Book block from the Manichaean Synaxeis

Object Information

Description:: Book block from the Manichaean Synaxeis, written in Coptic c. 400 AD in Egypt. The Synaxeis contains excerpts or quotations from Mani’s Living Gospel, the most important of the seven canonical works composed by the prophet Mani. The Synaxeis was either a commentary or a service book with gospel readings arranged according to the year. This manuscript (also known as Codex B) was acquired from an unnamed Fayyumic dealer in 1930. The Synaxeis is one of seven Manichaean manuscripts uncovered at Medinet Madi and acquired by Chester Beatty and Carl Smith (a representative of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) in 1930 and 1931. Chester Beatty’s acquisition includes the second volume of the Kephalaia, the larger portion of the Synaxeis, a smaller portion of the Homilies, and the Psalms in two parts. The Manichaean faith was so successfully suppressed that until the discovery of these books, it was only known through the writings of its oppressors. This collection (divided between Dublin and Berlin) is one of the earliest and most important of this now extinct religion, and its discovery has been likened to the cultural and historical significance of the Nag Hammadi codices and Dead Sea scrolls.

Images and PDF's are provided for personal research and scholarship. For commercial use or publication please contact photographicservices@cbl.ie.