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Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 99

   https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/470

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 The hagiography, an important historical document in its own right but not unproblematic, paints a vivid picture of the open and destructive conflict between the pagan (“idolators,” “idolomaniacs”) and Christian residents of Gaza, as well as the interaction between the metropolitan and the other Palestinian sees. This passage recounts a riot on property rights between the Christian and pagan communities at Gaza, which led to an attack on Porphyry’s assistant Barochas (Baruch) and ultimately intervention by provincial authorities at Caesarea, who deported the offenders for punishment.

Text

Ὡς δὲ ἔγνωμεν ὅτι κατέστη ὁ θόρυβος τῆς πόλεως, ἐπορεύθημεν διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ ἀνελθόντες εἰς τὸ ἐπισκοπεῖον, οὐδὲν εὕραμεν ἐν αὐτῷ εἰ μὴ τὸν θεοφιλῆ Βαρωχᾶν κείμενον καὶ ἐσχάτως ἔχοντα ἐκ τῶν ἐνεχθεισῶν αὐτῷ πληγῶν παρὰ τῶν ἀθέων καὶ ἀσεβῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν. Μετὰ δὲ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας γνοὺς τὰ γενόμενα ἐν τῇ πόλει ὁ ὑπατικός (Κλάρος δὲ ἐκαλεῖτο), πέμπει κομενταρήσιον μετὰ πολλῆς βοηθείας καὶ ἀσφαλίζεται οὓς ἐνέδειξαν οἱ δημοσιεύοντες καὶ παριστᾷ εἰς Καισάρειαν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐτιμωρήσατο, τοὺς δὲ βουνευρίσας ἀπέλυσεν, καὶ ποιήσας οὐ μικρὸν φόβον οὕτως κατέστησεν τὴν πόλιν.1

Textual Note

Ed. Haupt 1895 and Grégoire and Kugener 1930

Translation

When we knew that the uproar in the city (of Gaza) had subsided, we went through the night to the Holy Church, went up to the episcopal residence and found nothing inside except the loved-by-God Barochas, lying there near his end from the blows he had sustained at the hands of the godless and impious idolators. After a few days, when he found out what had happened in the city, the governor—he was named Clarus—sends a commander with much assistance, he secures those whom the public servants pointed out, and he dispatches (them) to Caesarea. Some of them he punished and others he whipped and dismissed. And in this way, having caused no little terror, he settled down the city.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: 99, p: 78-79.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: 99, p: 76.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: 210-213.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
About This Text

 

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 99,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/470.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 99.” 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 June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/470.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 99

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 99”
  • Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Mark the Deacon, Life of Porphyry 99”

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
  • 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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