Episcopal Networks and Authority in Late Antique Egypt : Bishops of the Theban region at work / by Renate Dekker.

General introduction -- A widow’s petition to Bishop Pesynthius -- The rise of a new, Theodosian hierarchy -- A Theodosian network in the Theban region -- The aims of this book -- The sources -- A mixed approach for analyzing episcopal networks and authority -- A book with a CD -- Chapter 1: The analysis of episcopal networks and authority -- Chapter 2: The Theban region -- Chapter 3: The Theodosian network in the Theban region -- Chapter 4: The social network of the Theban region -- Chapter 5: The social network of Abraham of Hermonthis -- Chapter 6: The nature of Abraham’s authority -- Chapter 7: The social network of Pesynthius of Koptos -- Chapter 8: The nature of Pesynthius’ authority -- General conclusions -- 1. The position of the bishops in the Theodosian and Theban networks -- 2.A Abraham’s social network -- 2.B Pesynthius’ social network -- 3. How Abraham and Pesynthius exercised their authority -- 4. How Abraham and Pesynthius contributed to the rise of the Theodosian church -- 5. The combination of papyrology, SNA and a model of episcopal authority -- 6. The strengths and challenges of applying SNA to documentary papyri -- 7. Desiderata for further research -- Bibliography -- Map 1: The districts of Hermonthis and Koptos -- Map 2: Western Thebes -- Indices

In this book the author examines how two bishops in the Theban region contributed to the rise of a new, anti-Chalcedonian church hierarchy, which became the forerunner of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Abraham of Hermonthis (ca. 590-621) and Pesynthius of Koptos (599-632) are exceptional, since a large number of their professional documents (mostly in Coptic) is preserved. By applying Social Network Analysis to these documents, the author reconstructed their individual social networks and linked them to a wider regional network that was centered on monastic communities in Western Thebes (west of modern Luxor), but also included a large number of civil officials, clergymen and lay men and women. In addition, a social model of episcopal authority was adopted, in order to evaluate how the bishops used their authority and to explain what made Pesynthius so extraordinary that he is still remembered as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church.