manichans. Meletians were primarily agroup based in Alexandrine ecclesiastic politics, and had few theological or ascetical divergencesfrom Orthodox or Origenist groups, followers of Meletius of Lycopolis. Origenists are alsoclosely tied to mainstream Alexandrine Christianity, diverging primarily on the interpretations ofthe work of the great exegete and teacher Origen.

As we have seen, Goehring has convincingly shown that ascetics from these three groups

associated with each other, sometimes lived in relative harmony with each other, and even, onoccasion, shared coenobitic communities during the Egyptian period in question. Those findingsare significant, especially since they have been established with solid textual, archival andarcheological evidence.59

The objective nature of the evidence is particularly important in validating suchrevisionist investigations, no matter how attractive their conclusions may be. The late 20 th/ early21stcenturyzeitgeistcommon among academically progressive, enlightened religious scholars,which has contributed so much to these studies, might well find the evidence of religiouslydiverse ancient ascetics living and praying together in harmony quite appealing. In a period ofhistory when reactionary forces strive to polarize populations on the basis of religious andcultural beliefs, such examples may well be sought.

Nonetheless, any theory proposing such interaction must be established by providing hardevidence. Evidence of previous generations demonstrates how easily contemporary socio-political and religious viewpoints may influence our interpretation of the past. Indeed, it is nowwidely assumed that the very texts we are studying, theApophthegmata Patrumand others, weresuccessively edited to portray the desert ascetics as hagiographical models of piety acceptable tothe prevailing Orthodoxy of the period.60



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In assessing the case of theManichans, we can begin with thefollowing positive affirmations, aswe have seen above: (1) A generallyeclectic, diverse religious cultureexisted in Egypt of the 4thcentury,having many texts and teachinggroups available to the seeker. (2)Concrete examples can be found ofOrigenist and Melitian monksoccasionally living in the samecoenobitic settings as Orthodoxascetics, or sometimes nearby, inrelative peace.61On the basis ofthese two data, we can assume thatitwould not be logically or culturallyimpossible that Orthodox andManichans mightalso haveenjoyed such association.

Nonetheless, we must alsobear in mind the strong caution toavoid projecting a late 20th/ early21stcentury ecumenical wish-listonto the 4thcentury Coptic world.Specifically, what can we say aboutOrthodox and Manichans in this

environment?

A Manichan Prosopography for

3rd-4th Century Egypt

In general, we know thelocations of many of the majorOrthodox monastic settlementsalong the Nile and in the Egyptiandesert (see figure 3).62In connectionwith the monastics represented in the

Apophthegmata,however, we haveless information about specificlocations, since the purpose of the

various collections was not history in the modern sense, but spiritual edification.

Fig 3: 3rd- 4th century Egyptian Monasteries

The work that Franois Decret has done for Roman Africa in the 4th and 5th Centuriesgives a good idea of what needs to be covered by scholars for Roman Egypt. In LAfrique



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Manichenne63he lays out theorigins of Manichans in LatinNorth Africa, their possiblecommunities, a prosopography ofknown followers of Mani, and theanti-Manichan polemic ofAugustine and others, togetherwith a doctrinal analysis.Although touching from time totime on matters concerning Egypt,his focus is clearly on the Western

section of the Continent.Following his inspiration, therefore, let us examine the earliest evidence available about

Manichan presence in Egypt in the mid-3rd to mid-4th Centuries (i.e. the first generation ofEgyptian Manichan life), andcorrelate it with the availablegeographic settings. The firstpieces of evidence point to the260s as beginning of theManichan mission in Egypt. Inthe Medinet Madi codicesdiscovered in the Fayyum (Figure4)64, several pieces are written inCoptic65(sub-Akhminic andLycopolitan dialects66), but thepsalm book67was probably

originally a translation fromSyriac,68and Syriac fragmentswere found along with the Copticmaterials.69Further, many CopticChristian stories echo what ishappening in Antioch ca. 260.70All these argue for an early date,if the materials have already hadtime to be translated andassimilated from Syriac to Copticdialects.

Fig 5: Lycopolis and Hypsele in the Thebaid (top)

Fig 4: Fayyum

G. Stroumsa argues for adate in the mid-to-late 200s,perhaps 270, for theestablishment of aMani-klosterin or near Alexandria.71In a

Middle-Iranian Fragment, Adda, sent by Mani to Egypt, is said to have ...founded several



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monasteries, chosen numerous elect and hearers (auditors)...and the religion of the Apostle wasadvanced (put forward) in the Roman Empire.72

TheActa Archelai, whose historical value is perhaps limited73does testify that thefoundation of the dualist heresy in Egypt was due to a certain (legendary) Scyithianos, whobegan a Mani-Community in the (upper) Thebad (Figure 5)74, whence his wife came.75The dateof this Anti-Manichan composition has traditionally been placed during the first half of the 4thCentury because (1) homoousiosis used by Archelaus,76and (2) Cyril of Jerusalem quotes anargument in the text from memory in 348.77

Epiphanius, more precisely (if more accurately, we cannot say on his reputation alone)places this Mani-Foundation at Hypsele, 7 km south of Lycopolis, the location of modern-dayAssiut (Asjut) (See Figure 5).78

First, as we have seen, even though the Medinet-Madi collection was unearthed in theFayyum (in Arcadia-Heptanomis), some considerable distance north of Lycopolis, theManichan materials are written in the Coptic dialects prevalent in the Lycopolis-Hypseleregion, Sub-Akhmimic and Lycopolitan.79

Second, it is probable that the Cologne Mani-Codex also originates from Lycopolis.80Finally, it is from that same region that we hear one of the earliest anti-Manichan voices:Alexander of Lycopolis. Alexanders treatise is variously dated from the end of the 3rd to thebeginning of the 4th Centuries, but may well be earlier than Diocletians edict, as early as 297CE.81This places his experience of Manichism near the earliest possible dates for thebeginning of the Community, and in the geographic region suggested by theActa ArchelaiandEpiphanius for this first ManichanKloster.

