E02440: Coptic Letter, from the monastery of Epiphanius at Thebes (Upper Egypt), mentioning a vigil to be held for Apa *Phoibammon (presumably the soldier and martyr of Assiut, S00080), datable to the first half of the 7th century.
online resource
posted on 2017-03-03, 00:00authored bygschenke
P.Mon.Epiph. 389
In this letter an anchorite is addressed and asked to send a certain book back to the writer, so that he can read in on the night vigil held for saint Apa Phoibammon.
Documentary texts - Letter
Late antique original manuscripts - Ostracon/Pot-sherd
Language
Coptic
Evidence not before
600
Evidence not after
650
Activity not before
600
Activity not after
650
Place of Evidence - Region
Egypt and Cyrenaica
Place of Evidence - City, village, etc
Thebes
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Thebes
Hermopolis
ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ
Ashmunein
Hermopolis
Cult activities - Festivals
Saint’s feast
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Vigils
Source
This ostracon was found in the complex of rooms 1, 3, 4 of the monastery of Epiphanius and is housed at the Cairo Museum, inv. 44674.28. The text has been dated on palaeographical grounds.
Discussion
It is likely that this night vigil mentioned here was intended for the feast of Phoibammon, the patron and healing saint of the nearby monastery of Apa Phoibammon on the mountain of Jeme at Deir el-Bahari.
Bibliography
Text and Translation:
Crum, W.E., and Evelyn White, H.G., The Monastery of Epiphanius at Thebes, Part II (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition; New York, 1926), p. 93 (text), p. 256 (trans.).