The development and usage of the Greek and Coptic term papa in ecclesiastical and monastic contexts

• Authors: Thomas Laver

Abstracts

EN

This article examines the use of the title papa in the Greek and Coptic papyri, ostraca, and inscriptions of the third–ninth centuries, refuting previous claims that it was primarily used as a ‘priestly title’. The main grammatical features of the term are sketched out, before delineating the use of papa as both noun and honorific to mean ‘bishop’ over the third–seventh centuries, and then as an honorific for monastic administrators after the sixth century. Some brief observations are then made on how the title appears to develop over the ninth–thirteenth centuries.

Keywords

EN

papa; monasteries; monks; bishops; priests; titulature; monastic; administration

• Publisher: Fundacja im. Rafała Taubenschlaga
• Journal: The Journal of Juristic Papyrology
• Year: 2022
• Issue: 52
• Pages: 55-101

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Thomas Laver

• University of Cambridge

Identifiers

Biblioteka Nauki

16648016