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E02225: Greek letter from a presbyter to his superior concerning the purchase of wine, presumably from the area of Hermopolis (Middle Egypt), ending with an oath to *Jeremias (S00773); datable to the 6th century.

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posted on 2017-01-06, 00:00 authored by dlambert
In this letter, a priest named George addresses someone whom he sees to be his superior in status, a man named Apa Kollouthos, asking for his help and to intervene financially concerning a certain wine purchase. He ends this letter with an informal oath to his addressee's special saint.

CPR 25 11, line 6–7 read as follows:

μὰ τὼν ἅγιων Ἰερεμήαν, τὼν κύρην σου, εἰ εἶχων εἰς τὰς [χῆράς μου -ca.?- ] ο̣ὐκ ἐτώλμων καὶ ἔλεγών σου δι’ αὐτά, δέσποτα. †

'By saint Jeremias, your lord, if I had it in [my hands (?) …], I would not have dared and told you about it, Lord.'

(Text and German trans.: A. Papathomas, Engl. trans.: G. Schenke)

A complete record of the text, with images, can be found at:

http://papyri.info/ddbdp/cpr;25;11

History

Evidence ID

E02225

Saint Name

Jeremias, Enoch, and Sibylla : S00773

Saint Name in Source

Ἰερεμήας

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Letter

Language

  • Greek

Evidence not before

500

Evidence not after

599

Activity not before

500

Activity not after

599

Place of Evidence - Region

Egypt and Cyrenaica

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Hermopolis

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

Hermopolis Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Oath

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy Ecclesiastics – unspecified

Source

The fragmentary papyrus document P.Vindob. G. 15457 is housed at the papyrus collection in Vienna. The document is dated on palaeographical grounds.

Discussion

It is very likely that the saint referred to here is Jeremias, the founder of the well-known monastery in Memphis, to which the addressee belongs. For this reason, saint and addressee might have been viewed to have a special relationship.

Bibliography

Edition: Papathomas, A., Fünfunddreissig griechische Papyrusbriefe aus der Spätantike, Corpus Papyrorum Raineri (CPR) XXV (Munich-Leipzig, 2006), 64–70.

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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