Christian Oxyrhynchus: Texts, Documents, and Sources

by Lincoln H. Blumell (Editor), Thomas A Wayment

Blumell and Wayment present a thorough compendium of all published papyri, parchments, and patristic sources that relate to Christianity at Oxyrhynchus before the fifth century CE. Christian Oxyrhynchus provides new and expanded editions of Christian literary and documentary texts that include updated readings, English translations––some of which represent the first English translation of a text––and comprehensive notes.

The volume features New Testament texts carefully collated against other textual witnesses and a succinct introduction for each Oxyrhynchus text that provides information about the date of the papyrus, its unique characteristics, and textual variants. Documentary texts are grouped both by genre and date, giving readers access to the Decian Libelli , references to Christians in third- and fourth-century texts, and letters written by Christians. A compelling resource for researchers, teachers, and students, Christian Oxyrhynchus enables broad access to these crucial primary documents beyond specialists in papyrology, Greek, Latin, and Coptic.

778 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2015

Reviews

[Jonathan Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather plodding read, on account of the Greek transcriptions, extensive notes, and fragmentary texts included by Lincoln H. Blumell. But still, it's an important book. Oxyrhynchus, a little settlement in Greco-Roman Egypt, preserved a wealth of everyday life for us, and there's a lot of material either by or about Christians. Not only are there extensive fragments from the New Testament there (as well as some patristic writings and apocryphal works), but also prayers, pieces of treatises, hymns, and letters. Included are several libelli from the Decian persecution - documents that certified that a certain Christian had obeyed the law and made a pagan sacrifice. Some of the letters make mention, even casually, of monks, deacons, bishops, and more. There's a large collection of correspondence pertaining to Oxyrhynchus' bishop Sotas (e.g., "Greetings in the Lord, beloved brother Maximus. I, Sotas, salute you. Our brother Diphilus is coming to you, receive him in peace. Through him, I and those with me salute you and those with you. Farewell, I pray for you, beloved brother, in the Lord"). Some useful stuff, but a book about Christianity in the Oxyrhynchus papyri might have been just as fruitful.