Abstract
An intercession in one of the Coptic anaphoras in the Grand Euchologue du Monastère Blanc (published by Lanne) proves to be of great interest. According to the translation by the editor the intercession for the deceased mentions those “who refrain from the use of women”. This puzzling translation seems to be unjustified by the text. A thorough discussion of the grammatical structure of this intercession points towards a different interpretation because from a grammatical point of view we find an asyndetic enumeration of deceased persons and groups of persons for whom the priest is praying. Furthermore the nomen agentis
is interpreted by Lanne as a verb. Thus, the evidence points clearly towards a separate group of persons, namely women serving as deacons, as attested by the Grand Euchologue as late as the tenth or the eleventh century.
© Walter de Gruyter
