Evidence ID
E00915Saint Name
Michael, the Archangel : S00181Saint Name in Source
ΜιχαήλType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elementsEvidence not before
450Evidence not after
650Activity not before
450Activity not after
650Place of Evidence - Region
Asia MinorPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Dionysopolis (Phrygia)Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Dionysopolis (Phrygia)
Nicomedia
Νικομήδεια
Nikomēdeia
Izmit
Πραίνετος
Prainetos
NicomediaCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics – unspecified
Merchants and artisansSource
A limestone cylindrical block, found at Kabalar near Dionysopolis (Phrygia, central Asia Minor), which was said to have been brought from ruins near Sazak. H. 2.23 m; diameter 0.35 m. It presumably served as a column in a church dedicated to Michael the Archangel.Discussion
The invocation was written on behalf of 'those who labour' (ἐργαζόμενοι). The verb ἐγράζομαι is often used to denote building works. Therefore, one can interpret the inscription as a request for help for workers who built the sanctuary. In the Christian context, ἐγράζομαι can mean, however, 'to perform holy rites', see, for instance, the First Epistle to the Corinthians 9:13: οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ τὰ ἱερὰ ἐργαζόμενοι τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐσθίουσιν, οἱ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ παρεδρεύοντες τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ συμμερίζονται;/'Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple?' Thus the inscription may alternatively be interpreted as an invocation on behalf of the clergy (or perhaps even all the Christians) of that sanctuary.Bibliography
Edition:
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua IV, no. 307.
Inscriptiones Christianae Graecae database, no. 1084: http://www.epigraph.topoi.org/ica/icamainapp/inscription/show/1084
Further reading:
Halkin, F., "Inscriptions grecques relatives à l'hagiographie, IX, Asie Mineure", Analecta Bollandiana 71 (1953), 330.