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The Synaxaria, as also the Menologia, are not among the oldest of hagiographical texts, and consequently their use in public worship in Oriental churches is relatively modern. In the case of the Coptic—Alexandrine Church with which I am now dealing, at the date when its I Synaxarium was composed, Arabic had for long past; taken the place of Coptic as the living language; indeed, in my view, its compilation was an outcome of that religious and literary movement which, from the thirteenth century onwards, gavefresh life and improved order to the Church of Alexandria. The question of the immediate sources of this work—one not as yet ripe for treatment— cannot be dealt with in this place; it may, however, be pointed out that the Synaxarium, as the product of Arabic speaking people, could be easilyput together from all the hagiographical works in use throughout Eastern Christendom by speakers of that tongue. Hagiographical literature is to a great extent a monastic product, and its Greek branch had for its main centre Palestine, and the convents of St. Sabas and of Sinai—witness the names of Cyril of Skythopolis, of John Moschos, of Sophronios, Patriarch of Jerusalem, etc.
page 740 note 1 Cat. Copt. MSS. Coll. Rylands Lib., p. 213.
page 741 note 1 Rendiconti delta R. Accad. d. Lincei, 1900, p. 630.
page 741 note 2 C. Conti Rossini, “I manoscritti Etiop. della Missione Cattolica di Cheren”: ibid., 1904, p. 276.
page 741 note 3 Femming, G., “Die neue Samml. abess. Handschr.”: Zentralbl. f. Bibliotheksw., 1906, pp. 7–21Google Scholar.
page 741 note 4 The doubt expressed by Zotenberg (Cat., p. 152) as to whether the recension by John of Burlos (Borollos, πάραλος) is that contained in the later version of the Senkessār is unfounded; the name of John together with that of Mikā'ēl appears already on the MS. D'Abbadie 66. Cf. Duensing, Liefert d, äthiop. Synax., etc., 8.
page 742 note 1 S. = Sanē, H. = Hamlē; the page numbers refer to Patrol. Orient., vols. i and vii.
page 743 note 1 As to this not uncommon occurrence in old MSS. see Bezold, , Kebra Nagast, xviiiGoogle Scholar. That the age of MSS. is no adequate criterion for judging the regularity of the forms occurring therein, may be gathered from what Dr. Conti Rossini says in the Preface to the Acts of Baṣalota Mikā'ēl (Corp. Script. Christ. Orient. Script. Ethiop., ser. II, t. xx).
page 747 note 1 Cf. Amélineau, , Géoyr. de l'Égypte à l'époque copte, p. 472Google Scholar.
page 747 note 2 Cf. Amelineau, , op. cit., p. 392Google Scholar.
page 752 note 1 ЭфioПckiя pykoпИcИ, Bъ. C. ПetepõyprѢ, p. 14 (MSS. Ethiop. at St. Petersburg).
