The Legacy of Demetrius of Alexandria, 189–232 CE: The Form and Function of Hagiography in Late Antique and Islamic Egypt

228 Pages·2016·1.48 MB·English

by  Maged Mikhail

THE LEGACY OF DEMETRIUS OF
ALEXANDRIA (189–232 )
ce
This is the first full-length study of Demetrius of Alexandria (189–232 ce),
who generated a neglected, yet remarkable hagiographic program that secured
him a positive legacy throughout the middle ages and the modern era. Draw-
ing upon Patristic, Coptic, and Arabic sources spanning a millennium, the
analysis contextualizes the Demetrian corpus at its various stages of composi-
tion and presents the totality of his hagiographic corpus in translation.
This volume constitutes a definitive study of Demetrius, but more broadly,
it provides a clearly delineated hagiographic program and charts its evolu-
tion against a backdrop of political developments and intercommunal inter-
actions. The methodology, source-base, and conclusions of this fascinating
study will be a welcomed resource for a wide range of students and special-
ists of the Church in Egypt and hagiography, as well as early Christian and
Arabic Christian studies.
Maged S. A. Mikhail is Professor of History at California State University
at Fullerton, USA.
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CHRISTIAN WORLD
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THE LEGACY OF
DEMETRIUS OF
ALEXANDRIA (189–232 )
ce
The Form and Function of Hagiography in
Late Antique and Islamic Egypt
Maged S. A. Mikhail
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2017 Maged S. A. Mikhail
The right of Maged S. A. Mikhail to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Mikhail, Maged S. A., 1974– author.
Title: The legacy of Demetrius of Alexandria (189–232 CE): the form
and function of hagiography in late antique and Islamic Egypt /
Maged S. A. Mikhail.
Description: First edition. | New York : Routledge, 2016. | Series:
Routledge studies in the early Christian world | Includes
translations from Arabic, Coptic and Greek. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016002770 | ISBN 9781138189324 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315641638 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Demetrius, of Alexandria, 189–232. | Hagiography. |
Church history—Egypt.
Classification: LCC BR65.D364 M55 2016 | DDC 270.1092—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016002770
ISBN: 978-1-138-18932-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-64163-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
FOR MY PARENTS
SAMIR AND JULIETTE

CONTENTS
Preface ix
Abbreviations xi
PART I
The genesis and evolution of a hagiographic program 1
1 The bishop and the scholar 3
2 Sources 10
3 Early imprints 22
4 Date and socio-literary setting of the Sahidic
Coptic tradition 32
5 The encomium as hagiography 53
6 Hagiography across language and culture 61
7 Arabic recensions, amendments, and omissions:
Emergence of the normative hagiography 75
8 Lent and Epact in Alexandria 95
9 Form, function, and meaning 108
PART II
Texts: Demetrius’s bio-hagiographic dossier 115
Introduction to the translations 117
Text I Earliest evidence 118
Text II An encomium on Demetrius of Alexandria 123
vii
CONTENTS
Text III Sīrat (biography of) Demetrius of Alexandria:
Primitive recension 136
Text IV Eutychius’s Naẓm al-jawhar (The string of pearls) 156
Text V Kitāb al-tawārīkh and the Chronicon orientale 159
Text VI The Synaksār: Coptic-Arabic Synaxarium
(thirteenth century) 169
Text VII Abū al-Barakāt’s Muṣbāḥ al-ẓulmā (A lamp in
the darkness) 176
Text VIII The Difnār (Antiphonarium) 178
Text IX Doxologies and praises: Arabic
and Bohairic-Coptic 182
Works cited 185
Index 208
viii
PREFACE
On occasion, the mind fixates upon a seemingly inconsequential parallel
or discrepancy. While completing my graduate studies, I had noted a few
structural similarities between a passage in the Life of John the Almsgiver
and another in the Encomium on Demetrius of Alexandria. The reference
occupied but a footnote in my Ph.D. dissertation, but it would periodically
come back to mind. A few years ago, I finally had an opportunity to explore
that nagging reference and began to tug at the proverbial thread. Quickly,
I became immersed in Demetrius’s hagiographic corpus.
In my research, I drew upon the resources at the library of the Saint She-
nouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society (Los Angeles), which were kindly
placed at my disposal by the Society’s president, Mr. Hany Takla. Undoubt-
edly, however, the conclusions of this study are my own and in no way
reflect the views of that organization. I have also profited from the sug-
gestions and observations of several colleagues and friends who read sec-
tions of this study, or have answered various questions in person and over
email. I am thankful to Gordon M. Bakken†, Gayle Brunelle, Jochen Burg-
torf, Ashraf Hanna, Alan Kirk, Mark Moussa, Jeffrey Burton Russell, Adel
Sidarus, Mark Swanson, Hany Takla, Janet Timbie, and Youhanna Nessim
Youssef. As always, I could count on the encouragement of His Eminence
anba Serapion, Coptic Orthodox Metropolitan of Los Angeles and Hawai’i.
Fr. Bishoy Kamel suggested the icon used for the cover of this volume and
graciously provided his blessing to use it for that purpose. It is one of the
very few that exist for Patriarch Demetrius. My brother, Sameh Mikhail,
provided the photo.
Tim Vivian was kind enough to provide feedback on the bulk of the man-
uscript, saving me from various errors and oversights. I am also thankful
to Lacey McGee Romano and Gheorghe Gelu Pacurar for their editorial
and research assistance. At Routledge, I was fortunate to have Amy Davis-
Poynter as my editor; she shared my enthusiasm for this project and had
the patience to see it through. Elizabeth Thomasson and Autumn Spalding
were equally patient in guiding me through the publication process. I must
ix