Early Christianity in Alexandria
From its Beginnings to the Late Second Century

Utilizing the Nag Hammadi codices and early Christian writings, this book explores the earliest development of Christianity in Alexandria.

M. David Litwa (Author)

9781009449557, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 December 2023

240 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 1.5 cm, 0.48 kg

'This study constructs a very well-informed platform from which to continue research into the origins of Alexandrian Christianity and their rich theology.' Paul B. Decock, Review of Biblical Literature

Alexandria was the epicenter of Hellenic learning in the ancient Mediterranean world, yet little is known about how Christianity arrived and developed in the city during the late first and early second century CE. In this volume, M. David Litwa employs underused data from the Nag Hammadi codices and early Christian writings to open up new vistas on the creative theologians who invented Christianities in Alexandria prior to Origen and the catechetical school of the third century. With clarity and precision, he traces the surprising theological continuities that connect Philo and later figures, including Basilides, Carpocrates, Prodicus, and Julius Cassianus, among others. Litwa demonstrates how the earliest followers of Jesus navigated Jewish theology and tradition, while simultaneously rejecting many Jewish customs and identity markers before and after the Diaspora Revolt. His book shows how Christianity in Alexandria developed distinctive traits and seeded the world with ideas that still resonate today.

Acknowledgments
Note on the text
Abbreviations
Introduction: rethinking earliest Christianity in Alexandria
Part I. Beginnings: 1. Foreshadowings: Philo of Alexandria
2. The Jesus movement enters Alexandria
3. Apollos: the earliest known Alexandrian follower of Jesus
4. Factors motivating gentile recruitment
5. Crafting a Christian identity: Barnabas and the two Peters
Part II. Early Christian Teachers and Movements in Alexandria: 6. The earliest Alexandrian theologians: Basilides, Carpocrates, and Prodicus
7. Eugnostus and the wisdom of Jesus Christ
8. Julius Cassianus and Alexandrian ascetic culture
9. Valentinian and Marcionite currents
10. The Naassene preacher
Conclusion: The 'great church' and the many schools of Alexandria
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG]