Julius of Aqfahs: The Martyrdom of John and Simon

This chapter examines a case history of one of the late hagiographic compositions attributed to Julius of Aqfahs, the Martyrdom of John and Simon, documenting the historical shortcomings of this text. John and Simon were two martyrs from Lower Egypt. The Coptic text of their Martyrdom survives in a single manuscript from the Vatican Library, published by Henri Hyvernat with a French translation. The chapter concludes that the Martyrdom of John and Simon cannot be attributed to Julius of Aqfahs, and it is certain that it is based on a late redaction inspired by the lives of the recluses of the Middle Ages. This period was the Mamluk era, which was unfavorable for the Copts. An unknown author wanted to provide a model to his fellow Christians; he used a kind of “copy-paste” system to create martyrs who corresponded to the circumstances of his own times.