Digging into lives

Christians and Christianity in the Greek papyri from Egypt

Bibliographic Data

ID21609856
AuthorsIsabella Bonati (0000-0003-3539-038X, North-West University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume57
Issue1
Publication date2023-08-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIn die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1018-6441 • E-ISSN: 2305-0853
PublisherAOSIS (PUBLISHER • ZA)
DOI10.4102/ids.v57i1.2938
OpenAlexW4386208462
LanguageEN
References cited23

Greek papyri recovered from the sands of Egypt represent a precious source of data for early Christianity. Egypt is the land of the earliest Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Old Testament or Septuagint was undertaken within the Jewish community of Alexandria from near the middle of the 3rd to the 2nd century BC. Alexandria became the first centre of Christianity in Egypt. Then, the Christian doctrine spread to the villages of the Egyptian chora . Christian papyri mirror this historical context. The earliest Christian papyri are biblical and literary. Besides these, documentary texts offer unique insights into the everyday life and society of Christians in Egypt. Private letters, in particular, reveal the activities and worries of laymen and women, monks and church officials. Papyrological evidence also enlightens the relationship of Christianity with local religious practices. After an overview of the contribution of papyri to our knowledge of early Christianity, this article will focus on documentary specimens dealing with health issues in the form of requests for healing prayers and amulets written on papyrus. Health was, in fact, a common cause for concern and a central aspect of the daily reality of Christian communities. Contribution: This article contributes to shedding light on the role of papyrological evidence in reconstructing the everyday lives of people in Egypt. Christian documentary papyri are particularly illuminating on the day-to-day life of early Christian communities. Their study expands our socio-cultural understanding of aspects – such as healing – that, although important, are poorly known from the literary tradition

Archaeology · Art · Blessing · Christianity · Early Christianity · Everyday life · Hebrew · Judaism · Literature · New Testament · Papyrus · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · History · Philosophy

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