Biblia Africana (Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia)
Biblia africana (Égypte, Nubie et Éthiopie)
The Bible in its African Receptions, from Antiquity to the Middle Ages
La Bible en ses réceptions africaines, de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge
Published on Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Abstract
The main aim of the Biblia africana colloquium is to explore the reception of Biblical text in African Christianity in the ancient and medieval periods. Taking Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia as its geographical setting, over a period spanning from the 4th to the 15th centuries AD. Speakers at this event will attempt to measure, interrogate and document the penetration of Biblical text on early African Christianity, exploring how Biblical themes and motifs helped shape the face of African Christianity in its cultural and spiritual expressions.
Announcement
May 5th and 6th 2026, Faculté universitaire de Théologie protestante (FUTP) – Bruxelles (www.futp.be)
Argument
It is often said that Christianity took root in Africa during the missions of the 19th century, in the wake of European colonial ventures. However, the numerous textual and archaeological documents that have survived attest to the fact that Christianity took root on African soil as early as the first centuries AD. Born within the framework of the Roman Empire, Christianity spread both within and far beyond the imperial limes. First present in Egypt and then in North Africa (in the 1st and 2nd centuries), the new religion spread to more distant lands, reaching Ethiopia as early as the 4th century and Nubia in the 2nd century. From this time onwards, Christianity became a major cultural and spiritual reality that would have a lasting impact on new civilizations on the African continent. The dissemination, translation and reception of Biblical text played a key role in the emergence of specific Christian identities: with the adoption and acculturation of the Bible—or, more precisely, of the texts that were to make up the Bible—in Africa, new literary languages flourished, as did countless intellectual productions, learned and popular traditions and artistic works, while new forms of Christian liturgy were born. This imprint of Biblical text, in its reception and dissemination, thus sketches out a singular profile for each region, in the variety of its literary, liturgical and artistic expressions. A source of inspiration for Christians in Africa since Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Bible continues to be a cultural, religious and political foundation for believers on the African continent.
The main aim of the Biblia africana colloquium is to explore the reception of Biblical text in African Christianity in the ancient and medieval periods. Taking Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia as its geographical setting, over a period spanning from the 4th to the 15th centuries AD. Speakers at this event will attempt to measure, interrogate and document the penetration of Biblical text on early African Christianity, exploring how Biblical themes and motifs helped shape the face of African Christianity in its cultural and spiritual expressions. Above all, it will highlight the powerful creativity shown by African Christians, who, based on Biblical material, produced profoundly original liturgical, literary and artistic works.
The first part of the symposium will be devoted to a global and connected presentation of the origins of ancient African Christianity, illuminated by existing historical and archaeological evidence, and its first developments. This preliminary opening allows us to question the very definition of a geographical area called “Africa”, and the nature of this Christianity, which presents a wide variety of profiles. We also need to reassess the place of ancient and medieval African Christianity in its Mediterranean context. Long regarded as a Christianity of the margins, African Christianity has in fact defined and built itself as a center, even seeing itself as a privileged player in holy history, a history reread by and for Africa, giving rise to rich traditions such as that of the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia or that of the Holy Family’s sojourn in Egypt.
A second section will look at translations of the Bible into the local languages of Africa during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, namely Coptic, Old Nubian and Geze. This process of translation has not only fostered the development of major written languages, but also the blossoming of rich literary and intellectual production, which many African Christians still inherit today. Through specific examples drawn from the philological examination of Biblical texts in Coptic, Old Nubian and Geze, this question of translation leads us to reflect on the contribution of African Biblical versions to the emergence of geniuses specific to the different regions considered. Not only was the transmission of the Bible in ancient and medieval times partial, but any translation operation also implies a choice of texts and copy media for a specific purpose and readership.
The third part of the symposium will focus on the cultural, spiritual, liturgical, artistic and political reception of the Bible in African Christianity during Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The aim, particularly for specialists in hermeneutics and literature, is to highlight the reinterpretation of Biblical text in the African context, notably through the study of exegetical commentaries produced by African scholars. Also invited are art historians, for whom the challenge is to highlight the astonishing creativity of African Christians in terms of figurative representations (painting, illumination), architecture, music and liturgical objects. This survey enables us to reassess not only how the Bible was forged, adapted and disseminated in contact with new cultures, but also how it in turn shaped the Christian cultures of ancient Africa.
Submission guidelines
Presentations should last about 20/25 minutes and may be given either in English or in French. Proposals (250 to 300 words) accompanied by a short biographical note including the author’s current institution, and subject of research should be sent
by the 15th of December 2025.
Contact: Xavier Philippart (xavier.philippart@futp.be) – Aurélien Zincq (aurelien.zincq@futp.be)
Some proposals may also be selected for publication in the conference proceedings.
The Conference will be held in person, in Brussels, on the 5th and 6th of May 2026.
Scientific Committee
- Bernard Coyault (FUTP),
- Damien Labadie (CNRS/CIHAM),
- Xavier Philippart (FUTP/EPHE)
- Aurélien Zincq (FUTP)
Bibliography
- Andrea Myers Achi (ed.), Africa and Byzantium, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2023.
- Michael A. Knibb, The Ethiopic Version of the Old Testament, London, Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Damien Labadie, « Genèse du canon biblique éthiopien : de l’autorité apostolique aux controverses autour des Écritures (xive-xve siècles) », Médiévales, vol. 87 (2024), p. 33-52.
- Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, London, Oxford University Press, 1968.
- Gerald M. Browne, « Old Nubian Literature », dans Études nubiennes, vol. 2, 1992, p. 379-387.
- Alexandros Tsakos, « The Liber Institutionis Michaelis in Medieval Nubia », Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies, vol. 1 (2014), p. 51-62.
- Roland Werner, Das Christentum in Nubien. Geschichte und Gestalt einer afrikanischer Kirche, Münster, Lit, 2013.
Subjects
- Religion (Main category)
- Periods > Prehistory and Antiquity
- Zones and regions > Africa
- Periods > Middle Ages
- Mind and language > Language
- Mind and language > Representation
- Society > History
Places
- Rue des Bollandistes, 40
Brussels, Belgium (1040)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Monday, December 15, 2025
Keywords
- Bible, christianisme, Antiquité, Moyen Âge, Afrique, Egypte, Nubie, Ethiopie, réception, histoire du christianisme, archéologie, histoire du texte
Contact(s)
- Aurélien Zincq
courriel : aurelien [dot] zincq [at] futp [dot] be
Reference Urls
Information source
- Xavier Philippart
courriel : xavier [dot] philippart [at] futp [dot] be
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Biblia Africana (Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia) », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/1522e