Alexander himself, aside from his philosophical analysis, makes some interesting pointsfor the historians consideration. He begins his critique by mentioning Christian philosophy, withits strong and weak points. Although he finds Christianity philosophically nave, he isnonetheless favorable to the ethical virtues in Christian preaching: Ordinary people listen to

these precepts and, as you can see with your own eyes, make great progress in virtue... 82Sadly, however, from Alexanders point of view, things had gotten more complex for

Christians recently: Since this simple philosophy has been split up into numerous factions by itslater adherents...some of [these men], in the long run, became leaders of sects.83This viewsupports the contention that Manichism was a sect of Christians, not a separate religion, at

Figure 6: Arrow shows approximate location of Ismant (Kellis) in Dakhleh Oasis



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least as viewed by aNeo-Platonist.Further, theManichanteaching isrecently come tothe fore, in theUpper Thebad.84All of this supportsthe contention thatthe Lycopolis-Hypsele region is avery likely spot foran early (if not the

first) Mani-Kloster in Egypt.

Fig 7: Detail of Dakhleh Oasis & Ismant (Kellis).

Alexander names Papos and Thomas as the first Manichan missionaries he knows of inthe area of Lycopolis.85Many attempts have been made to identify these disciples of Mani.Papos has been identified variously with the Paapi abjured in a later Greek heresiologicalformula,86and with Adda, since Papos is named as the first disciple.87Thomas is mentioned intheActa Archelai(And Thomas wanted to occupy certain parts of Egypt).88More recently, aconnection has been made with thePsalms of Thomasas well.89

Naturally, as with so many stories connected to Edessa and the East Syriac tradition, thename Thomas recurs, and is sometimes reflects a conflation of the Apostle Thomas, Adda (orAddai) and even the Apostle Jude Thaddus in both Manichan and other Christian contexts.The discussion of the identity of Papos and Thomas mentioned in Alexander is stillinconclusive.90

M. Tardieu conjectures that the earliest Manichan missionaries, Adda and Patteg,arrived with Zenobias troops ca. 270.91Although this supposition cannot yet be proven, the

Aramaic nature of the Coptic texts in the Cologne Mani-Codex argues strongly for the Syriacconnection.92

Fig 8: Dakhleh Area

The newly discovered Kellis documents may also bolster the position of Lycopolis as anearly center of Mani-missions. Ancient Kellis is in the Dakhleh Oasis, at modern-day Ismant el-



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Kharab. Kellis is at approximately the samelatitude as Thebes (Luxor) in the lower Thebad,but far to the West in the Dakhleh Oasis, 800 kmSSW of Cairo (Figure 6&7)93.

The evidence suggests that the houses inwhich the materials were found were occupiedduring the late 3rd Century to the 380s. Severalof the texts are written in dialects that have closeaffinity with Sub-Akhmimic, a dialect of theLycopolis region, also found in the MedinetMadi codices.94

Thus all three major Manichan textualfinds in Egypt have at least some of theirmaterials in the Coptic dialects of the Thebad,although their discovery-locations have beenwidely separated. Preliminary evidence from theKellis finds include a bi-lingual board with textin both Syriac and Coptic, suggesting a copy-house and missionary planning station forManichan efforts aimed at the Upper andLower Thebad,95perhaps near enough to bepractical, but far enough to avoid too manyprobing eyes. As Figure 896shows, there wereonly two Orthodox Monasteries in the generaldistrict during this period.

If we accept that these areas,

Lycopolis/Hypsele and Thebes were indeed theoriginal, or at least an early, missionary station and Mani-Kloster for Egypt, they would have hadample opportunity to mix with men and women who were contemplating eremitical or cnobiticlife. Not only that, but the Manichan teachings would have been in circulation for at least ageneration before Antonys retreat to the desert, and even longer before Pachomios foundationsin the mid-4thCentury.

Fig 9: Coptic Monastic life near Lycopolis (Asjut)4th to 9th Centuries.

The next step in an exhaustive analysis of this prosopography is to identify writtenmaterials from the monastic sites near Lycopolis and Thebes, match them to the knownoccupants of Orthodox hermitages and cnobia of the putative Manichan areas of influence,and then search for Manichan encounters (goal 2) and/or influences (goal 3). At present, nosuch absolutely clear examples exist, as they do for the Meletians and Origenists, as seen above.

We do, however, have at least three encounters mentioned explicitly in the desertliterature. The first is in Amma Theodoras section of the Alphabetic Collection of theApophthegmata.She reports the following conversation: A Christian discussing the body with aManichan expressed himself in these words, Give the body discipline, and you will see thatthe body is for him who made it.97



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If this is the same Amma Theodora (Amba Theodoros) whose hermitage is marked onFigure 9,98she would certainly be near enough to the Lycopolis area (Asjut) to haveencountered real Manichans, or heard stories of them. Of course, the form of the saying is notclearly an historical incident. It may simply be an occasion for an Orthodox teaching about thepositive nature of the body, as opposed to presumed dualism in the opposition.

Fig 10: Antonys Locations in the Fayyum & at Red Sea.

Second, St. Antony the Great is said to have encountered Manichans, at leastphilosophically, and to have disliked their beliefs, even as he desired their conversion.99This isclearly a passage proving Antonys Orthodoxy, and enabling Athanasius to express his

abhorrence of the Manichans, Meletians and Arians, all of whom Antony is said to havedisagreed with. Although Antony, whether at his Nile-side foundation (Figure 10)100, or at hisDeir on the Red Sea was near enough to the Fayyum to have actually spoken with Manisfollowers, this passage cannot be seriously invoked to prove the point.

