# Archelaus of Neapolis

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/archelaus-of-neapolis — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

Archelaus of Neapolis is described in The Coptic Encyclopedia as a fictional bishop to whom Coptic homilies were attributed, notably a work honoring the Archangel Gabriel.[^1]

## Identity and literary setting

Archelaus of Neapolis is an imaginary figure created by Coptic authors during the period of the literary cycles. Various homilies were attributed to him, and the information about his fictional identity derives from these works.[^1]

In this literary tradition, Archelaus is presented as bishop of Neapolis and successor to a certain Nikolaus. The city is not explicitly identified; Nablus in Palestine was probably intended. He is said to have traveled in the Holy Land and built a church in his city dedicated to the Archangel Gabriel.[^2]

His mention in the Coptic-Arabic Synaxarion on 22 Kiyahk also derives from one of the homilies attributed to him.[^3]

## Attributed works and manuscripts

One complete homily and a fragment of another are attributed to Archelaus. The fragment, identified as Paris, National Library, Copte 131.1.28 and described as unpublished, offers moral exegesis of passages from Isaiah, particularly Isaiah 5:22.[^4]

The complete homily, *In Honor of the Archangel Gabriel*, survives in Sahidic and Bohairic. The Sahidic witnesses include Pierpont Morgan Library M 583.1–16 in New York and fragments from the White Monastery, or Dayr Anba Shinudah. The Bohairic witnesses include Vatican Library, Coptic 59.30–49, published by Vis in 1929, and fragments of another codex of Saint Macarius. The redactions substantially agree with one another.[^5]

## The homily on Gabriel

In the homily, Archelaus recounts a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, especially to the monastery of Saint Romanus. He claims to have discovered in its library an old book containing Jesus’ revelations to the apostles concerning Gabriel. After returning to Neapolis with Bishop Nikolaus’s help, he has a church built in the archangel’s honor. The remaining narrative recounts miracles attributed to Gabriel that assist the construction and establish the church’s authority.[^6]

These narrative elements are traditional: journeys to the Holy Land and discoveries of old books containing revelations of Jesus occur in other Coptic texts of the same period. The church-building miracles are also comparable to those in a text attributed to Acacius of Caesarea in honor of Saint Mercurius.[^7]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 494)