Bronze censer with a dedicatory Greek inscription recording its donation to a church (ekklesia) of *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023). Provenance unknown, probably the Roman provinces of Palaestina or Arabia. Now in Jerusalem. Probably 6th c.
Evidence ID
E04123
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed objects
Images and objects - Other portable objects (metalwork, ivory, etc.)
The inscription runs in two lines on the outer surface of the censer. Letter height c. 0.01 m.
+ ἐγὸ εἴμην ὁ Εἰονᾶς οἱὸς τοῦ Ἐπρεμ· ἔδοσα τὸ θημιατίρην +
εἰς τὴν ἐκλησύαν τοῦ ἁγίου Σέργηειος· ὁ βλέπον βάλῃ με εὐχή
'+ I am Ionas, son of Ephrem. I offered this censer + to the church (ekklesia) of Saint Sergios. You who see it, pray for me!'
Text: Piccirillo 1994, no. 5 with diacritics by D. Feissel in CEByz, 700.
Cult PlacesBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Cult Related ObjectsChalices, censers and other liturgical vessels
Source
Bronze censer, shaped as a bowl (diameter 0.11 m). The interior is plated with lead. Two of the three loops for attaching chains are preserved.Now in the museum of the Franciscan Biblical Institute (SBF) in Jerusalem. Offered to the Museum by Mario Ferraro. Provenance unknown. First published with a drawing by Michele Piccirillo in 1994.
Discussion
The inscription records the offering of the censer to a church dedicated to Saint Sergios, certainly the soldier and martyr of Rusafa. The location of the church is unknown, as we have no information on the find-spot of the object. It is, however, very probable that the censer comes from one of the churches of the Roman provinces of Palestine or Arabia, or possibly Syria/Phoenicia. Piccirillo compares the censer with similar objects identified as 'lamp holders', found in the 1980s in the 'church of bishop Marianos' at Gerasa/Jerash, and in the 1970s, in the church at al-Jubeiha (now a district of Amman).Bibliography
Edition:Piccirillo, M., "Alcuni oggetti liturgici inediti del Museo della Flagellazione a Gerusaleme", in: A. Recio Veganzones (ed.), Historiam pictura refert: miscellanea in onore di Padre Alejandro Recio Veganzones O.F.M (Città del Vaticano: Pontificio Istituto di archeologia cristiana, 1994), no. 5.
Reference works:
L'Année épigraphique (1994) [1997], 1911.
Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 700.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 44, 1374.
Images
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Censer (drawing by E. Alliata). From: Piccirillo 1994, 465.
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Inscription (drawing by E. Alliata). From: Piccirillo 1994, 465.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
09/10/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00023 | Sergios, soldier and martyr of Rusafa | Σέργηειος | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E04123 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04123