Greek private letter, from Oxyrhynchos (Middle Egypt) concerned with greetings and the transport of goods, providing a list of five saints to be invoked on the sender’s behalf: *John (presumably either the Baptist, S00020, or the Apostle and Evangelist, S00042), *Euphemia (martyr of Chalcedon, S00017), *Menas (soldier and martyr of Abu Mena, S00073), *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), and *Ioulianos (probably the , martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt S00305), datable to the 4th/5th c.
Evidence ID
E00160
Type of Evidence
Documentary texts - Letter
P.Oxy. 56.3862 i
The document is a letter from Philoxenos to his parents and uncle, from Oxyrhynchos, 4th/5th century, in which the sender of the letter asks the addressees to pray to various saints.
lines 25–28: εὔξεστε(*) περὶ μ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ τ̣ο̣ῦ̣ ἁ̣γ̣ί̣ο̣υ̣ Ἰ(*)ωάννου καὶ τῆς ἁγίας Εὐφημίας καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Μηνᾶ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Π̣έτ̣ρ̣ου καὶ τοῦ ἁγίο̣υ̣ Ἰ(*)ου̣λ̣ι̣α̣νοῦ
'Pray (for me? through?) Saint John and Saint Euphemia and Saint Menas and Saint Peter and Saint Ioulianos.'
A full record of the text with images is available at: http://papyri.info/ddbdp/p.oxy;56;3862
Text and translation: M. G. Sirivianou.
Non Liturgical Activity
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Source
A long and well preserved letter written on papyrus now kept at the Sackler Library in Oxford.Discussion
The letter is written in very pious language, acknowledging the receipt of a written message from the addressees, but also of large amounts of goods by two different shipments. The list of saints provided in the letter presumably asks the addressees to pray for the intercession of these saints on behalf of the sender. Churches dedicated to Euphemia, Menas, Peter, Ioulianos, and both John the Apostle and Evangelist and John the Baptist are known from Oxyrhynchos itself (E000741, E02123).Bibliography
Edition:Sirivianou, M.G., in The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, vol. 56 (London, 1989), 133–137.
Further reading:
Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 146–149.
Record Created By
Gesa Schenke
Date of Entry
19/11/2014
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00017 | Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon | Εύφημία | Certain | S00020 | John the Baptist | Uncertain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Πέτρος | Certain | S00042 | John, the Apostle and Evangelist | Uncertain | S00073 | Menas, soldier and martyr buried at Abu Mena | Μηνᾶς | Certain | S00305 | Ioulianos, martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt | Ἰουλιανὸς | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Gesa Schenke, Cult of Saints, E00160 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00160