Why did early Egyptian monks read apocryphal texts and how did they use them? Were the Gospel of Thomas and the Book of Thomas used for monastic instruction, with the former aimed at an introductory level and the latter at more advanced monks? How was Plato and other Greek philosophers edited or rewritten specifically for a monastic audience? What can Coptic apocryphal literature tell us about the early monastic reception of the Bible? Why were the apocrypha considered heretical by some, but not by others?
This event celebrates the recent publication of two edited volumes dealing with questions such as these. The two books both focus on Coptic manuscripts containing texts that do not belong to the Bible, but which move in its orbit. These texts include apocryphal gospels, acts, and letters, as well as polemical writings arguing against the use of such literature, and they were all read by Egyptian monks.
Program
15:00–16:00: Hugo Lundhaug, Christian H. Bull, Kristine Toft Rosland, and René Falkenberg present The Nag Hammadi Codices as Monastic Books (edited by Hugo Lundhaug & Christian H. Bull).
16:00–17:00: Ivan Miroshnikov, Christian H. Bull, Samuel Cook, and René Falkenberg present Parabiblica Coptica (edited by Ivan Miroshnikov).