The Life of S. Pancratius of Taormina

The Life of S. Pancratius of Taormina describes the mission and martyrdom of S. Pancratius, a disciple of the Apostle Peter sent to evangelize Taormina as its first bishop, and purports to have been written by S. Pancratius’ successor, Evagrius. It also records details concerning S. Marcian, who was dispatched to Syracuse at the same time. The text exists in three recensions. The editio princeps of the first recension is presented here, based on six manuscripts (Vat. Gr. 1591, Mess. S. Salv. 53, Crypt. BβV, Vat. Gr. 1985, Vind. Hist. Gr. 3 and Vat. Ottobon. Gr. 92), together with an introduction and commentary. External and internal evidence has been used to argue that it should be dated to the early eighth century and that it is of Sicilian provenance. The analysis of the sources of the text and its presentation of the apostolic era contributes to our understanding of the Byzantine attitude to the past and of the novelistic approach to hagiography. The Life is a product of an important, but obscure period of Sicilian history, and it provides some evidence from a local perspective concerning matters such as ecclesiastical arrangements and attitudes in Sicily, views about religious images, practices in church decoration, liturgical rites, book production, the development of legends concerning the apostles, especially S. Peter, civil and military administration, the Sicilian language question, the topography of Sicily and Calabria and contacts with Lombardy, as well as curious references to Slavs and Avars in Sicily. The Commentary is concerned with these questions and in general with the exegesis of the text. A summary of the use made of the Life of S. Pancratius by later writers contributes to our understanding of the iconoclastic controversy. An edition of the Encomium of S. Pancratius by Gregory the Pagurite, probably written in the early ninth century, has been included in an Appendix.