The Canons of Athanasius (Part II)

Translation of the Coptic Version, Preface and Notes by A. A. Morozov

Authors

  • Alexey A. Morozov Fribourg University

Keywords:

Coptic literature, Athanasius of Alexandria, church canons, Sahidic dialect, Egyptian Christianity, monasticism, pastoral tradition

Abstract

This paper presents the first-ever Russian translation of the surviving fragments of the Sahidic version of the «Canons of Apa Athanasius» — a unique monument of Coptic ecclesiastical-canonical law. The collection, attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria, has come down to us only in fragments preserved in three Coptic manuscripts dating from the 7th to 11th centuries and includes 49 of the 107 canons known from the later Arabic version. The article provides a historical-theological introduction addressing issues of authorship, manuscript tradition, linguistic and editorial differences between the Sahidic and Arabic versions, as well as a thematic analysis of the content. The translation is based on the 1904 edition by W. Crum, with additional fragments published by H. Munier in 1920, and is accompanied by philological and theological annotations.

Author Biography

Alexey A. Morozov, Fribourg University

PhD in Philology (Greek Studies), Sorbonne University

PhD in Theology, Fribourg University

Lecturer-Assistant at the Department of Patrology and History

of the Church at the Faculty of Theology of Fribourg University (Switzerland)

Postdoc researcher at the Faculty of Theology of Fribourg University (Switzerland)

Secretary of the Swiss Patristic Studies Group

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Published

2025-09-10

Issue

No. 3(27) (2025)

Section

Practical theology