ABSTRACT
Ethno-political rhetorics, which include both pejorative and idealized representations of Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Blacks, are not necessarily directed against these actual ethnic groups, but rather refer to those within different Christian communities who were falling away from the “orthodox” teachings and moral standards that were being established by dominant voices within the communities.6 In effect, Egyptians/Egypt, Ethiopians/Ethiopia, and Blacks/blackness came to symbolize the extremes within early Christianity; they represented the “most remote” manifestations of Christian identity. Christian authors used what was considered within the ancient world as wholly “other” to help shape their understandings of appropriate practices, beliefs, and values. Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Blacks provided an ideal yardstick by which various authors could advance their arguments and construct their stories about the emerging Christian communities within the empire.
