| Manuscript: | M15 |
| Sigla: | P. Mich. Inv. 599 + 594 + 603 + 596 + 598 + 597 + 595 |
Text no. 
Position of the text within the manuscript. | 39 |
| Coptic Scriptorium: | |
| Date: | 501 – 700 |
| Text position: | p. 10 (P. Mich. Inv. 598 vo) ll. 1-10 |
| Type of text: | Prayer for unclear purposes (magical, formulary) |
| Original title: | |
| Original title (translated): | |
| Conventional title: | Prayer of Judas Cyriacus |
| Language: | Egyptian (Coptic) |
| Dialect: | Sahidic (non-standard) |
| Script: | Coptic |
| Image: | http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2616/599r.tif & http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2616/599v.tif |
| Text: | Translation: |
| ↓ |
[1] ⳨ Akhra Brimidaephin Adonai Eloei [2] Lamebddō Azazēl Korphin Phauthiou [3] Baroukh Khatta Adonai Kharmarōn [4] Abraxiō Athēthal Baroukh Siamour [5] Akhraei Birobba Ermoun Kalothō [6] Daula Ielbelmōn Seseniē Mnanai [7] Israel, amen! That is, Kalorokhal Laima [8] Thouma Aiarikh Ōsēal Lameldōd [9] Eleōth Naoula Aibēl Kouram [9] Baithēl Adonai Eloei Moutha |
| Tableau: | |
| Tracing by: |
| Apparatus: | 1. ⲁⲇⲱⲛⲁ̅ⲓ̅ⲁ̅ ⲇ corrected from ⲁ by overwriting ? |
| Notes: | Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 602 ll. 1-9 (KYP M18, T675) 1-7. These words are recognisable as those of the Prayer of Judas Cyriacus, an extract from the fifth-century Finding of the Holy Cross, in which the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great (r. 306–337 CE), travels to Jerusalem to find the remains of the True Cross. There, she enlists the help of the local Jewish population, including Judas Cyriacus, who utters this prayer in Hebrew, revealing the location of the Cross. Only the “Hebrew” words of the prayer are excerpted here (for variants in the Latin and Greek manuscripts, see Borgehammar 1991: 272–278). In reality, these are a series of words resembling voces magicae with little genuine Hebrew. However, as in most versions, this text contains the Hebrew sequence baroukh aththa Adonai (ברוך אתה אדני ; “blessed are you, Lord”), rendered here in Coptic as ⲃⲁⲣⲟⲩⲭ ⲭⲁⲧⲧⲁ ⲁⲇⲱⲛⲁⲓ (l. 3). From line 7, where we would usually expect the (here Coptic) translation after ⲉⲧⲁ̣ⲡⲁ̣ⲓ̣ (Sahidic ⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲁⲓ ⲡⲉ), there are instead more voces. The Prayer of Judas Cyriacus appears in two additional surviving Coptic copies (cf. the notes from PCM I, p. 161): PCM I 11 (KYP M171, T991), p. 25 l. 24 – p. 26 l. 21; T.Varie 13 (KYP M107, T653). The “Hebrew” text here is closer to that of T.Varie 13. |
| Bibliography: |
Borgehammar, Stephan. 1991. How the Holy Cross Was Found: From Event to Medieval Legend with an Appendix of Texts. Almqvist & Wiksell International. |
| Editor: | KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026) |
How to cite:
[Editor names]. "KYP T2800: Prayer of Judas Cyriacus," Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts and Objects, Korshi Dosoo, Markéta Preininger, & Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin (principal editors), www.coptic-magic.phil.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php/text/kyp-t-2800. Accessed on 08/10/2026For the "editor names", see the abbreviated names in the field "Editor", and to resolve the abbreviations, see the help page.