Finally, Rufinus reports the encounter of a certain old monk with a Manichan, inwhich the Orthodox Monk converts the other by his friendliness as a person, coupled with hisfaithfulness to his own doctrine.101This passage is of even less help, for although it may containthe kernel of a true encounter, with no names, places or times even suggested, it isprosopographically less than helpful.

These three encounters are not rich enough to fulfill goal (2) of our schema. Furtherresearch is needed to uncover more explicit accounts of actual Monastic meetings between

Manichans and Orthodox Monks, if indeed any such experiences have survived in writing.With the obvious proximity of these two ascetical religious cultures, one would be led to askwhy no such records still exist. The polemical relationship may explain part of this, but otheravenues might also be explored. Were Orthodox Monks afraid to admit that they had metManichans? Or perhaps some were, in fact, the secret Manichans that Stroumsa proposes.102

Given the geographic and temporal proximity of these two religious cultures, it would



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seem unusual,prima facie, thatthere would have been so fewcontacts as are recorded. Further,when one considers the nature ofManichan communal life,arguably "monastic in appearanceitself, and influenced byQumran,103and even by Buddhistmonasticism,104it is difficult toconvincingly argue that theMani-Kloster had absolutely noinfluence on the development ofEgyptian Christian Monasticism,at least as some sort of catalyticagent or ingredient.105J. Vergoterehearses the possible origins andinfluences as well, but alsocautions against a too facileconclusion of Manichaninfluence on PachomianMonasticism solely on the basis ofperceived similarities. Bothcommunities may spring fromcommon sources, rather than

directly influencing oneanother.106

A complete analysis of theliterary and doctrinal content of theApophthegmatafor Manichan influence, might reveal insuch passages as Abba Daniels a kind of dualism: The body prospers in the measure in whichthe soul is weakened, and the soul prospers in the measure in which the body is weakened. 107However, one must ask whether this is actual Manichan influence, or an echo of the moremainstream Gospel teachings about the superiority of the spiritual life over the bodily (e.g. losinga hand is better than damnation -- Mt 5:30), or even a positive image of the interrelation of thebody and soul. Anthropomorphizing images of God, another trait for which the Manichans arefrequently condemned, will be even more difficult to find in the Sayings.

Fig 11: Thmuis in the lower Thebaid

Perhaps indeed, following Heussi, Judge and Stroumsa,108the search should focus not somuch on heretical elements in theApophthegmata,but on the very origins of Monasticism

itself, and the Egyptian Mani-Missions rle or contribution in those beginnings. Needless to say,this is a study in itself, which then can be correlated with any available Monastic and Manichanprosopography for concrete (or conjectured) influences.

Later Sources

The testimony of later Manichan opponents in Egypt, viewed cautiously, does provide



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some prosopographical data. Earliest among these is the work of Serapion of Thmuis. 109Adisciple of St. Antony, Serapion is a contemporary and ally of Athanasius in the 4 thCentury.

Thmuis is south of the main area of Manichan missionary activity (Figure 11),110andSerapion seems to have had little actual contact with either Manichans or their teachings. Inthis he follows the same pattern as Titus of Bosra.111For the purposes of further prosopography,Serapions most interesting accusation is that the Manichans "use the name of Christ whilemaking war upon Him.112The charge that the followers of Mani use the name Christianpoints in two directions: (1) that they consider themselves as the true Christians (see above) andnot as a rival religion; and (2) that they have had to submerge themselves in the mainstream ormajority Christian culture as a result of persecution.

Although the work of the 4thCentury Alexandrian catechist Didymus the Blind,Against the Manichees,follows Serapions in its abstract tone, a passage in his Commentary onEcclesiastes(among the Tura papyri113) gives his account of an encounter he had with aManichan, and the discussion that followed concerning marriage.114

These sorts of disputations are also reported in the Historia Monachorum in gyptoduring the 4thand 5thCenturies. One story in particular tells of an open dispute between AbbaCopres and a Manichan. The Manichan had been able to preach in public, without fear ofpersecution, in the latter half of the 4thCentury, until the Monk had won his argument through anencounter that combined elements from two Biblical sources.

According to the story told in both theHistoriaand repeated in Palladius 5thCenturyLausiac History, Abba Copres challenged the Manichan to a test by waking into a bonfire.Copres survives the ordeal unscathed, while the unfortunate Manichan was burned by the fire,and subsequently exiled by the crowd.115This tale is clearly reminiscent of Elijahs defeat of theprophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in I Kings 18:16-40, together with the story of the threeyoung men in the fiery furnace -- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Ananiah, Azariah andMishael) -- in Daniel 3:1-97 (Septuagint numbering).

This harsh image of Manichans, and their typological identification with the prophets ofBaal and the idolatrous Babylonians indicates the animosity with which they were viewed, atleast by the compilers of these traditional histories.

Finally, G.G. Stroumsa has highlighted what ancient sources, esp. Eutychios (MelkitePatriarch of Alexandria, 930-940 CE) have already told us about what happened to theManichans: they went underground.116After the Diocletian persecution (which wasparticularly severe against them), things once again eased up (as we saw in theHistoriaMonachorum), but pressure increased after 381, with previous laws reinforced againstManichan assemblies, and forbidding them the use of a variety of diverse names. 117

Eutychius, writing in the 10th Century, is certainly polemical and his historical accuracyis correspondingly suspect. H.H. Schaeder and M. Tardieu reject his evidence as too late and too

biased,118but Stroumsa, Nau and Griffith wish to analyze his historical materials more carefully,hoping that some of them may prove reliable to some extent.119

What the 10th Century Melkite Patriarch tells us is that after the more severe legislationthat followed the Council of Constantinople, the electi(Elect Ones) and auditores(Hearers) ofthe Manichans were to be found among Coptic clergy and monks, masquerading asChristians.120They supposedly flourished among the ascetics, marked by their extremes.121



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Further study along the lines that Stroumsa has proposed122should be able to verifyEutychius judgment about the hidden Manichans among the clergy and ascetics of Egypt.Even if their surface conversion had been authentic, it is likely that some of the impulses of theirprevious approach to Christianity would have influenced their monastic and religious life.

