Sirmian martyrs in exile: Pannonian case-studies and a re-evaluation of the St. Demetrius problem

The question of the origins of the cult of the fourth century martyr, Demetrius of Thessalonica has been the focal point of hagiographical research since the first publication of his passions by the Bollandists in 1780. Since then there were the most divergent hypotheses put forward to explain the obscure beginnings of his Thessalonican basilica and his alleged connection to Sirmium and its martyred deacon, Demetrius. Different ideas and assumptions were proposed based on various arthistorical, archaeological and literary observations, or sometimes relying only on national ideologies or even pure fantasy. However, there were no attempts made to put the whole problem into the wider context of the Illyrian hagiographic tradition and to make a detailed comparison between St Demetrius' cult and the afterlife of other Pannonian and Illyrian martyrs. In the present paper, then, after a critical analysis of the problem and its proposed solutions, a number of comparative case-studies will be carried out aiming to map the basic tendences of the afterlife of the martyrs of Late Antique Illyricum which presumably will help us to have a better view of the whole problem of the migration of the Illyrian martyrs and to provide a fresh solution for the origin and development of St Demetrius' cult

New wine in old wineskin: Byzantine reuses of the apocryphal revelation dialogue

The apocryphal revelation dialogue as a distinct literary form The term ‘apocryphal revelation dialogue’ originates in German scholarship. It was probably Kurt Rudolph who first observed that one of the main generic peculiarities of the gnostic writings in the second to fourth centuries was that they communicate in a special dialogue format he termed revelatory discourse (Offenbarungsdiskurs) or revelatory instruction (Offenbarungsvortrag).3 The nature of this dialogue type is aptly illustrated by the beginning of the work known as the Letter of Peter to Philip.4 The text depicts how the apostles gather on the Mount of Olives and experience a supernatural revelation of Christ

Syriac versions of the “Historia Monachorum in Aegypto”. A preliminary investigation on the basis of the first chapter

The «Historia Monachorum in Aegypto» (HMA), is one of the most important hagiographical sources concerning Egyptian monasticism of the late fourth century. Although its historical value has often been doubted and criticized, the influence the work, especially through its translations, is of the greatest importance in the Western tradition as well as in Oriental Christian literature. The HMA contains a narrative of seven monks travelling from Jerusalem to Egypt, visiting and thus introducing the most famous solitaries of the end of the fourth century (395), which is generally accepted as the date of the work. The journey starts from the South, from the town Assiut, and ends with a visit made to the monastic settlements of Lower Egypt, while anecdotes are told about the fathers visited and edifying sayings and curious miracles are recorded

Lost in translation. An Evagrian term in the different versions of the Historia monachorum in Aegypto

The Historia Monachorum in Aegypto (HMA) is one of the most important hagiographic sources for Egyptian monasticism of the late fourth century. The work in question is a collection of stories and anec- dotes concerning the most important Egyptian fathers of the period embedded in a travel-story of seven monks from Jerusalem to Egypt visiting and introducing the famous solitaries of the desert. Their journey starts from South, from the town Assiut and ends with a section on the monasteries of Lower Egypt while interesting stories are told about the visited fathers and a lot of edifying sayings and amazing miracles of the hermits are recorded

Speaking quotations in interpretative context: the prophets' discourse in the netherworld as a special type of biblical exegesis

The following paper is a sort of case study which aims to address the very delicate problem of the so-called ‘apocryphicity’ and attempts to find answer to the question why a text preserving an extra-biblical narrative, dialogue or motive has been and still is regarded as apocryphal for and why others, containing almost the same features, are completely left out of the so-to-say ‘canon’ of the apocrypha

Greek Ostraka in the British Library

The British Library holds one of the largest collections of Greek ostraka outside Egypt. The paper presents the history of the collection from its beginnings in the early 19th century up to its present status, surveying the various attempts to catalogue it from early facsimiles to digitized images. It highlights the crucial importance of cross-institutional collaboration for future research on the collection with examples of successful projects