1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910490028203321

Autore

Teigen Håkon Fiane

Titolo

The Manichaean Church at Kellis : Social Networks and Religious Identity in Late Antique Egypt / / Håkon Fiane Teigen

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Brill, 2021

Leiden : , : BRILL, , 2021

©2021

ISBN

90-04-45977-4

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xx, 345 pages)

Collana

Nag Hammadi and Manichaean studies

Disciplina

299.932

Soggetti

Civilization

Manichaeism

Kellis (Extinct city) Civilization

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: Mani's Church and Social Life -- Life in Kellis: Society and Religion in an Oasis Town -- The Pamour Family: Familial and Economic Networks -- Village Networks: The Small World of Fourth-Century Kellis -- Manichaean Cues: Religious Identity in  Everyday Life -- Manichaean Networks: The Social Networks of the Laity at Kellis -- Manichaean Books: Textual Practices, Community, and the  Literary Texts -- Manichaean Rituals: Elect and Laity at Kellis -- The Manichaean Church: Elect Organisation -- Conclusion: A Church in the World.

Sommario/riassunto

The Manichaean Church in Kellis presents an in-depth study of social organisation within the religious movement known as Manichaeism in Roman Egypt. In particular, it employs papyri from Kellis (Ismant el-Kharab), a village in the Dakhleh Oasis, to explore the socio-religious world of lay Manichaeans in the fourth century CE. Manichaeism has often been perceived as an elitist, esoteric religion. Challenging this view, Teigen draws on social network theory and cultural sociology, and engages with the study of lived ancient religion, in order to apprehend how laypeople in Kellis appropriated Manichaean identity and practice in their everyday lives. This perspective, he argues, not only provides a



better understanding of Manichaeism: it also has wider implications for how we understand late antique ‘religion’ as a social phenomenon Readership: All interested in the history of Manichaeism, in late antique religion and religious change in the Roman Empire, the application of sociological theory to papyri, and the archaeology of Kellis.