Conclusions

From the evidence available, it is clear that one cannot definitively assert that during the4thcentury in Egypt, Manichans and Orthodox ascetics co-existed in any kind of peace, noteven the relative (and admittedly occasional) kind that Goehring suggests for the relations ofOrthodox with Meletians and Origenists. Even though a somewhat pluralistic attitude may havebeen sometimes demonstrated in those cases, in theparlanceof the detective genre, there is nosmoking gun for the situation of the Manichans.

Why might this be so? The same kind of geographic and ascetic closeness pertained forthe Manichans with the other groups. As we study further translations of Manichan texts fromKellis, their content does not seem so extraordinary as to elicit special condemnation.123Whatmakes these situations different, so that Manichans had to disguise themselves in StroumsasMarranistic fashion?

The answer may lie in the rather different historical connections among the Orthodox,Meletians, Manichans and Origenists. Although today, Orthodox Christians speak of all thesegroups alike as Heretics, their historical relations to the Orthodox party are considerablydifferent.

The Meletians as a separate group arose from a dispute over Episcopal authority inAlexandria when Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis, usurped prerogatives of Bishop Peter ofAlexandria while the latter was in hiding during the persecutions of 303.124Although somedoctrinal disputes arose later during the Meletian schism, this rupture in Church life was

essentially a political one. Meletians were merely one faction in the otherwise mainstream orOrthodox Christian community.

Origenists, of course, were those who followed (and perhaps carried further) the teachingof the great biblical exegete, Origen. Once again, Origen worked within the structures of theOrthodox world, although running afoul of feuding Bishops and conflicting jurisdictions.125Origenism therefore emerged from the mainstream, and was a product of differing interpretationswithin that milieu.

Manichism, on the other hand, had never been part of the Orthodox vector orcommunities. Mani was a prophet in his own right, neither a Bishop as Meletius was nor acatechist and presbyter as Origen had been. There is a real sense in which both Meletius andOrigen were viewed by the Orthodox as insiders who went bad, while Mani was a brilliant and

powerful east Syriac syncretistic preacher whose charismatic Gospel combined elements ofZoroastrian, Buddhist and Christian teachings.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the Coptic Orthodox Monks of the 4 thcentury Egyptiandesert would have made a distinction between separated brethren (Origenists, Meletians) andthe Manichans, and treated them differently. As we have seen, the imagery in the HistoriaMonachorum in gypto and theLausiac History argue for this conclusion.



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Until we have further documentary or archeological evidence to the contrary then, wemust assume that Manichans did not share coenobitic life with Orthodox, Melitian andOrigenist ascetics. The further question of influence ofManichism in Orthodox asceticaldoctrine and/or practice must also wait until the Kellis and other documents are fully unearthed,translated and studied, and correlated with those of the Medinet Madi, Nag Hammadi, andManichan texts from other locations outside Egypt. The archaeological evidence is increasing,and its interpretation is ongoing, particularly in the Dakhleh Oasis excavations.126Only then canwe begin a full-scale comparison with the other Coptic Christ-related groups (Christian Gnostics,Orthodox, Meletians, Origenists) as well as with the Egyptian hermetic traditions, to gain a fullerunderstanding of Manichisms place in Egypts religious history.

Nevertheless, the conclusions reached by Williams inRethinking Gnosticismprovide avery hopeful prospect for further studies and discoveries in the area of Egyptian religious andspiritual cooperation, openness and diversity during this period. We can have a well-foundedexpectation of further textual, archaeological and anthropological finds, closer analysis and aclearer picture of the mystical life in the deserts of late antique Egypt.

NOTES TO THE TEXT

1Cf. A. Veilleux, Monasticism and Gnosis in Egypt, in B.A. Pearson & J.E. Ghring (eds), The Rootsof Egyptian Chistianity,(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), 272.

2 For recently discovered and translated Manichan materials, see Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer(eds), The Gnostic Bible.(New York: Shambala, 2003); The Gnostic Society Library,ManichaeanWritings.Web Page. Accessed May 25, 2004. Available at http://www.gnosis.org/library/manis.htm.3Those Christian Communities that for various reasons rejected the Christological formulations of theCouncil of Chalcedon (AD 451).

4Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity.Trans. ofRechtglubigkeit und Keterei inltesten Christentum(1934), (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971), xxi.

5Bauer, ibid.

6 For an introduction to the concept of development of doctrine, see Jaroslav Pelikan, The ChristianTradition: a History of the Development of Doctrine.5 volumes. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,1975). 1. The emergence of the Catholic tradition (100-600)-- 2. The spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700) -- 3. The growth of medieval theology (600-1300)-- 4.Reformation of church and dogma (1300-1700)-- 5. Christian doctrine and modern culture (since 1700);and Aloys Grillmeier, Christ in ChristianTradition. 2 volumes. (London: Mowbray, 1965). v. 1.From the apostolic age to Chalcedon (451)-- v. 2.pt 1From the Council of Chalcedon (451) to Gregory the Great (590-604).pt. 2. The Church ofConstantinople in the sixth century.

7For recent studies on fundamentalism as a cross-cultural phenomenon, see Karen Armstrong, The Battlefor God.(New York: Ballantine, 2000) and Bruce B. Lawrence,Defenders of God: The FundamentalistRevolt against the Modern Age.(University of South Carolina Press, 1995).
http://www.gnosis.org/library/manis.htmhttp://www.gnosis.org/library/manis.htm


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Committee,From the Sands of the Sahara: Ancient Kellis and Its Texts. Monash University Departmentof Classics and Archaeology, and Monash University Library Rare Books Collection, August 1998.Accessed May 20, 2004. Web site. Available from http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/egypt/.

