Modern Africa continues to be engaged in a conversation about its role in the story of Christianity and its imposition on Africa by Europe. A continental conversation that seeks to reconcile historical data for the continued preservation of the faith and a continued effort to reassure Africans that their identity is in the process of being restored, regardless of the continued presence of the European church.
The Bible account of the events of the fleeing of the Holy Family to Egypt to prevent eminent harm on baby Jesus by king Herod and many other stories, are a clear indication of the existence of the Roman influence in North Africa. It is a fact that “Christianity was born as a sect of Judaism”, an indication that “Judaism and the Christian faith had an influence in the near-by Egypt”. History records that Alexandria is set as the scene of the first arrival of Christianity in Africa, Eusebius tells us that “Mark is likely to be the first to set foot in Egypt, preaching the gospel and setting up churches”, Baur sets the time of these events somewhere between Ad 50-100, notably that “Mark ordained Annianus, bishop apostolic see of Alexandria in AD62” (Baur, J. 1994:21).
Baur asserts that “the Alexandrian Theological School was most successful under origen”, famously known as the Catechetical School of Alexandria, founded by a very little known Pantaenus who was succeeded by his disciple Clement, before Origen. It is evident that Christianity in North Africa benefited greatly from this school, particularly in its growth as we see many theologians and doctrines emerging out of its educational strength. Elizabeth Isichei’s assertion is that “around this period, there was a mass turning away from the old religion towards Christianity”.
The school at Alexandria seems to have quenched the thirst of knowledge of the young Christian in Egypt. This seems to have greatly supported the effort in the preservation of a Christian witness in North Africa, particularly through the growth of the Coptic church, a church that we can without doubt call 'the proper Egyptian church', which continues to exist in present day Egypt under the leadership of Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, preserving the Christian witness in the North African region which is predominantly Islam.
Once again Africa's identity and contribution is affirmed if we look at the Egyptian monasticism, this is in no doubt the greatest contribution the African continent made to the universal church, in our effort to assert the fact that monasticism began in Africa with Anthony as its highly venerated father. The faith grew so much that at one stage the Pachomian monastery housed about nine thousand monks (Baur 1994:24), drawing pilgrimages from all over the Christian world, a clear indication of its contribution to the Christian faith.
The Alexandrian monastic contribution in the preservation of the faith trickled out into other regions, including Ethiopia. With Egypt being the paradise of monks, history records the arrival of ascetics from all over the world for monastic training, before being sent out to other countries on mission work, which lead to the arrival of the nine saints in Ethiopia, around year 500. The continued existence of the Debre Daw church to this day, is a perfect example of how great a contribution the monastic community has made in the preservation of the faith, a church which was established by one of the most prominent of the nine, Saint Michael Aregawi.
Even though there are debates around the exact arrival of Christianity in Nubia, Baur records the official conversion as having to have taken place under Justinian in the 540s. Justinian, a catholic that arrived in Nubia with his Monophysite wife Theodora, who later succeeded in sending Julian as the first missionary. Beyond this point the church in Nubia flourished, growing in leaps and bounds through the conversion of the three kingdoms Nobatia, Maqurra and Alwah between 543 and 575.
The close proximity of the Nubian church to the crown may have been one of its weaknesses, simply because the colonizer's model of governance was always that of state and church, primarily for the purpose of preserving power and control. However, this does not in any way overshadow its successes in preserving a Christian witness in North Africa, including and perhaps not limited to its growth through the building of many churches, translation of prayer books to different languages, ordination of black and Coptic Clergy, more prominently the episcopacy of Bishop Petros.
Throughout all available literature thus far, it is clear that there is great influence of the Coptic church throughout the northern African Christian world, evidence of the lasting influence of the teachings of the Alexandrian school can still be seen through the different doctrines that emerged out of what could be described as the proper Egyptian church, most prominently the Coptic monasticism influence, which today continues to stand in a predominantly Islamic Northern Africa. In my view, the most effective tool that has preserved the Christian witness in North Africa. Africa's role remains a dominant feature in this history.
If as an African you may still be underplaying the role of the African continent in the broader history of religion, perhaps it is time to shift your mindset and develop a new worldview.
Kgosiemang Phejane
#MeditationsOfTheHeart
