1,500-Year-Old Christian Amulet References Eucharist
Protective Christian charm is one of world’s earliest known
A Christian amulet dating to the sixth century C.E.—one of the world’s earliest known Christian amulets—has recently been brought to light at the University of Manchester. Photo: Courtesy University of Manchester.
A recently discovered 1,500-year-old papyrus fragment containing a protective Christian prayer is one of the earliest surviving texts of its kind. Historian Roberta Mazza found the Christian amulet among the thousands of unpublished historical documents kept at the University of Manchester’s John Rylands Research Institute. The early Christian prayer, written in Greek, references the Eucharist—a Christian ritual commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper—and “manna of the new covenant.”
The Christian amulet was recycled from a receipt for the payment of a grain tax—on the other side of the receipt, Biblical passages from the books of Psalms and Matthew were written. The papyrus fragment would have been folded up and put into a locket to protect the wearer from evil. This early Christian practice stems from the ancient Egyptians, who wore prayer texts as protective charms.
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Mazza believes that the Christian amulet, which dates to around the sixth century C.E., may have originally belonged to someone living near Hermopolis, now El Ashmunein, in Egypt. A tax collector from a village near Hermopolis had certified the grain tax receipt on which the Christian amulet was written.
“We can say this is an incredibly rare example of Christianity and the Bible becoming meaningful to ordinary people—not just priests and the elite,” Mazza said in a University of Manchester press release. “It’s doubly fascinating because the amulet maker clearly knew the Bible, but made lots of mistakes […] This suggests that he was writing by heart rather than copying it.”
Read the full text of the Christian amulet:
“Fear you all who rule over the earth.
Know you nations and peoples that Christ is our God.
For he spoke and they came to being, he commanded and they were created; he put everything under our feet and delivered us from the wish of our enemies.
Our God prepared a sacred table in the desert for the people and gave manna of the new covenant to eat, the Lord’s immortal body and the blood of Christ poured for us in remission of sins.”
For more information on the Christian amulet, read the University of Manchester press release.
Learn more about ancient amulets in the BAS Library:
C. Thomas McCollough and Beth Glazier-McDonald, “Welcome to the World of Magic!” Archaeology Odyssey, Summer 1998.
Ronald S. Hendel, “Biblical Views: Them Dry Bones,” Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2007.
Gabriel Barkay, “News from the Field: The Divine Name Found in Jerusalem,” Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 1983.
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The person was familiar with both old and new covenant and very sincere.
[…] 1,500-Year-Old Christian Amulet References Eucharist – September 05, 2014 […]
[…] 1,500-Year-Old Christian Amulet References Eucharist – September 05, 2014 […]
what a lovely prayer!
Miracles happen daily of greater note than this
Prayer … Call upon the LORD and you shall be saved.
Sarah, read the last paragraph of the article and you should understand how it is used as an amulet.
And then read up on Christian meditation and you should learn that that is a form of prayer.
Semantics
Possibly they mean grammatical or spelling errors?
Unless you’re reading the original text?
As for it being an amulet, maybe they know how it was originally wrapped. Not that there’s anything wrong with an amulet.
Yes I would also like to know how that is proven to be a prayer amulet and not conjecture. Second I don’t see anything wrong or lots of errors in anything written.
I can see a how the writer is speaking from the heart or personal refelctikn which is scripturally informed. Christians do this all the time. So I do not understand the assertion that there are a lot of errors in this, there are no “errors” at all. It is scripturally sound and traditionally sound.
And, actually – it’s not even a prayer.
It’s just someone’s personal meditation.
A Christian prayer is not an ‘amulet’ – it is not a magical formula.
Your wording is derogatory and hints at prejudice.
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