E00040: Theophylact Simocatta in his History describes how, on 2 February 602, the emperor Maurice attended the liturgy for the feast of Christ's Presentation at the Temple (Candlemas) at the church of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) in the Blachernae district of Constantinople, where relics of the robes of Mary were kept and venerated. Written in Greek at Constantinople in the early 7th century.
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posted on 2014-09-15, 00:00 authored by CSLA AdminTheophylact Simocatta, History 8.5.1-2
On the feast of the Presentation to the Temple, a riot breaks out against the emperor Maurice in Constantinople. The mob assaults the emperor during a solemn litany through the city. Protected by his bodyguards the emperor reaches the church of Mary at Blachernae where he attends the festal liturgy of the day.
(1.) ... εἶτα πρὸς τὸν τῆς θεομήτορος νεὼν παρεγένοντο, ὃν Λακέρνας ἀποκαλοῦσι τιμῶντες Βυζάντιοι. (2.) τὸ δὲ τέμενος τοῦτο τῶν σεβασμίων λίαν καθέστηκε θρησκεύεταί τε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἄστεος ἐς τὰ μάλιστα· λέγεται γὰρ περιστόλια τῆς παρθένου Μαρίας, ἣν θεοτόκον κυρίως καὶ μόνην οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι πρεσβεύομεν, ἐν σηκῷ χρυσοπάστῳ ἀποτεθῆναι ἐνταῦθα.
‘(1.) ... Next they [Maurice and his retinue] came to the church of the Mother of God, which Byzantines [i.e. the inhabitants of Constantinople] honour by the name Lacernae [i.e. Blachernae]. (2.) This sanctuary is one of the most venerated, and is especially revered by the city. For it is said that the Robes of the Virgin Mary, whom we Romans honour supremely and alone as the only Mother of God, are deposited in a gold-inlaid shrine there.’
Text: de Boor and Wirth 1972. Translation: Whitby and Whitby 1986, modified.
On the feast of the Presentation to the Temple, a riot breaks out against the emperor Maurice in Constantinople. The mob assaults the emperor during a solemn litany through the city. Protected by his bodyguards the emperor reaches the church of Mary at Blachernae where he attends the festal liturgy of the day.
(1.) ... εἶτα πρὸς τὸν τῆς θεομήτορος νεὼν παρεγένοντο, ὃν Λακέρνας ἀποκαλοῦσι τιμῶντες Βυζάντιοι. (2.) τὸ δὲ τέμενος τοῦτο τῶν σεβασμίων λίαν καθέστηκε θρησκεύεταί τε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἄστεος ἐς τὰ μάλιστα· λέγεται γὰρ περιστόλια τῆς παρθένου Μαρίας, ἣν θεοτόκον κυρίως καὶ μόνην οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι πρεσβεύομεν, ἐν σηκῷ χρυσοπάστῳ ἀποτεθῆναι ἐνταῦθα.
‘(1.) ... Next they [Maurice and his retinue] came to the church of the Mother of God, which Byzantines [i.e. the inhabitants of Constantinople] honour by the name Lacernae [i.e. Blachernae]. (2.) This sanctuary is one of the most venerated, and is especially revered by the city. For it is said that the Robes of the Virgin Mary, whom we Romans honour supremely and alone as the only Mother of God, are deposited in a gold-inlaid shrine there.’
Text: de Boor and Wirth 1972. Translation: Whitby and Whitby 1986, modified.
History
Evidence ID
E00040Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΘεομήτωρRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)Language
- Greek
