The Martyrdom of St Philotheus of Antioch in Coptic Egypt

362 Pages·2015·3.13 MB·English

‘And from his side came blood and
milk’: The Martyrdom of St Philotheus

of Antioch in Coptic Egypt

Anna Rogozhina, St Cross College

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Doctor of
Philosophy in Oriental Studies

University of Oxford, Hilary Term 2015
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Thesis abstract
My thesis examines the function and development of the cult of saints in Coptic Egypt.
For this purpose I focus primarily on the material provided by the texts forming the
Coptic hagiographical tradition of the early Christian martyr Philotheus of Antioch, and
more specifically – the Martyrdom of St Philotheus of Antioch (Pierpont Morgan
M583). This Martyrdom is a reflection of a once flourishing cult which is attested in
Egypt by rich textual and material evidence. This text enjoyed great popularity not only
in Egypt, but also in other countries of the Christian East, since his dossier includes texts
in Coptic, Georgian, Ethiopic, and Arabic.
This thesis examines the literary and historical background of the Martyrdom of
Philotheus and similar hagiographical texts. It also explores the goals and concerns of
the authors and editors of Coptic martyr passions and their intended audience. I am
arguing that these texts were produced in order to perform multiple functions: to justify
and promote the cult of a particular saint, as an educational tool, and as an important
structural element of liturgical celebrations in honour of the saint.
Another aim of this work is to stress the entertainment value of such texts. I explore the
sources used by Coptic hagiographers for creating such entertaining stories, as well as
the methods they used to re-work certain theological concepts and make them more
accessible to the audience.
The thesis begins with description of the manuscript tradition of Philotheus and a brief
outline and comparison of its main versions. The second chapter discusses the place of
the Martyrdom of Philotheus in Coptic hagiography and its connection to the so-called
cycles. The next two chapters explore the motifs and topoi characteristic of Coptic
martyr passions, especially the legend of Diocletian the Persecutor and the image of
Antioch as the Holy City in Coptic hagiography, as these two motifs appear in one way
or another in the majority of the martyr passions. Chapter 5 is dedicated to one of the
focal points in the Martyrdom – the miracle of resurrection and the tour of hell – and its
literary and theological background. Chapter 6 discusses representations of magic and
paganism in Coptic hagiography and some of the concerns of Coptic hagiographers. In
the last chapter I explore the geography of the cult, its iconographic and hymnographic
dimensions and the transformation of the perception of the saint; the second part of this
chapter discusses the questions of performance, authorship and audience.
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Table of contents
Thesis abstract iii
Table of contents iv
Acknowledgements viii
List of abbreviations x
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Description of the text and of its manuscript tradition 9
Part I. Outline of the legend and its main versions
I.1. Synopsis of the legend of St Philotheus 10
I.2. Differences between the two main versions of the Martyrdom of Philotheus 12
Part II. Textual traditions of the legend of St Philotheus
II.1 Coptic tradition 14
II.2. Georgian tradition 21
II.3. Copto-Arabic tradition 21
II.4. Texts in other languages (Ethiopic and Syriac) 23
Part III. The hymnographic tradition
III.1. Coptic hymns 24
III.2. Georgian hymns 26
Conclusions 26
Appendix to Chapter 1. Table of episodes in the main versions of the Martyrdom 28
Chapter 2. The legend of Philotheus in the context of the Coptic martyr cycles 33
Part I. Epic passions in Coptic hagiography
I.1. Main features of epic passions 33
I.2. The problem of the dating of Coptic martyr passions 35
Part II. Cycles in Coptic literary culture
II.1. The definition of a cycle; different types of cycles 40
II.2. Cycles and hymnographic production 42
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II.3. The Martyrdom of Philotheus and its place among other cyclic texts 45
Conclusions 50
Chapter 3. The Great Persecution and Diocletianic Legend in Coptic Passions 52
