Egyptian Ethnic Identity Development in Anti-Chalcedonian Coptic Literature
Egyptian Ethnic Identity Development in Anti-Chalcedonian Coptic LiteratureVince L. Bantu, Ph.D.Director: Janet Timbie, Ph.D.The rapid increase of rhetorical and thematic elements in Coptic literature emphasizing the land and people of Egypt during the centuries following the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE) was interpreted by many scholars in the early twentieth-century as a sign of Egyptian nationalism. Beginning in the late twentieth century the study of late antique Christianity has witnessed an almost complete rejection of this analysis. Yet, while offering valid objections to the nationalism thesis, contemporary scholarship has not provided a helpful framework with which to understand Egyptian-centered rhetoric in Coptic texts and its role in the overall formation of Egyptian Christian identity. This project pursues questions related to the presence of ethnic rhetoric in Coptic literature toward the goal of understanding the role of ethnicity in Egyptian Christian life and thought. In the fifth through seventh centuries, areas of focus include the value of nationalism as an analytical tool, the surge of ethnic rhetoric and its role in christological controversies, and the effect of the international aspect of Miaphysitism on the Egyptian community. The historical, hagiographical and homiletic literature under investigation are divided into the following three periods: the period immediately following Chalcedon (late fifth century), during the rule of Justinian and others (sixth century) and immediately following the Arab Conquest (early seventh century). Because nationalism has proven to be an inaccurate interpretive tool, the analysis of ethnic rhetoric in anti-Chalcedonian texts analyzes Egyptian identity from the perspective of ethnic identity development utilizing the anthropological methodology of Fredrik Barth. While the nationalism thesis has been rejected, no comprehensive analysis of ethnic rhetoric in anti-Chalcedonian literature has emerged. This project demonstrates the existence of a process of ethnic boundary maintenance in Egyptian Miaphysite literature after the Council of Chalcedon. At odds with the larger Byzantine Empire, Egyptian Miaphysites reestablished the boundaries of Egyptian identity primarily by the standard of anti-Chalcedonian theology. The Miaphysites of Egypt elevated their people as the guardians of orthodoxy to the extent that ethnic identity became a cause for division among fellow Miaphysites of different ethnic backgrounds.
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