The Catechetical School of Alexandria was a school of Christian

theologians Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and bishops and deacons in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. The teachers and students of the school (also known as the Didascalium) were influential in many of the early

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

controversies of the

Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

. It was one of the two major centers of the study of biblical

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

during Late Antiquity, the other being the

School of Antioch The Catechetical School of Antioch was one of the two major Christian centers of the study of biblical exegesis and theology during Late Antiquity; the other was the Catechetical School of Alexandria, School of Alexandria. This group was known by ...

. According to

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

the Alexandrian school was founded by John Mark the Apostle. The earliest recorded dean was supposedly Athenagoras (176). He was succeeded by

Pantaenus Saint Pantaenus the Philosopher (; died c. 200) was a Sicilian theologian and a significant figure in the Catechetical School of Alexandria from around AD 180. This school was the earliest catechetical school, and became influential in the dev ...

181, who was succeeded as head of the school by his student

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

in 190. Other notable theologians with a connection to the school include

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Heraclas, Dionysius "the Great", and

Didymus the Blind Didymus the Blind ( Coptic: ; 398), alternatively spelled Dedimus or Didymous, was a Christian theologian in the Church of Alexandria, where he taught for about half a century. He was a student of Origen, and, after the Second Council of Constant ...

. Others, including

and

Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

, made trips to the school to interact with the scholars there. Continuity with the ancient school is claimed by the Coptic Theological Seminary, Cairo.

Beginning

The Catechetical School of Alexandria is the oldest catechetical school in the world. Jerome records that the Christian School of Alexandria was founded by St.

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

himself and the first manager appointed by Saint Mark was Saint Justus, who later became the sixth bishop of Alexandria. There is another opinion that the school was founded mid-second century, around 190 AD. Under the leadership of the scholar Pantaenus, the school of Alexandria became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as Athenagoras, Clement, Didymus, and the great Origen, who was considered the father of theology and who was also active in the field of commentary and comparative Biblical studies. Many scholars, such as Jerome, visited the school of Alexandria to exchange ideas and to communicate directly with its scholars. The scope of this school was not limited to theological subjects. Apart from subjects like theology, Christian philosophy and the Bible; science, mathematics and Greek and Roman literature, logic and the arts were also taught. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and, 15 centuries before

Braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

, blind students at the school were using wood-carving techniques to read and write.

Alexandria before the Catechetical School

"For about two centuries before the birth of Christ, and the same period after it, Alexandria was the great seat of intellectual culture and home of Greek philosophy. It was the joining point between three continents, and became the battle-ground, where the religions of the East were brought face to face with the philosophical creeds of the West, and where both were represented by their ablest champions." "The story of Alexandria begins with

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. Having conquered Egypt, he tasked Ptolemy Lagus to building Alexandria. The streets were based on Aristotle's ideal urban plan; they were designed on a rectangular grid and oriented south-west to provide shelter from the north wind and take advantage of the westerly breeze. Next to the

Serapeum A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretism, syncretic Greeks in Egypt, Greco-Egyptian ancient Egyptian deities, deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis (deity), Apis in a humanized form that w ...

stood the Daughter Library. It was open to the public and according to the poet

Callimachus Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which ...

contained 42,800 books. At the heart of the classical city lay the Museion, the first public research institution, and the Great Library, said to contain 700,000 scrolls. The Museum and the Library were not open to the public but reserved for scholars who undertook research in philology, the mathematical sciences and astrology. Both institutions were famed for their accomplishments. The school of mathematics had been founded by

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

in the fourth century BC. The first director of the Library,

Eratosthenes Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; ; – ) was an Ancient Greek polymath: a Greek mathematics, mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theory, music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of A ...

, was the first person to calculate the circumference of the earth, coming within two per cent of modern measurements."

