CLERGY AS AGENTS OF SOCIAL COHESION IN LATE ANTIQUE EGYPT (4TH–8TH C.): CONTEXTS AND MODALITIES
CLERGY AS AGENTS OF SOCIAL COHESION IN LATE ANTIQUE EGYPT (4TH–8TH C.): CONTEXTS AND MODALITIES

Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses the role of clerics—presbyters and deacons—in maintaining social cohesion within the communities and households of late antique rural Egyptian settlements. Drawing on papyrological evidence and framed by the theoretical perspectives of Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu, it explores the various contexts in which clergy acted as mediators, whether through their religious authority or through the influence derived from their lay occupations. This analysis illuminates how clerical authority in rural settings emerged at the intersection of multiple social roles, practices, and performances.

• Details
• Contents