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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Fragmentary Greek inscription labelling a church dedicated to the 'great martyr' *Theodore (presumably the soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita, S00480). Found near Arabissos (Roman province of Armenia Secunda). Probably late antique.

Evidence ID

E01174

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

οἶκος τοῦ μ[εγαλομάρτυρος (?)]
Θεοδόρου· φύ
̣λ[αξον τὴν]
ἴσοδόν <σ>ου <κὲ> [τὴν ἔξο]-
δόν σου ΚΥΚΙΘΕ[- - -]
μετὰ παντὸς το[ῦ οἴκου]

3. ΕΟΥΤC
Jerphanion's copy

'The house (i.e. church) of the [great martyr (?)] Theodore. Kee] thy going in and thy [going] out [- - -] with all the [household].'

Text: Jerphanion & Jalabert 1908, no. 25.

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Non Liturgical Activity

Prayer/supplication/invocation

Source

Fragment of a stone. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.5 m; W. 0.7 m. Seen and copied by Guillaume de Jerphanion in the summer of 1907, in a field to the east of the village Yarpouz near ancient Arabissos, among large broken stone blocks.

Discussion

The inscription labels an οἶκος (literally: a house) of a certain Theodore. As the term is usually used to denote churches, we can suppose that a church dedicated St. Theodore is mentioned here. On this basis Jerphanion and Jalabert reconstructed the epithet μεγαλομάρτυς/the great martyr in line one, but the simpler version, μάρτυς/martyr, may be a better completion, as it better fits the length of the lacuna.

Lines 2-4 contain a quotation of the eighth verse of Psalm 120: κύριος φυλάξει τὴν εἴσοδόν σου καὶ τὴν ἔξοδόν σου ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος / 'May the Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from henceforth now and for ever', which was frequently used in Greek Christian inscription as a charm for the protection of buildings.


Bibliography

Edition:
de Jerphanion, G., Jalabert, L., "Inscriptions d' Asie Mineure (Pont, Cappadoce, Cilicie)", Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph 3 (1908), no. 25.

Further reading:
Destephen, S., "Martyrs locaux et cultes civiques en Asie Mineure", in: J.C. Caillet, S. Destephen, B. Dumézil, H. Inglebert, Des dieux civiques aux saints patrons (IVe-VIIe siècle) (Paris: éditions A. & J. Picard, 2015), 94.


Record Created By

Paweł Nowakowski

Date of Entry

04/03/2016

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00480Theodore, soldier and martyr of Amaseia and EuchaitaΘεοδόροςUncertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01174 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01174