20G.G. Stroumsa, "The Words and the Works: Religious Knowledge and Salvation in Augustine andFaustus of Milevis, in S.W. Eisenstadt & I.F. Silber, Cultural Traditions and Worlds of Knowledge,(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, n.d.).

21R. Grant, "Manichees and Christians in the Third and Early Fourth Centuries, inEx Orbe Religionum:Studia G. Widengren...oblata I, Supplements toNumen21, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1972), 438.

22G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge to Egyptian Christianity, in Birger A, Pearson & J.E.Ghring (eds), The Roots of Egyptian Christianity, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), 308.

23Chronicle of Seert, Patrologia Orientalis IV, pp. 237-238.

24Contra HresesXX, 3, E. Beck (ed), CSCO,Scr. Syr. LXXVIII, 1957.

25 Eos audivimus nuperrime veluti nova et inopinata prodigia in hunc mundum de Persica adversarianobis gente progressa vel orta esse... Rescript of Diocletian to Julianus, Proconsul of Africa (297 CE orperhaps 302?). Text: E. Seckel & B. Kuebler,Mosaicarum et Romanarum Legum CollatioXV,3,4,Jurisprudenti anteiustinian reliquII, 2, 1927, 381 ff.

26Peter Brown,Religion and Society in the Age of St. Augustine, (NY: Harper & Row, 1972), 96-97.

27P. Brown,Religion and Society...118.

28P. Brown,Religion and Society...99.

29Iain Gardner, A Manichan Liturgical Codex Found at Kellis, 32.

30On this question of the role of Judo-Christian groups as an information and cultural conduit betweenthe Persian and Roman worlds, see (1) J.F. Duneau, Quelques aspects de la pnetration de lhellnismedans lEmpire perse sassanide, inMlanges Rn Crozet I,1966, 13-22 and (2) E. Follieri, Santipersiani nellinnografia bizantina, inPersia e il mondo greco-romano,pp. 227-242.

31Iain Gardner, A Manichan Liturgical Codex Found at Kellis, 32. C.H. Roberts believes that thisanonymousEpistle against the Manichees(Papyrus J. Rylands 469) came from Theonas, Bishop ofAlexandria (CE 282-300), or from his staff: C.H. Roberts, Catalogue of the Greek and Latin Papyri in theJohn Rylands Library(Manchester: Manchester University Pres 1938), 3:38-39.

32S.N.C. Lieu,Manichism in the later Roman Empire and Medieval China(Manchester 1985), 74-5;91-8.

33This is the translation suggested by W.B. Henning for the Middle Persian term manistan. W.B.Henning, Selected Papers, I (Acta Iranica14; Leiden-Teheran, 1977).
http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/egypt/http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/egypt/


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34Douglas Burton-Christie, The Word in the Desert(NY: Oxford University Press, 1993), 41.

35Benedicta Ward, The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks.(New York:Penguin, 2003), and The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection.(Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications,, 1984). A selection from the Vita Patrum(Life of theFathers) may be found at http://www.touregypt.net/documents/egyptianfathers.htm.

36Douglas Burton-Christie,Ibid.

37James E. Goehring, James E., Monastic Diversity and Ideological Boundaries in Fourth-CenturyChristian Egypt.Journal of Early Christian Studies5:1, 61, 1997.

38Goehring, Monastic Diversity... 61.

39Cf. Samuel Rubenson,Letters of Antony145-62; Jean-Claude Guy,Recherches sur la tradition grecquedes Apophthegmata Patrum, 2e edition avec des complments,(Brussels: Socit des Bollandistes, 1984).

40Graham Gould, Recent Work on Monastic Origins: A Consideration of the Questions Raised bySamuel Rubensons The Letter of Antony, Studia Patristica25 (1993), 405-16.

41Goehring, Monastic Diversity... 61-65.

42Alanna Emmett, "Female Ascetics in the Greek Papyri," inXVI Internationaler ByzantinistenkongressWien, 4-9. October 1981: Akten, II. Teil,ed. Wolfram Hrander, et al., Jahrbuch der stereichischenByzantinistik, 32 (Wien: Der sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1982), 507-15; idem, "AnEarly Fourth Century Female Monistic Community in Egypt?" inMaistor: Classical, Byzantine and

Renaissance Studies for Robert Browning, Ann Moffitt, ed, Byzintina Australiensa, 5 (Canberra: TheAustralian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1984), 77-83; Laura Swan. The Forgotten DesertMothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women.New York: Paulist Press, 2001.

43E. A. Judge, "The Earliest Use of Monachos for 'Monk' (P. Coll. Youtie 77) and the Origins ofMonasticism," JAC 20 (1977): 85; James E. Goehring, "The Encroaching Desert: Literary Production andAscetic Space in Early Christian Egypt,"Journal of Early Christian Studies, 1 (1993), 281-96.

44Goehring,James E., "Melitian Monastic Organization: A Challenge to Pachomian Originality," StudiaPatristica25 (1993), 388-95; Alberto Camplani, "In Margine alla Storia dci Meliziani,"Augustinianum30 (1990), 313-51.

45

Koenen, Ludwig, Manichische Mission und Klster in gypten, inDas rmisch-byzantinischegypten(AegT; Mainz am Rhein: Von Zabern 1983), 93-108.

46G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge to Egyptian Christianity, in Birger A, Pearson & J.E.Ghring (eds), The Roots of Egyptian Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986).

47Goehring, Monastic Diversity... 64-65.
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48Garth Fowden, The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind,Rev. ed.(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993).

49Fowden 114.

50Samuel Rubenson, The Letters of St. Antony,(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), 102, note 2.

51Michael Allen Williams,Rethinking Gnosticism.(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).

52Rubenson, The Letters of St. Antony,123.

