Egypt’s Last Hieroglyph and the Fiery Archbishop of Alexandria

Summary

Podcast Summary: HISTORY This Week

Episode: Egypt’s Last Hieroglyph and the Fiery Archbishop of Alexandria

Release Date: August 18, 2025
Host: Sally Helm

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Episode Overview

This episode explores a transformative moment at the end of ancient Egypt’s millennia-old religious and linguistic traditions, telling the parallel stories of the last known hieroglyph ever carved (394 CE) and the rise and ruthless consolidation of power by Theophilus, the Archbishop of Alexandria. Through expert interviews, it examines the dramatic shift from Egyptian paganism to Christianity, the violent and political machinations that shaped this era, and asks whether it’s possible to truly erase a faith—or if, as history shows, old customs live on in new forms.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Last Hieroglyph: An End and a Beginning

• Setting the Scene (00:46–03:46):

  • In 394 CE, Esmet-Akhom, an Egyptian priest, approaches the temple walls at Philae to carve an inscription in hieroglyphics—a language nearly extinct after centuries of decline and religious repression by Roman authorities.
  • Only a handful could still write hieroglyphics. Esmet-Akhom, one of the last, was "not very good."

    "If you look at the hieroglyphs, they're really ugly... struggling to compose intelligible sentences." — Solange Ashby (02:32)

  • This act was a tribute to the god Mandulis and a quiet act of resistance, but a futile one as Christianity ascended and old practices were banned.

• Personal and Cultural Loss (03:06):

  • The end of hieroglyphics is depicted as both tragic and monumental.

    "It's kind of heartbreaking to me... this culture has now stumbled and we see it fall." — Solange Ashby (03:28)

2. The Rise of Theophilus and the Suppression of Paganism

• Religious Upheaval in Roman Egypt (04:44–05:51):

  • The Roman Empire officially outlaws Egyptian religion in 391 CE under Theodosius.
  • Christianity, once persecuted, now aggressively replaces traditional beliefs.

• Enter Theophilus (06:16):

  • Theophilus, the ambitious and charismatic Archbishop of Alexandria, sees an opportunity to dominate the emerging Christian landscape.

    "He's a good talker, really intense... if he's your friend, that's great. But if you're on the wrong side, that's not going to be so much fun." — Ben Dickstein (06:16)

• Symbolic Transformation (07:17–09:02):

  • The conversion of sacred sites, especially the Serapeum (a major pagan temple), into Christian spaces serves as both a real and symbolic conquest. This included public mocking of pagan relics and parading them through Alexandria.

• Clash and Destruction (09:02–11:22):

  • Riot erupts between Christians and pagans. Practitioners of old religion retreat to the Serapeum, a letter from Theodosius grants Christians permission to destroy the temples.

    "A Christian soldier takes an axe to the statue of Serapis... damnatio memoriae, damning of memory." — Sally Helm/Ben Dickstein (11:22)

• Deliberate Memory and Power (12:19):

  • The ruined Serapeum is left as a visual reminder of Christian victory, not rebuilt as a church.

3. Theophilus Versus Christian Rivals

• Ambition and Internal Strife (14:26–17:42):

  • Theophilus’s rise is not just about eliminating paganism, but consolidating power in Alexandria.
  • Dispute with his former ally Isidore over church donations and accusations of sexual impropriety leads to Isidore's excommunication, worsening tensions between Theophilus and powerful desert monks ("The Tall Brothers").

• Violent Suppression of Monks (18:36–21:17):

  • Monks shelter Isidore, refuse to align with Theophilus’s agenda—prompting an assault on their desert monastery (Nitria) with imperial backing. Monks’ cells and their possessions are burned; legends say some may have been burned alive.

• Justifying Violence (21:34–23:02):

  • Theophilus frames his actions as religious duty, seeing violence as a justified means to preserve the Church and orthodoxy.

    "If a few monks have to die in a cell in order to save everybody else, it's worth the cost to him." — Ben Dickstein (22:06)

• PR Campaign and Self-Justification (23:02–23:45):

  • Theophilus calls himself "the second Moses" in letters, framing his aggressive actions within biblical precedent.

