The Martyrdom of *Athanasios (governor of Egypt and martyr of Klysma, S01216), surviving only in Georgian, recounts how, when appointed to govern Egypt by Maximian, with instructions to combat Christianity, he instead encouraged it, and was martyred. Translated in or before the 8th c. from a lost Greek original.
E02420
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Martyrdom of Athanasios of Klysma
Summary:
Athanasios was a highly-ranked official at the court of the emperor Maximian. He was the brother of *Sergios and *Bakchos [S00023 and S01216], who were equally well-established at the court. Maximian had a great trust in Athanasios and appointed him as the governor of Egypt, where he was specifically sent to combat rising Christianity. However, by this time Athanasios was already Christian.
Upon his arrival in Egypt, he met Patriarch Peter who was later martyred for his faith. Instead of persecuting the Christians, Athanasios started supporting and encouraging Christianity in Egypt. This was duly reported to the emperor. A local judge tried in vain to persuade Athanasios to return to his paternal religion.
Then Athanasios was sent to the town of Klysma (Qulzum, modern Suez) with a mission to close a local church. Instead, however, Athanasios carried on glorifying Christianity. Then the judge himself was forced to go to Klysma and close the church. The judge carried on trying to convince Athanasios to come to his senses, and in the end cut off his head.
და შემდგომად ლოცვისა აღსრულებისა და დაიბეჭდა თავი თჳსი, და განჰმარტეს ზეწარი, და აღვიდა და დადგა მას ზედა და წარუპყრა ქედი მისი, და მოჰკუეთეს წმიდაჲ იგი თავი მისი მახჳლითა, და შეჰვედრა სული თჳსი ანგელოზთა, და აღიყვანეს იგი ზეცად. ხოლო წმიდაჲ იგი გუამი მისი დადვეს ციხესა მას შინა ქუეშე საკურთხეველს ეკლესიისასა და არს იგი ვიდრე დღენდელად დღედმდე დამარხული კიდობანსა შინა და ჰგიეს უხრწნელად და განურღვევლად, და მრავალნი სასწაულნი მის მიერ იქმნებიან ვიდრე დღენდელად დღედმდე.
'After a prayer, he made a seal on himself and sheets were spread, and he walked upon them and prepared his head. And his head was cut off with a sword. And he handed over his soul to the angels, and they took him into the heaven. His holy body was placed under the altar of the church of the fortress [of Klysma] and until today he is buried in a sarcophagus incorruptibly and without decomposition, and many miracles happen there until our days.'
Text: Kekelidze 1962, 56-70.
Translation and summary: N. Aleksidze
Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - sarcophagus/coffin
MiraclesMiracle after death
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Monarchs and their family
Aristocrats
Source
The Georgian translation is based on a Greek original, but not on the surviving version in Greek. The earliest manuscript containing the text is from the 10th century; however, judging by the corrupted and archaic syntax and morphology, the editor dates the translation to no later than the 8th century.Apart from the Greek and Georgian, the martyrdom has survived in Arabic and Ethiopic versions.
Discussion
The Georgian account of Athanasios' martyrdom differs from the surviving Greek version, and the two are believed to derive from another, non-extant archetype. Crucially, the association of Athanasios with Sergios and Bakkhos is much more prominent in the Georgian redaction. Here he is directly identified as their brother, whereas in the Greek version Athanasios is merely their companion or 'brother in faith'. The Georgian version reveals further intimacy between the three, and Athanasios is indeed presented as the patron of the two.The Georgian redaction also stresses Athanasios' piety, by inserting an episode in which he stops on his way to Klysma to venerate the True Cross. The final paragraph, which specifies the place of Athanasios' burial, is equally absent from the Greek text.
Both the Greek and the Georgian versions (except one manuscript) agree upon the day of the death of Athanasios: 18 July. He is commemorated on this day in the Georgian Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime (E03804), as well as on the successive day, 19 July (E03805).
The memory of Athanasios was particularly strong in the Ethiopic tradition, while entirely absent in the neighbouring Coptic synaxary.
Bibliography
Text:Kekelidze, K., მარტვილობა ათანასე კულიზმელისა [The Martyrdom of Athanasios of Klysma], in ეტიუდები ძველი ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორიიდან 8 [Studies in the history of the old Georgian literature 8], (Tbilisi, 1962), 56-70.
Studies:
Voitenko, A.A., "Афанасий", http://www.pravenc.ru/text/76854.html (accessed 22/01/2019).
Nikoloz Aleksidze
22/01/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00023 | Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa | სერგის | Certain | S00079 | Bakchos, soldier and martyr of Barbalissos | ბაქოზ | Certain | S01216 | Athanasios, governor of Egypt and martyr of Klysma | ათანასე | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Nikoloz Aleksidze, Cult of Saints, E02420 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E02420