E03174: Coptic Miracle of *Kollouthos (physician and martyr of Antinoopolis, S00641) concerning the healing of a young widow suffering under a magic spell caused by her late husband, possibly associated with the burial shrine at Antinoopolis (Middle Egypt); presumably written in the 6th century.
online resource
posted on 2017-07-05, 00:00authored bygschenke
Enchanted by the beauty of his own young wife, a soldier decides to put a spell on her to ensure that no one would marry her, should he die. When he later fell ill and eventually died, the young widow started to change. Her beauty disappeared and her health deteriorated rapidly. Her parents decided to bring her to the saint’s shrine in the hope for healing.
‘Her parents and [all] her people [said]: “Let us take her to the shrine (topos) of saint Kollouthos and healing will occur to her through him.” They rose and took [her] to his martyr shrine (martyrion). The woman then was beseeching saint Kollouthos to make him heal her. After these things, saint Kollouthos took pity on her. He came to her in a dream at night and said to her: “I am Kollouthos, the physician. Whoever will come to me, I heal him for free.”’
Text and translation: G. Schenke.
History
Evidence ID
E03174
Saint Name
Kollouthos, physician and martyr of Antinoopolis (Middle Egypt), ob. early 4th cent. : S00641
Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus codex
Literary - Hagiographical - Collections of miracles
Language
Coptic
Evidence not before
500
Evidence not after
799
Activity not before
450
Activity not after
799
Place of Evidence - Region
Egypt and Cyrenaica
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Hermopolis
ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ
Ashmunein
Hermopolis
Cult activities - Places
Martyr shrine (martyrion, bet sāhedwātā, etc.)
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Cult Activities - Miracles
Miracle after death
Healing diseases and disabilities
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Women
Source
Papyrus leaf in the Berlin collection, P.9036 (BKU I 189), from a codex of unknown Egyptian origin, datable palaeographically to the 7th/8th century.
Discussion
In this miracle story, the saint is going to prove himself stronger than magic. The vicious jealousy of the deceased husband will most likely be unveiled and the mistreated young widow restored to health through the power of Christ and his martyr.
Bibliography
Text, Translation and Commentary:
Schenke, G., Das koptisch hagiographische Dossier des Heiligen Kolluthos – Arzt, Märtyrer und Wunderheiler, eingeleitet, neu ediert, übersetzt und kommentiert, CSCO 650 Subsidia 132 (Louvain: Peeters 2013), 193–204 and 268–276.