Julien Delhez, one of our doctoral students, prepares the edition, translation, and literary analysis of a Coptic text on the archangel Gabriel attributed to Archelaos of Neapolis. Here is a brief summary of his project:

"My PhD thesis focuses on Ps.-Archelaos of Neapolis’ Homily on the Archangel Gabriel (clavis coptica 0045). This writing has survived both in Sahidic and in Bohairic, the latter being a translation of the former. The Bohairic version was edited and translated by Henri de Vis in 1929. My aim is to provide an edition, translation, and literary commentary of the Sahidic text.

The main manuscript I am working on is a complete codex from Hamuli, dated 848 A.D., currently kept in the Morgan Library & Museum as M 583. I will compare this manuscript with the other known Sahidic fragments, which are kept in different locales around the world. Comparison will also be made with the Bohairic version, which is extant in one complete manuscript and in several fragments, as well as with the Arabic and the Ethiopic versions, which are attested in numerous manuscripts.

Special focus will be given to the analysis of the miracles performed by the archangel Gabriel. The role of the archangel in Ps.-Archelaos’ homily will be studied in relation with other Coptic texts dedicated to Gabriel. Finally, the authorship of the text raises a problem that will also be analysed in my thesis: while the homily on Gabriel is attributed to a certain “Archelaos”, this author seems to be a fictitious character invented by the Copts. Thus, I will document the work’s religious and literary context, as well as the milieu in which such a text may have been written."