Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur

This work advances the understanding of the production and purpose of the Ps.-Oecumenian catena on Ephesians through the creation of a critical edition, its translation, and theological commentary. The edition is created through the full transcription and collation of seventeen catena manuscripts, drawn from all known catena manuscripts containing the Ps.-Oecumenian catena on Ephesians. The selected manuscripts were chosen on the basis of a test passage applied to all manuscript witnesses of this catenae tradition and they represent three of the main catena types established by Karl Staab and indicative of the development of the catena from its earliest recoverable period containing the Urkatena and Corpus Extravagantium, to the addition of the Scholia Photiana. An analysis of the seventeen manuscripts selected for the edition is provided alongside a stemma codicum representing a conceptualisation of textual relationships between the manuscripts and the process of the transmission of the catena. The presence of author attributions in the manuscript tradition and the source material of unattributed scholia are examined with discussions related to their reliability. The identification of Oecumenius as a source for select scholia within the catena is paralleled with similar material in the commentary on the Apocalypse produced by Oecumenius, concluding that the same source is likely responsible for both. The editorial text of the critical edition is presented alongside its English translation with an accompanying theological commentary. The commentary analyses the content of each scholion in light of patristic exegesis from the second to seventh centuries. A critical edition with apparatus is provided for the entire catena of Ephesians with a separate edition and apparatus, with English translation, included for the Scholia Photiana.

This volume proceeds from a workshop at the XVIII International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, 2019) and presents developments in recent and ongoing research on the complex tradition of Psalter catenae.

The twelve contributions cover a wide range of topics, presenting methodological developments and challenges of catena research as well as fresh insights on specific subjects, such as new manuscript finds and the publication of illustrations and captions in catena manuscripts. The studies range from the first Palestinian stages of Psalter catenae to later Byzantine compositions, and beyond: the Oriental versions receive particular attention.

The volume offers students and scholars who are less familiar with research on Psalter catenae a taste of its diversity. Those who have already dealt intensively with this tradition and related topics will find useful research tools and interesting new results.

Most of the volume is written in English; two contributions are in French and two in German. The printed volume is accompanied by two databases that are made available online, which allow for more complex search queries.

This volume stems from author’s thesis as part of the ERC Project: CATENA at the University of Birmingham, Uk. It is a detailed analysis of the manuscript and textual tradition of this type of catena, the earliest attested tradition on the Pauline Epistles, through the examination of eighty-five manuscripts and the complete transcription of eight selected witnesses from the three different stages: the Normaltype, the Expanded Type and the Abbreviated Type. These manuscripts were transcribed in order to produce a forthcoming online critical edition of the text.

In addition to reconstructing the stages leading to the formation of the final layer of material (the Expanded Type, or der Erweiterte Typus), the book illustrates how the original sources, e.g., extracts from the homelies and commentaries of the Greek Church Fathers (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Cyril, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, etc.), have been treated by the compiler of the catena to adapt to the new context by paraphrasing, removing material, adding connectives, etc. On the other hand, this is the first attempt to edit excerpts from commentaries preserved only fragmentarily in catenae and already partially edited by Karl Staab (K. Staab, Pauluskommentare aus der Griechischen Kirche: Aus Katenenhandschriften gesammelt und herausgegeben (Münster: Aschendorff, 1933), or completely unpublished (e.g., the 920 numbered extracts, possibly from Oecumenius).

Finally, this volume explores for the first time the relationship between the Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena and other Pauline catenae, by collating the scholia in common. This will provide an up-to-date overview of the New Testament catenae on Paul.

