The Egyptian thread: an ongoing discussion with Mr. L

Part I

dsr: When I reference Christians I am talking about the pre-Nicean golden age and the underground legacy that continued throughout the ages up to now.

Mr. L___: When most people mention early Christians they think of Jerusalem and Rome. However, many of the most important developments in the movement that became institutional Christianity occurred in Egypt. First, the budding institutional Church fought Gnosticism [we are accepting the term -Gnostic- as we know it today, in the early days no such label existed, practitioners simply called themselves Christians ed.] and "paganism" by manipulating doctrine to limit spiritual inquiry and consolidate it in the hands of temporal power exercised in the name of a spiritual monopoly. Second, and contemporaneously, the practice of Christian monasticism emerged in the deserts of Egypt, creating an outlet for serious spiritual questing in a form tolerable to church authority. The methods by which the Egyptian Church consolidated power while forging an alliance with desert monasticism helped shape the future parameters of gnosis and contemplative life within the Roman church.

dsr: The introduction of monastic practice is really another theme that, although shrouded in mystery and antiquity, is very important to the maturation of organized insights that informed the nascent doctrine. I think we will find that the monastic movement arose somewhere in an earlier Ptolemaic period.

Mr. L___: Gnosticism existed long before Christianity. Elaine Pagels's seminal work, The Gnostic Gospels, describes how institutional politics needed to eradicate claims of authority by Gnostics led to development of doctrines that augmented the Church's authority and undermined that of opponents. For example, she speculates that orthodoxy embraced a physical, rather than symbolic, resurrection of Christ because it enhanced the authority of disciples who saw Christ risen physically, an experience none again can have. The experience made these disciples special and thereby enhanced the legitimacy of a church claiming to be the successors of these disciples, i.e. Peter.

Research has also develops the theme that orthodox doctrines were fashioned to serve the needs of temporal power. However, it focuses on three steps Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria took that created a "template" for orthodoxy: closing the canon, ascribing knowledge to Christ only, and embracing desert monasticism. Each of these steps served the political interests of institutional orthodoxy, enabling it to triumph over Gnosticism in a culture that had been highly eclectic and cosmopolitan.

dsr: Also rather decentralized in structure and liturgy being formed in the cultural maelstrom of Alexandria which encouraged debate, discussion, and the transmission of wisdom to anyone who attended their gatherings and is likely the birthplace of Eastern Orthodoxy. As I understand it much of the actual organization and day to day practice has been lost to waves of anti-Gnostic pogroms that swept in from Rome.

Mr. L___: Yes and one could term Egypt a spiritual bazaar of sorts. Even in Ptolemaic times the vast heritage of Egypt was literally right under the surface erupting from time to time in various heterodox doctrines including Judaism and the Gnostic movement. Recalling the idea of a god-man was native to Egyptian culture prior to the emergence of Christianity. Egyptian myths held that Isis and Osiris ruled Egypt as god-like monarchs. Seth, Osiris's brother, became jealous of Osiris and killed him. Isis assumed the body of a bird and searched for Osiris, finding his body embedded in a tree that had grown around his coffin. The archetype of a tree holding the body of god after "death" is a complex symbol repeated in the crucifixion story.

-More Later_ originally posted 7/26/24

Part II is here 👇