Record | The Cult of Saints

Greek inscription on a lintel, referring to a saint *John (probably either the Baptist, S00020, or the Apostle and Evangelist, S00042). Found at Abouḍḍouhour/Abu al-Duhur, between Beroia/Aleppo and Ḥamāh (central Syria). Dated 502.

Evidence ID

E01796

Type of Evidence

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

ἔτους διωʹ <Γ>ορ(πιαίου) <εʹ>.
ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης.

1. διωʹ <Γ>ορ(πιαίου) <εʹ> Mouterde, διωιορο copy

'In the year 814, on the 5th (day) of (the month) of Gorpiaios. Saint John.'

Text: IGLS 2, no. 353.

Liturgical Activities

Ceremony of dedication

Festivals

Anniversary of church/altar dedication

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Non Liturgical Activity

Construction of cult buildings

Source

A stone lintel. The inscription is engraved to the right and to the left of a carving of a cross within a circle. Copied by a local and forwarded to Charles-Léonce Brossé. First published by René Mouterde and Louis Jalabert in 1939. There is no published image.

Discussion

The inscription probably commemorates the construction of a church dedicated to an unspecified Saint John: the most plausible candidates are either *John the Baptist or *John the Evangelist.

The date is given according to the Seleucid era. Its year 814 corresponds to AD 502.

Bibliography

Edition:
Mouterde, R., Jalabert, L., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 2: Chalcidique et Antiochène: nos 257-698 (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1939), no. 353.

Record Created By

Paweł Nowakowski

Date of Entry

09/08/2016

Related Saint Records

ID	Name	Name in Source	Identity
S00020	John the Baptist	Ἰωάννης	Uncertain
S00042	John, the Apostle and Evangelist	Ἰωάννης	Uncertain

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E01796 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01796

The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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