The Catechetical School

"The School's purpose was to supply defenders of the Christian Faith. It did not attain a world-wide fame till Pantaenus became its teacher. He was a native of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, and, before his conversion to Christianity, a Stoic philosopher. It is said that he was converted by one of the disciples of St Mark. He became head of the Catechetical School about 180. He immediately set about introducing those changes that contributed largely to its future celebrity. The union which he effected between theology and philosophy. Clement, the successor of Pantaenus viewed the union with suspicion." The supporters of Pantaenus "looked on this philosophy as a 'Gift of God', a 'Work of Divine Providence,' which was intended to be for the Gentiles what the Law has been for the Jew, viz,. the means of their justification and a preparation for the Gospel. They held, that between revealed religion and philosophy, thus understood and explained, there can be no antagonism; but that, on the contrary, the latter can be made subservient to the interests of the former in various ways: (a) by training the mind to think and reason accurately, and thus prepare the mind for the higher study of theology. (b) by supplying proofs and illustrations of many truths common to the two sciences. (c) by unfolding and throwing into scientific shape the truths of Revelation. This union was opposed by the 'Positive Teachers' of the Western Church, especially by

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

and St Cyprian. Pantaenus' successor was Titus Flavius Clement, Clement of Alexandria. Clement was appointed in 192. His lectures were attended by large numbers of pagans. He commenced with those truths that could be demonstrated from philosophy, for the purpose of leading his hearers by degrees to embrace the Christian faith. He did not confine himself to oral instruction. He wrote numerous works for the benefit of those who could not attend his lectures. In 202 he fled to Palestine because of the persecution of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

. After four years he returned". "The first great figures of the Church in Egypt were scholars rather than bishops, directors of the Catechetical School of Alexandria: Clement (160–215) and Origen (185–251). Both were versed in Greek philosophy and their lives' work was one of great integration: they transformed Christianity from a localised cult for the poorest class into a fully-fledged religion with a philosophy and a

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

End of this School

"The Council of Constantinople, convened in 381", a little while after the death of St.

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria ( – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria (as Athanasius ...

, "had far-reaching effects for Egypt". After declaring the primacy of the

Bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

at the expense of Alexandrian authority, riots destroyed the school. "However, it was reopened in a different location in 1893."

Origen's work

"Origen undertook this great work to vindicate the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

version of the Bible. The original manuscript was preserved in Caesarea, where it was said to have been destroyed by the Arabs when the city was taken by them in 653. It was Origen, who is generally looked on as the father of biblical criticism, that gave the Catechetical School of Alexandria the high character it enjoyed for biblical studies. He was the first to draw a clear distinction between the different senses which Sacred Scripture can have, viz., the ''literal'', the ''moral'', and the ''mystical'' or ''allegorical''."Gilmartin, T., Manual of Church History, Vol.I, 1890

Chronological list of deans

# Justus, (62–118) # Eumenius, (118–129) # Markianos, (129–152) #

, (181–190) #

, (190–202) #

, (203-?) # Heraclas, (?–231) # Dionysius, (231–247) # Theognostus, (3rd century) #

Pierius Pierius was a Christian priest and probably head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, conjointly with Achillas. He flourished while Theonas was bishop of Alexandria, and died at Rome after 309. The ''Roman Martyrology'' commemorates him on ...

, (4th century) # Achillas, (4th century) #

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, (4th century) # Serapion, (4th century) # Macaruis, (4th century) #

, (340–391) # Rodon, (5th century) # Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great (5th century – 19th century) # Youssef Marcarius, (1893–1918) # Habib Girgis, (1918–1951) # Fr. Ibrahim Attia, (1951–1962) # Shenouda III, (1962–1987) # Bishop Gregory, (1987–present)

Notable alumni

References

External links

Coptic Orthodox Theological Seminary the United States
* Books ** Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty **

**

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catechetical School Of Alexandria Coptic Orthodox Church History of Christianity in Egypt Oriental Orthodox schools Seminaries and theological colleges in Egypt Christian organizations established in the 2nd century Christian terminology 2nd-century establishments in Egypt Christian schools in Egypt Biblical exegesis 4th-century disestablishments in Egypt