This volume examines the Byzantine manuscripts which transmit unique collections of Greek exegetical extracts on the Gospel of Luke. These codices singuli contain compilations which differ in content and sequence of scholia from all the other known catena types of this Gospel. The Clavis Patrum Graecorum volume on catenae, updated by Jacques Noret in 2018, briefly discusses these individual manuscripts in the codices singuli section (C137). The witnesses are: Vindobonensis theol. gr. 301 (C137.1); Monacensis graecus 208 (C137.2), Codex Zacynthius (C137.3); Vaticanus graecus 349 (C137.4), Palatinus graecus 273 (C137.5), and Laurentianus Conv. Soppr. 159 (C137.6). To these, Parpulov’s 2021 catalogue of Greek New Testament Catenae added four further codices singuli: Parisina supplementa graeca 612 and 1248 (C137.7), Prague, Národní Knihovna České republiky, XXV B 7 (C137.8), Venice, BNM, Z.495 (1048) (C137.9) and Drama, Μ. Κοσινίτσης, 3 (C137.10). It also adds a new catena type, C139.1, attested by four manuscripts. These updates have been incorporated in the online Clavis Clavium. Further research, however, has shown that Codex Zacynthius, Palatinus graecus 273 and Prague, Národní Knihovna České republiky, XXV B 7 all transmit the same compilation; Vindobonensis theol. gr. 301 contains a collection of comments similar to C132 and is not a codex singulus; Parisinum supplementum graecum 1225, previously identified as C131, is a separate catenae type which may be assigned the siglum C137.11. This present volume provides the editio princeps of four of the unique catenae on Luke which have not previously been published (C137.2, C137.4, C137.6, C137.11) and the new catena identified as C139.1. It includes a thorough examination of the content and structure of each manuscript and an investigation of the direct and indirect sources used by their compilers.

The Commentary on Matthew is one of Origen’s works we can partially read in Greek language. Nonetheless, this Greek text doesn’t reproduce Origen’s work in its original form but in a later abridgement.

The shortened nature of the Greek text is demonstrated thanks to a close comparison with fragments from exegetical catenae (cap. 1) and with an anonymous Latin translation (cap. 2). Particular attention is devoted to a 5th-century palimpsest fragments of the unabridged Commentary (cap. 4).

The previous editor of the Commentary tried to restore the original form Greek text by mean of large number of conjectures mainly based on the Latin translation. His results weren’t anyway satisfactory. In this volume the autonomy of the Greek abridgement is reestablished: a sample of this enterprise is offered in the new critical edition of books 12 and 13.

This volume offers a comprehensive study of the manuscript tradition of the Commentary on Matthew (cap. 5) and takes into consideration the general process of reduction undergone by Origen’s sometimes verbose production.

The acts of Prochoros give an account of John the Apostle’s impact on Patmos. This volume presents the first translation of this text, which has had a broad reception primarily in Eastern Christianity, together with an extensive introduction and commentary. It also systematically describes its Coptic transmission and provides an edition and translation of seven leaves of Sahidic parchment that are now stored in the papyrus collection in Vienna.

Although the Earth’s spherical shape has been considered scientific fact since Hellenistic times, it has been questioned since the fourth century, especially in the "Antiochene" school of Diodorus of Tarsus. This volume relates the reasons behind this skepticism to the fall of dominant Greek and Roman culture during the Migration Period, although persistent alternative Syro-Mesopotamian cosmographies prove themselves crucial.

This volume studies and analyses the work De lepra by Greek church father Methodius of Olympus　(3rd/4th century). The dialogue, which delves into the Old Testament legislation on leprosy in Leviticus 13,　is approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, including ecclesiastical history, Slavonic studies, and editorial studies. The contributions　serve as a complement to the publication of the Greek and Old Slavonic text of De lepra.

Konon from Bidana was apostle to the region of Isauria, who spread the gospel of Christ to the inhabitants of the rugged mountains. At least this is the late ancient Greek story of the martyrdom of Konon, edited, translated, and introduced in this volume. Although Konon may not have actually died as a martyr, his cult disseminated rapidly through the Mediterranean world.

This volume includes an edition and translation of the Syrian fragments of Theodor of Mopsuestia, De Incarnatione, from the manuscript legacy of Luise Abramowski and collects her studies on Church history and dogma, and more particularly, the history of the Syriac church (or Church of the East), and the history of the 4^th and 5^th century Councils.

The book presents the proceedings of the conference Coptica - Gnostica - Mandaica III held in Prague 2017. The volume consists of 14 articles on the specific themes of Coptic, Gnostic, early Christian, Manichean and Mandean literature as well as on Coptic language and iconography. Most of the articles are devoted to the 'meetings' of different kinds, including Pagan, Christian, Jewish, and Gnostic myths and translators.

This study investigates traces of early Christianity in the mountains of Cilicia and Isauria. In this approach, the literary, epigraphic, and archeological evidence today is taken into account to illuminate on the Christianization process in the region of the Kalykadnos Valley. Local and regional martyr cults are particularly brought into focus.