53Figure 1:Atlas of the World, (London: Oxford University Press, 1995).

54Figure 2: F. van der Meer and Christine Mohrmann,Atlas of the Early Christian World, (Nelson, 1958).

55See the following for this current debate: Scholten, Die Nag-Hammadi-Texte; James E. Goehring,New Frontiers in Pachomian Studies, The Roots of Egyptian Christianity,pp. 236-257; ArmandVeilleux, Monasticism and Gnosis in Egypt, ibid., pp. 271-306 and Monachisme et gnose, LTP 40(1984), pp. 275-294 and 41 (1985), pp. 3-24. Philip Rousseau,Pachomius. The Making of a Communityin Fourth Century Egypt.27f.

56Williams, 261-262

57Rubenson, The Letters of St. Antony, 104.

58Williams, 235-262.

59Goehring, Monastic Diversity and Ideological Boundaries in Fourth-Century Christian Egypt.

60Goehring, James E. , Monastic Diversity and Ideological Boundaries in Fourth-Century ChristianEgypt, 78; Rubenson, The Letters of St. Antony,125-162.

61Goehring,, Monastic Diversity and Ideological Boundaries in Fourth-Century Christian Egypt.

62Figure 3: G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville, The New Atlas of African History(NY: Simon & Schuster, 1991),29.

63Franois Decret,LAfrique Manichenne I & II, (Paris: tudes Augustiniennes 1978).

64Figure 4: Van der Meer & Mohrmann,Atlas of the Early Christian World.


66Lycopolis (Asjut) is some 150 mi south of the Fayyum.

67A selection of these Psalms may be found at Tour Egypt,Manichan Psalms.1996. Accessed May 14,


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2004. Web Page. Available from http://touregypt.net/manichaeanpsalms.htm, inTour Egypt.Ancient Documents.1996. Accessed May 14, 2004. Web Page. Available fromhttp://touregypt.net/literature.htm. Created by InterCity Oz, Inc.

68T. Save-Sderbergh, Studies in the Coptic Manichan Psalm-Book.(Uppsala, Almqvist & Wiksells,1949).

69F.C. Burkitt, The Religion of the Manichees.(1925), 111.

70J. Schwartz, "Diocltien dans la littature copte,Bulletin de la socit darchologie copteXV (1960),151-66.

71G.G. Stroumsa, Monachisme et Marranisme chez les Manichens d"Egypte, Numen XXIX 2 (1982),186 and 197 n8.

72

Middle-Iranian Fragment M2 r. I, 11.1 sv. in W.B. Henning, Selected Papers, I (Acta Iranica14;Leiden-Teheran 1977), 198-199. (My translation of the French in the Stroumsa essay -- SA)

73cf. C. Schmidt & H. J. Polotsky, 12 ff.

74 Figure 5: Van der Meer & Mohrmann,Atlas of the Early Christian World.

75Acta Archelai62 [C.H. Beeson (ed), Hegemonius:Acta Archelai.Die griechischen christlichenScriftsteller(Leipzig 1897 ff)], 90-91.

76Acta Archelai,36 (Beeson, 52)

77Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses6, 20ff.

78Epiphanius,Pannarion,66.2


80Ibid.

81P. van der Horst & J. Mansfeld, An Alexandrian Platonist against Dualism, Theta-PiIII (1974), 4-5n.8. (The article includes translation of the Critiqueof Alexander.)

82Alexander of Lycopolis, Critique of the Doctrines of ManichusPt. 1, [van der Horst & Mansfeld, 50].

83Alexander of Lycopolis, Critique Pt. 1, [van der Horst & Mansfeld, 51].84Alexander of Lycopolis, Critique Pt. 2, [van der Horst & Mansfeld, 52].

85Alexander of Lycopolis, Critique Pt. 2, [van der Horst & Mansfeld, 52]. For a discussion of thesenames, see A. Brinkmann (ed),Alexandri Lycopolitani contra Manichi opiniones disputatio,(Leipzig1895), XIII n.1
http://touregypt.net/manichaeanpsalms.htmhttp://touregypt.net/literature.htmhttp://touregypt.net/literature.htmhttp://touregypt.net/manichaeanpsalms.htm


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86Patrologia Graeca1, 1468 B ff. See the discussion in I. de Beausobre,Histoire critique de Manicheet du manichismeI, (Amsterdam 1734), 77.

87W. Seston, "L'gypte manichenne, Chronique dgypte14 (1939), 365

88Et Thomas quidem partes gypti voluit occupare...Acta Archelai, 64 (Beeson, 93, 15-17)

89F.F. Church & G.G. Stroumsa, Manis disciple Thomas and the psalms of Thomas, VigiliChristian 34 (1980), 51.

90A. Villey (ed), Alexandre de Lycopolis, Contra la doctrine de Mani, (Paris: Cerf 1985), 101-115.

91M. Tardieu, Les Manichens en gypte,Bulletin de la socit Franaise dgypte94 (1982), 5-19(8-10 esp.)

92G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge to Egyptian Christianity, in B. A, Pearson & J.E.Ghring (eds), The Roots of Egyptian Chistianity, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), 310.

93Figure 6:The Macmillan World Atlas, (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996); Figure 7: Map drawn by Olaf E.Kaper, from the Web Page http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/hss/rare/xegymaps.htm.

94Iain Gardner, A Manichan Liturgical Codex Found at Kellis, 30-34.

95Bi-lingual board found in House Three. Cf. Iain Gardner, 33.

96Figure 8: Van der Meer & Mohrmann,Atlas of the Early Christian World,

97Apophthegmata PatrumPG 65:202D-204A. Translated in Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the DesertFathers, (London: Mowbray 1984), 83.

98Figure 9: Hubert Jedin, Kenneth Scott Latourette and Jochen Martin,Atlas zur Kirchen-Geschichte:Der Christlichen Kirchen in Geschichte und Gegenwart,(Freiburg: Herder, 1987), 11.