4. Showdown in Constantinople

• The Synod of the Oak (24:09–29:07):
  • Theophilus faces charges in Constantinople, home of the powerful Patriarch, John Chrysostom.

    "Chrysostom means golden mouth... he was so eloquent as a preacher." — Stephen Davis (24:09)

  • Theophilus campaigns across the region, gathers 29 supportive bishops, turns the trial against his rival. John is exiled, Theophilus emerges triumphant.

5. Legacy and Continuity

• Mixed Legacy (30:50):

  • Theophilus remains a saint in various Orthodox churches, but historians debate his character—was he a defender of faith or simply a political opportunist?

    "In Egypt... his reputation is the bishop that fought the pagans and won. I think amongst historians it ends up being a mixed bag." — Stephen Davis (30:50)

• The Fate of Egyptian Tradition (31:07–32:00):

  • Ancient customs never fully vanished; Egyptians continued private worship, and elements of their tradition persisted within Christian practices (e.g., the ankh-like Coptic cross, Marian iconography resembling Isis).

    "The very traditions that Theophilus sought to crush arguably live on in his very own church." — Sally Helm (32:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the last hieroglyph:
  • “He would have had a bad feeling that their way of worshiping traditional gods... was really coming to a close.” — Solange Ashby (03:06)
• On Theophilus’s personality:
  • “He’s fiery. If he’s your friend, that’s great. If you’re on the wrong side... not so much fun.” — Ben Dickstein (06:16)
• On the destruction of Serapis:
  • "Theophilus and his rowdy Christian crew break in and decimate the statue." — Ben Dickstein (11:09)
  • “It’s a desecration of the Egyptian faith.” — Sally Helm (11:49)
• On motivations for violence:
  • "For Theophilus, it's about keeping his power consolidated... if he doesn't, then he must be on the wrong side of God." — Sally Helm (17:47)
• On Christian hypocrisy and historical myth:
  • “Actually, Christians were as bad as any other human... orthodoxy was at stake, and that felt crucial.” — Ben Dickstein (22:06)
• On legacy and syncretism:
  • “The monastic tradition... still continues throughout the world today. The Coptic church still uses the ankh-like cross... the very traditions Theophilus sought to crush arguably live on in his very own church.” — Sally Helm (32:00)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:46–03:46 – Story of Esmet-Akhom and the last hieroglyph
• 04:44–11:22 – Christianization of Egypt, destruction of pagan sites (Serapeum)
• 14:26–21:17 – Power struggles within the Christian church; attack on Nitria
• 23:02–23:45 – Theophilus as "second Moses"
• 24:09–29:07 – Confrontation with John Chrysostom; Synod of the Oak
• 30:50–32:00 – Legacy of Theophilus and survival of Egyptian traditions

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Conclusion

This episode examines the complex interplay of faith, power, and legacy at a pivotal moment in Egyptian and Christian history. While Theophilus succeeded in stamping out visible signs of the old order, centuries-old religious customs refused to disappear completely, instead transforming and persisting in the very institutions that sought to erase them. The episode underscores the irony and resilience inherent in the history of belief—and the peril of believing any culture can be totally eradicated.

Transcript

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[Sally Helm]

History this week, August 24th, 394. I'm Sally Helm. A priest named Esmet Occam approaches the walls of Phoenix Philae, a massive Egyptian temple on the southern edge of the once powerful kingdom. It's said that the God Osiris himself was buried here, and Esmet Occam wants.

[Solange Ashby]

To leave a mark, to engrave a name so that in one form or another, if only in written form, the worshiper can be in the presence, worshiping the deity eternally, that is.

[Sally Helm]

Solange Ashby, associate professor of Egyptology at ucla.

[Solange Ashby]

The Temple of Philae is unique in that it was still operating as a traditional temple hundreds of years after the majority of other temples elsewhere in Egypt had been forced to close or been repurposed as Christian churches.

[Sally Helm]

Rome controls Egypt now, and just a few years ago, the Theodosius, the Roman emperor, banned the practice of the ancient Egyptian religion, what he calls paganism, and he made Christianity the faith of the realm. Even before that, the Egyptian religion had been in decline for decades, perhaps centuries. There are only a handful of people left who can even write in the traditional Egyptian language of hieroglyphics. Luckily, Esmet Occam is one of them, but he's not very good.

