A Manichaean church at Kellis / by Håkon Fiane Teigen.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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.

"This volume offers a comprehensive account of a Manichaean community in fourth-century Roman Egypt. The study analyses papyrological material from Kellis, a village in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis, and their implications for Manichaeism as a socio-religious movement. Drawing on social network theory and engaging with current trends in the study of lived ancient religion, Teigen explores how lay families at Kellis cohered as a religious community. Whereas recent scholarship has seen the laity here as largely detached from distinctively Manichaean traditions, he argues that the papyri in fac reveal a community immersed in Manichaean ideas and practices. The book thereby shows how new religious identities were deeply entangled in everyday social life in late antiquity"-- Provided by publisher.

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