Together with the start of the earliest Christian psalm commentary, there arose a series of brief introductory texts to the psalter, which continued to have an impact until the modern era. The volume contains the texts by Origen and Eusebius, presented in a new critical edition with translation and commentary. Two essays and color illustrations augment this first-ever complete, compiled collection.

"The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles" is a fictional narrative about Jesus, who is portrayed in various roles. He appears as Lithargoel, a seller of pearls, and as a doctor. Finally, as the son of God, he campaigns for asceticism to heal the body and soul. The text has been transmitted only in Coptic. It is translated here into German with commentary, and offers an extraordinary look at 4^th century Christian life in Egypt.

This volume examines the inter-religious conflicts of the 4^th and 5^th centuries starting with Contra Iulianum, the reply by Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria to the anti-Christian screed Contra Galilaeos written by Rome’s last pagan emperor Julian. One focus is to situate these two works in their contemporary contexts, but chapters on their transmission and reception also explore their “afterlife.”

Cet ouvrage accompagne l’édition et la traduction de l’In Romanos de Théodoret de Cyr. Les enquêtes sémantiques, l’étude de l’argumentation, du rapport aux sources et du discours polémique, mettent en relief les richesses d’un commentaire qui semble au premier abord une simple paraphrase, et dans lequel l’interprétation se lit en filigrane. Ces pages contribuent à la connaissance des caractéristiques propres de l’exégèse du NT dans l’Antiquité.

Methodius of Olympus († ca. 311 CE) is regarded as a key author in 3^rd c Christian theology. In recent years, his works have become objects of intense research interest on the part of Church historians, classical Greek and Paleoslavic philologists, and scholars of Armenia. The essays in this volume examine the current state of research, enhance our understanding of Methodius with valuable new information, and open up new research perspectives.

This compendium includes papers by the working group “Athanasius” as presented at the 16^th International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford 2011). Their themes range from general problems of church law to individual studies of the most important synods (Chalcedon, Milan, Ancyra, Rimini).

The philologist Eduard Schwartz helped shape philological, historical, and theological research on antiquity and late antiquity. This book is an anthology of presentations at a conference held on the occasion of Hanns Christof Brennecke’s 65^th birthday, where Schwartz’s work was evaluated in a lively discussion from the perspectives of contemporary scholarship in philology, ancient history, and church history.

Scholars of early Christian and Jewish literature have for many years focused on interpreting texts in their hypothetical original forms and contexts, while largely overlooking important aspects of the surviving manuscript evidence and the culture that produced it. This volume of essays seeks to remedy this situation by focusing on the material aspects of the manuscripts themselves and the fluidity of textual transmission in a manuscript culture. With an emphasis on method and looking at texts as they have been used and transmitted in manuscripts, this book discusses how we may deal with textual evidence that can often be described as mere snapshots of fluid textual traditions that have been intentionally adapted to fit ever-shifting contexts. The emphasis of the book is on the contexts and interests of users and producers of texts as they appear in our surviving manuscripts, rather than on original authors and their intentions, and the essays provide both important correctives to former textual interpretations, as well as new insights into the societies and individuals that copied and read the texts in the manuscripts that have actually been preserved to us.

This volume contains Karl-Heinz Uthemann’s collected studies on the 7^th century monk and church writer Anastasios Sinaïta, originally published between 1980 and 2001. In addition, it includes an appendix with two essays on the 6^th century patriarch of the same name, Anastasios I of Antioch. For this edition, all of the texts have been revised and typographical errors corrected.

The Shepherd of Hermas is a Greek visionary text written in Rome during the 2nd century CE with the aim to exhort men to change life and repent for their sins, taking advantage of the last chance given by the Lord before world’s end. The Shepherd is a very important witness of history of the early Christian thought and it was so widely-read that it was immediately translated into Latin and other languages.
Despite the considerable amount of Greek textual witnesses of the Shepherd (more than twenty-five written between the 2nd and the 14th century), its complete text did not survive until today, therefore its translations in other languages are of crucial importance for the constitutio textus. Among the various translations, the Latin Vulgata stands out for its antiquity, accuracy and links with some important Greek witnesses like the Papyrus Bodmer 38 (4th/5th century) and the Codex Athous Grigoriou 96 (14th century).
The last critical edition of the Vulgata was made by H.A. Hilgenfeld in 1873 and is still quoted by scholars today. The Shepherd of Hermas in Latin offers a more modern and complete philological study through an investigation of new unknown textual sources from 9th to 14th century and gives new philological and textual data with the aim to replace the accurate but not updated edition of Hilgenfeld.

