Early Egyptian Christianity: From its Origins to 451 C.E. (review)

John O. Gooch

Journal of Early Christian Studies, Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 1993,pp. 91-92 (Article)

Published by The Johns Hopkins University PressDOI: 10.1353/earl.0.0127

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BOOK REVIEWS 91

C. Wilfred GriggsEarly Egyptian Christianity: From its Origins to 451 CE.Coptic Studies, Volume 2.Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1991.Pp. 276 $70.00

Griggs' thesis is that Christianity in Egypt began as a local expression of the faithdifferent from the mainstream, went through a period of close ties to Catholicism,and then returned to a local expression in Coptic Christianity.

A list of chapter headings indicates the sweep and direction of this work:The Diffusion of Early Christianity: An AppraisalEarly Christianity in EgyptThe Emergence of Orthodoxy and Heresy in Egyptian ChristianityThe Fourth Century: Schisms and ConsolidationAutocracy in Christian Egypt and the Separation from Catholicism.

Griggs begins by bringing together, from a variety of sources, what is knownabout the early history of Christianity in Egypt. In the first and second centuries,Griggs says, the form of Egyptian Christianity was autonomous groups presidedover by presbyters. Doctrinally, this local Christianity evidences a broader range oftexts and traditions than those found in emerging Catholicism. These includedsuch texts as the Gospel of Thomas, Christian gnostic documents, and so on.

In the late second century, there was an imposition of Catholic ecclesiasticism onthe Egyptian church. This led to a tension between the Alexandrian bishops andspokespersons for local Christianity, such as the leaders of the catechetical school.The paradigm for that tension and struggle is the clash between Bishop Demetriusand Origen.

Monasticism, Griggs says, arose in Egypt at least in part as a protest againstCatholicism. He defines monasticism as a movement independent of Catholicism,doctrinally as well as in terms of ecclesiastical control. In the fourth and fifthcenturies, as a kind of counter-movement, Egyptian monks became allies of thebishop of Alexandria against Constantinople and Antioch. Theophilus, for exam-ple, abandoned Origenism in favor of the anti-Origenist stance of the monks. Thisled to more alienation from the wider church, which continued to follow Origen'steachings.

Finally, the Nestorian controversy and the Council of Chalcedon forced a majorconfrontation between Egypt and the rest of the church. The bishop of Alexandriaopted for unity with the monks, rather than unity with Catholicism. At this point,Griggs says, the separation from mainstream Catholicism had already taken place.The formalizing of the Egyptian Coptic Church was only a matter of time.

One strength of this work is the way Griggs brings together from a variety ofsources what is known about the early history of Christianity in Egypt. He makesextensive use of recent archaeological findings, especially documents. On the basisof the texts he argues both that there were biblical texts in Coptic as early as thesecond century, and that native Christianity (that is, outside Alexandria) mayalways have been heretical. Other strengths of the book are its portrayals of the

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efforts of the bishops of Alexandria to tie monasticism to the Catholic church, andof the clashes between Alexandria and the rest of eastern Christendom, particularlyAntioch.

One weakness of the book is its outline of the founding of Christianity in Egypt.Griggs says that Egyptian Christianity was different from the beginning, but doesnot specify what the differences are, except that Egyptian Christianity was autono-mous and probably heretical. So much of what Griggs says was Egyptian soundssuspiciously like Jewish Christianity. The importance of Thomas and other JewishChristian documents in Egypt also suggests the origins of Christianity there were inthe large Jewish community and had strong ties to the Jerusalem church. Even thesystem of church government in Alexandria has ties to Qumran and to the Jerusa-lem community. Why does Griggs not take what seems to be the logical next stepand say that the source of Christianity in Egypt was Jerusalem and the JewishChristian community?

The same question could be raised about his chapter on monasticism. It is notnecessarily true, as Griggs suggests, that monasticism is an Egyptian phenomenon.Monasticism comes out of Jewish Christianity, built on the model of Jesus as a poor,wandering ascetic, and has deep roots in Syria. That model seems to be duplicatedin Antony. Monasticism could even have come to Egypt with the community thatbrought the Gospel of Thomas. Certainly the impulse to monasticism has closepsychological and theological ties to Thomas.

Griggs' treatment of Gnosticism raises some of the same questions. His treat-ment of Basilides and Valentinus as creative Christian thinkers is an importantcontribution, as is the information about their travels and their preaching acrossEgypt. But why ignore the growing sense that Gnosticism has its roots in Jewishheterodoxy? Why ignore the heritage from Philo, the noted Alexandrian Jew, thatseems to appear in Gnostic exegesis and speculation? To acknowledge roots inother sources does not negate his argument that Gnosticism is one expression oflocal Egyptian Christianity.

Even the questions about issues raised here suggest the importance of Griggs'work. Certainly he has brought together in one place a wide range of sources andinformation about Christian Egypt. This book deserves a place on the libraryshelves of those interested in Egyptian Christianity.

Notes are found at the end of each chapter. There is an extensive bibliography,indices of Place Names, Proper Names, and General Index. Two sketch maps arealso included.

John O. Gooch, Nashville, Tennessee