[Solange Ashby]

If you look at the hieroglyphs, they're really ugly. They're not well done. The person is struggling to compose intelligible sentences.

[Sally Helm]

The inscription is meant to be a tribute to the God Mondalus, worshiped both in Egypt and the Nubian kingdom to the south. Definitely not worshiped by Christians. Esmon Occam is defying the emperor, but he likely knows that his act of defiance is, in the end, futile.

[Solange Ashby]

He would have had a bad feeling that their way of worshiping traditional gods and practicing temple religion was really coming to a close.

[Sally Helm]

What Esmet Occam probably does not know is that he is etching the last known hieroglyph ever composed in ancient Egypt.

[Solange Ashby]

It's kind of heartbreaking to me. I see it as the sort of the end of a glorious era. This culture has now stumbled and we see it fall. With this final hieroglyphic inscription, the Egyptian.

[Sally Helm]

Language and religion are nearly extinct. Nearly hundreds of miles to the north. At the very same time this hieroglyph is written, a bishop is fighting what he sees as a holy battle to eradicate this paganism and bring Christianity to the Egyptian masses. Today, Theophilus rises to power. What drives the patriarch of Alexandria to crush his enemies? And is it actually possible to erase an entire religion? The fourth century, the three hundreds, is a dramatic era of upheaval in the Roman Empire. Before that time, Christians in the empire were persecuted for their beliefs, often executed. The state religion was still polytheistic, the pantheon of gods largely inherited from the Greeks. But in the year 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity, abandoning Jupiter for Jesus. In 380, the Emperor Theodosius makes Christianity the official state state religion. Rome at this time controls Egypt, which had its own religion. Egyptians have been worshiping deities like Osiris and Anubis for thousands of years. In 391, Theodosius explicitly bans the practice of this faith.

[Ben Dickstein]

By the end of the fourth century, like, yeah, paganism is out, Christianity is in. And Theophilus sort of takes that and runs with it.

[Sally Helm]

Christine Lucretz Marquis is associate professor of Church History at Union Presbyterian Seminary. She reminds us this is still relatively early in the history of the Church. In the late 300s, five different cities are vying to be the so called seat of Christianity.

[Ben Dickstein]

Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem in the east and Rome in the west.

[Sally Helm]

Each of these cities has an archbishop, the Christian leader of that city other than Rome, which has the Pope. But if one of these cities can rival Rome, then that archbishop would have an awful lot of power. And the archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria thinks, why not me?

[Ben Dickstein]

He's a good talker, he's a real presence and he's fiery. He's kind of that intense person in the room who catches your attention, but also you, if he's your friend, that's great. And if you're on the wrong side of them, that's not going to be so much fun.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus is in a good position. Alexandria has a deep connection with Christianity. The first church was established there in the 40s, and it's a major city in The Roman Empire. Arriving in Alexandria by ship, you, you'd first pass the Lighthouse of Pharos, the second tallest structure in the ancient world, just behind the pyramid at Giza. It shoots a beam of light into the sky, a flame magnified by a series of mirrors. As you drew closer, you might have glimpsed the Library of Alexandria, long past its prime, but still a major center of knowledge.

[Ben Dickstein]

But you also have on this sort of higher prominent point, the Serapeum.

[Sally Helm]

The Serapeum, a temple named for Serapis, a hybrid Egyptian Greek God derived from Osiris. A huge statue of Serapis sits in the middle of the temple. Imagine a rectangular columned building with a massive courtyard.

[Ben Dickstein]

The temple's designed for you to move in and out and into the streets of Alexandria so that traffic could, like, flow through in these big processions and out into the city. It was a really important locus for power.

[Sally Helm]

To the ruling Christians, it is also a symbol of the past, dedicated to an Egyptian deity, not to their God. A few months after Emperor Theodosius makes Christianity the official state religion, Archbishop Theophilus begins renovating an abandoned Egyptian temple some distance from the Serape. It's part of his effort to Christianize Alexandria by physically converting buildings throughout the city. Stephen Davis, professor of religious studies and history at Yale, told us Theophilus justifies these actions by drawing on Christianity, the story of Jesus Christ himself.

