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Products>The Archangel Michael in Africa: History, Cult and Persona

The Archangel Michael in Africa: History, Cult and Persona

Publisher:
, 2019
ISBN: 9781350084735
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This book takes an interdisciplinary approach in order to understand angels, focusing on Africa and the cult and persona of the Archangel Michael. Traditional methods in the study of religion including philology, papyrology, art and iconography, anthropology, history, and psychology are combined with methodologies deriving from memory studies, graphic design, art education, and semiotics.

Chapters explore both historical and contemporary case studies from Coptic Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and South Africa, providing a comparative perspective on the Archangel Michael, alongside 25 images.

Innovative in both its methodologies and geographical focus, this book is an important contribution to the study of religion and art, Christianity in Africa, and Coptic studies.

An interdisciplinary study of the texts, images and ideas that illustrate the ways that the Archangel Michael has been understood and represented, focusing on Africa.

The first book focused on the cult and representations of The Archangel Michael
Brings together traditional religious studies methodologies with innovative perspectives from memory studies, art education, and semiotics
Contributions from scholars from both Africa and Europe
Book contains 25 images, with further images on the book's online resources

List of Figures
List of Maps
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Part One: On Angels and Michael in Africa
1. The African Context, Alexandros Tsakos (University of Bergen, Norway)
2. On the Category of Angels, Ingvild Sælid Gilhus (University of Bergen, Norway)
3. Michael: Persona and Cult Among African Christians, Marta Camilla Wright (University of Bergen, Norway)
Part Two: The Archangel Michael in Coptic Egypt
Introduction: Christian Egypt, Ingvild Sælid Gilhus (University of Bergen, Norway)
4. The Archangel Michael as Psychopomp in Christian Iconography in Egypt, Karel Innemée (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
5. On the Liturgical Memories of the Archangel Michael in the Coptic Church and their Link with the Nile's Rise: Some Reflections, Pietro D'Agostino (Paris-Sorbonne University, France)
6. Textual Fluidity and Monastic Fanfiction: the Case of the Investiture of the Archangel Michael in Coptic Egypt, Hugo Lundhaug (University of Oslo, Norway)
Part Three: The Archangel Michael in Christian Nubia
Introduction: Christian Nubia, Alexandros Tsakos (University of Bergen, Norway)
7. Representations of the Archangel Michael in Wall Paintings from Medieval Nubia, Dobrochna Zielinska (University of Warsaw, Poland) and Alexandros Tsakos (University of Bergen, Norway)
8. The Position of the Archangel Michael within the Celestial Hierarchy: Some Aspects of the Manifestation of his Cult in Nubian Painting, Magdalena Laptas (Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland)
Part Four: The Archangel Michael in Christian Ethiopia
Introduction: Christian Ethiopia, Marta Camilla Wright (University of Bergen, Norway)
9. Relationships with the Archangel Michael: Materiality and Healing Among Ethiopian Orthodox Christians in Contemporary Addis Ababa, Marta Camilla Wright (University of Bergen, Norway)
10. The Archangel Michael: An Everyday Popular Saint in Ethiopia, Dan Levene (University of Southampton, UK)
Part Five: The Archangel Michael in South Africa
Introduction: South Africa, Lize Kriel (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
11. “Branded” St. Michael: A View from Pretoria on the Archangel's Position in South African Consumer Culture, Lize Kriel (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
12. The Presence and Absence of the Archangel Michael in South Africa, Deléne Human (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
13. The Archangel Michael in Limpopo: The Sculptor Jackson Hlungwani and the Angel-Star of the Ngoma Lungundu Epic, Raita Steyn (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Appendix: Some Thoughts on How I Came to Michael, Or How He Came to Me by David Tibet (Independent Researcher)
Bibliography
Index

The book is a great resource and introduction to a more or less unfamiliar religious phenomenon in Africa... Except for chapters on South Africa, the book is a presentation of a broad interdisciplinary study of the contextualization of non-Chalcedonian Christianity in terms of both spatial and temporal width. The book is essential for students of African Christianity, as for students of religion and art in an African context.

This book is a tremendous resource for understanding the diversity of Michael veneration in ancient and modern African Christianity. It is also a significant advancement in the study of the origins of Michael veneration, as
well as in his enduring popularity. The collected essays offer insight into late antique conceptions of the archangel, ways of representing Michael in the Middle Ages, and Michael's appearances in present-day African cultures.

This collection of essays presents intriguing analyses of the roles and function of Michael the Archangel within African Christianities. The interplay of textual, visual, oral, and archaeological evidence sheds light on this heavenly figure of importance of importance to not only the medieval Coptic Church of Egypt and Nubia, but also the contemporary the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and more recent faith movements in South Africa. Anglophone readers will find a world but rarely encountered.

Ingvild Sælid Gilhus is Professor in the Study of Religion at the University of Bergen, Norway.

Alexandros Tsakos is Scientific Director of the Collection of Manuscripts and Rare Books of the Special Collections of the University Library of Bergen, Norway.

Marta Camilla Wright is a PhD student in the Study of Religion at the University of Bergen, Norway.

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    $38.65