Saturday, March 3, 2012

More Information About Severus's Homily on St Mark

I have stopped writing the Myth of Jesus Christ because I have hit a treasure trove of information about Saint Mark thanks to Youhanna Youssef sending me an article he published on the subject. There are apparently two manuscripts of the Homily on Saint Mark written by Severus of Nastrawa in the ninth century.  There is a great deal of variation.  Both manuscripts go back to a Coptic original. The translator is Anba Mark bishop of Sakha and al-Mahallah. attended the concoction of the Myron in the year 1305 CE

Apparently there are other Homilies on St Mark that survive.  Youssef mentions T. Orlandi, “Un codice Copte del “Monastero Bianco » Le Muséon 81 (1968) 351-405 especially p. 374-382.  He also makes reference to the fact that in the sixth century, John Bishop of Ashmunien delivered a homily about Saint Mark (T. ORLANDI, Studi Copti, Testi e Documenti per lo Studio dell'Antichità XXII, Milano 1968, p. I).   It was at this time that the Coptic Church was threatened by Chalcedonians and accused of not representing the tradition of Alexandrian Orthodoxy.  I was right in supposing that the literary production of these types of documents were a result of upheaval at the time.

I really, really want to get this other Homily published by Orlandi.  It may well unlock information found in the letter to Theodore which Morton Smith simply could not have known.  Any ideas how I might get a hold of this document?  I can only find it in the British Library.

Update - Thanks to the miracle of the internet I found the Coptic original.  It's here and it is quite short.  I should find someone to translate it.  I can't be that expensive.


Email stephan.h.huller@gmail.com with comments or questions.


 
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