ABSTRACT
Two biblical citations, both fairly obscure, frame the introductory chapter of the Life of Mary of Egypt, a work composed in Palestine in the seventh century. The first quotation is from Tobit, the second from the Wisdom of Solomon; neither part of the emerging lectionary system in Jerusalem, and neither much commented upon in the patristic corpus (Life of Mary of Egypt 1). 1 The author supplies references: ‘Such were the words of the angel to Tobit’ and ‘as Solomon taught with divine inspiration’. Most likely, his intended audience needed the citational help. By contrast, at the highpoint of the text, the two protagonists – the reformed harlot Mary and the monastic priest Zosimas – engage in a brief liturgical service. She asks him to recite the Nicene Creed (‘the holy creed of our faith’) and to lead her in the Lord’s Prayer, of which the text quotes only the first two phrases. When the prayer comes to an end, they exchange a ritual kiss, and he provides her with reserve sacrament (35): ‘And having received the life-giving sacraments, she raised her hands to heaven, sighed with tears in her eyes and cried aloud’, the words of Luke 2:29, the prayer of the prophet Symeon upon seeing the infant Jesus in the temple. This prayer, known to Latin Christianity as the Nunc Dimittis, was chanted at Cathedral Vespers in the East since the fourth century and assimilated subsequently into the monastic office. Mary recites, accurately, ‘Lord, you are now dismissing your servant in peace according to you word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.’ 2 This scene, with its prayers, gestures and ritual action, needs no citations. All these elements were deeply familiar to any late ancient Christian who participated, even only occasionally, in the liturgy. 3
