Two Early Egyptian Liturgical Papyri

Joint Liturgical Studies 70

A great variety of early Christian liturgical material is preserved in Egypt. The primary aim of this work is to present some of this wealth of material to a non-specialist audience.

Two liturgical collections, that of Deir Balyzeh (Bodl MS Gr. Lit. d 2-4 (P)) and that in the papyrus known as the Barcelona papyrus (P.Monts.Roca inv.128-178), are presented here, with an appendix containing a great deal of material. The basis for the selection of material in the appendix is its comparative value for the two main liturgical collections, though there is intrinsic interest in much of this. All is presented in English translation, in most instances for the first time. The materials are retrieved from a variety of sources, few of which are easy to find, and fewer of which are readily available to the reader without knowledge of original languages or of the various modern languages used by editors.