This lecture aims to show how the presence of Hellenistic material in Monastic educational material was perceived and how—in a specific case—it was dealt with by the Monastic and ecclesiastical hierarchy. Through the lens of Material Philology (also known as New Philology) Kattrup seeks to uncover a debate about the use of materials “beyond the Scripture” and of “Greek books” in a rural monastic settlement in upper Egypt in the late sixth to early seventh century. This is done through close readings of letters, school exercises and literary texts all found in monastic settlements in Western Thebes, thus bridging the gap between the studies literary and documentary texts. From these sources two positions emerge: one for and one seemingly against the inclusion of Hellenistic material in the monastic paideia.

It is very probable that the opposing party used the texts attributed to the fictional bishop Agathonicus of Tarsus to refute the use of Greek books, as these leads Christians astray and makes them treat scripture in the way of the uneducated. The paper further suggests that this discussion may well be among the reasons the inhabitants of the monastic settlements in western Thebes had the texts of Agathonicus copied.