Description

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. Alistair C. Stewart is an Anglican priest serving in Slough, UK. He is also the author (with Judith H. Newman) of Early Jewish Liturgy: A Sourcebook for use by students of Early Christian Liturgy (Gorgias Press, 2010).