99Athanasius, The Life of Antony,68, Translated in R.C. Gregg, The Life of Antony and the Letter toMarcellinus, (NY: Paulist 1980), 82.

100Figure 10: Van der Meer & Mohrmann,Atlas of the Early Christian World.

101Rufinus, Verba Seniorum: De vitis Patrum Liber5.13.2 PL 73:945 C-D (11).

102G.G. Stroumsa, Monachisme et Marranisme..., 184-201.

103L. Koenen, Manichische Mission und Klster in gypten, inDas rmisch-byzantinische gypten(AegT; Mainz am Rhein: Von Zabern 1983), 93-108.

104G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge..., 309.
http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/hss/rare/xegymaps.htmhttp://www.lib.monash.edu.au/hss/rare/xegymaps.htm


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105G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge..., 309. K. Heussi,Der Ursprung des Mnchtums(Tbingen: Mohr 1936), 290. E.A. Judge, The earliest use of monachosfor Monk (P.Coll. Youtie 77)

and the origins of Monasticism,Jahrbuch fr Antike und Christentum20 (1977), 72-89.106J. Vergote, "LExpansion du Manichisme en gypte inAfter Chalcedon(Orientalia LovaniensiaAnalecta 18, Leuven 1985), 471-478, esp. 475-478.

107Apophthegmata,Alphabetic Collection Abba Daniel 4 [Ward 52].

108See note 105 above.

109Serapion of Thmuis,Against the Manichees.R.P. Casey (ed).Harvard Theological Studies XV,(Cambridge: Harvard, 1931).

110

Figure 11: Van der Meer & Mohrmann,Atlas of the Early Christian World.111Casey, 17-18.

112Serapion of Thmuis,Against the ManicheesIII l.15-16 [in Casey, 30].

113G.G. Stroumsa The Manichan Challenge..., 318.

114G. Bardy,Didyme lAveugle(tudes de thologie historique 11; Paris: Beauchesne 1910); 33-35; J.Leipoldt,Didymus der Blinde von Alexandria,(Texte und Untersuchungen 29; Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1905),14-16.

115A.J. Festugire (ed),Historia Monachorum in gypto(Subsidia Hagiographica 53; Brussels: Socitdes Bollandistes 1971), 87-88 (Historia Chapter 9). Translation in A.J. Festugire (ed),Les MoynesdOrient, (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1964), 4/1:75-76. English translation in Benedicta Ward and Russell,Norman. The Lives of the Desert Fathers: The Historia Monachorum in Aegypto. (London: Cistercian,1981). The text of this encounter may be found on the Internet athttp://www.touregypt.net/documents/aquileia4.htm#Chapter%20IX. The story is embellished in Palladiusof Helenopolis, Bishop of Aspuna.Lausiac History.Chapter 52. In Robert T. Meyer, Palladius, theLausiac History. Westminster, Newman Press, 1965. Another translation is available on the internet:http://www.touregypt.net/documents/lausiacindex.htm. Chapter 52:http://www.touregypt.net/documents/lausiac10.htm#Chapter%20LIV.


117Theodosian Code16.5.6 and 16.5.9.

118H.H. Schaeder, Review of C. Schmidt & J.J. Polotsky,Ein Mani-Fund in gypten Gnomon9(1934), 342. M. Tardieu Les Manichens..., 15.

119G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge..., 312. F. Nau, Eutychius,Dictionnnaire de ThologieCatholique5:1609-11. S.H. Griffith, Eutychius of Alexandria...,Byzantion52 (1982), 154-90.
http://www.touregypt.net/documents/aquileia4.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/documents/lausiacindex.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/documents/lausiac10.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/documents/lausiac10.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/documents/lausiacindex.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/documents/aquileia4.htm


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120M. Breydy (ed), Eutychios of Alexandria (Said ibn Batrq),Das Annalenwerk(Louvain: Peeters1985), ch 18 213-215, pp 68-69.

121G.G. Stroumsa, The Manichan Challenge..., 314.


123Iain Gardner, The Manichan Community at Kellis: A progress Report in Paul Mirecki and JasonBeDuhn,Emerging from Darkness: Manichan Studies at the End of the 20thCentury,(NY: Leiden,1997), 161-176. Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer, (eds). The Gnostic Bible.New York: Shambala,2003.

124Berthold Altaner,Patrology, (Freiburg: Herder & Herder, 1960), 239.

125

See Johannes Quasten,Patrology Volume II, (Westminster: Christian Classics, 1990), 37-40 for a briefbiographical sketch.

126The work of the Dakhleh Oasis excavations continues to be very significant in uncovering possiblelinks. See (1) Gillian E. Bowen, The Spread of Christianity in Egypt in Light of Recent Discoveries fromAncient Kellis. Ph.D. Thesis, Monash University, 1998. (2) Monash University,Dakhleh Oasis Project:Annual Reports. Last Updated 27 October 2003. Accessed May 13 2004. Web Page. Available fromhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/index.html andhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/ismant.html. (3) Monash University,Dakhleh Oasis ProjectBibliography. Last updated 2003. Accessed May 13 2004. Adobe Acrobat File. Available fromhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/dakhleh/bibliography.pdf. (Titles published by members ofthe Dakhleh Oasis Project staff on the work of the project.)

RESOURCES TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF THIS PERIOD IN EGYPT

Barnstone, Willis and Marvin Meyer, eds. The Gnostic Bible.New York: Shambala, 2003.

Bowman, Alan K.Egypt after the Pharaohs: 332 B.C. - A.D. 642 from Alexander to the ArabConquest. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.