[Stephen Davis]

When Jesus comes to town in Egypt, the Egyptian temple falls down. It collapses basically under its own weight due to his presence. And similarly for a bishop like Theophilus, literally occupying a space, re sacralizing a space in the name of Christianity, that's a public gesture. That's one that is meant to demonstrate that Christianity is where it's at now.

[Sally Helm]

During the renovation of this particular temple, Theophilus uncovers a shrine filled with Egyptian religious relics. And rather than treat these objects with respect, he has them paraded through the streets in a way that's meant to mock this ancient faith. And then chaos. The Christians and the followers of the ancient Egyptian religion, they melee in the streets. There are deaths on both sides. How many, we don't know. Eventually, sensing that they're outmatched, the practitioners of the Egyptian faith retreat to safety in the Serapeum. The Egyptians want their temple back, the one that Theophilus pulled those relics from. Theophilus obviously disagrees. So they consult a higher power, Theodosius, the emperor. Each side writes a letter making their case.

[Ben Dickstein]

So it's actually like a. It's a property dispute which is a little anachronistic but like this is my sacred site or it's yours. Then they wait, probably Theophilus stops constructing on this other site for a little bit to just like keep things calm in the city. And so there's like this lull, but like this lull that probably has like, I like to imagine with like a lot of charged energy in the air, like what's going to happen?

[Sally Helm]

Finally they hear back.

[Ben Dickstein]

They all agree to meet at the Serapeum because it's a site big enough to hold them. And so what happens is like that sort of charged space over at this other site, all of that charge gets transferred to the Serapeum when this letter gets read out.

[Sally Helm]

And the letter says the pagans would be granted amnesty, but also that the Christians should eliminate the causes of the evils and the roots of the discord, which they interpret as destroy the Egyptian temples.

[Ben Dickstein]

These Egyptian believers, they lock themselves in the inner sanctum where the statue is. And then Theophilus and his rowdy Christian crew break in and decimate the statue.

[Sally Helm]

A Christian soldier takes an axe to the statue of Serapis. This is the beginning of a well established Roman ritual. Damnatio moriae, damning of memory.

[Ben Dickstein]

So you see like defacing of statues, you drag around the head and the hands and the feet, then you take them to different parts of the city and you like publicly sort of shame Serapis and anybody who believe in Serapis and then you dump him in the sewer.

[Sally Helm]

Lugrit's marquis isn't sure that's exactly how this particular damnatio moriae played out, but undoubtedly this is a desecration of the Egyptian faith. The statue of Serapis is vandalized and the Serapeum is left in a state of ruin. Theophilus handles the fallout and he seems to be a master of optics and public relations.

[Ben Dickstein]

What's interesting is he doesn't build a church in the Serapeum proper. He leaves that partially ruined temple as a visual reminder of hey, we beat you and I don't want you to forget it.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus has asserted his power over the believers in the old Egyptian gods. Three years later, Esmond Occam will etch that final known ancient hieroglyph. But Theophilus next major opponent has nothing to do with the Egyptian religion. The threat will come from outside the city walls and from within his own faith.

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[Sally Helm]

It's easy to look at a historical figure like Theophilus and think he's embracing violence just to gain power. But Christine Lucret's marquis says it's more complicated than that.

[Ben Dickstein]

I don't think he's like, monstrous and just building for his own gain. I think he probably doesn't strongly distinguish between his own gain as a powerful archbishop and the gain of the Church.

[Sally Helm]

The more power he has, the more power the Church has. He wants both things. And within the church, it is not just bishops like Theophilus who have power. Power. At this time, Christian monks, especially in Egypt, are seen as real religious authorities. Some are living way out in the desert, which has a certain mystique. It's seen by many people as a special place that allowed these monks to achieve a higher state of spirituality, retreating to the desert for a kind of enlightenment. That is a practice in Egypt that predates Christianity. In particular, there is a monastic community out in Nitria, roughly 40 miles into the desert south of Alexandria. These Nitrian monks are led by a group known as the Four Tall Brothers, or just the Tall Dioscorus, Ammonius, Eusebius and Euthymius.

