Mani the Anchorite, Mani the Apostle: The Cologne Mani Codex and Syrian Asceticism
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Published:2022-05-12
Issue:1
Volume:77
Page:47-68
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ISSN:0042-6032
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Container-title:Vigiliae Christianae
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language:
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Short-container-title:Vigiliae Christ.
Affiliation:
1. Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies and the Program in Judaic Studies, Brown University https://dx.doi.org/6752 Providence, RI USA
Abstract
Abstract
The Apostle of Jesus Christ, Mani, declares himself to be a “solitary one” (monērēs) no less than three times in the Cologne Mani Codex (CMC). Through a literary analysis that contextualizes the CMC both with contemporary Syrian depictions of anchoritic ascetics, on the one hand, and the hairy mountaineering anchorite (CMC 126.4-129.17) with Mani, on the other hand, this article argues that the redactor of the CMC sought to portray Mani as an anchoritic ascetic. Mani’s declaration to be a monērēs is therefore not incidental, but an essential marker of his identity, even as he sets out into the world as the Apostle of Jesus Christ.
Subject
Linguistics and Language,History,Language and Linguistics,Cultural Studies,Archeology,Religious studies