Introduction. pt. 1. The historical background. Prologue: The "true Egyptians" -- When Egypt was Christian -- The dawn of a new era -- The vanished dream -- pt. 2. The Sunday School movement. Rebels and saints : the middle class and church reform -- Roots and branches : Nāzir Jāyid versus Saad Aziz -- The warring founding fathers : Bishop Shenuda, Bishop Samuel, and Abbot Matthew the Poor -- pt. 3. The church as political spokesman. Dealing with the Muslim State : Pope Shenuda -- pt. 4. The church as socioeconomic entrepreneur. Centralizing the church administration -- Ḥaraka wa Barakah : Arsanios, a model Bishop -- The recruitment of bishops -- pt. 5. The church as cultural agent. Culture and hegemony : "Islam is the solution" -- "The glorious and the sacred" : Bishop Moses and the socialization of the young -- pt. 6. The politics of identity. Coptic cultural nationalism -- The church as battleground -- The church as amphitheater -- pt. 7. Three questions for the twenty-first century. Toward a more democratic church? -- Toward the empowerment of women? -- Conclusion: Toward a new basis for national equality?.