Akhenaten: The Idea Of A Monotheistic Religion

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One of the greatest and most famous ancient civilizations of the world gave rise to one of the oldest and often forgotten sects of Christianity. The ancient Egyptian civilization, an advanced and cultured civilization, with a glorious past, is credited with the beginning of the Coptic people of Egypt. The word “Copt” is derived from the Greek term “Aigyptos,” meaning “Egyptian.” As descendants of the ancient Egyptians, the Copts are often given the title of “the modern sons of the Pharaohs.” Akhenaten, one of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt was the first to introduce the idea of a monotheistic religion or praying to one god rather than to the several deities the ancient Egyptians worshiped. What makes Egypt and its Christian congregation unique …show more content…
Antony experienced his call to asceticism through a specific verse in the Book of Matthew in the Holy Bible: "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give them to the poor, and come and follow me, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). The simple acts of hearing this verse and acting upon it led to one of the most historic establishments in the world. Saint Athanasius, the twentieth bishop of Alexandria and a Christian theologian, in Tim Vivian’s translated version of his Life of Antony reveals that Saint Antony left his possessions and everything he came from in order to dedicate his life to strengthening and disciplining himself to live a pious, Christian life. At the time, the life of the desert was unknown and monasteries were almost nonexistent. However, one that sought a life of asceticism would go not too far away from home and practice self-discipline. This monastic way of life, characterized and built upon ethics of simplicity, obedience, poverty, and modesty, made its way into later years of the church after its full establishment by early church fathers. The newly founded lifestyle and …show more content…
The idea of removing oneself spiritually from society is crucial to the Christian tradition of monasticism, a term derived from the Greek word “monachos,” meaning a person of solitude. Egyptian monks are recognized for successfully spreading Christianity through monasticism as well as just the concept of monasticism to various parts of the world. Just one example of the spread of monasticism is attributed to the many Coptic monks who traveled to Ireland in the fifth century in order to visit the terminally ill son of the Irish King. He heard of the miracles that were performed such as healing the sick from the lake near the body of Saint Mina, a famous saint in the Coptic Church. Following his visit to this lake, his son was cured. As a result he believed in the faith and was baptized and many others with him. The practice of asceticism and monasticism as well as certain trends such as the role of monks in the faith became known in Ireland as result of the interactions between these two groups. In his Egyptians in Ireland: A Question of Coptic Peregrinations, Robert K. Ritner, Jr. writes, “The close similarity to the structure of the Coptic Church-monastically oriented in form and leadership-as well as the early and somewhat mysterious spread of Christianity into
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