The early Sahidic version of the Encomium on Bishop Pesynthius of Koptos from Shaykh Abd al-Qurna: on the progress of its edition

Abstract

This contribution evaluates the present state of research with regard to the manuscript found at the hermitage near tomb MMA 1152 (Western Thebes) that contains an early Sahidic version of the Encomium of Bishop Pesynthius of Koptos (599-632), focussing on four aspects: 1) the conservation work done on the manuscripts and the difficulties faced by the Polish conservation team; 2) the edition of the Encomium; 3) a comparison between this text version and the other - Coptic and Arabic - ones; 4) some observations on the historical context of the hermitage.