Miracle of Michael the Archangel at Chonae

Miraculum S. Michaelis in Chonis

Standard abbreviation: Mir. Mich.

Other titles: Apocalypse of the Archangel Michael, Miracle at Colossae by the Archangel Michael

Clavis numbers: ECCA 217

Category: Apocryphal Acts

Compiled by Jonah Bissell (Boston University)

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Bissell, Jonah. “Miracle of Michael the Archangel at Chonae.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/miracle-of-michael-the-archangel-at-chonae/.

Created June 2026

1. SUMMARY

The Miracle of Michael the Archangel at Chonae can be divided into three sections. The first narrates the acts of the apostles John and Philip in Ephesus and Hierapolis and their arrival in Chairetopa (a rural village near ancient Colossae) where soon there would emerge a miraculous healing spring. The second section details the healing of a certain “pagan” Laodicean’s daughter (at the spring), their conversion, and his construction of a shrine for the archangel Michael (which covers the holy water). The third and longest section concerns Archippos, the shrine’s first steward, and attempts made by local “pagans” to remove the water, destroy the shrine, and kill Archippos himself. At the end of the text, the archangel Michael appears, thwarting the devices of such “pagans” and causing two diverted and flooded rivers to halt and be channeled into an underground “chasm” (Grk: chōnē).

In the first section, after describing John’s eradication of the Artemis cult in Ephesus, the apostle joins Philip in his labors against the same goddess in Hierapolis. [While Symeon’s version describes Philip’s martyrdom at the hands of Artemis-devotees in Hierapolis, the earliest version of the text describes Philip and John leaving Hierapolis together after extirpating Artemis veneration in that city.] The apostles [or, in Symeon’s version, the apostle (i.e., John)] then travel to Chairetopa where they predict an impending visit of the archangel Michael with attendant miracles. At this point, healing water is said to “gush forth” from a certain opening in the earth at that site, seemingly caused by the agency of the archangel Michael.

The second section introduces a certain “pagan” Laodicean whose daughter has been unable to speak since birth. Having heard about the healing waters of Chairetopa and receiving a vision (in a dream) from the archangel Michael—although he does not identify himself as such in the dream—the man travels with his daughter to the spring and invokes the Trinity and the archangel while pouring water into the mouth of the child. His daughter is miraculously healed, and he and his family are immediately baptized. He then builds a shrine for the archangel Michael which covers the healing spring. Local Hellenes then “gnashed their teeth” against the Christians and against that water, wishing to overpower it and remove it from their land.

In the third section, the text introduces Archippos, the shrine’s first steward who begins his service at ten years old. After describing the habits and rigor of his ascetic life, the text describes various attempts made by local “pagans” to overpower the water and destroy the shrine. First, they attempt to dilute the holy water by mixing it with that of a nearby river. This attempt fails as the water does not flow in the direction they intended. Second, they attempt to divert two nearby rivers (i.e., Kuphos and Lycocapros) which flow downhill from a high mountain, a scheme which the devil himself implanted in their minds. By this they intend to channel the rivers toward the shrine, barricading them so they would flood, then releasing them to engulf the shrine itself. With this process underway the narrator describes an immense solid rock located just beneath or before the shrine.

As the floodwaters are about to be released, Archippos beseeches God to protect the shrine from such maleficent action. The rivers are then released, at which point the archangel Michael appears, commanding Archippos (several times) to leave the shrine and stand by him (which he eventually does). Michael then addresses the two raging rivers, commanding them to halt, which they do, rising to the height of ten men. Michael then extends his hand and strikes the rock in front of the shrine (cf. Moses in Exodus) causing it to shatter and open, revealing a large chasm in the earth. He then commands the rivers to “be channeled” (Grk: chōneuō) into the “chasm” (Grk: chōnē) forever, promising that at this site all malice and disease will be shattered, like the rock, while blessings for the faithful will “gush forth” like the holy water. As for the Hellenes who contrived this evil (by the devil’s incitement), Michael pronounces that they will “turn to stone” where they stand until such waters engulf his sanctuary (i.e., forever).

