The Coptic meta-genre “apostolic memoirs”: The Investiture of the Archangel Michael and the Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel (the apocrypha)
Frangulian Lilia Rubenovna
Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Moscow State Linguistic University
Submitted: 21.07.2023
Abstract. The aim of the study is to identify the genre of the “apostolic memoirs” in Coptic literature, as well as to reveal the artistic peculiarity of two apocryphal texts belonging to the “apostolic memoirs”, i.e. the Investiture of the Archangel Michael and the Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel. The paper examines the originality of the Coptic “apostolic memoirs” and characterises the two aforementioned texts from a literary point of view. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, firstly, an original meta-genre, 10 in other ancient Christian traditions, has been identified in Coptic literature and, secondly, on the basis of a philological analysis of the two Investitures, it is revealed how the texts functioned differently in certain aspects within the same meta-genre. The results show that, firstly, “apostolic memoirs” fulfil the criteria of a meta-genre, albeit with a caveat, since Coptic literature is ancient, not modern, and has its own specifics. Secondly, within this literary phenomenon, an analysis of the composition and content of the two texts in honour of the archangels reveals a latent conflict of different opinions about the high status of Michael, which led to the writing of the later Investiture of Gabriel in response to the Investiture of Michael.
Key words and phrases: коптская традиция, мемуары апостолов, метажанр, архангел Михаил, архангел Гавриил, Coptic tradition, apostolic memoirs, meta-genre, Archangel Michael, Archangel Gabriel
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