[Stephen Davis]

Tall for the time, might have been like 5 foot 5. I don't know. Steven Davis Again, human beings have gotten larger over the next couple of millennia.

[Sally Helm]

The Tall Brothers, however tall they were, had once been friends with Theophilus. And as Theophilus moves up the ranks of the Church, he wants the Tall Brothers to come along for the ride, to get ordained as priests and work for Theophilus in the Alexandrian church.

[Ben Dickstein]

And the monks were like, no, we want to be monks, right? Like that's not what we're doing. It's not a damnation of Theophilus, right? It's not like they're like, oh, I'm not coming work with you. They're just like, that's not what we're doing. But Theophilus feels shunned because, well, if you don't want to do what I'm doing, you think you're better than me, right? And it, it like sort of exacerbates that tension between ecclesial power and monastic power. Like who's holier?

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus has a right hand man, Isidore, a high ranking priest who's been at his side for many years. Theophilus trusts him enough to send him on diplomatic missions. He has Isidore represent him at talks with those five other cities that dominate the Christian world. But by the late 390s, Theophilus and Isidore have some kind of falling out. It might be over the fact that Isidore hid some church donations from Theophilus. The donor wanted her money spent on clothing for the poor, not on Theophilus and Egyptian temple conversion projects. Then Theophilus accuses Isidore of some kind of sexual impropriety and basically they stop being friends.

[Ben Dickstein]

Sex and money accusations, just like today, always often come together. And so that was true in late Antiquity too. What was going on there, we can't know for sure, but obviously he did actually do something not so great.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus has Isidore excommunicated.

[Ben Dickstein]

Then the question is, what was it about Theophilus's intensity that he like sort of clamped down so hard? For Theophilus, it's about keeping his power consolidated. And it's not because he's power hungry. It's because if he doesn't keep his power consolidated, then he must be on the wrong side of God.

[Sally Helm]

Isidore is an influential priest in Theophilus mind. Isidore is now undermining his authority and that is a threat to him and to the Church. Isidore flees to the desert, to Nitria, to the Tall Brothers. Isidore trained as a monk there and he's allied with the Tall Brothers. And this makes relations between the Tall Brothers and Theophilus even worse.

[Ben Dickstein]

Theophilus was sort of already pissed that they weren't like going to be his like crew. So they were already Sort of mad at each other. But he wasn't doing anything about it until they supported Isidore and protected him.

[Sally Helm]

One of the Tall brothers, Ammonius, travels with some fellow monks from the desert to Alexandria to plead with Theophilus, take Isidore back, forgive him.

[Ben Dickstein]

They come in and they're like, what's going on here? Why don't you resolve this? Theophilus is like, don't tell me what to do, I'm the bishop. And so you get this sort of like back and forth. And they're like, but you know, we're holy men, we're just trying to like, help you.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus becomes enraged. He, quote, choked and punched the old monk Ammonius until his nose bled. And yes, Ammonius is an old monk. All of the Tall Brothers are pretty old, as is Isidore.

[Ben Dickstein]

It's like these older decrepit monks like Theophilus is sort of picking on.

[Sally Helm]

But the monk, he just punched Ammonius. He traveled to Alexandria with a group of younger monks.

[Ben Dickstein]

This is not an uncommon thing in the Roman Empire is to get some like, young men to sort of be your muscle. That's how you get things done in the Empire.

[Sally Helm]

And Ammonius with a bloody nose, reportedly decides to stir up some trouble in the streets as a sort of revenge against Theophilus.

[Ben Dickstein]

They like riled up some of the others and told the pagans, hey, we didn't, we didn't have anything to do with what just happened to the Serapeum.

[Sally Helm]

We didn't, but Theophilus did. It's a call to action. Remember the Serapeum. And some Alexandrians begin rioting in the streets. Then Ammonius and the monks return to the desert. Now Theophilus wants revenge on these monks for sowing chaos and for sheltering Isidore. He reaches out to the imperial government and asks permission to lead a force into the desert. The government agrees. Theophilus gathers some soldiers. They arrive in Nitria and begin their attack. The soldiers set fire to the monks cells, burning their possessions, even their Bibles. One version of the story even says that they burn someone alive. But the Tall Brothers and Isidore are nowhere to be found.

