Abba Daniel of Scetis. II. The Blind Men (Bhg 2102), a Holy and Chaste Young Woman/Thomaїs (Bhg 2453) (Introduction, translation from Greek, and commentary by Anton A. Voytenko)

The publication is a commented translation from Greek of two hagiographic stories from the cycle of Abba Daniel of Scetis: the Blind Man (BHG 2102) and a Holy and Chaste Young Woman/Thomaїs (BHG 2453). The story about the blind man is known in Greek and two Armenian and Ethiopian (Geՙez) versions. The Greek version can be considered as the most authentic since it is the most detailed and does not contain errors or abridgements. Along with the story about the holy fool Mark, it is a classic example of a secret servant of God. From a historical point of view, the story is interesting because it mentions the great steward of Alexandria, as well as two places of veneration of St. Mark in Alexandria in the 6th century. A comparison of the data of the story with other evidence allows us to assume that in the 6th century the relics of St. Mark had not yet been transferred to the city church but still remained in his martyrium in the area called Boucolou. The story of Thomaїs has been preserved in several Greek, two Armenian (arm 1, arm 2), Latin (lat), Ethiopian (Geՙez), and Church Slavonic versions. Due to significant discrepancies in the different versions, it is possible, using the Bollandists’ method, to reconstruct hypothetically the primitive form of the story and its subsequent evolution. Initially (arm 1), the story was a didactic apophthegm about the benefits of stabilitas loci. But later (arm 2, lat), a new character is introduced, an anonymous elder, whose function is to justify the burial of Thomaїs in a monastic cemetery, which was a violation of accepted practice. Then (in the Greek and Ethiopian versions) the anonymous elder is identified with Abba Daniel of Scetis. At the last stage (the version from the Greek Menaion), the story turns into a short life, where Thomaїs becomes the main character. The Life of Thomaїs by St. Dimitry of Rostov (Russian Menologion) is a compilation of the Latin text from Acta Sanctorum and, presumably, the Church Slavonic version of the story, close to the Greek versions translated into the publication.