From Temple to Church: A New Methodological Reassessment of the Study of the Religious Landscape in Late Antique Egypt

Abstract

The destruction of temples and their conversion into churches was a powerful symbol of the shifting religious landscape in Late Antique Egypt. Christian communities recognized the symbolic weight of such acts of violence, understanding their immediate impact as both a demonstration of political authority and a testament to spiritual conviction across the empire. Beyond the physical destruction of temples, the iconoclastic actions carried deep material significance and were accompanied by a broader discourse on religious transformation. This paper seeks to examine the narrative and methodological patterns found in Egyptian hagiography, particularly in relation to the dismantling of the pagan landscape and the establishment of a new Christian one, now under the dominion of the cross. It explores the idea that the ancient temples of the Egyptian gods were perceived as liminal spaces, marking a transitional stage in the spiritual and material ascendancy of Christianity.