In their functions as memorial and devotional literature, the “Acts of the Martyrs”, are generally read as historical protocols. They are an access point for understanding the development of hagiography. By examining different genres and textual compilations (at times, synoptic), this volume reveals the diversity of this literature and documents its importance for understanding intellectual, social, and religious history.

The Actus Vercellenses narrates the struggle between the Apostle Peter and the Simon the Magician along with Peter’s martyrdom. This critical edition includes a close textual German translation, and provides a comprehensive introduction to this central part of the apocryphal Acts of Peter. Detailed commentary enhances the entertaining literary piece, revealing its value as a source of information on early Christian beliefs and institutions.

The ‛Euthalian apparatus’ is a corpus of auxiliary texts that summarize Acts and the New Testament Letters. The material is found in a great number of Greek biblical manuscripts. Some sources identify the author as ‛Euthalius, bishop of Sulci’, but almost nothing is known about this figure.

Vemund Blomkvist’s study is based on the idea that the biblical text and the apparatus form a ‛system’, and that this system may be studied as a unity. The commentary shows that the different genres of the apparatus offer quite different paraphrases of the apostolic writings: The argumenta present a radicalized interpretation of Paul’s theology, while the chapter titles seem to be closer to the biblical text. Together with Prof. David Hellholm, Blomkvist has published a study on the meta-terminology of the apparatus (‛Paraenesis as an ancient genre-designation’, 2002), also included in the present volume.

It has been a century since the first publication of the Apokritikos extracts, which were written “by a Greek philosopher of the 3rd century” (Adolf von Harnack, 1911). One hundred years later, as part of the same series, there now follows a complete bilingual edition of the entire Apokritikos. Along with a German translation, this volume includes a newly reconstructed Greek text with critical commentary. The Apokritikos contains one of the three most sweeping anti-Christian polemics preserved from classical philosophy, together with Makarios’s refutation from the Christian side.

This publication provides the first comparison and commentary on two critical editions of the same sermon. Few texts have been preserved both in the original language and in the language of the target audience. The third sermon of Basil is completely accessible in both versions as the homilia secunda Basilii of Rufinus.

Just how reliable the Latin translators are is of great importance for both theology and philosophy. For example, did Rufinus of Aquileia translate precisely, or interpret freely? In the past theology and philosophy have not contributed significantly to understanding such translations. There has been a lack of critical analyses of texts and literary studies, a gap that is filled by this commentary.

The genealogy of Jesus as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke differs. Very early on, this difference gave rise to many questions and discussions amongst Christians. An attempt at reconciliation had considerable success for centuries: that which Julius Africanus (ca. 170–250) put forward in his letter to Aristides on the basis of Judaeo-Christian traditions. Aimed against a less literal interpretation of the gospel genealogies, Africanus’ letter underlines a claim that will play an important role all through the Christian history – that of biblical inerrancy.
Christophe Guignard provides a new edition, enriched with a new fragment. It is the fruit of an extensive study on the textual tradition that depends entirely on two quotations from Eusebius of Caesarea. Since one of these – included in his ‛Gospel Questions’ – is now lost, much space was made for the tradition of this work in the writings of the Latin and Oriental Fathers. The Greek text and French translation, the first ever complete translation into a living language, are accompanied by a study that sheds new light on the text and the controversial context that underlies it. It also takes into consideration the traditions Africanus uses, one of which seems to go back to a circle claiming to be related to the family of Jesus.

The "Onomasticon of Biblical Place Names" of the (later) Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea still represents the basis for biblical archeology and regional studies. This study investigates for the first time which Greek Bible text was used by Eusebius for his work.

A new form of organizing knowledge was adopted during the time of the Roman Empire, with works such as the Cesti of Julius Africanus (3rd century AD) playing a central role in the process. It records areas of knowledge that appear disparate from a modern point of view. They include magic, medicine, the military, agriculture and poetry. This volume examines the work, which survives only in fragments, along with its somewhat complicated reception, thus closing a gap in current research.

This volume consists of collected individual studies occurring in context of the Athanasius Werke (the works of Athanasius of Alexandria), dealing with the "Pseudo-Athanasiana", the reception of Athanasius of Alexandria's works in Latin and Armenian, selected documents from the Trinitarian Controversy and the history of the Athanasius Werke.

