Author Archives: Alin Suciu

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About Alin Suciu

I am a researcher at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities, writing primarily on Coptic literature, Patristics, and apocryphal texts.

A New Witness to the Spiritual Homilies of Macarius in a Sahidic Manuscript

Under the name of Macarius the Egyptian, the great solitary from the desert of Scetis, have circulated numerous homilies, letters and other literary pieces which are sometimes labeled together as the “Macarian corpus.” I have recently identified some new fragments … Continue reading

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The Identity of a Coptic Apocryphal Fragment in the British Library (Layton no. 100)

(This post is based on my article “A British Library Fragment from a Homily on the Lament of Mary and the So-Called Gospel of Gamaliel,” forthcoming in Aethiopica. International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies) Among the scholarly books that … Continue reading

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John Chrysostom’s Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans also in Coptic

Michel Aubineau (1921-2002) remarked once that the number of Greek manuscripts which contain works attributed to John Chrysostom surpasses that of any other Church Father.[1] As far as our evidence goes, the same must have been true of the Coptic … Continue reading

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Coptic Vestiges of a Paschal Homily Attributed to Epiphanius of Salamis: A Preliminary Report

The sermon In divini corporis sepulturam (CPG 3768; BHG 808e), attributed to Epiphanius of Salamis, is counted among the most curious Patristic works concerning the harrowing of hell. It was intended for liturgical reading on the Holy Saturday and is … Continue reading

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The Dossier of the Asceticon of Abba Isaiah: With a Contribution on the First Bohairic Fragments

Little is known about the period that Abba Isaiah spent in his native land, as a recluse in the desert of Scetis. His fame began to grow beyond the borders of Egypt only after he settled in a monastery near … Continue reading

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An Apocryphal Fragment Sold at Sotheby’s (The Pseudo-Gospel of the Twelve Apostles)

I have already discussed here and here the ten Coptic fragments auctioned in July 2009 at Sotheby’s in London. They are all datable to the 10th century and belonged once to the library of the White Monastery, situated in Upper … Continue reading

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An Unnoticed Oxford Fragment from the Coptic Version of the Life of Anthony by Athanasius of Alexandria

While checking a number of unidentified Coptic fragments in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, my attention was drawn by a dismembered parchment leaf (call number MS.Copt.e. 170[P]) copied on one column by a skilled and elegant hand. The text utilizes the … Continue reading

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The White Monastery Euchologion: Update

My paper concerning the age of the Sahidic Euchologion manuscript was published in the latest issue of Vigiliae Christianae and can be read here. The article is dedicated to the memory of Dom Emmanuel Lanne, osb, who edited the Euchologion … Continue reading

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The “Sotheby’s Coptic Fragments.” Supplementary Identifications

I just found out that in December 2009, Federico Bottigliengo presented in the bulletin Il collezionista ten fragments of Coptic manuscripts. Now, among the pictures published therein, someone can recognize the same White Monastery parchment folio which was sold in … Continue reading

Posted in Apocrypha, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Evodius of Rome, Patristics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Identification of the Coptic Fragments Auctioned at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s auctioned recently ten Coptic parchment fragments which were purchased for 28,750 GBP. Surprisingly, in the only picture available thus far can be recognized a portion from Cyril of Alexandria’s Scholia on the Incarnation of Monogenes, an important dogmatic work … Continue reading

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Interviu Oglindanet

Cristian Bădiliţă: Dragă Alin Suciu, pregăteşti un doctorat în literatură creştină coptă la Universitatea Laval din Québec. Cum se desfăşoară cercetările în acest domeniu? Care sunt maeştrii, principalele zone de interes, rezultatele de până acum şi proiectele de viitor? Alin … Continue reading

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Ps-Theophilus of Alexandria, Sermon on the Cross and the Good Thief

In preparation for Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (CSCO), Scriptores coptici series (Université catholique de Louvain/Catholic University of America). The homily “On the Cross and the Good Thief,” attributed to Theophilus of Alexandria, is preserved in four Sahidic manuscripts. This is … Continue reading

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Tezaurul literaturii creştine în limba coptă

Prima parte a interviului “Tezaurul literaturii creştine în limba coptă”, apărut în revista on-line Oglindanet. Oglindanet: Dragă domnule Alin Suciu, v-aş ruga să ne descrieţi, pe scurt, zona studiilor copte în cadrul, mai vast, al literaturii creştine vechi. Alin Suciu: … Continue reading

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An Unknown “Apocryphal” Text from the White Monastery

I recently edited together with Einar Thomassen a parchment folio owned by the Norwegian collector Martin Schøyen. The Schøyen leaf (MS 1991) was immediately followed in the codex by another dismembered fragment which ended up in the Bibliothèque Nationale in … Continue reading

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The Borgian Coptic Manuscripts in Naples: Supplementary Identifications and Notes to a Recently Published Catalogue

Excerpts from the draft version of the article “The Borgian Coptic Manuscripts in Naples: Supplementary Identifications and Notes to a Recently Published Catalogue.” An updated version was accepted for publication in Orientalia Christiana Periodica. Naples[draft-excerpta] The article is a review … Continue reading

Posted in Apocrypha, Articles, Ascetic Authors, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Dormition of the Virgin, Patristics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

À propos de la datation du manuscrit contenant le Grand Euchologe du Monastère Blanc

“À propos de la datation du manuscrit contenant le Grand Euchologe du Monastère Blanc,” Vigiliae Christianae 65 (2011) 189-198. The article is dedicated to the memory of Father Emmanuel Lanne, osb. Abstract: The most complete Sahidic manuscript of the Euchologion, … Continue reading

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New Fragments from the Sahidic Version of the History of Joseph the Carpenter

Published in Le Muséon 122 (2009) 279-289. Suciu-New Fragments Historia Josephi Abstract: Focused on the figure of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ, the so-called History of Joseph the Carpenter is one of the most renowned writings preserved in … Continue reading

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