Photius, Library 88.66b30-67a11
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/54
Context
Photius I was ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople in 858-867 and
877-886, as well as an unparalleled intellectual luminary for his age. Apart from his
distinguished ecclesiastical career, he engaged in polymathic teaching and research,
supported by his vast personal library. Photius wrote an expansive compendium of
classical writings in 280 volumes or codices, his Library (Βιβλιοθήκη) or
Thousandsfold Book (Μυριόβιβλον), which included epitomes, excerpts,
and commentaries mainly on historical, rhetorical, and theological works, many of which
are otherwise lost. Several passages discuss the renowned leaders of the Church at
Caesarea in Palestine. In this passage, Photius reports on a historical account of the
Council of Nicaea in 325 written by Gelasius of Cyzicus in the late 5th century. The
patriarch notes that he had seen a copy of the book instead attributing it to Gelasius,
bishop of Caesarea, evidently in error; but also that two or three Gelasii served the
same see and left behind writings.
Text
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τόδε τὸ βιβλίον· οὐ γὰρ ἐπεγέγραπτο αὐτῷ ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ
γράψαντος. Ἐν ἄλλῳ μέντοι ἔχοντι τὰ αὐτά, Γελασίου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Καισαρείας
τῆς Παλαιστίνης εὗρον τὸ βιβλίον ἐπιγραφόμενον. Ἡ δὲ φράσις εἰς τὸ
ταπεινὸν καὶ χυδαῖον τοῦ λόγου λίαν κατενηνεγμένη. Τίς ποτε δέ ἐστιν ὁ Γελάσιος οὗτος,
οὐκ ἔχω σαφῶς ἐκμαθεῖν. Μέχρι γὰρ νῦν τριῶν, πρόσεστιν εἰκάσαι, Γελασίων καὶ ἐπισκόπων
Καισαρείας τῆς κατὰ Παλαιστίνην βιβλίοις ἐνετύχομεν, ἢ πάντως
γε δύο. Αἱ δὲ βίβλοι αἷς ἐνετύχομεν, ἡ μέν ἐστι κατὰ Ἀνομοίων συντεταγμένη, αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι
δύο ἐκκλησιαστικὰς ἀναγράφουσι πράξεις, ὧν μία ἧς νῦν ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ ἐπεμνήσθημεν. Ἔχει
δὲ αὕτη, ἐν οἷς αὐτὴν ἐπιγεγραμμένην εὕρομεν, ἐπιγραφήν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται· «Γελασίου
ἐπισκόπου Καισαρείας τῆς κατὰ Παλαιστίνην ἱστορίας ἐκκλησιαστικῆς
λόγοι γʹ» καὶ ἀπάρχεται δὲ οὕτω· «Τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ μεγάλην καὶ οἰκουμενικὴν τῶν
ἐπισκόπων συναθροισθεῖσαν σύνοδον ἐκ πασῶν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, τῶν τοῦ Ῥωμαίου κόσμου
ἐπαρχιῶν καὶ Περσίδος» καὶ ἑξῆς. Καὶ τελευτᾷ δὲ εἰς τὴν τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου
τελευτήν, ἐν ᾗ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀφέσεως ἐδέξατο θεῖον λουτρόν, τὰς ἐν βίῳ κηλῖδας, οἷα εἰκὸς
ἄνθρωπον ὄντα ταύτας ἐφέλκεσθαι ἀπολουσάμενος.1
Textual Note
Ed. Bekker 1824-1825 with ref. Henry 1959Translation
Such are the contents of this book, and yet the name of the writer
is not inscribed on it. However, in another copy with the same text, I found the book
inscribed “by Gelasius, bishop of Caesarea Palestinae.” The style
of expression has been brought far down to the level of base and vulgar language. I have
been unable to discover for certain who this Gelasius is, because until now I have come
upon books by an estimated three Gelasii, bishops of Caesarea
Palestinae, or in any case two. The books I have come upon are a
compilation Against the Anamoeans and two others record ecclesiastical
proceedings; one of them is the (work) I just briefly mentioned. This one, in the copy
where we found it with the author’s name, is entitled, as I said, Three Books of
Ecclesiastical History by Gelasius, Bishop of Caesarea in
Palestine
. It begins thus: “Acts of the holy and great
ecumenical synod of bishops assembled from almost all provinces of the Roman world and
from Persia” and so on. It ends with the death of Constantine the Great, when he
received the divine bath of remission, which washed away the impurities a man naturally
acquires in his life.2
Translation Note
Adapted from Freese 1920 with ref. to Henry 1959Works Cited
- 1 Photius, Photii Bibliotheca, ed. Immanuel Bekker, 2 vols. (Berlin: G. Reimer, 1824), bk: 88, p: 66b30-67a11.
- 2 Photius, Photius: Bibliothèque, ed. René Henry and Jacques Schamp, 2nd printing, 9 vols., Collection Byzantine (Paris: Société d’édition «Les belles lettres», 1959), vol: 2, p: 14.
Additional Bibliography
- Photius, The Library of Photius, trans. John Henry Freese, Translations of Christian Literature 1 (London; New York: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ; Macmillan Company, 1920), p: 154-155.
How to Cite This Entry
Bianca Gardner et al., “Photius, Library 88.66b30-67a11,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/54.
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Bibliography:
Bianca Gardner et al., “Photius, Library 88.66b30-67a11.” 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/54.About this Entry
Entry Title: Photius, Library 88.66b30-67a11
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 editors, “Photius, Library 88.66b30-67a11”
- Bianca Gardner and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Photius, Library 88.66b30-67a11”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Bianca Gardner
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife