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E00231: Coptic donation document of the 8th c., certifying the gift of goats and sheep to the monastery of Apa *Phoibammon (soldier and martyr of Assiut, S00080) at Deir el-Bahari (Upper Egypt) and explicitly seeking the saint’s intercession.

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posted on 2014-12-08, 00:00 authored by gschenke
P.KRU 112

A private donor from the surrounding area addresses the monastery of Apa Phoibammon, presenting a gift to the saint consisting of 31 sheep and 14 goats. The gift is made explicitly to ensure the intercession of the martyr Apa Phoibammon on the donor’s behalf as well as on behalf of his/her mother on the day of the final judgement (lines 2–4).

Summary: Gesa Schenke

History

Evidence ID

E00231

Saint Name

Phoibammon, soldier martyr of Preht (ob. c. 304) : S00080

Saint Name in Source

ⲁⲡⲁ ⲫⲟⲓⲃⲁⲙⲱⲛ

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Donation document Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus sheet

Language

  • Coptic

Evidence not before

700

Evidence not after

799

Activity not before

700

Activity not after

799

Place of Evidence - Region

Egypt and Cyrenaica

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Deir el-Bahari

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

Deir el-Bahari Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - monastic

Cult activities - Places Named after Saint

  • Monastery

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings

Source

Fragmentary papyrus document, missing the beginning of the text, housed in the British Museum in London, number 88.

Discussion

The donation made to the holy place (topos) of Apa *Phoibammon is explicitly intended to ensure future benefits through the saint’s intercession on the donor’s behalf. Presenting the gift to the monastery is just the medium through which to get the gift to the saint.

Bibliography

Edition: Crum, W.E., and Steindorff, G., Koptische Rechtsurkunden des achten Jahrhunderts aus Djeme (Theben) (Leipzig, 1971), 343-344 (P. KRU 112). German Translation: Till, W.C., Die Koptischen Rechtsurkunden aus Theben (Vienna: H. Böhlaus, 1964), 194. Further reading: Biedenkopf-Ziehner, A., Koptische Schenkungsurkunden aus Thebais: Formeln und Topoi der Urkunden, Aussagen der Urkunden, Indices (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2001). Godlewski, W., Deir el-Bahari V: Le monastère de St. Phoibammon (Warsaw: PWN, 1986). For a full range of the documentary evidence on Phoibammon: Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 204–214.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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