[Ben Dickstein]

They hide, purportedly in a well. So they're like deep down in this well hiding. Apparently nobody knows where they are.

[Sally Helm]

So Theophilus doesn't capture his enemies, but he does feel like he's doing the right thing.

[Ben Dickstein]

He absolutely feels justified when he's standing in the desert and this is happening. He doesn't think like oh, I'm some megalomaniac. I'm a monster. I'm, you know, look how powerful I am. He has government support, right? Like, so he's within the law. But as we know, you can have bad laws that are unjust and people can do stuff within the laws that are horrible.

[Sally Helm]

And for Theophilus, it's not just the power of the Roman Empire behind him, it's also divine power.

[Ben Dickstein]

This is something like when I'm teaching students, it's a challenge for them because they come in and they want to maybe be a minister, and they've been given this lovely sort of nostalgic. If we can just get it right, like the first four centuries at their church. And then I have to be like, actually, Christians were like, as bad as any other human. And so that's what I would say back to this, right? Like, Theophilus is being violent, but these struggles, like orthodoxy was at stake for them, and that felt crucial because if you didn't get it right, then God wouldn't save you. And in a world where safety and health were still very precarious, this promise of salvation in an afterlife was, like, far more powerful than we can sometimes appreciate. So, like, Theophilus thinks he's saving all these people, and if a few monks have to die in a cell in order to save everybody else, it's worth the cost to him.

[Sally Helm]

But he knows that not everyone will agree this attack against these old holy men won't necessarily be well received by people throughout the empire. So he starts a PR campaign, sends out letters to other Christian leaders justifying his actions. Refers to himself as the second Moses.

[Ben Dickstein]

When he calls himself the second Moses, he's trying to be like, look, I'm clearly within the law. And that legal piece is why Moses is so helpful. Moses, like, gets to judge, like, his community because they don't follow the Ten Commandments, right? They don't follow the law. And Theophilus is going, what? I'm just. I'm just fulfilling the law here. Like, I just did what I was supposed to, right? Why am I the bad guy?

[Sally Helm]

Meanwhile, Isidore and the Tall brothers have emerged from their well and fled to Constantinople, one of those five centers of power in the Christian world. It's also home to the emperor of Eastern Rome, the religious leader of Constantinople. The equivalent of Theophilus in Alexandria is a man named John Chrysostom. And he is a formidable opponent.

[Stephen Davis]

Chrysostom means golden mouth.

[Sally Helm]

Stephen Davis.

[Stephen Davis]

It's not his given name. It's like a description of him because he was so eloquent as a preacher, he would give these sermons and hundreds and hundreds of people would attend because it was so good at it.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus goes after John Chrysostom calls him a heretic. To anyone who will listen, look, he's harboring these fugitives, tall brothers and Isidore, people who I should be allowed to deal with myself. But Chrysostom, like Theophilus, wants to be the most powerful archbishop of all. And he has the ear of the emperor. Soon enough, Theophilus is charged with various crimes, mainly involving his violent attack against the monks at Nitria. A synod, a council is convened. It'll be known as the Synod of the Oak. But Theophilus won't come quietly.

[Ben Dickstein]

Rather than taking the quick maritime approach across the Mediterranean, Theophilus takes the long land route to get to Constantinople. So he's like doing his world tour and he's gathering support as he goes. I like to think about this as like a band or a comedian's tour in some ways. Right.

[Sally Helm]

By the time he gets to Constantinople, Theophilus has built up a great deal of support across the region. He arrives with 29 friendly bishops. When he steps off the boat, he's met with cheers. He's engineered it all beautifully.

[Ben Dickstein]

He has force behind him. And in a world where imperial power wants to stabilize as much as possible, if you have this huge crew of people who are ready to cause riotous violence, suddenly Theophilus is not on trial because that's not good for the empire.

[Sally Helm]

By the time Theophilus arrives at the Synod of the Oak, he is the one calling the shots.

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[Sally Helm]

The Synod of the Oak begins in July of 403, and Theophilus political maneuverings have worked perfectly. The accusations against him are dropped, and it's John Chrysostom, his rival, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who ends up charged with 29 different crimes.

