ΦΥΛΑΚΤΗΡΙΟΝ (PHYLAKTERION) (Paweł Szymański)
The score is based on the middle part of the Greek inscription on the north wall of the burial crypt under Chapel No. 5 of what is known as the North-Western Annexe at the monastery in Koma (Hill) H in Dongola, the capital of the Christian kingdom of Makuria, which existed in the Middle Nile Valley (today’s southern Egypt and northern Sudan) between the 6th and 15th century. The crypt was discovered in 1994 by the Archaeological Mission of the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at Warsaw University, headed by Dr. Stefan Jakobielski. It was probably built for Georgios, archbishop of Dongola, who died in 1113, according to his epitaph placed at the entrance of Chapel No. 5.
The Greek inscription on the northern wall of the crypt forms part of a larger set of texts in Greek and Coptic languages, which cover all the walls of the crypt. They consist of fragments of canonical gospels, fragments of apocryphal works, religious formulae, names and magical signs. They were placed in the crypt to protect the soul of the deceased at the traumatic point of transition from this world to the world of eternity, as well as to protect the tomb itself. The Greek inscription on the north wall of the crypt, which is the source of the score, contains an apocryphal text known in scholarly literature as Oratio Mariae ad Bartos or simply Oratio Mariae (Mary’s Prayer). The prayer is part of a larger work telling the story of the apostle Matthias. At one point during his apostolic work he found himself in the city (or land) of Bartos, where he was imprisoned by the local ruler. He was saved from this predicament by Mary, who arrived from Jerusalem carried on clouds. She said a prayer, as a result of which all the metal elements in Bartos, including the chains binding Matthias, the locks on the doors of his prison and the weapons of the guards, were melted. Astonished by the power of prayer, the ruler of Bartos and the inhabitants of the city converted to Christianity, and Mary and Matthias returned to Jerusalem.
The inscription in Dongola transmits the text of this powerful prayer by the Mother of God to her Son. At one point, however, the prayer is interrupted by a description of the magical action which is supposed to turn it into a PHYLAKTERION, to be used as protection against evil powers. This element, absent from the original text, is undoubtedly linked to the special function of this inscription, as well as the other ones on the walls of the crypt.
The apocryphal story of what happened to the apostle Matthias in Bartos, and Mary’s Prayer contained in it, have so far been available only in translations into Oriental languages: Coptic, Amharic, Arabic and Syriac. The inscription from Dongola provides us with the Greek original (but only for Mary’s Prayer, and not for the full story), from which the translations were made.
One may suppose that this original Greek text was written during the late antiquity, perhaps in the 5th century, somewhere in the area of the Eastern Roman empire, and was then copied from manuscript to manuscript, none of which survives to this day. It then appeared, at the beginning of the 12th century, deep in Africa, as an inscription in the burial crypt of a local church dignitary.
Adam Łajtar
The work was commissioned by the 46th International Festival Wratislavia Cantans and is dedicated to Anna Szostak and The City of Katowice Singers’ Ensemble Camerata Silesia.
