A Greek-Coptic Miaphysite Litany from Thebes (P.Mon.Epiph. 49)

Abstract

A bilingual Greek-Coptic manuscript (P.Mon.Epiph. 49+592) found at the monastic settlement of Epiphanius in Western Thebes contains a litany recounting the principal events in the saving work of Christ. The litany has been overlooked in scholarship on the manuscript and on comparable litanies from antiquity. It differs from other litanies in attributing all the statements to God rather than to Christ. The article argues that the litany was an expression of miaphysite affiliation and belief. The article contextualizes the litany in the robust miaphysite culture of Thebes in the early seventh century and in the Greek-Coptic bilingualism of the time, and it discusses possible uses of the litany in collective worship, monastic prayer, and other rituals.