# Psote of Psoi, Saint

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

Psote, also called Psate or Bisadah, was bishop of Psoi and a martyr under Diocletian, about 305. His feast day is 27 Kiyahk.[^1]

## Identity and commemoration

**Psote of Psoi**, also known as **Psate** or **Bisadah**, was a bishop martyred under Diocletian, about 305; his feast day is 27 Kiyahk.[^1] His episcopal town, Psoi, was known in Greek as Ptolemais Hermiou and is identified with modern al-Minshah, on the west bank of the Nile south of Akhmim.[^2]

## Account of his martyrdom

According to his Passion, Diocletian’s messenger arrived while Psote was celebrating Saturday night services. Psote obtained permission to complete the services, then addressed the faithful with final recommendations and a prediction of his death.[^3]

The following morning he was brought before the prefect Arianus, who unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him to offer pagan sacrifices. Arianus confined him in a walled cell for several days, expecting him to die, and ordered his decapitation when he remained alive.[^3]

## Literary sources

The Greek text of the early Passion, perhaps written near the end of the fourth century, is lost. Translations survive in Coptic, Latin, and Ethiopic; the Coptic version is preserved in a tenth-century Sahidic codex from Hamuli, now Pierpont Morgan Library M583, folios 17–23.[^4]

This Passion is ancient and apparently based on a factual memory of events at Psoi, while distinct both from conventional epic passions and from other reliable trial accounts. It has similarities with the Passion of Peter I of Alexandria, but which text might have served as a model for the other remains unresolved.[^5]

Later writings considerably expanded Psote’s story. A longer Passion and an Encomium belong to a literary milieu associated with seventh- and eighth-century hagiography; they transmit the legend that Diocletian was born in Egypt as Agrippida and raised as a shepherd by Psote’s parents.[^8] An *Oratio* attributed to Psote survives in a Sahidic codex from Idfu and contains recommendations and predictions of his death; the Arabic Synaxarion summarizes the extended Passion.[^9]

## Relics and monastery

Dayr Anba Bisadah, at al-Ahaywah Sharq on the east bank of the Nile, about 18 kilometres south of Akhmim, preserves Psote’s memory and relics. His burial was east of Psoi, and the monastery was probably built over his tomb.[^6]

A panegyric of Saint Claudius attributed to Severus of Antioch mentions Psote’s monastery. Although preserved in ninth-century manuscripts, it transmits an older tradition; the monastery’s foundation date cannot be established with certainty.[^7] Psote’s tomb at Dayr Anba Bisadah was an important pilgrimage site.[^2]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 830)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 828)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 830)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 830)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 830)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 176)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 176)
[^8]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 830)
[^9]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 831)