E00789: Greek dedicatory inscription on a small stone basin, found in the church of John the Apostle and Evangelist (S00042) in Ephesos (western Asia Minor). Dedicated by a monk and priest of the church of Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) called 'the one of the Antonianae'. Probably 6th-7th c. or later.

online resource

posted on 2015-10-16, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

+ ποίημα Κοσμᾶ αχοῦ ἱερέος + τῆς Θ(εοτό)κου
τῶν Ἀντωνιαν(ῶν?)

1. αχου = ἀ(ρ)χ(ιδιακόν)ου or α΄ Χ(ριστ)οῦ? I. Ephesos or (μονα)χοῦ Destephen (more convincing)

'The work of Kosmas, the monk and priest + of the Theotokos of the Antonianae.'

Text: I. Ephesos, no. 1291.

History

Evidence ID

E00789

Saint Name

Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033

Saint Name in Source

Θεοτόκος

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Mary_Mother_of_Christ/13729186

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

500

Evidence not after

1300

Activity not before

500

Activity not after

1300

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Ephesus

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Ephesus Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits

Cult Activities - Cult Related Objects

Other Water basins

Source

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.