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Archippos (of Chonae), Artemis, John (son of Zebedee), Michael, Philip (apostle).

Geographical Locations: Chairetopa, Chonae (ancient name: Colossae), Ephesus, Hierapolis, Kuphos River, Laodicea, Lycia, Lycocapros River.

Note: In antiquity, Chairetopa was a rural village located near the ancient city of Colossae. After the purported events of Mir. Mich., Colossae and its immediate environs came to be known as Chonae. There is evidence of this name change being formalized by the 8th century CE.

2. RESOURCES

2.1 Web Sites

“The Miracle of Chonae: Translated from the Greek.” Anthony Alcock, 2017. English translation of the Archippos version (from Nau’s 1908 edition of the anonymous Greek text), pages 1–9.

“Miracle at Chonae by Archangel Michael.” Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral. English translation taken from The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church, pp. 219–26 (see below).

Iconreader. “Archangel Michael at Chonae. Icon of a Miracle.” A Reader’s Guide to Orthodox Icons. Posted 7 September 2012. Online: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/archangel-michael-at-chonae-icon-of-a-miracle/.

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Ethiopic (BHO 759)

Bachmann, Johannes. Aethiopische Lesestücke. Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1893 (pp. 20–23).

3.1.2 Greek

3.1.2.1 Archippos Version (BHG 1282) (over 90 manuscripts; Pinakes)

A Rome, Biblioteca Angelica, gr. 108 (B 2.2), fols. 53^v–58^r (11/12th cent.)

C Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Coislin 105, fols. 289^v–294^r (10th/11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica

D Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Coislin 121, fols. 18^r–21^r (1342/1343)

O Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Ott. gr. 1, fols. 41^r–45^v (11th cent.)

P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1468, fols. 232^v–238^r (11th cent.)

Q Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 769, fols. 97^r–103^v (13th/14th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica

U Venice, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, gr. hist. 61, fols. 1^r–6^v (1319) ~ Pinakes

V Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 807, fols. 73^r–77^r (10th cent.)

W Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, gr. theol. 123, fols. 128^v–133^r (13th cent.) ~ Pinakes

Jerusalem, Bibliothēkē tou Patriarchou, Timiou Staurou 35, fols. 395^v–399^r (15th/16th cent.)

London, British Library, Add. 10073, fols. 117^v–127^v (16th cent.)

Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, F 144 sup. (Martini-Bassi 377), fols. 171^v (11th cent.)

Mount Sinai, St. Catherine’s Monastery, gr. 497, fols. 32^v–38^r (10th/11th cent.)

Mount Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterinēs, gr. 519, fols. 6^r–8^v (10th cent.)

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Barocci 180, fols. 64^r–70^v (12th cent.)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 443, fols. 133^r–133^v (9/10th cent.)

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 866, fols. 69^r–71^r (11th/12th cent.)

Bonnet, Max. “Naratio de miraculo a Michaele archangelo Chonis patrato.” AnBoll 8 (1889): 287–328 (Greek text based on ACDOPQUVW, pp. 289–307; Latin translation, pp. 317–22).

Nau, François. “Le miracle de S. Michel à Colosses.” PO 4 (1908): 542–62 (revised edition of Bonnet’s Greek text including readings from P; French introduction, pages 542–46; Greek text and Latin translation, pages 547–62).

3.1.2.2 Sissinius Version (BHG 1283) ~ Pinakes

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Ott. gr. 264, fols. 11^v–19^r (16th cent.)

Bolland, Jean et al., eds. Acta Sanctorum, Septembris. Vol. 8. Antwerp: P. Jacobs, 1762 (Greek text and Latin translation based on the Menaea?, pp. 41–49); 3rd ed. Paris: V. Palmé, 1865 (Greek text and Latin translation, vol. 8, pp. 41–49).

