142doi: 10.2143/ANES.43.0.2018768 Y. N. YOUSSEF ANES 43 (2006) 142–163 Severus of Antioch in Scetis Youhanna N. YOUSSEF Senior Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne Senior Research Associate, The Australian Catholic University 53 Stanton St. Doncaster Victoria 3108 AUSTRALIA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract This article is divided into two parts. The first deals with the section of the life of Severus of Antioch attributed to Athanasius concerning his sojourn in Scetis where we will compare this part with the other historical sources. The second part studies a local tradition of Scetis mentioned in a letter of Severus of Antioch. This second part demonstrates clearly that this part of the life of Severus is authentic and is derived from first hand information, which Severus obtained about Scetis. Introduction This article is divided into two parts. The first deals with the section of the life of Severus of Antioch, attributed to Athanasius, concerning his so- journ in Scetis, and the second part studies a local tradition of Scetis men- tioned in a letter of Severus of Antioch. This second part demonstrates clearly that this part of the life of Severus is authentic and that Severus ob- tained first hand information about Scetis. A. Severus of Antioch in Scetis according to the Biography of Athanasius The sojourn of Severus of Antioch in Egypt had been the subject of sev- eral studies, which we can mention. The first was due to W. E. Crum1 where he studies the graffiti in Egypt concerning quotations from the works of Severus of Antioch.