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The opening as it read in 2005

Saint Porphyry ( 347 – 420 ), bishop of Gaza 395 - 420, was canonized for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza.¹ His deacon, Marcus Diaconis ( Marcus the Deacon ) wrote a contemporary vita of Porphyry that chronicles in some detail events which, except that they were performed under the direction of a Christian bishop, would be termed official vandalism . Porphyry, the canonized bishop of Gaza sent Marcus, his deacon and chronicler, to Constantinople in 398, to obtain an order to close the pagan temples of Gaza. The people of Gaza were so hostile to the Christians that the Christian church had been built outside the walls, at a safe distance, and the Christian bishops of the 4th century were specifically termed "bishops of the churches about Gaza." The Christian community then scarcely numbered 200 in Gaza, according to the vita of Porphyry, and the community-at-large resisted the closing of temples and smashing of sculpture— the " idols " of Christian literature— which was under way in more Christianized regions. The contemporary treatment of the Serapion of Alexandria, in 391 was followed soon after by destructions of the temples of Heliopolis and Apameia . The decree was granted by the emperor, and the temples closed, with the exception of the Marneion , the temple sacred to Zeus Marnas , who was the local Hellenistic incarnation of Dagon , the patron of agriculture, a god who had been worshipped in the Levant since the third millennium BCE. This temple had been rebuilt under the direction of Hadrian , who visited Gaza; it was represented on the Gaza coins of Hardian himselfTo one of Hadrian's visits, also, we may conjecturally assign the foundation of the great temple of the god Marnas, which Mark describes with a mixture of pride and abhorrence. The ' Olympian ' Emperor who founded the great temple of Zeus on the sacred mountain Gerizim of the Samaritans would not be slow to recognize the claims of the ' Cretan Zeus ' of the Gazaeans. It is said that after the suppression of a revolt of the Jews in A.D. 119, Hadrian selected Gaza as the place at which to sell his Jewish captives; the Gazaeans doubtless appreciated this privilege. There was no great change, however, in the sentiments of the people; so bishop Porphyry decided to strike a decisive blow. He went himself to Constantinople during the winter of 401-402, accompanied by the bishop of Caesarea Palaestina , and together they convinced the Empress Eudoxia, who was the dominant force at the court of Arcadius , to prevail upon the Emperor and obtain from him a decree for the destruction of the pagan temples at Gaza. Cynegius, a special imperial envoy, executed the decree in May, 402 . Eight temples, those of Aphrodite , Hecate , the Sun, Apollo , Kore (Persephone) , Tyche ( Tychaion ), the shrine of a hero ( Heroeion ), and even the Marneion, were either pulled down or burnt."And there were also other very many idols in the houses and in the villages," Marcus relates, but the upper class who had such things had fled from the city in advance. Simultaneously soldiers, who were billeted in the vacated houses visited every house, seizing and burning the idols and private libraries as "books of magic" . The Marneion was set afire with pitch, sulfur and fat; it continued to burn for many days; stones of the Marneion were triumphantly reused for paving the streets. Directly upon the ruins of the Marneion was erected, at the expense of the empress, a large church called the Eudoxiana in her honor, which was dedicated April 14 , 407 . Thus with violence, paganism officially ceased to exist in Gaza. The Christian regime lasted over two centuries: when the forces of Islam swept through in 635 , they were met with scant resistance from the local population.²

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The opening as it stood in 2010 17 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Saint Porphyry or Saint Porphyrius ( Greek : Πορφύριος, Porphyrios ; ; Slavonic : Порфирий, Porfiriy ) (ca. 347–420), Bishop of Gaza 395–420, known from the account in his Life for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples . Porphyry of Gaza is known to us only from the vivid biography by Mark the Deacon. The Vita Porphyrii appears to be a contemporary account of Porphyry that chronicles in some detail the end of paganism in Gaza in the early fifth century. However the text has been identified in the 20th century as hagiography rather than history and some elements of it are certainly examples of the stereotyped events characteristic of this form of fiction . On the other hand the author was certainly intimately familiar with Gaza in late Antiquity , and his statements are of interest at least as reflecting attitudes in the 5th century. Apparent use of Theodoret and other later sources convinced P. Peeters that it was actually written after 534. Peeters, "La vie géorgienne de Saint Porphyre de Gaza" Analecta Bollandiana 59 1941, pp 65–216.

