Anecdota Oxoniensia. Semitic series.

FA TE OF THE ARMIENIAN CHURCHES.

I I

Baptist1 in the Harah Zawilah; but the Fakih at-Tusi2 did not allow it,
so the bishop compelled him, and stayed there several months, and then Fol. 5 b
grew sick and died without carrying out his object. He was buried in
the church of the Armenians in Az-Zuhri; may God rest his soul.
~ On the Sunday of Olives3, the first day of the eighth week of the
Holy Fast, and the Ist of Barmadah4, in the year 892 (A.D. 1I77)
of the Blameless Martyrs, a body of priests came to this church, with
the laity, among whom were AbA Sa'id ibn Abu 'l-Fadl ibn Fahd and
Abu '1-Yaman ibn Abu 'l-Faraj ibn Abi '1-Yaman ibn Zanbur; and
these two had with them a vessel containing pure oil with which they
ate their peas; and they placed it within the church, but afterwards
when they looked for it, they could not find it. Then they suspected
the Muslim guardians of the church, and allowed their servants to beat
them; so the guardians went to the Fakih Baha ad-Din5 'Ali the
Damascene in a fury, on account of what had happened to them, and
said to him: 'Shall the Muslims be struck in the face by Christians in
the month of Ramadan?' Then the fakih at once informed the sultan
of this occurrence, and it greatly angered him; so he sent for Safi
ad-Daulah Abu 'l-Ma'ali ibn Sharafi, his scribe, and blamed him for it,
and demanded of him the decree which he had received, empowering Fol. 6 a
the Copts to take possession of this church; and this, by ill luck, was
in the sleeve of his garment. So he brought it out and handed it to the
sultan, who commanded that the door of the church should be barred,
and this order was obeyed at once; and the door of the church was
barred. After a short time, however, the sultan commanded by a new
decree that the church should be restored to the Copts, and its door
should be opened to them, and they should pray in it, and that none
should molest them in any way without cause. After this the condition
of this church remained prosperous, and one of the priests of the church
1 See fol. 2 a. 2 See fol. 6 a.
3 I.e. Palm-Sunday; otherwise called Hosanna Sunday. (A. J. B.)
4 The Coptic Pharmouthi (c&poJULo=oi)= March 27-April 25.
5 See fol. 2 a.
C 2