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E02440: Coptic Letter, from the monastery of Epiphanius at Thebes (Upper Egypt), mentioning a vigil to be held for Apa *Phoibammon (presumably the soldier and martyr of Assiut, S00080), datable to the first half of the 7th century.

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posted on 2017-03-03, 00:00 authored by gschenke
P.Mon.Epiph. 389

In this letter an anchorite is addressed and asked to send a certain book back to the writer, so that he can read in on the night vigil held for saint Apa Phoibammon.

Lines 3–7 read as follows:

ⲛⲧⲉⲧⲛ<ⲧⲛ>ⲛⲟⲟⲩ [ⲡϫⲱ]ⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲁ ⲉⲛⲧⲁⲓⲧⲛⲛⲟⲟⲩϥ [......] ⲛⲏⲧⲛ ⲛⲧⲁⲟϣϥ ⲉⲧⲉⲩϣⲏ ⲛ[.....] .ⲡϩⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲡⲁ ⲫⲟⲓⲃⲁⲙ[ⲙⲟⲛ].

'and send the book to me which I have sent […] to you, that I read it on the night of [the vigil/feast] for the holy Apa Phoibammon.'

(Text and trans. W. E. Crum, slightly modified)

History

Evidence ID

E02440

Saint Name

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

Saint Name in Source

ⲁⲡⲁ ⲫⲟⲓⲃⲁⲙ[ⲙⲟⲛ]

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Letter Late antique original manuscripts - Ostracon/Pot-sherd

Language

  • Coptic

Evidence not before

600

Evidence not after

650

Activity not before

600

Activity not after

650

Place of Evidence - Region

Egypt and Cyrenaica

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Thebes

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

Thebes Hermopolis ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ Ashmunein Hermopolis

Cult activities - Festivals

  • Saint’s feast

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Vigils

Source

This ostracon was found in the complex of rooms 1, 3, 4 of the monastery of Epiphanius and is housed at the Cairo Museum, inv. 44674.28. The text has been dated on palaeographical grounds.

Discussion

It is likely that this night vigil mentioned here was intended for the feast of Phoibammon, the patron and healing saint of the nearby monastery of Apa Phoibammon on the mountain of Jeme at Deir el-Bahari.

Bibliography

Text and Translation: Crum, W.E., and Evelyn White, H.G., The Monastery of Epiphanius at Thebes, Part II (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition; New York, 1926), p. 93 (text), p. 256 (trans.).

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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