Fowden, Garth. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind.Revised

edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.Monash University.Dakhleh Oasis Project: Annual Reports. Monash University, 27 October

2003. Accessed May 13 2004. Web Page. Available fromhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/index.html andhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/ismant.html. Annual Reports of the OasisProject
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/index.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/ismant.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/dakhleh/bibliography.pdfhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/index.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/ismant.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/ismant.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/index.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/dakhleh/bibliography.pdfhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/ismant.htmlhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/index.html


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_______________.Dakhleh Oasis Project Bibliography. Monash University, 2003. AccessedMay 13 2004. Adobe Acrobat File. Available fromhttp://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/dakhleh/bibliography.pdf. Titles publishedby members of the Dakhleh Oasis Project staff on the work of the project.

Monash University Library Publications Committee.From the Sands of the Sahara: AncientKellis and Its Texts.Monash University Department of Classics and Archaeology, andMonash University Library Rare Books Collection: an exhibition. August 1998. AccessedMay 13, 2004.. Web site. Available fromhttp://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/egypt/

Pearson, Birger A. and James E. Goehring, eds. The Roots of Egyptian Christianity. Studies inAntiquity and Christianity.Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986.

Swan, Laura. The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early ChristianWomen.New York: Paulist Press, 2001.

Tour Egypt.Ancient Documents.1996. Accessed May 14, 2004. Web Page. Available fromhttp://touregypt.net/literature.htm. Sections with translations of Christian and Manichanmaterials. Informal, but useful resource. Created by InterCity Oz, Inc.

Ward, Benedicta. The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks.New York:Penguin, 2003.

Williams, Michael Allen.Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for Dismantling a DubiousCategory.Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Acta Archelai.Die griechischen christlichen Scriftsteller. C.H. Beeson, ed. Leipzig 1897 ff 90-91.

Alexander of Lycopolis. Critique of the Doctrines of the Manichees.Seevan der Horst &Mansfield, Brinkmann, and Villey.

Alexander of Lycopolis. Contra la doctrine de Mani. A. Villey, ed. Paris: Cerf 1985.

Altschul, Paisius. African Monasticism: Its Influence on the Rest of the World. Epiphany15,no. 4 (1995): 28-45.

Apophthegmata Patrum. Translated in Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/dakhleh/bibliography.pdfhttp://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/egypt/http://touregypt.net/literature.htmhttp://touregypt.net/literature.htmhttp://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/egypt/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/archaeology/dakhleh/bibliography.pdf


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London: Mowbray 1984.

Armstrong, Karen. The Battle for God.New York: Ballantine, 2000.

Athanasius, Saint Patriarch of Alexandria. The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus. RCGregg, Trans. NY: Paulist 1980.

_________________________________. The Coptic Life of Antony. Tim Vivian, Trans. SanFrancisco: International Scholars Publications,, 1995.

Bagnall, Roger S.Egypt in Late Antiquity. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.

Bardy, G.Didyme lAveugle. tudes de thologie historique 11; Paris: Beauchesne 1910.

Barnstone, Willis and Marvin Meyer, eds. The Gnostic Bible.New York: Shambala, 2003.

Bauer, Walter. Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity. Robert A. Kraft, and GerhardKrodel, eds. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979. Translation of:Rechtglubigkeit undKetzerei im ltesten Christentum, 2nd. German ed., with added appendices by GeorgStrecker.

De Beausobre, I.Histoire critique de Maniche et du manichismeI. Amsterdam 1734.

BeDuhn, J.D. A Regimen for Salvation: Medical models in Manichaean Asceticism, Semeia58:2 (1992) 109-134.

Bhlig, A. Neue Initiativen zur Erschlieung der koptisch-graphymanichischen Bibliothek vonMedinet Madi,Zeitschrift fr die Neutesamentliche Wissenschaft80 (1969) 240-262.

Bowen, Gillian E. "The Ankh in Early Christian Iconography: Some Reflections in Light ofRecent Discoveries at Kellis." InEncounters with Ancient Egypt. Institute ofArchaeology, University College London, 2000. (See 2004 entry below for updates tothis research.)

______________. Early Christian Burial Practices at Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The ArtefactVol. 26:1, 77-88 (2003).

______________. The Fourth-Century Churches at Ismant el-Kharab. In Hope, Collin A. andGillian E. Bowen, eds.Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on the 1994-1995 to1998-1999 Field Seasons.Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2002. 65-85.


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Emmert, Alana. An Early Fourth Century Female Monastic Community in Egypt? InMaistor:Classical, Byzantine and Renaissance Studies for Robert Browning, ed. Ann Moffitt, 77-83. Canberra: The Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1984.

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___________. "The Manichaean Community at Kellis: A Progress Report." InEmerging fromDarkness: Studies in the Recovery of Manichaean Sources, ed. Paul Mirecki & JasonBeDuhn. Leiden: Brill, 1997.

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Goehring, James E. "The World Engaged: The Social and Economic World of Early EgyptianMonasticism." In Gnosticism & the Early Christian World, ed. James E Goehring, 134-144. Sonoma, Calif: Polebridge Press, 1990.

________________. "Through a Glass Darkly: Diverse Images of the Apotaktikoi(Ai) of EarlyEgyptian Monasticism." Semeia58 (1992): 25-45.

________________. "The Encroaching Desert: Literary Production and Ascetic Space in EarlyChristian Egypt."Journal of Early Christian Studies1 (1993): 281-96.

________________. "Melitian Monastic Organization: A Challenge to Pachomian Originality."Studia Patristica25 (1993): 388-95.

________________. "Withdrawing from the Desert: Pachomius and the Development of VillageMonasticism in Upper Egypt."Harvard Theological Review89, no. 3 (1996): 267-85.

________________. "Monastic Diversity and Ideological Boundaries in Fourth-CenturyChristian Egypt."Journal of Early Christian Studies5, no. 1 (1997): 61-83.

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by Samuel Rubenson's 'the Letter of Antony'." Studia Patristica25 (1993): 405-16.

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