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E00124: Greek sale of a house, from Theagenis in the Fayum, referring to a church of *Onnophrios (Egyptian Anchorite, 4th c., S00055); datable to the 6th/7th c.

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posted on 2014-11-01, 00:00 authored by dlambert
SB 1.5320,11

ἐξ ἀνατολ[ῶν τ]ὸ εἰρημ(ένον) ῥύμιον τὸ ἀνάγον εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ ἁγίου Οὐεναφρίου

'east, the said street that leads to the church of Saint Ouenaphrios'

The sale document gives the boundaries of the property, and it is in this context that the street leading to a church of Saint Onnophrios is mentioned. The church is also mentioned in lines 6 and 9 of the document.

Full text available under:

http://papyri.info/ddbdp/sb;1;5320

Translation: Gesa Schenke

History

Evidence ID

E00124

Saint Name

Onnophrios, Egyptian Anchorite : S00055

Saint Name in Source

Οὐενάφριος

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Sale document

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

500

Evidence not after

699

Activity not before

500

Activity not after

699

Place of Evidence - Region

Egypt and Cyrenaica

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Theagenis (Arsinoites)

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Theagenis (Arsinoites) Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Source

SB 1.5320, a fragmentary papyrus leaf.

Discussion

The mere mention of such a building is not automatically an indication of an active cult of Onnophrios, since the building itself might not be in use at a given time. It does, however, indicate that Onnophrios had been celebrated there at some point. Documentary evidence for church buildings dedicated to Onnophrios is also found in Lykopolis, Aphrodito, and Pallas in the Coptite nome. So far no such evidence comes from a city.

Bibliography

Edition: Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Ägypten, I– (Strassburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Heidelberg: 1913– ). = SB Further reading: Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 161.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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