Philip of Side

Last weekend I located a copy of Henry Dodwell’s Dissertationes in Irenaeum (1689) which apparently contains the only publication of some bits of Philip of Side’s lost 5th century Ecclesiastical History, with a Latin translation and commentary. This reproduces a bit of Codex Bodl. Barrocianus 142 (14-15th century), which the Bodleian catalogue reveals to contain various church history texts, complete or excerpted. This bit is a list of leaders of the school at Alexandria, beginning with Athenagoras (writing “before Celsus”) down to Philip’s own time. The excerptor isn’t very accurate in what he says about Eusebius, so probably is no better on Philip. De Boor apparently published other fragments in TU, but I was unable to get these.

I learn also from Bruce Lincoln, Thomas-Gospel and Thomas-Community: A new approach to a familiar text. Novum Testamentum 19.1 (1977) p.69 n. 15 that the Coptic Gospel of “Thomas is mentioned by Hippolytus, Origen, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem and Philip Sidetes.” (Although this may not be coptic Thomas, except in Hippolytus), but no ref. for Philip is given. It would be nice to collect all the Philip material.

I did consider getting a photograph of folio 216 recto and verso from the Bodleian, but the urge went away after I found that each photograph would cost $30, and was hedged round with further legally-dubious demands for money if anyone else saw it.

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