Ascetic Culture: Essays in Honor of Philip Rousseau

Chapter 2: Writing Rules and Quoting Scripture in Early Coptic Monastic Texts

C h a p t e r T w o Writing Rules and Quoting Scripture in Early Coptic Monastic Texts JanET a. TiMbiE i n his book on Pachomius, Philip Rousseau remarked: “it is surprising in the face of such general allusions that there is so little quotation from scripture in the Rules.”1 Occasionally , in the Coptic texts of the Pachomian Rules, there are statements such as “Everything contrary to the standard of the scriptures, all these, the steward (oikonomos) shall judge.”2 The Pachomian Rules, as they survive in both Coptic and Latin, do not include explicit quotations from scripture in the rule itself, which is usually brief and specific:3 “no man shall take shoes or anything else to oil [them], except the housemasters [Nrm;Nhi] only.”4 Most of the surviving rules of the Pachomian communities are found in lists of specific orders, which can be stated either positively or negatively (“he shall” [eFe] versus “he shall not” [NneF]). The Pachomian rules are preserved in manuscripts that were part of the White Monastery library, and none of these manuscripts were produced earlier than the eighth century, so it is likely that they were copied and recopied 29 30 Janet A. Timbie in the central monastery of the White Monastery Federation. The White Monastery, founded by Pcol and led for many years by Shenoute (leader from 385 to 465), preserved written rules in a different form and in the Pachomian form, but with the same lack of explicit scriptural quotation.5 The Canon texts collected and written by Shenoute include many rules in this form: “Cursed be any, whether male or female, who undertake to sit near their neighbor, with a filthy desire in their heart.”6 Others are close to the Pachomian form: “no person [rwme] who enters these congregations [sunagwgh] at any time to become a monk shall say, ‘The work that i did in my home, i am going to do it here.’”7 a little after this, Shenoute states, “The work for which each one came here [i.e., to the monastery], the scriptures and the books written for us tell us about it.”8 There is a “general allusion” to scripture here but no quotation in the rule. Why is there no scriptural quotation in the Pachomian rules or in those of the White Monastery Federation? Where is the scriptural foundation of the rules presented in detail if it is not actually in the rules? i will begin with an examination of some texts from the Pachomians and Shenoute that bring explicit quotation of scripture into proximity with rules, thereby answering the second question just posed. Comparison of these texts suggests contact of some sort between the Pachomian Koinonia and the White Monastery Federation, which agrees with other evidence .9 Yet just as the Pachomians labeled their enterprise a koinonia and Shenoute usually referred to the monastic synagoge, the characteristic form of their rules is different.10 “no one shall” is found in both Pachomian and Shenoutean works, while “Cursed be” occurs only in White Monastery rules.11 Some exploration of these contrasting biblical formulas may suggest a speculative “answer” to the first question: Why is there no quotation in the rules? The Rule of Horsiesius is a Pachomian text that weaves together rules, arguments in favor of the rules, and quotations from scripture that support the arguments.12 Johannes Leipoldt included this text in his publication of the works of Shenoute, but later work by L.-Th. Lefort and armand Veilleux showed that it is a Pachomian text.13 Vocabulary such as Apa without a name following and koinonia is Pachomian, but there is no support for attributing the text to Horsiesius (the third leader after Pachomius). The text, which is about seventeen pages long in the Lefort edition, is partially preserved in one White Monastery codex, with short excerpts or citations preserved in three other codices.14 in the Rule of Horsiesius, rules for behavior during typical monastic activities—prayer, food preparation, and farming—are followed by exhortation from the author and allusions to or quotations from scripture. The statement of a rule can be just as brief as in the Pachomian Precepts, but it is often embedded in a minisermon. For example, instructions on how to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of prayers are justified by an allusion to Ezekiel...