New Evidence for Severus of Antioch’s Correspondence with the patricia Caesaria (CPG 7071,11): Ethiopic Fragments Related to the Origin of Evil and the Resurrection of the Dead

Abstract

Abstract In late Roman Egypt, a woman of high-standing named Caesaria corresponded extensively with Severus of Antioch, a bishop who had relocated to Egypt in exile. A few complete letters from their correspondence survive, and many fragments are scattered in florilegia, in biblical catenae, and as quotations in other works. The present paper argues that a reading for the Thursday after Easter found in an Ethiopic homiliary for the season of Pentecost contains three genuine excerpts from their correspondence. These three excerpts discuss the origin of evil and the resurrection of the dead, drawing on both the biblical text as well as the writings of Gregory of Nyssa. The excerpts offer important information about Severus’s correspondence with Caesaria as well as the circulation of early Christian writings in early Solomonic Ethiopia. An edition and translation of the excerpts follow in the appendices.