The Gnomai of the Council of Nicaea (CC 0021) : Critical Text with Translation, Introduction and Commentary

The first English translation and first complete critical text of a neglected moral treatise from fourth-century Egypt, throwing fresh light on the social history of Egyptian Christianity and on the growth of the church-order tradition. "The Gnomai of the Council of Nicaea is an anonymous Egyptian work detailing norms of behaviour for lay Christians, with a particular emphasis on the behaviour of ascetics. The work is interesting both as a relative of the church order tradition and through the light which it throws on the social history of fourth-century Egyptian Christians. Originally composed in Greek by a contemporary of Athanasius, it is now extant solely in Coptic. This is the first English translation of the work, and the first text to take account of all the variant readings of the different manuscripts. It is designed to be of use to specialists, but also to be accessible to historians, classicists, and theologians who are without knowledge of Coptic. A commentary and extensive introduction accompany the text and translation."-- Back cover The Gnomai of Nicaea The text of the Gnomai The date and provenance of the Gnomai The genre of the Gnomai The contents of the Gnomai The purpose of the Gnomai Conclusion Sigla Text and Translation Notes Appendix 1: Ostrakon C. 8123 Appendix 2: Homiletic material from Giov.AJ included by Revillout and Rossi in the Gnomai Appendix 3: Other fragmentary material from Giov.AJ. Table of Contents Preface Introduction Sigla Text and Translation Notes Appendices Index Bibliography