Part I. Great Persecution and the role of Diocletian
I.1. Introduction: the cult of martyrs in Coptic Egypt and the impact of the Great
Persecution 53
I.2. The Great Persecution in contemporary historical sources 56
I.3. The role of the emperor Diocletian in the Persecution as seen by Coptic authors 59
I.4. The real Diocletian 61
Part II. Main features of the Diocletianic legend in Coptic texts
II.1. Diocletian’s provenance and change of name 65
II.2. The story of the treacherous bishop and Diocletian’s apostasy 69
II.3. The gods of the emperor 71
II.4. The death of Diocletian the Persecutor 78
II.5. Diocletian’s relationship with Apollo 81
II.6. Sources used by Coptic hagiographers 83
Conclusions 92
Chapter 4. ‘My city Antioch is glorious even as Jerusalem for the number of the martyrs
slain in it’: Antioch as ‘the holy city’ in Coptic hagiography 94
Part I. Antioch in hagiographical reality
I.1 Antioch as the Holy City; Antioch and Jerusalem 96
I.2. Connection between Antioch and Egypt as represented in Coptic martyr texts 103
I.3. Reversing the roles of Antioch and Alexandria 108
I.4. Antioch and the Emperors 116
Part II. Fictional and real landmarks in Antioch; places of trial and places of worship
II.1. The house of the saint’s parents 122
II.2. The royal palace 124
II.3. The theatre of Antioch 125
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II.4. Tetrapylon; prison 129
II.5. Pagan temple 130
Part III. Historical relations between the Churches of Alexandria and Antioch 131
III.1. The formation of the miaphysite community; the union of 617 133
III.2. Communication between the miaphysite communities of Egypt and Syria 136
III.3. Appropriation of foreign saints in Egypt 138
III.4. Severus of Antioch, his importance for the Coptic Church, and his role in
establishing the cult of martyrs in Egypt 141
Conclusions 145
Appendix to Chapter 4. Table of martyrs who according to the Coptic tradition have
connections with Antioch 148
Chapter 5. Enduring motifs: a miracle of resurrection and a tour of hell 152
Part I. Tour of hell and its literary and theological context
I.1. Death and resurrection of the martyr’s parents in the different version of the
Martyrdom of Philotheus and in Coptic liturgical hymns 153
I.2. A ‘tour of hell’ in the Coptic Martyrdom and apocalyptic ‘tours of hell 156
I.3. Descriptions of the tortures of hell in monastic literature 159
I.4. Ideological background as reflected in Coptic homilies 161
I.5. Tours of hell in Coptic hagiographical texts 164
I.6. ‘Custom-fitted’ punishments in the Martyrdom of Philotheus 171
I.7. Conclusions to part I 179
Part II. Special features of the description of hell in the Martyrdom of Philotheus 184
II.1. Death and his attendants; the seizing of the soul 186
II.2. Judge of Truth 190
II.3. River of Fire 192
II.4. The Decans 195
II.5. Angel of Hell (Tartarouchos) 197
Conclusions 198
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Chapter 6. Enduring motifs: re-imagining paganism, magic and miracles in the Christian
context 201
Part I. Philotheus’ pagan parents and their cultic practices
I.1. Paganism of the parents of Philotheus 202
I.2. Veneration of the calf-god in the Georgian version of the Martyrdom 203
II.3. Veneration of the calf-god in the Coptic version 206
II.4. The calf-cult and the cults of divine bulls in Egypt 207
Part II. Representations of magic; magic and Christian miracle-working
II.1. Accusations of magic and sorcery 213
II.2. Magic contest between a Christian martyr and a magician 217
II.3. Means of protection from harmful magic 225
Conclusions 229
Chapter 7. The minds that shaped the text 233
Part I. The development of the cult of St Philotheus in Egypt
I.1. Churches dedicated to St Philotheus and geography of the cult 234
I.2. Iconographic evidence and its relevance; iconographic representation of St
Philotheus as a military saint in the Coptic tradition 239
I.3. Hymnographic evidence 247
I.4. Further transformation of Philotheus: Philotheus as patron of chastity 249
Part II. Authorship and audience
II.1. The performative context of the Martyrdom 255
II.2. Intended audience of the Martyrdom of St Philotheus 266
II.3. The kidan and its functions; its role in promoting the saint’s cult 268
II.4. Authors and authorship 273
Conclusions 279
Conclusion 282
Bibliography 293
Appendices (translations of texts) 319
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Acknowledgements
