Christian Charm Discovered on 1,500-year-old Tax Receipt

[Viggen]

 A 1,500 year old papyrus fragment found in The University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library has been identified as one the world’s earliest surviving Christian charms. According to the researcher, the charm casts important new light on early Christianity – just 300 years after the Roman emperor Constantine converted to the religion. It shows how Christians adopted the ancient Egyptian practice of wearing amulets to protect the wearer against dangers. This practice of writing charms on pieces of papyrus was continued by the Christians who replaced the prayers to Egyptian and Greco-Roman gods with extracts from the Bible.

 

...full story at The University of Manchester Library