Coptic letter from the monastery of Apa Apollo at Bawit (Middle Egypt), invoking *Apollo (monk and monastic founder, 00774) for protection of the addressee; datable to the 7th/8th century.
E04107
Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus sheet
Documentary texts - Letter
P.Louvre Bawit 47
This very fragmentary document preserves the beginning of a letter in which the protection of the saint is invoked, not only for individuals but for an entire village.
Lines 2–3 read as follows:
[ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙⲫⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁ]ⲡⲁ ⲁⲡⲟⲗⲗⲱ ⲉⲃⲉϩⲁⲣⲉϩ [ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲛ ]
[ ]ⲉ ⲙⲛ ⲡⲧⲓⲙⲉ ⲧⲏⲣϥ ϫⲛ[ⲉ ⲡⲛⲟϭ ϣⲁ ⲡⲕⲟⲩⲓ
‘[God of saint] Apa Apollo, may he protect [you …] and the entire village from [the greatest to the smallest.’
A similar document is P.Soc. Arch. Copt. 7 (see P.Louvre Bawit, p. 81), likewise from the monastery of Apa Apollo at Bawit. Lines 22–23 read as follows:
ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙⲫⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲡⲟⲗⲗⲱ ⲉⲃⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲛ ⲙⲛ ⲛⲉⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲛⲉⲙ̣ⲁ̣ⲧ̣ⲛ̣
‘God of saint Apa Apollo, may he watch over you and all the brothers who are with you.’
(Text: S. J. Clackson/A. Delattre modified; trans. G. Schenke)
Cult building - monastic
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Saint as patron - of a community
Source
The fragmentary papyrus document is kept as inv. E 27569 at the Musée du Louvre in Paris. The dating is based on palaeographical grounds.Discussion
For a similar invocation in a different letter from the monastery of Apa Apollo at Bawit see E04108.Bibliography
Text and French translation:†Clackson, S.J., and Delattre, A., Papyrus grecs et coptes de Baouît conservés au Musée du Louvre (Bibliothèque d'Études coptes 22; Cairo, 2014), 80–81.
Gesa Schenke
6/10/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00774 | Apollo, Phib, and Anoup, monks and monastic founders | ⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲡⲟⲗⲗⲱ | Certain |
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Gesa Schenke, Cult of Saints, E04107 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04107