Isidore of Seville in his Latin Chronicle written in two redactions in 615/616 and 626 states that the body of *Antony ('the Great', monk of Egypt, ob. 356, S00098), was discovered through revelation, transferred to and buried in Alexandria, in the church of *John the Baptist, during the reign of Justinian (527-565).
Evidence ID
E00703
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville, Chronicle 396 and 400
Iustinianus regnauit annos XXXVIII I... Per idem tempus corpus sancti Antonii monachi diuina reuelatione repertum Alexandria perducitur et in ecclesia sancti Iohannis Baptistae humatur.
'Justinian ruled for thirty-nine years ... At this time, the body of St Anthony the monk was discovered by divine revelation, transferred to Alexandria and buried in the church of St John the Baptist.'
The second edition follows the text of the first.
Text: Martín 2003, 194-195.
Translation: Robert Wiśniewski.
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
MiraclesRevelation of hidden knowledge (past, present and future)
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
MiraclesRevelation of hidden knowledge (past, present and future)
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Discovering, finding, invention and gathering of relics
Source
Isidore, bishop of Seville (Iberian Peninsula) composed the Chronica maiora first in 615/616 during the reign of Sisebut. Then he revised and lengthened it in 626 during the reign of Swinthila (see Koon and Wood 2008, and Martín 2005).Discussion
This entry in Isidore's Chronicle repeats a very similar notice in Victor of Tunnuna's Chronicle (E00712). The only difference is the interesting addition that the discovery resulted from a revelation. According to his Life, written by Athanasius, Antony died in his hermitage in the Eastern Desert, and was buried in a secret place by his disciples, so that nobody knew the place of his tomb (see 00669). The church of John the Baptist mentioned in this notice is probably the one built by bishop Theophilus at, or very close to, the Serapaeum.The text of the note is identical in both redactions. Isidore derived the information on the discovery of Barnabas and the Gospel of Matthew from the Chronicle of Victor of Tunnuna (E00712).
Bibliography
Editions:J.C. Martín, Isidori Hispalensis Chronica (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 112; Turnhout 2003).
T. Mommsen, Isidori Iunioris episcopi Hispalensis Chronica maiora ed. primum ad a. DCXV (615) (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi 11; Berlin 1894), 424-488.
Translation:
S. Koon, and J. Wood, "The Chronica Maiora of Isidore of Seville: An introduction and translation," e-Spania 6 (2008); e-spania.revues.org/15552 ; DOI: 10.4000/e-spania.15552.
Further reading:
J.C. Martín, "Les remaniements de la second rédaction de la Chronique d’Isidore de Séville: typologie et motivations," Revue bénédictine 115 (2005), 5-26.
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski & Marta Szada
Date of Entry
10/09/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes Baptista | Certain | S00098 | Antony, 'the Great', monk of Egypt, ob. 356 | Antonius | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski & Marta Szada, Cult of Saints, E00703 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00703