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Original fileAbout This Work
Two pieces of ancient papyrus show Greek text written in a vertical uncial script with dark ink. The fragments preserve the opening verses of the 'Golden Canon' for Easter, including the famous lines celebrating the transition from death to life. The papyrus is worn and discolored, with significant loss of material along the edges and within the text blocks.
John of Damascus was a crucial figure in the synthesis of Byzantine theology and Neoplatonic philosophy; his hymns used the language of light and transformation to articulate the mysteries of the faith. This fragment represents an early physical record of the liturgical poetry that influenced both Eastern and Western mysticism and natural philosophy's views on incorruptibility.
Inscriptions
ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΕΩΣ ΗΜΕΡΑ ΛΑΜ ΠΡΥΝΘΩΜΕΝ ΛΑΟΙ : ΠΑΣ ΧΑ ΚΥ ΠΑΣΧΑ : ΕΚ ΓΑΡ ΘΑ ΝΑΤΟΥ ΠΡΟΣ ΖΩΗΝ : Κ(ΑΙ) ΕΚ ΓΗΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΟΥΡΑΝΟΝ Χ(ΡΙΣΤΟ)Σ Ο Θ(ΕΟ)Σ ΗΜΑΣ ΔΙΕΒΙΒΑ ΣΕΝ : ΕΠΙΝΙΚΙΟΝ ΑΔΟΝ ΤΑΣ : ωΔΗ Α ΔΕΥΤΕ ΠΟΜΑ ΠΙωΜΕΝ ΚΑΙΝΟΝ ΟΥΚ ΕΚ ΠΕ ΤΡΑΣ ΑΓΟΝΟΥ ΤΕΡΑ ΤΟΥΡΓΟΥΜΕΝΟΝ : Α ΛΑΦΘΑΡΣΙΑΣ ΠΗΓΗΝ
Translation
It is the day of Resurrection, let us be radiant, O ye peoples: Passover, the Lord's Passover: for from death unto life, and from earth unto heaven, hath Christ God brought us over: singing a song of victory. Ode I Come, let us drink a new drink, not one marvelously brought forth from a barren rock, but the fountain of incorruption.
Connected Texts
John of Damascus
Attributed author of the hymn; his philosophical works bridged Late Antique thought and the medieval scholastic tradition.
Provenance & Source
Object
religious
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
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