Anecdota Oxoniensia. Semitic series.

ACCOUNT OF JIARK IBN AL-KANBAR.

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called to meet thee which shall decide whether thou shalt be of them, in
which case thou shalt not oppose them, or whether thou shalt depart
from them, in which case thou wilt wander away from the faithful and
followers of the book, and it will be necessary for thee to become
a Muslim, for thou wilt be neither Jew nor Christian.' This is the end.
~ After Mark ibn al-Kanbar had remained in his own district persisting in his former ways, then he appeared at the Cell at the church of
Al-Mu'allakah in Misr, and waited upon the patriarch, and confessed
his sin, and asked for pardon, which was granted to him. Prayers were
offered, and the liturgy was said: and when Mark went forward to
communicate of the holy mysteries, the patriarch made him swear, in
the presence of a body of bishops and priests, that he would not again
do what he had been forbidden to do. So he swore a binding oath,
and made firm promises, before receiving the holy mysteries. Then he
returned to his own district, and had not spent a single day there before
he returned to his former ways; nor did he keep his second oath, taken
before the altar of God in the presence of the bishops and priests and
chief men and deacons and a congregation of the orthodox laity. Thus
it became evident that he did not fear God or respect men, since he had Fol. 12 a
been allowed to receive the eucharist in the sanctuary of God. He now
gave permission to those who followed his opinions to communicate
early1 on the festival of the Forty Martyrs2, which is on the I3th of
Barmahat, and takes place during the fast of the Holy Forty Days;
and on this day he forbad communion of the wine3. He forbad also
I As it is well known, the Copts celebrate the liturgy, of course fasting, at three
o'clock in the afternoon during the fast of the forty days of Lent, except on
Saturday and Sunday. It is not stated here that Ibn al-Kanbar allowed the liturgy
to be celebrated early on one of these days, but that he allowed an early communion, doubtless with the reserved sacrament, see fol. 15 b. See Vansleb, Hist.
de l'Jsgl'se d'Alex. p. 73.
2 The I3th of Barmahat would be equivalent to the 9th of March, whereas the
Roman calendar keeps the festival of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste on the Ioth
of March.
3 Because the wine was not reserved, see fol. 15 b.
e 2