Coptic Popular Religiosity: Rereading Religious Conservancy in Hellenistic Egypt

Abstract

Christianity in ancient Egypt has been one of the most interesting religions in Hellenistic Egypt and the world entirely. This happened because religious activities were not foreign to the Egyptians because they had the religions of the Pharoahs before the coming of the Christian message in the country. Such expansion and domination of the Christian message among the Copts and their religious activities made them become popular among other Christians regions in the history of the church. Using historical method, this work argues prominent place religious activities have played in Egyptian Christianity. It has also shown how that the Coptic church expanded its frontiers and establish its religious beliefs even in the midst of challenges and persecution. The work also reveals the effort put in place the Alexandrian Christians in the creation of papyri and engaging in scribal practices to preserve the message of the Bible and make it accessible to their natives, and the invention of monastic practices and religious paintings to preserve their Christian religious identity.