The Nubian Museum (Aswan) houses the Kasr el-Wizz Codex, which was copied around the middle of the IX century in a Southern scriptorium. It contains two Coptic apocryphals. The first – a secret revelation by the Saviour after the Resurrection – is closely related to the Old Nubian Stauros Text published by F. Ll. Griffith, the second presents a hitherto unknown narrative about the Saviour’s time spent with his disciples on the Mount of Olives before the Crucifixion. This second text is particularly interesting because of its proximity to the Strasbourg Coptic Gospel fragment and the recently discovered Gospel of the Saviour.
The volume offers edition, German translation and commentary as well as coloured images of the codex.

The editio princeps of the tract On the Mystery of Letters (mid-6th century) opens access to a unique document from Early Byzantine monastic writing. Working from the Jewish tradition of Hebrew letters, but at the same time distancing himself from it, the author developed a Christian interpretation of the Greek alphabet – from alpha through to omega. An introduction locates the work in cultural history by presenting various versions of Jewish and Christian letter symbolism. The critical text itself is supported by a translation and notes.

One of the most important manuscripts discovered in recent times is the 4th century Codex Tchacos. It contains 4 texts, two of which (“The Letter of Peter to Philip” and “The [first Apocalypse] of James”) were already known from the finds at Nag Hammadi. The other two present hitherto unknown Gnostic writings (“The Gospel of Judas” and a text which researchers have named “Allogenes”). This publication presents the Coptic texts with a German translation on the facing pages, together with detailed linguistic indexes and observations on the content.

In this volume, Christoph Markschies presents a collection of papers on Origen, the Christian theologian from Alexandria (died approx. 254 AD), who is regarded as the first Christian thinker to work in a rigorous and systematic philosophical manner. The papers in the volume treat philological problems presented by Origen's texts, examine theological ideas he developed, and consider the parts played by Eusebius, the Church historian, and Ambrosius, Bishop of Milan, who as two key theologians from the fourth century continued the traditions established by Origen in both East and West.

The Mudil Codex from the late 4^th century contains the Biblical Psalms in Coptic. However, the text differs significantly from familiar versions of the Psalms, giving rise to the question of whether we are dealing with an original form of the text. The comprehensive analysis presented here demonstrates the tradition in which this fascinating text is located, how it arose, and what significance it has for research into the Psalms generally and the Coptic Bible manuscripts in particular.

The Gospel of Peter is one of the most fascinating apocryphal texts of the 2nd century. The studies in the present volume are concerned with the question of the reconstruction of the text and philological questions associated with this, with the possible contexts of its genesis and with intertexts which may be of significance in interpreting it. The result is a number of insights into the theology of this text which are partly surprising and partly controversial.

Julius Africanus (3rd cent.) has been called the “Father of Christian Chronography” – the exact calculation of dates and ages (such as the date of the Incarnation, and indirectly also of the end of the world). At the same time, however, he also presents the beginnings of a Christian universal history (Universal Chronicle), a genre which decisively influenced the historical thinking of both Orient and Occident over hundreds of years. The present studies open up this literature – some of which is virtually inaccessible – and make significant contributions to research into Latin, Greek and Oriental representations of the genre of universal chronicle.

A critical edition of the fourth text from Codex II of the collection of manuscripts from the mid-4th century AD found at Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt; complete with German translation, grammatical index and comprehensive commentary on this Coptic Gnostic text.

Winner of the Alexander-Böhlig-Preis 2007

The Exegesis on the Soul is the 6th text from Codex II of the Coptic manuscripts discovered at Nag Hammadi (Upper Egypt). The Coptic text has been newly edited and translated, and a detailed index has given access to its grammar.

This volume presents the first German commentary on the text. It concentrates on the traditional historical reference points in the text, locating them in Platonic traditions of the soul, in biblical imagery, and in the Judaic-Christian traditions of Alexandria.

The world chronicle of Jo(h)annes Antiochenus is a decisive source in the development of Christian universal historiography and world chronicles in the Christian Orient. It stretches from Adam to the beginning of the reign of Heraclius (610). The author was an educated official in the imperial administration in Constantinople. The chronicle was written in the context of the cultural and political debate about the renewal of the Emperorship after the deposition of the tyrant Phokas (October 610); the model is provided by the political structure of the Roman republic.