[Ben Dickstein]

I just want you to envision one of the best lawyers you've ever seen, who's charismatic and really good at the details. Like, he just, like stacks fact on fact on fact.

[Sally Helm]

Chrysostom is summoned three times to attend the synod, but. But he refuses. He's tried in absentia for all of these things that Theophilus says he did.

[Ben Dickstein]

He's accusing John of having acted outside of canonical law by harboring people that he wasn't supposed to, that is the Tall Brothers in Isidore. So he's like, you're outside the law, you're the bad guy.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus basic argument is, I'm in charge of Alexandria, so these men are mine to deal with.

[Solange Ashby]

You.

[Sally Helm]

John Chrysostom had no authority to offer them refuge.

[Ben Dickstein]

Every bishop is for himself. And so if somebody is in your diocese, they're your responsibility as the bishop.

[Sally Helm]

John Chrysostom is found guilty. He's deposed from his episcopal office. He appeals to the Pope directly, but ultimately he is forced into exile. As for Isidore and the Tall Brothers, they were quite old. Isidore and two of the four Tall brothers had died before the synod even began. And as for the remaining two, as.

[Ben Dickstein]

Best we can tell, the monks sort of wander back to Palestine. So they just sort of like, go off and do their thing in the desert, and as long as they're not causing trouble anymore, they're allowed there.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus is welcomed back to Alexandria with open arms.

[Ben Dickstein]

He does go back as the hero. He goes back to doing his job sort of stable. Everything's good with the monks in the desert, more or less.

[Sally Helm]

But this whole saga, starting with the Serapeum, through the attack on Nitria, it does give Theophilus kind of a bad name on the world stage. He's popular in Alexandria and he's allowed to remain as archbishop, but the Pope basically cuts him off. Theophilus dies in 412, never having established the power he sought for himself or his city in the ancient world. Today, however, Theophilus is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox churches. He has a feast day dedicated to him. It's observed every year in October. Stephen Davis says his legacy is tough to pull apart.

[Stephen Davis]

I think it depends on your audience, right? I think in Egypt amongst Egyptian Christians, his reputation is the bishop that fought the pagans and won. I think amongst historians it ends up being a mixed bag as to whether he was a political operator and that kind of thing.

[Sally Helm]

Theophilus definitely expanded the power of the Church within Egypt largely by suppressing so called paganism. After all, the last ancient hieroglyph is written in the middle of his reign. But even though that etching is a very specific date that we can point to, it's not like all of these customs disappeared overnight.

[Stephen Davis]

Local citizens could maintain shrines within their houses. It's just not as visible like homes or private spaces and therefore not as subject to scrutiny, surveillance, etc.

[Sally Helm]

Egyptians continued to practice their religion privately and it lived on in another way too, through Christianity.

[Stephen Davis]

Others have used the word syncretism. Another word that is thrown around is hybridity. You have hybrid forms of religion.

[Sally Helm]

The monastic tradition, a practice that predated the arrival of Christianity in Egypt, still continues throughout the world today. The Coptic church still uses a variant of the Christian cross that looks suspiciously like the Egyptian ankh. The image of Isis nursing Horus has often been compared to that of Mary nursing Jesus. So the very traditions that that Theophilus sought to crush arguably live on in his very own church. Thanks for listening to History this Week, a Back Pocket Studios production in partnership with the History Channel. To stay updated on all things History this week, sign [e-mail] and if you have any thoughts or questions, send us an [e-mail] Special thanks to our guests, Solange Ashby, Assistant professor of Egyptology and Nubian Studies at UCLA in Los Angeles and author of Calling out to the Enduring Nubian Presence at Philae. Also thanks to Stephen Davis Woolsey, professor of Religious Studies and Professor of History at Yale University, and Christine Lucretz Marquis, Associate professor of Church History at Union Presbyterian Seminary and author of the Death of the Monastic Memory and the Loss of Egypt's Golden Age. This episode was produced and sound designed by Ben Dickstein it was also produced by me, Sally Helm for Back Pocket Studios. Our executive producer is Ben Dickstein from the History Channel. Our executive producers are Eli Lehrer and Liv Fiddler. Don't forget to follow, rate and review History this week, wherever you get your podcasts, and we'll see you next week.