Egypt, the site of recent uprisings against a dictatorial regime, is where history books begin to chart the origins of civilization in the Middle East, over two millennia before the Trojan War (c. 1194-1184B.C.). Hieroglyphics appear there at least around 3000 B.C. The unification of Egypt dates from 2900 B.C.; the Great Pyramids began to rise shortly thereafter. Abram, our Father in faith (c. 1850 B.C.?), whose name was changed by God to Abraham, was not born until the following millennium. Moses, Israel’s greatest prophet, did not lead the Chosen People out of Egypt in God’s mightiest intervention in Old Testament times until about 1290 B.C. – also a hundred years before the Trojan War.
For antiquity, Greece, especially Athens, where the marvelous adventure of the Western mind was systematically launched, did not achieve its lasting status until about the fourth century B.C. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, probably the three most creative philosophers, belong to that era. And Rome was not built until at least 753 B.C. Julius Caesar’s assassination occurred as recently as 44 B.C. – which is nonetheless over two millennia ago.
Alexandria, the ancient Egyptian city which was coupled with Cairo during the January-February turmoil, was named for Alexander the Great, who conquered the known world during the fourth century B.C. Its great lighthouse, the Pharos, was viewed as among the seven wonders of the world. It also became famous for a spectacular library – destroyed with most of its collections during a monstrous fire in wartime.
Egypt was also a stage for the high drama of Caesar’s defeat of Pompey and the allied stories of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, as well as the Battle of Actium.
From the foregoing outline, it is obvious that the history of Egypt intersects with that of various parts of the known world. Its story likewise merges at times with Bible and Church history. Recall that the Hebrews, God’s privileged people, were detained in Egypt when Moses led them out to the Promised Land.
But, there are so many other truly religious aspects of Hebrew history that relate to Egypt, where Joseph and his brothers met. Apart from Israel, whose raison d’etre reflects its special calling as well as its privileged nature in salvation history, few other nations can match its serious, albeit sporadic, religious experience.
What is most memorable and enduring about Egypt’s religious tradition, however, is its commitment to the concept of immortality. It is a commitment dramatically underscored in the burial vaults deep within the pyramids in the Valley of the Kings. It is also evident in the above-ground tombs of countless ordinary citizens throughout the ancient land. Moreover, a firm belief in an afterlife was a key premiss of Egypt’s long narrative, spanning many separate dynasties. It was very much alive long before a Revelation was given to Israel (e.g., Job, Wisdom, Deuteronomy), and also before the School of Athens was teaching the immortality of the soul (e.g., Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle).
There are many other areas of intersection with the Sacred Scriptures and Church history. Egypt is home to the ancient Coptic Catholic and Orthodox Churches, most of them in Upper Egypt. (Some members have emigrated to the United States and Canada.)
As we in America follow the events in the storied Land of the Nile, our prayers should be those of Pope Benedict XVI, who, when meeting with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on 6 February, prayed:
"I ask God that this land [of Egypt], blessed by the presence of the Holy Family, may rediscover tranquility and peaceful coexistence, in a shared commitment to the common good."
Doubtless Pope Benedict was signaling the need for prayers in behalf of religious freedom all over the Middle East now affected by the kind of turmoil evidenced in Egypt. True religious freedom is necessary not only for its own sake, but also because it remains the anchor and guarantor of all other solid human freedoms, not excepting freedom of speech and assembly.
