Evidence ID
E00789Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΘεοτόκοςType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Language
GreekEvidence not before
500Evidence not after
1300Activity not before
500Activity not after
1300Place of Evidence - Region
Asia MinorPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
EphesusPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Ephesus
Nicomedia
Νικομήδεια
Nikomēdeia
Izmit
Πραίνετος
Prainetos
NicomediaCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Bequests, donations, gifts and offeringsCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermitsCult Activities - Cult Related Objects
Other
Water basinsSource
Dedicatory inscription on a small stone basin found in the church of *John the Evangelist in Ephesos (western Asia Minor). Dimensions of basin: H. 0.22 m; upper diameter 0.48 m.Discussion
The inscription indicates that this basin in the church of *John the Evangelist was offered to the sanctuary by a certain Kosmas - a monk and priest of the church of *Mary, called 'the one of the Antonianae'. Its purpose is not stated; but it was presumably liturgical.
Kosmas is called αχος which was understood by the editors of I. Ephesos as an abbreviation for 'archdeacon' or 'of Christ' but in fact alpha can often stand for the word μόνος. Therefore solving the abbreviation as μοναχός is much more convincing (see PCBE 3, Kosmas 2).
The name Antonianae is otherwise unattested. It may denote an urban district in late antique Ephesos or a guild, or, which is the most probable option, an estate similar to that of Rufinianae situated near Chalcedon (as suggested by Denis Feissel in a letter dated 17.09.2016).
The inscription can be dated to the 6th/7th or a later period, based on the occurrence of the peculiar abbreviation of the term μοναχός.Bibliography
Edition:
Die Inschriften von Ephesos, no. 1291.
Further reading:
Destephen, S., Prosopographie du Diocese d'Asie (325-641) (Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire 3, Paris: Association des amis du centre d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance, 2008), Kosmas 2.
Destephen, S., 'Quatre études sur le monachisme asianique (IVe-VIIe siècle)', Journal des savants (2010), 202.