E01308: Fragment of a Coptic Martyrdom of *Thekla, virgin from Assiut (S00777), presenting a hymn invoking the help of all the saints and the Archangels *Michael (S00181), *Gabriel (S00192), and *Raphael (S00481), sung by two holy men in the midst of the crowd gathered to witness the trial of Thekla; 5th-9th century, of unknown Egyptian provenance.
online resource
posted on 2016-04-25, 00:00authored bygschenke
Coptic Martyrdom of Thekla of Assiut (K9503, Till, KHML II, 129–132)
'While Apa Pamoun and Apa Klaudios are singing, the saints repeat after them, as they sing this song: "Remember us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Remember us, all (you) saints, and become ambassadors for us! Remember us, Michael and Gabriel, the bearers of glad tidings from the ones in heaven(?)! Remember us, Raphael, and cover us with your luminous wings, until we pass through into the height of the heavens, so that the evil forces of the enemy (antikeimenos) will have no power over us! Remember us, Gabriel, and open the gates to life for us, so that we enter through them! Guide us, our king, and come to us from the heavens, primary physician of the aeons of light, Jesus Christ, the crown bearer and strength in heaven and on earth! Come and help us and stand with us, until we are victorious over those who fight with us!" When Apa Klaudios and Apa Pamoun completed this song, they gave peace to the crowd standing around them, saying: "The peace of Christ shall be with you all and bless you from small to great, men and women!"'
'Afterwards the governor said to the virgin woman: "What is your name?" She said to him: "My name is Thekla. But the name which I will receive in heaven is the Bride of Christ." Arianos said to her: "Do you have father and mother?" She said: "Indeed I have my father according to this world." And she said further to him: "The name of my father is Kyros." The governor said to her: "You appear to possess great wisdom." She said to him: "All the wisdom is God’s who gives it to those who love him." But the governor wrote her name down on a sheet which said: "Thekla, the daughter of Kyros, the politeuomenos of Assiut, since she ventured on [herself] and came to the courtroom (dikasterion) and despised the gods of the emperor and followed the magic of the Christians, I command to have her head taken [by the sword]."'
Translation: Gesa Schenke.
History
Evidence ID
E01308
Saint Name
Thekla, virgin martyr from Assiut : S00777
Michael, the Archangel : S00181
Gabriel, the Archangel : S00192
Raphaēl, the Archangel : S00481
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Assiut
Hermopolis
ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ
Ashmunein
Hermopolis
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Source
Parchment fragment from a former codex kept at the Papyrus collection in Vienna, K 9503. The description of the manuscript and the use of red ink point to a possible 9th century date. The date of composition of the text cannot be ascertained; any date from the 5th to the 9th century is possible.
Discussion
The hymn sung (with its invocation of the Trinity, of the saints and of the archangels) resembles the many invocations on Coptic grave steles, see e.g. E01251, E01252, and E01302, and gives the impression that such Christian singing would have been tolerated prior to a martyr trial during the time of Diocletian. The fragment preserved here presumably once formed part of the liturgical compositions read out and performed during memorial festivities for a saint, here Thekla, the daughter of Kyros, curialis (politeuomenos) of the city of Assiut/Lykopolis (Upper Egypt). The text thus offers a glimpse into how festive songs and hagiography merged.
The account of Thekla's death is itself very short, assuming that what is preserved is not the end of many pages of trials and unsuccessful tortures by one governor (see for example E01224 and E01225), until the saint is finally handed over to another governor and executed immediately.
The context of the hymn, mentioning that the saints were singing along, seems to refer to more martyrs present at the trial together with Thekla. This Thekla, who is otherwise unknown, appears to have been an Egyptian virgin of noble background from Assiut; she may well have been a creation inspired by the famous *Thekla, the young follower of Paul (S00092).
The present tense used at the beginning of the fragment may suggest that the hymn preserved here was sung during the commemoration festivities and that the two men mentioned are the "singers" in the shrine, while the saints "answering" are present in spirit only.
Bibliography
Text:
Till, W., Koptische Heiligen- und Märtyrerlegenden, vol. II (Rome, 1936), 129–132.