Prayer of Christ from the Cross

Christi oratio de cruce

Standard abbreviation: Pr. Chr. Cross

Other titles: The prayer of Jesus Christ, that he proclaimed upon the Cross (full title)

Clavis numbers: ECCA 920

Category: Passion Narratives

Compiled by Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin, Universitetet i Oslo

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Bélanger Sarrazin, Roxanne. “Prayer of Christ from the Cross.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/prayer-of-christ-from-the-cross/

Created January 2023. Current as of January 2024.

1. SUMMARY

The Prayer of Christ from the Cross is a prayer for protection against evil, preserved in one Coptic manuscript—a magical formulary comprising one long protective and exorcistic charm. The whole text can be divided into four sections: 1) the Prayer of Christ; 2) invocations and adjurations to the Father and various angels; 3) ritual instructions, including offerings and the preparation of a bowl; 4) a drawing of the crucifixion.

The first part, the Prayer of Christ, constitutes the apocryphal work. It is introduced by a trisagion and the full title: “The prayer of Jesus Christ, that he proclaimed upon the Cross.” The prayer begins with the words spoken by Jesus on the Cross, as reported by Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34 (quoting Ps 21.1 LXX): “‘Elôei Elôei Lama Sabaktani Marmarimari,” that is “God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Then follows a summarized description of the crucifixion and the events surrounding it, which draws upon the four Gospels. The drawing at the end of the charm pictures the crucifixion scene, with Jesus between the two criminals, who are named Gestas and Demas (variations of the names found in the Acts of Pilate and related traditions).

Following the narrative section there begins a dialogue between Christ and a unicorn. Jesus takes a cup of water in his hand, pronounces an invocation over it, and pours it into the sea, which divides to reveal a golden field and a unicorn lying in it. The unicorn is surprised to realize that it has no power over Jesus and demands to know who he is. Christ reveals his true name (“I am Israel El, the power of Iaô Sabaôth, the great power of Barbaraôth”), and the unicorn flees from before him.

Parallels from other apocryphal works (Acts of Andrew and Paul, Book of Bartholomew) suggest that the golden field revealed by the parting sea is Hell, where Jesus descended after the crucifixion, and the unicorn is its ruler, who is chased away by Jesus. This narrative about Christ casting away the ultimate symbol of evil is then inserted into a protective and exorcistic charm as a mythical precedent ensuring the efficacy of the magical ritual.

Named historical figures and characters: Baraba, Barbaraôth,Dimas/Dysmas/Demas (Good Thief), Dumachus/Gestas/Kestes (Bad Thief), Elijah (prophet), Iaô Sabaôth, Jeremiah (prophet), Jesus Christ, Marmarthi, Sappathai.

Geographical locations: Hell, Jerusalem.

2. RESOURCES

2.1 Web Sites and Other Online Resources

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Coptic

London, British Library, Or. 6796 (4) + Or. 6796 (6th/7th cent.)

Kropp, Angelicus M. Ausgewählte koptische Zaubertexte. 3 vols. Brussels: Édition de la Fondation Reine Élisabeth, 1930–1931 (edition, vol. 1, pp. 47–49).

Kropp, Angelicus M. Oratio Mariae ad Bartos. Ein koptischer Gebetstext aus den Giessener Papyrus-Sammlungen. Gießen: Universitätsbibliothek, 1965 (text b, pages 14–15).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 English

Meyer, Marvin W. and Richard Smith. Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999 (English translation, pp. 290–92).

Sanzo, Joseph E. “The Innovative Use of Biblical Traditions for Ritual Power: The Crucifixion of Jesus on a Coptic Exorcistic Spell (Brit. Lib. Or. 6796[4], 6796) as a Test Case.” Archiv für Religionsgeschichte 16 (2014): 67–98 (includes English translation, pp. 91–93).

3.2.2 German

Kropp, Angelicus M. Ausgewählte koptische Zaubertexte. 3 vols. Brussels: Édition de la Fondation Reine Élisabeth, 1930–1931 (vol. 2: 57–62).

3.3 General Works

Balicka-Witakowska, Ewa. “The Crucified Thieves in Ethiopian Art: Literary and Iconographic Sources.” OrChr 82 (1998): 209–11.

Bélanger Sarrazin, Roxanne. “Les appels au « Jésus guérisseur » dans les formules iatromagiques coptes.” Pages 187–203 in Études coptes XVI. Dix-huintième journée d’études (Bruxelles, 22–24 juin 2017). Edited by Anne Boud’hors, Esther Garel, Catherine Louis, and Naïm Vanthieghem. Cahiers de la bibiothèque copte 23. Paris: Éditions de Boccard, 2020.

Camplani, Alberto. “‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani’. Pluralità dei linguiaggi religiosi e loro rielaborazione rituale in alcune preghiere magihche copte.” Studie Materiali di Storia delle Religioni 76.1 (2010): 139–50.

Dosoo, Korshi. “Jesus and the Unicorn: Easter and the Harrowing of Hell in Coptic Magic.” Coptic Magical Papyri. Posted 26 April 2019. Online: https://www.coptic-magic.phil.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php/2019/04/26/jesus-and-the-unicorn-easter-and-the-harrowing-of-hell-in-coptic-magic/.

Downer, Carol. “A Ban on Unicorns? Decorative Motif and Illumination in M581.” Pages 1205–19 in vol. 1 of Coptic Studies on the Threshold of a New Millennium: Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Coptic Studies. Leiden, 27 August – September 2000. Edited by Mat Immerzeel and Jacques van der Vliet. Leuven: Peeters, 2004.

Godbey, Allen H. “The Unicorn in the Old Testament.” AJSL 56.3 (1939): 256–96.

Kropp, Angelicus M. “Die Kreuzigungsgruppe des koptischen Papyrus Brit. Mus. Ms. Or. 6796.” OrChr 3 (1929): 64–68.

Martín-Hernández, Raquel. “El poder de las imágenes en la magia a partir del s. IV d. C. Las representaciones de Jesús.” Pages 255–68 in Los orígenes del cristianismo en la literatura, el arte y la iconografía II. Edited by Juan A. Álvarez Pedrosa, Mercedes López Salva, Nuria Sánchez Madrid, and Ignacio Sanz Extremeño. Madrid: Rústica, 2018.