The Archangel Michael in Africa: History, Cult and Persona

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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.

Reviews

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. * Religious Studies Review *
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 Michaels appearances in present-day African cultures. * RANGAR CLINE, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Oklahoma, USA *
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. * John Arnold, Associate Professor of History at Freedonia, USA *

Author Bio

Ingvild Slid 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.