The burial of Bishop Timotheos, long cross

European Museums, The British Museum

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Long cross on the burial of bishop

The burial of Bishop

Timotheos

During excavations at the cathedral of Qasr Ibrim in 1964, the well-preserved body of a Nubian bishop was discovered under the entrance to the north crypt. The body was dressed in a complete set of garments, including a tunic and trousers of cotton and linen, a blue turban and a hooded cloak decorated with a panel of silk tapestry. The bishop's iron benedictional cross was found suspended around his neck. The garments are of relatively simple design and may have been Timotheos' traveling apparel.

With the body were found two long paper scrolls, now in Cairo, comprising the letters of appointment of bishop Timotheos, issued by the Coptic patriarch in Egypt. Written in Coptic and Arabic, the documents reveal that the bishop was consecrated in Old Cairo in 1371 and enthroned the following year at Naqada in Upper Egypt (an irregular procedure, perhaps resulting from troubled conditions in Nubia).

Timotheos may have died shortly after his arrival in Nubia; the nature of his burial suggests the need for haste and secrecy.

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Long cross on the burial of bishop

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Source:  London, United Kingdom