The Epitaph of Abercius
(circa AD 180/200)
Abercius, the composer of his own funeral inscription, was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia in the latter part of the second century. Written in a highly symbolic language, the epitaph declares that Abercius is a Christian, and requests prayers for his soul.
The tombstone with the inscription is kept in the Lateran Museum of Rome.
Citizen of an eminent city,#1
I erected this [tomb] in my lifetime,#2
To have a resting place for my body.#3
Abercius is my name,
I am a disciple of a chaste Shepherd,#4
Who feeds his sheep on mountains and plains,#5
Who has great eyes that see everywhere,#6
He taught me faithful [...] writings.#7
He sent me to Rome to contemplate a kingdom,
To see a Queen with a golden robe and golden sandals.#8
There I saw a people bearing the resplendent Seal.#9
And I saw the plain of Syria, and all the cities, even Nisibis,#10 beyond the Euphrates.
And everywhere I had colleagues.#11
Having Paul as my companion,#12
Everywhere I went, my faith led the way;
Everywhere, it offered me as food a Fish from the spring,
Mighty and pure, caught by an immaculate Virgin.#13
And she gives it constantly as nourishment for her own dear ones;
She also has an excellent wine,
Which she gives together with the bread.#14
I, Abercius, dictated all these words and ordered them to be inscribed;
I was, then, seventy-two years old.
Let any brother who understands these lines pray for Abercius.#15
NOTES
1. The author declares himself to be a Christian, a member of the Church, a citizen of the People of God.
2. A reference, perhaps, to his being a Christian, to “being alive” with the life of grace given in baptism.
3. It implies the existence of the soul, which is not in the tomb.
4. The Shepherd is Jesus Christ.
5. Jesus Christ gives us supernatural life.
6. A reference to early portraits of Christ, and also to God’s perfections; He is all-knowing, and all-present, and nothing is hidden from God.
7. A few words were lost here. It denotes the revelation of God, brought to completion with Jesus Christ.
8. It suggests the higher dignity of the church of Rome.
9. In Rome, the author met the Christians, people with the Seal –the character– of baptism.
10. Nisibis, a major city under the Seleucids, became an important Christian center in Mesopotamia.
11. Abercius is a witness of the universality of the Church.
12. Some word may be missing here. The reference points to St Paul the apostle, that is, to the faith reflected in his epistles.
13. The imagery refers both to Mother Church, who gives Jesus Christ in the sacraments, and to Christ’s own Mother, the Virgin Mary, who conceived our Savior. The intermingling of the two figures is very common in the writings of the early Church (cf. Apoc 12.1 ff.).
14. Christ is the Fish, in Greek IXQYS, which is also an acronym for Jesus Christ, the Savior, Son of God. The real presence of our Lord in the sacrament of the Eucharist is indicated. Abercius is given Jesus in the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment for the soul under the appearances of bread and wine.
15. An early testimony of Christian prayer for the deceased.
Abercius, the composer of his own funeral inscription, was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia in the latter part of the second century. Written in a highly symbolic language, the epitaph declares that Abercius is a Christian, and requests prayers for his soul.
The tombstone with the inscription is kept in the Lateran Museum of Rome.
Citizen of an eminent city,#1
I erected this [tomb] in my lifetime,#2
To have a resting place for my body.#3
Abercius is my name,
I am a disciple of a chaste Shepherd,#4
Who feeds his sheep on mountains and plains,#5
Who has great eyes that see everywhere,#6
He taught me faithful [...] writings.#7
He sent me to Rome to contemplate a kingdom,
To see a Queen with a golden robe and golden sandals.#8
There I saw a people bearing the resplendent Seal.#9
And I saw the plain of Syria, and all the cities, even Nisibis,#10 beyond the Euphrates.
And everywhere I had colleagues.#11
Having Paul as my companion,#12
Everywhere I went, my faith led the way;
Everywhere, it offered me as food a Fish from the spring,
Mighty and pure, caught by an immaculate Virgin.#13
And she gives it constantly as nourishment for her own dear ones;
She also has an excellent wine,
Which she gives together with the bread.#14
I, Abercius, dictated all these words and ordered them to be inscribed;
I was, then, seventy-two years old.
Let any brother who understands these lines pray for Abercius.#15
NOTES
1. The author declares himself to be a Christian, a member of the Church, a citizen of the People of God.
2. A reference, perhaps, to his being a Christian, to “being alive” with the life of grace given in baptism.
3. It implies the existence of the soul, which is not in the tomb.
4. The Shepherd is Jesus Christ.
5. Jesus Christ gives us supernatural life.
6. A reference to early portraits of Christ, and also to God’s perfections; He is all-knowing, and all-present, and nothing is hidden from God.
7. A few words were lost here. It denotes the revelation of God, brought to completion with Jesus Christ.
8. It suggests the higher dignity of the church of Rome.
9. In Rome, the author met the Christians, people with the Seal –the character– of baptism.
10. Nisibis, a major city under the Seleucids, became an important Christian center in Mesopotamia.
11. Abercius is a witness of the universality of the Church.
12. Some word may be missing here. The reference points to St Paul the apostle, that is, to the faith reflected in his epistles.
13. The imagery refers both to Mother Church, who gives Jesus Christ in the sacraments, and to Christ’s own Mother, the Virgin Mary, who conceived our Savior. The intermingling of the two figures is very common in the writings of the early Church (cf. Apoc 12.1 ff.).
14. Christ is the Fish, in Greek IXQYS, which is also an acronym for Jesus Christ, the Savior, Son of God. The real presence of our Lord in the sacrament of the Eucharist is indicated. Abercius is given Jesus in the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment for the soul under the appearances of bread and wine.
15. An early testimony of Christian prayer for the deceased.