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Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 94

   https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/469

Context

Mark, a native of Asia, was a calligrapher in Jerusalem who joined Porphyry of Gaza as his companion and agent from 395 to 420 C.E. During that time Porphyry, originally from a wealthy family in Thessalonica, was appointed bishop of Gaza by John the archbishop at Caesarea, and Mark became a deacon in his church, later writing an account of the holy man’s career from his privileged perspective. The hagiography, an important but not unproblematic historical document in its own right, paints a vivid picture of the open and destructive conflict between Christian and pagan (“idolators,” “idolomaniacs”) and Christian residents of Gaza, as well as the interaction between the metropolitan and the other Palestinian sees. This passage recounts Porphyry’s generous charity to the poor at the end of his life, including his pledge to give any leftover funds to the Church of Caesarea.

Text

Μετὰ δὲ τὸ κτίσαι καὶ ἁγιάσαι τὴν εἰρημένην ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν, ἔταξεν δίδοσθαι ἑκάστῳ ξένῳ ἐνδημοῦντι τῇ πόλει μιᾶς ἡμέρας τὸ ἀνάλωμα, ἐχορήγει δὲ καὶ ἑκάστῳ πτωχῷ ξένῳ τε καὶ πολίτῃ καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀνὰ ὀβολοὺς ἕξ, ἐκτὸς ὧν αὐτὸς παρεῖχεν δι’ ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς προσερχομένοις αὐτῷ ἔν τε ἱματίοις καὶ ἀργυρίῳ καὶ χρυσίῳ, ἑκάστῳ παρέχων πρὸς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀξίαν, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἦν ἄμοιρος τῶν δεομένων τῶν αὐτοῦ χαρισμάτων. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν νηστειῶν τῆς ἁγίας πασχαλίας ἐχορήγει ἑκάστῳ πτωχῷ ἀνὰ ὀβολοὺς ι ἐπὶ ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα. Παρακελευσάμενος ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ εὐσεβεῖ διαθήκῃ πάντως δίδοσθαι τοὺς εἰρημένους δέκα ὀβολοὺς τὰς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας, ἀφορίσαι δὲ πρόσοδον ἐξ ἧς αὐτοὺς δίδοσθαι βουληθείς, ἐν τῇ εἰρημένῃ διαθήκῃ ἐνέταξεν εἰ μὴ χορηγηθείη ταῦτα καθ’ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτόν, τὴν εἰρημένην πρόσοδον ἔρχεσθαι εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν Καισαρείας. Ταῦτα δὲ ὕστερον ἐγένετο.1

Textual Note

Ed. Haupt 1895 and Grégoire and Kugener 1930

Translation

After the foundation and consecration of the holy church (already) mentioned, (Porphyry) order that there be granted to each foreigner visiting the city an allowance for the costs of one day, and he disbursed to each poor person, both foreigner and citizen, the sum of six obols per day. Besides these (payments), he himself provided at personal expense clothing and silver and gold to those who approached him, providing to each according to his worth. And noone in need was left out of (Porphyry’s) charitable giving. Over the days of fasting during the season of Holy Easter he disbursed to each poor person the sum of ten obols for 40 days. He gave the directive in his pious will and testament that by all means the aforementioned ten obols should be granted for 40 days, and he set aside the revenue from which he wanted the (payments) to be granted. (Moreover,) in the aforementioned will and testament he commanded that, if these (funds) were not disbursed each year, the said revenue would go to the Holy Church of Caesarea. These things happened later.2

Translation Note

Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Hill 1913, Grégoire and Kugener 1930, and Hübner 2013

Works Cited

  • 1 Mark the Deacon, Marci Diaconi Vita Porphyrii, episcopi gazensis, ed. Moriz Haupt and Societatis philologae Bonnensis sodales (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1895), ch: 94, p: 75.Link to Zotero Bibliographic RecordLink to HathiTrust Bibliographic record
  • 2 Mark the Deacon, The Life of Porphyry, Bishop of Gaza, trans. George Francis Hill (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), p: 103.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record

Additional Bibliography

  • Mark the Deacon, Marc le diacre, vie de Porphyre, èvêque de Gaza, ed. Henri Grégoire and M. A. Kugener, Collection byzantine (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1930), ch: 94, p: 72-73.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
  • Mark the Deacon, Vita Sancti Porphyrii = Leben des heiligen Porphyrius, trans. Adelheid Hübner, Fontes Christiani (Freiburg am Breisgau: Herder, 2013), p: 206-207.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
About This Text

 

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 94,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published April 28, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/469.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 94.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published April 28, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/469.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 94

Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

  • Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
  • Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
  • David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 94”
  • Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 94”

Additional Credit:

  • Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
  • TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
  • Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife
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