Philip of Anatolia
Philip of Anatolia is a bishop mentioned in the Coptic History of the Church and the attributed author of an Encomium of the Virgin Mary whose authorship is uncertain.[^1][^3][^7]
Historical account
Philip of Anatolia appears as a bishop in the Coptic History of the Church. According to its account, he observed that soldiers at the command headquarters in Damascus, described as pagans and heretics, unjustly persecuted Christians when levying taxes.1
The narrative relates that Philip wrote to the emperors Valens and Valentinianus to draw attention to this treatment. He also explained that Christians could not become soldiers because of the apostles’ commandments. According to the same account, the emperors took measures to alleviate the situation.2
Encomium of the Virgin Mary
Philip is otherwise unnamed in Coptic or Greek traditions, but an Encomium of the Virgin Mary is attributed to him. The work survives in two fragmentary, unedited manuscripts: a ninth-century manuscript from the White Monastery, also called Dayr Anba Shinudah, and an eleventh-century manuscript preserved in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin as MS 819.3
The surviving fragments apparently represent the beginning of the work. They open with praises of Mary and an explanation of the significance of each letter of her name. The text then narrates Mary’s birth, describes the rivers of Paradise, traces Joseph’s lineage, recounts the marriage of Joseph and Mary, and tells of Jesus’ birth.4
Dating and attribution
On the basis of its content and style, the encomium could belong to the homiletic literature of the seventh to eighth centuries.5
It offers two hypotheses about the attribution. If the account of Philip belonged to the fifth-century redaction of the Coptic History of the Church, the homily’s author may have adopted Philip’s name for unknown reasons.6
Alternatively, if the historical account was a seventh-century interpolation—a possibility considered reasonable because of its mention of Damascus—the historical passage and the homily could have been produced by the same editor. These are hypotheses rather than established conclusions about authorship.7
References
Sources
- 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
The Coptic History of the Church contains the following story of Philip of Anatolia, a bishop (ed. Orlandi, 1970, Vol. 2, pp. 16-17). He observed that the soldiers in the command headquarters at Damascus were pagans and heretics, and that whenever they leveled taxes against the Christians, they persecuted the Christians unjustly.
- 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
Therefore, he wrote to emperors Valens and Valentinianus to bring the matter to their attention and further explained that Christians could not become soldiers because of the apostles' commandments. As a result, the emperors took steps to alleviate the situation.
- 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
Philip of Anatolia is named nowhere else, neither in Coptic nor in Greek traditions. However, attributed to him is an Encomium of the Virgin Mary that has survived in two manuscripts, both fragmentary and unedited. A ninth-century manuscript comes from the White Monastery (DAYR ANBA SHINUDAH), and an eleventh-century manuscript is conserved in Dublin at the Chester Beatty Library (MS 819).
- 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
In these fragments, which apparently form the beginning of the work, the author has composed a prologue of laudations to Mary, after which he explains the significance of each letter in her name. He then narrates the birth of Mary, describes the rivers of Paradise, traces the lineage of Joseph, recounts the marriage of Joseph and Mary, and tells of the birth of Jesus.
- 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
The content and style of this encomium indicate that it could be assigned to the homiletic production of the seventh to eighth centuries.
- 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
As to the origin of the attribution, two hypotheses are proposed. (1) If the section from the Coptic History of the Church is authentic in the sense that it belongs to the redaction of the fifth century, the author of the homily appropriated Philip's name for undetermined reasons.
- 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 6 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 644)
(2) If this particular section from the history is an interpolation made in the seventh century, as is reasonable to believe because of the mention of Damascus, then both the history extract and the homily could possibly be the work of the same editor.
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This article was drafted from the sources listed above with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor before publication.