E00238: Fragment of a Coptic will mentioning the monastery of Apa *Phoibammon (soldier and martyr of Assiut, S00080) at Deir el-Bahari (Upper Egypt) as the beneficiary; datable to the 8th c.
online resource
posted on 2014-12-18, 00:00authored bygschenke
O.CrumST 60
George, son of Pisrael, a resident of castron Jeme, lacking an heir makes this will handing his landed property over to the monastery.
Summary: Gesa Schenke
History
Evidence ID
E00238
Saint Name
Phoibammon, soldier martyr of Preht (ob. c. 304) : S00080
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Other lay individuals/ people
Source
Fragmentary papyrus document from Deir el-Bahari, only the beginning preserved, now housed at the British Museum in London.
Discussion
The text breaks off as the testator begins to list his property. While the monastery of Phoibammon is the beneficiary of the will, it is most likely the saint himself for whose sake this bequest is made, in order to ensure his intercession when needed.
Bibliography
Edition:
Crum, W.E., Short Texts from Coptic Ostraca and Papyri (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921), 20 (O.CrumST 60).
German translation:
Till, W.C., Erbrechtliche Untersuchungen auf Grund der koptischen Urkunden (Vienna: In Kommission bei R.M. Rohrer, 1954), 222.
Further reading:
Godlewski, W., Deir el-Bahari V: Le monastère de St. Phoibammon (Warsaw: PWN, 1986).
For a full range of the documentary evidence on Phoibammon:
Papaconstantinou, A., Le culte des saints en Égypte des Byzantins aux Abbassides (Paris: CNRS, 2001), 204–214.