Two Coptic documents from the Theban area of Upper Egypt testifying to a monastery and clergy of *Menas (soldier and martyr of Abu Mena, S00073); datable to the 7th/8th c.
E00161
Documentary texts - Ostraka
Documentary texts - Papyri
P.KRU 75
The will of Jacob and Elias, heads of the monastery of Epiphanios at Thebes, mid 7th c., in which a monk and presbyter of the holy topos of Apa Mena on the mountain of Jeme was asked to act as scribe and witness for the document:
lines 135–137: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲅⲉⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲙⲡⲁⲧⲉⲣⲙⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲡⲉⲓⲉⲗⲁⲭ(ⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ) ⲙⲙⲟⲛⲟⲭⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲡⲣⲉⲥⲃ(ⲩⲧⲉⲣⲟⲥ) ⲡⲁⲣⲁ ⲡⲁⲙⲡϣⲁ
ⲙⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲉⲧⲟⲩⲁⲁⲃ ⲛⲁⲡⲁ ⲙⲏⲛⲁ ϩⲓ ⲡⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲛϫⲏⲙⲉ
'I, George, the son of Patermoute, the least monk and presbyter beyond my worth, of the holy topos of Apa Mena on the mountain of Jeme.'
KOW 294
Ostrakon with a letter from Jeme, 7th/8th century, mentioning a steward of saint Menas.
lines 12–14: ⲡⲁⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲡⲇⲓⲁⲕ(ⲟⲛⲟⲥ) ϩⲓⲧⲛ ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲱⲥⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲉⲕⲱⲛⲟⲙⲟⲥ ⲙⲫⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲙⲏⲛⲁⲥ
'Papnouthe, the deacon, through Theodosios, the oikonomos of Saint Menas'.
Translation: G. Schenke
Cult building - unspecified
Cult building - monastic
Source
KOW 294 is written on an ostracon, P.KRU 75 on papyrus.Discussion
Both documents come from the region around Jeme and mention clergy and monks of Menas.Only one text (O.Crum 45), see E05973, refers explicitly to a church of Apa Mena for which a certain deacon is to care. One document (KRU 75) refers to a monastery of Apa Mena located on the mountain of Jeme. The other two mention an oikonomos (KOW 294) and a presbyter (CLT 9) of Saint (Apa) Mena(s), see E04366. These could very well refer to the same monastery of Apa Mena, though this cannot be taken for granted. Even the church mentioned in O.Crum 45 might be the church of the monastery of Apa Mena, but again can not be claimed with any certainty.
Whether or not these documents refer to the same topos remains unclear, but the fact that clergy are mentioned in connection with any of these establishments is ample evidence that a cult for Menas was indeed active in the Theban area in the 7th–8th century.
Bibliography
Editions:Crum, W.E., Coptic Ostraca from the Collections of the Egypt Exploration Fund (London, 1902). = O.Crum
Crum, W.E., The Monastery of Epiphanius at Thebes, vol. II (reprint Milan, 1977), 343–348, plate 16 (P.Epiph.).
Crum, W.E, and Steindorff, G., Koptische Rechtsurkunden des achten Jahrhunderts aus Djeme (Theben) (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1912). = KRU
Till, W.C., Die koptischen Ostraka der Papyrussammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek (Vienna: H. Böhlaus, 1960). = KOW
Till, W.C., Die koptischen Rechtsurkunden aus Theben (Vienna: H. Böhlaus, 1964). = KRU
Further reading:
Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 146–149 (full range of documentary evidence on Menas, 146-54).
Gesa Schenke
8/11/2014
ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00073 | Menas, soldier and martyr buried at Abu Mena | ⲙⲏⲛⲁ | Certain |
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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, E00161 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00161