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The opening as it stood in 2015

Saint Porphyry (or Saint Porphyrius ) ( Greek : Πορφύριος, Porphyrios ; ; Slavonic : Порфирий, Porfiriy ) (ca. 347–420), Bishop of Gaza 395–420, known from the account in his Life for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples . Porphyry of Gaza is known to us only from the vivid biography by Mark the Deacon . The Vita Porphyrii appears to be a contemporary account of Porphyry that chronicles in some detail the end of paganism in Gaza in the early fifth century. However the text has been identified in the 20th century as hagiography rather than history and some elements of it are certainly examples of the stereotyped events characteristic of this form of fiction. On the other hand the author was certainly intimately familiar with Gaza in late Antiquity, and his statements are of interest at least as reflecting attitudes in the 5th century. A street in the village of Zejtun , Malta , bears his name. Great Synaxaristes : icon Ὁ Ἅγιος Πορφύριος Ἐπίσκοπος Γάζης . 26 Φεβρουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. Apparent use of Theodoret and other later sources convinced P. Peeters that it was actually written after 534. Peeters, "La vie géorgienne de Saint Porphyre de Gaza" Analecta Bollandiana 59 1941, pp 65–216.

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The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Saint Porphyry ( ; , Porphyrios ; Slavonic : Порфирий, Porfiriy ; c. 347 –420) was bishop of Gaza from 395 to 420, known, from the account in his Life , for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples . Porphyry of Gaza is known only from a vivid biography by Mark the Deacon and from a reference made by Archbishop John II of Jerusalem . The Vita Porphyrii appears to be a contemporary account of Porphyry that chronicles in some detail the end of paganism in Gaza in the early fifth century. However, the text has been identified in the 20th century as hagiography rather than history, and some elements of it are examples of the stereotyped fictional events characteristic of this literary form. On the other hand, the author was certainly intimately familiar with Gaza in late Antiquity, and his statements are of interest for reflecting 5th century attitudes. A street in the village of Zejtun , Malta , bears his name. Great Synaxaristes : (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Πορφύριος Ἐπίσκοπος Γάζης . 26 Φεβρουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. Apparent use of Theodoret and other later sources convinced P. Peeters that it was actually written after 534. Peeters, "La vie géorgienne de Saint Porphyre de Gaza" Analecta Bollandiana 59 1941, pp 65–216.

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The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Saint born in Gaza during the Byzantine Empire Porphyrius ( ; , Porphyrios ; Slavonic : Порфирий, Porfiriy ; c. 347 –420) was bishop of Gaza from 395 to 420, known, from the account in his Life , for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples . Porphyrius of Gaza is known only from a vivid biography by Mark the Deacon and from a reference made by John II, Bishop of Jerusalem . The Vita Porphyrii appears to be a contemporary account of Porphyrius that chronicles in some detail the end of paganism in Gaza in the early fifth century. However, the text has been viewed by some in the 20th century as hagiography rather than history, and some elements of it are examples of the stereotyped fictional events characteristic of this literary form. On the other hand, the author was certainly intimately familiar with Gaza in late Antiquity, and his statements are of interest for reflecting 5th century attitudes. The German librarian, Lucas Holstenius wrote a biography of the subject and attempted to locate his manuscripts. His body is said to be buried in Saint Porphyrius' Church , in Gaza City , in Palestine . A street in Zejtun , Malta , bears the saint's name. Great Synaxaristes : (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Πορφύριος Ἐπίσκοπος Γάζης . 26 Φεβρουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. Apparent use of Theodoret and other later sources convinced P. Peeters that it was actually written after 534. Peeters, "La vie géorgienne de Saint Porphyre de Gaza" Analecta Bollandiana 59 1941, pp 65–216.

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The opening as it stood in 2025

Saint born in Gaza during the Byzantine Empire Porphyrius ( Latin : Porphyrius ; Ancient Greek : Πορφύριος , Porphyrios ; Slavonic : Порфирий, Porfiriy ; c. 347 –420) was bishop of Gaza from 395 to 420, known, from the account in his Life , for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples. Porphyrius of Gaza is known only from a vivid biography by Mark the Deacon and from a reference made by John II, Bishop of Jerusalem . The Vita Porphyrii appears to be a contemporary account of Porphyrius that chronicles in some detail the end of paganism in Gaza in the early fifth century. However, the text has been viewed by some in the 20th century as hagiography rather than history, and some elements of it are examples of the stereotyped fictional events characteristic of this literary form. On the other hand, the author was certainly intimately familiar with Gaza in late Antiquity, and his statements are of interest for reflecting 5th-century attitudes. The German librarian Lucas Holstenius wrote a biography of the subject and attempted to locate his manuscripts. His body is said to be buried underneath the ruins of Saint Porphyrius' Church , in Gaza City , Palestine . A street in Zejtun , Malta , bears the saint's name. Great Synaxaristes : (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Πορφύριος Ἐπίσκοπος Γάζης . 26 Φεβρουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. Apparent use of Theodoret and other later sources convinced P. Peeters that it was actually written after 534. Peeters, "La vie géorgienne de Saint Porphyre de Gaza" Analecta Bollandiana 59 1941, pp 65–216.

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