Description
Two early witnesses, Basil of Caesarea and the Syriac and Hieronymian martyrologies mention the martyr Athenogenos, chorepiscopus of the town of Pedachthoe (today Bedohtun), a victim of the Diocletian persecution. Hitherto there was only the short epic Passion BHG 197, published in 1987. With this work we now have the publication, together with a translation and commentary, of another version of the Passion BHG 197b, a text of an entirely different historical quality and in large measure ancient. Particularly worthy of mention are the three long interrogations of the bishop, of the lector (and martyr) Ariston, and of the cantor (and renegade) Severianos. Also noteworthy are the names of other martyrs (including Peter I of Sebasteia) and a number of picturesque details of rural Christian life. In addition, the epic Passion, accompanied this time by a translation, is republished here on the basis of some ten manuscripts.