3.1.2.3 Symeon Metaphrastes Version (BHG 1284) ~ Pinakes

P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1492, fols. 47^r–51^v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica

Q Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1515, fols. 20^v–25^v (11th cent.) ~ Pinakes; Gallica

R Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1489, fols. 50^r–56^r (11th cent.)

London, British Library, Add. 11870, fols. 60^r–66^v(11th cent.)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1611, fols. 234^v–245^v (1553)

Bonnet, Max. “Naratio de miraculo a Michaele archangelo Chonis patrato.” AnBoll 8 (1889): 287–328 (Greek text based on PQR, pp. 308–16; Latin translation, pp. 323–28).

3.1.3 Latin (BHL 5947)

“Nota Miraculum A. S. Michaele Chonis Patratum.” AnBoll 9 (1890): 201–203 (prologue only).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 English

3.2.1.1 Archippos Version (BHG 1282)

The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church. Sept. Translated by the Holy Apostles Convent. Buena Vista, CO (following the slightly expanded tradition of the great synaxaristes of the Greek Orthodox Church, pp. 219–26)

Alcock, Anthony. “The Miracle of Chonae: Translated from the Greek.” English translation of the Archippos version from Nau’s 1908 edition of the Greek text (2017).

Cadwallader, Alan H. “The Story of the Archistrategos, St Michael of Chonai.” Pages 323–30 in Colossae in Space and Time: Linking to an Ancient City. Edited by Alan H. Cadwallader and Michael Trainor. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011.

3.2.1.2 Sissinius Version (BHG 1283)

3.2.1.3 Metaphrastes Version (BHG 1284)

Bissell, Jonah. “Miraculum archangeli Michaelis in Chonis (BHG 1284).” In The Apocrypha of Symeon Metaphrastes. Writings of the Greco–Roman World. SBL Press, forthcoming.

3.2.2 French

Bouvier, Bertrand, and Frédéric Amsler. “Le Miracle de l’Archange Michel à Chonai: Introduction, Traduction, et Notes.” Pages 395–408 in Early Christian Voices: In Texts, Traditions and Symbols. Edited by David H. Warren, Ann Graham Brock, and David W. Pao. Boston/Leiden: Brill, 2003.

3.2.3 Latin

Bonnet, Max. “Naratio de miraculo a Michaele archangelo Chonis patrato.” AnBoll 8 (1889): 287–328 (Greek text based on ACDOPQUVW, pp. 289–307; Latin translation, pp. 317–22).

3.3 General Works

Arnold, John Charles. The Footprints of Michael the Archangel: The Formation and Diffusion of a Saintly Cult, c. 300–800. The New Middle Ages. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 (pp. 4–6, 43–44, 61–63).

Bovon, François. “Les Actes de Philippe.” ANRW II.25.6 (1988): 4431–527 (pp. 4453–54).

Cadwallader, A. H. “‘As If in a Dream of the Night …’: Authorising the Healing Spring of Chonai.” Pages 265–92 in Dreams, Memory and Imagination in Byzantium. Edited by Bronwen Neil and Eva Anagnostou–Laoutides. Leiden: Brill, 2018.

__________. “The Devil’s Rap-sheet: Protean Descriptions in the Story of St Michael of Chonai.” Pages 217–36 in Dealing with Difference: Christian Patterns of Response to Religious Rivalry in Late Antiquity and Beyond. Edited by Geoffrey D. Dunn and Christine Shepardson. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2021.

__________. “Epiphanies and Religious Conflict: The Contests over the Hagiasma of Chonai.” Pages 110–35 in Reconceiving religious conflict: New views from the formative centuries of Christianity. Edited by W. Mayer and C. de Wet. London, New York: Routledge, 2018.

__________. “Inter–City Conflict in the Story of St Michael of Chonai.” Pages 109–28 in Religious Conflict from Early Christianity to the Rise of Islam. Edited by Wendy Mayer and Bronwen Neil. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013.

__________. “The Inversion of Slavery: The Ascetic and the Archistrategos at Chonai.” Pages 215–36 in Prayer & Spirituality in the Early Church: Poverty and Riches. Strathfield: St. Paul’s Publications, 2009.