This work was initially started in 1999, when my supervisor Dr Alexei Muraviev
suggested that my BA thesis at St Tikhon’s University could be dedicated to the
comparison of the Georgian and Coptic versions of the Martyrdom of Philotheus. The
idea was offered to him by the late Fr M. van Esbroeck who kindly sent a copy of the
first half of the Coptic text for me to work on. By the end of my work on the BA thesis I
felt determined to continue the project in order to examine the context of this
interesting story in more depth and to make this text accessible both to specialists and to
a wider public. However, this project had to be put on hold for nearly ten years. It was
only in 2010 when I had an opportunity to start work on it again, thanks to the generous
doctoral scholarship from the Hill Foundation, to whom I am extremely grateful.
I feel very fortunate to have been able to benefit from the atmosphere of intellectual
stimulation that envelops Oxford. My special thanks go to the members of the Ethiopic
reading group, who encouraged me throughout my work on the thesis and kindly shared
their knowledge.
Particular thanks go to Prof Theo van Lint, Dr Alison Salvesen and Dr Arietta
Papaconstantinou for their support and very helpful feedback as my examiners at
various stages of the doctoral course.
I want to thank all my wonderful friends for their support and kindness, especially Anna
Sander, Ekaterina Kozlova, Marlena Whiting, Natalia Nikitin, Judita Margeviciute, Kiz
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Natt, and most of all, Olga Grinchenko, whose never failing support and reassurance
helped me to get through the doctorate.
Balance was brought to my life by the members of the Mosaic Choir (London), the
Oxford Armenian Choir and other choirs I sang with during my stay in Oxford, alas too
numerous to acknowledge by name but whose friendship I treasure. I am also very
grateful for the spiritual and financial support that I received from my two parishes, the
Annunciation Parish of the Exarchate of Western Europe (Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople) and St Nicholas Parish of Moscow Patriarchate.
I would also like to thank my friends James Johnson, Margaret Haig and Lorna Swanton
for their indispensable help with proofreading the text of this thesis.
I want to specially thank Dr James Howard-Johnston for all his help, feedback and
comments on my work, as well as for his kindness, encouragement, and generosity with
his time.
My special gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr David Taylor, for his knowledge and
erudition, endless patience, unfailing support, tough questions, general optimism, and
wonderful sense of humour.
Above all, thanks to my family for their love and encouragement, especially to my
parents Elena and Alexey Rogozhin and to my grandparents. I would like to dedicate
this work with love and gratitude to my grandparents Rimma Mikhajlova and Jury
Epplé.
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Abbreviations
The abbreviations used throughout the notes and bibliography are as follows:
AB – Analecta Bollandiana (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 1882 --)
ANRW – Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms
im Spiegel der neueren Forschung (Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter & Co.).
ARAM – ARAM Periodical, published by ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian
Studies.
BHG – Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, ed. by F. Halkin (Bruxelles: Société des
Bollandistes, 19573).
BHO – Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis (Bruxelles: Société des Bollandistes, 1910).
BIFAO – Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale
BSAC – Bulletin de la Société d’Archéologie Copte
CE – The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. by A. Atiya (New York, 1991).
CSCO – Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (Louvain, 1903 --).
DOP – Dumbarton Oaks Papers
HE – Historia Ecclesiastica
HTR – Harvard Theological Review
JTS – Journal of Theological Studies
PG – Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca. Ed. by J.-P. Migne et als. (Paris,
1857-1866).
PL - Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina. Ed. by J.-P. Migne et als. (Paris, 1844-
1900).
PO – Patrologia Orientalis (Paris, 1904 --).
PSBA – Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology
.