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Joseph Dwelleth in Egypt painted by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, c. 1900. Biblical Egypt (Hebrew: מִצְרַיִם; Mīṣrāyīm), or Mizraim, is a theological term used by historians and scholars to differentiate between Ancient Egypt as it is portrayed in Judeo-Christian texts and what is known about the region based on archaeological evidence.
The vast majority of Egyptian Christians are Copts who belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Church. [2] [3] As of 2019, Copts in Egypt make up approximately 10 percent of the nation's population, [4] with an estimated population of 9.5 million (figure cited in the Wall Street Journal, 2017) [5] or 10 million (figure cited in the Associated Press, 2019). [6]
Isis [Note 1] was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom ( c. 2686 – c. 2181 BCE ) as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth , in which she resurrects her slain brother and husband, the divine king Osiris , and produces and protects ...
The decline of ancient Egyptian religion is largely attributed to the spread of Christianity in Egypt. Historical Christianity's strict monotheistic teachings did not allow the syncretism seen between ancient Egyptian religion and other polytheistic religions, such as that of the Romans .
Christians also may have adapted the iconography of the Egyptian goddess Isis nursing her son Horus and applied it to the Virgin Mary nursing her son Jesus. [154] [155] Some Christians also may have conflated stories about the Egyptian god Osiris with the resurrection of Jesus.
Isis's iconography in these paintings closely resembles and may have influenced the earliest Christian icons of Mary holding Jesus. [124] In the late centuries BCE, the worship of Isis spread from Egypt across the Mediterranean world, and she became one of the most popular deities in the region.
Many Egyptian Christians went to the desert during the 3rd century, and remained there to pray and work and dedicate their lives to seclusion and worship of God. This was the beginning of the monastic movement , which was organized by Anthony the Great , Paul (the world's first anchorite ), Macarius the Great and Pachomius the Cenobite in the ...
The mysteries of Isis were religious initiation rites performed in the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis in the Greco-Roman world. They were modeled on other mystery rites, particularly the Eleusinian mysteries in honor of the Greek goddesses Demeter and Persephone, and originated sometime between the third century BCE and the second century CE.