__________. “On the Question of Comparative Method in Historical Research: Colossae and Chonai in Larger Frame.” Pages 105–51 in The First Urban churches 5: Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea. Edited by J. R. Harrison and L. L. Welborn. Atlanta, Georgia: SBL Press, 2019.

__________. “The Reverend Dr. John Luke and the Churches of Chonai.” GRBS 48 (2010): 319–38.

__________. “St Michael of Chonai and the Tenacity of Paganism.” Pages 37–59 in Intercultural Transmission in the Medieval Mediterranean. Edited by David Kim and Stephanie Hathaway. London: Continuum, 2012.

Cline, Rangar. Ancient Angels: Conceptualizing Angeloi in the Roman Empire. Leiden: Brill, 2011 (pp. 131–34, 160–64).

Gabelić, Smiljka. “The Iconography of the Miracle at Chonae: An Unusual Example from Cyprus.” Zograf 20 (1989): 95–103.

Johnson, Richard F. Saint Michael the Archangel in Medieval English Legend. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005 (pp. 32–33).

Lucius, Ernst. Die Anfänge des Heiligenkults in der christlichen Kirche. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1904 (pp. 267–68).

Lueken, Wilhelm. Michael: Eine Darstellung und Vergleichung der jüdischen und der morgenländisch–christlichen Tradition vom Erzengel Michael. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1898 (pp. 73–81).

Martens, Mina. “L’Archange Michel et l’Héritage eschatologique pré–Chrétien.” Pages 141–59 in Mélanges Armand Abel. Vol. 3. Edited by A. Destrée. Leiden: Brill, 1978.

Meinardus, Otto F. A. “St. Michael’s Miracle of Khonae and its Geographical Setting.” Ekklesia kai Theologia 1 (1980): 459–69.

Peers, Glenn. “Apprehending the Archangel Michael: Hagiographic Methods.” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 20 (1996): 100–21.

__________. “Holy Man, Supplicant, and Donor: On Representations of the Miracle of Michael the Archangel at Chonae.” Mediaeval Studies 59 (1997): 173–82.

__________. Subtle Bodies, Representing Angels in Byzantium. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001 (pp. 143–52, 161–65, 178).

Philips-Pokhil, Vasilisa. “In Search of Chonae, the Place of Archangel Michael’s Miracle.” Orthodox Christianity. Translated by Dmitry Lapa. Posted 15 December 2021. Online: https://orthochristian.com/143451.html.

Popovic, Mihailo. “The ‘Hagiogeography’ of Saint Archangel Michael in Byzantine Macedonia and the Kingdom of the Scots (4th–15th Centuries): A Succinct Comparative Approach for Future Research.” Pages 521–40 in Niš i Vizantija XX, Niš, 3–5. Jun 2021. Zbornik radova XX. Niš, 2022.

Ramsay, William M. The Church in the Roman Empire: Before A.D. 170. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1893 (pp. 465–80).

__________. The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia being an Essay of the Local History of Phrygia from the Earliest Times to the Turkish Conquest. Vol. 1: The Lycos Valley and South–Western Phrygia. Oxford: Clarendon, 1895; reimpr., New York: Arno, 1975 (pp. 214–16).

Rohland, Johannes Peter. Der Erzengel Michael: Arzt und Feldherr. Leiden: Brill, 1977 (pp. 2–6, 9, 94–98, 140, 143).

von Rintelen, Wolfgang. Kultgeographische Studien in der Italia byzantina: Untersuchungen über die Kulte des Erzengels Michael und der Madonna di Constatinopoli in Süditalien. Munich, 1967.

__________. “Kult- und Legendenwanderung von Ost nach West in friihen Mittelalter.” Saeculum 22 (1971): 71–100.

Xyngopoulos, Andreas. “Το εν Χώναις θαύμα του Αρχαγγέλου Μιχαήλ (Μία Παλαιολόγειος εικών με ψευδή υπογραφήν),” Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας 4.1 (1959): 26–39.