In this volume, the chronicle has been made available for the first time in a modern edition (with an Italian translation) and with a detailed introduction. The edition of the fragments includes new texts on Greek prehistory, Roman history, the chronology of biblical and Greek history, and the history, topography, and archaeology of Constantinople.

The Testament of Solomon is presented here for the first time in a complete German translation based on McCown’s edition of the text, up to now regarded as the authoritative version, and taking full account of the Greek textual variants. A detailed introduction and commentary place the text in its historical religious context, presenting it not as a Jewish text with subsequent Christian revisions, but as a genuinely Christian text from the 4th century, maybe as the first Christian demonology altogether.

[Index of Biblical Place Names] Eusebius of Caesarea’s gazetteer of biblical place-names is the basic handbook for the historical geography of the Holy Land on both banks of the Jordan. In its Latin version, it had a strong influence on the Occidental world. The Syriac version had a similar influence on the Orient and is presented here for the first time in an interlinear form: Greek and Syriac, together with a German and an English translation. It does not include the extensions of the Latin version, and is thus of considerable significance for the textual history of the Greek version.

This is the first edition of two Coptic manuscripts with biblical contents from the Papyrus Collection of the University of Michigan; a German translation is provided. Comprehensive indexes provide access to the two papyri. The papyrus Michigan 3520 contains the biblical books of Ecclesiastes, the First Epistle of St. John and the Second Epistle of St. Peter in an early version of Fayumic (Dialect V4). The manuscript probably dates from the first half of the 4th century, and its age alone lends it extraordinary scholarly significance - both for the history of the transmission of biblical texts and for research into the Coptic dialects. The first part of the (slightly younger) Papyrus Michigan 6868 contains fragments of the Preaching of Solomon (Ecclesiastes) in Classical Fayumic (Dialect F5) and is similarly of great value for the history of the Coptic Septuagint. The second part of the Papyrus Michigan 6868, an Agathonicus fragment, was already published by Schenke in 1996 (in the Festschrift for Ludwig Koenen).

The volume presents a collection of new research findings on Marcion, the most important heretic in Classical times, and in particular takes issue with Adolf von Harnack's epoch-making interpretation of Marcion.

Harnack's view of Marcion as a biblical theologian and faithful pupil of Paul's, who was alienated by the theological developments of the 2nd century, has proved to be a historically questionable modernisation. The papers in this volume place Marcion and the Marcionite Church back in their historical context. For the first time, the papers also reveal more thoroughly the theological historical background to Harnack's interpretation of Marcion and its reception in the 20th century.

The Dorpat (Tartu) prize paper by the 19-year-old Adolf Harnack (1851-1930) with the title "Marcion. Der moderne Gläubige des 2. Jahrhunderts, der erste Reformator" (Marcion. The Modern Believer of the 2nd Century, the First Reformer) was awarded the Gold Medal by the Theological Faculty in Tartu and recommended for publication. However, it remained unpublished. The manuscript was believed lost, but has now unexpectedly come to light in the Berlin State Library. The text has been transcribed and is published in this critical edition for the first time.

This new type of a dictionary of the Greek words in the Coptic documentary texts is based on the relevant editions. It is both an aid for the edition of Coptic texts and can also indicate semantic and phonological shifts compared with Byzantine Greek, and is thus of interest to Byzantine scholars as well. This dictionary offers a long overdue tool for academic research. As Coptic is often described as the language of Christian Egypt, the dictionary is also important for theologians.

This volume presents the first critical edition of the Coptic translation of the Corpus Ieremiae in the Coptic Sahidic dialect.

It evaluates all the available texts (codices) and also considers secondary texts (lectionaries, quotations). The critical apparatus consistently notes the versions to the Greek text - the first time this has happened for a Coptic Bible edition. In addition, the edition contains an analysis of the historical textual status of the Coptic Sahidic version within the transmission of the Septuagint together with a study of the problems of translating from Greek to Coptic and their effect on textual criticism. An index of Greek loan-words and proper names is appended.

"Perpetua and the Egyptian", the first comprehensive literary interpretation of an early Christian martyrdom text, the Passio Perpetuae, is important not only for patristic scholars, classicists and literary historians, but also - and especially - for all those working on the position of women in classical antiquity. This revised edition deals particularly with the literature which has appeared over the past decade and goes into more detail of the functions and addressees of the Passio in the African Church community of the early 3rd century.