Euthalius was a deacon of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and later Bishop of Sulca. He lived sometime between the 4th and 7th centuries and is chiefly known through his work on the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

in particular as the author of the "Euthalian Sections". Of Euthalius' activities as a bishop little or nothing is known. Even the location of his episcopal see, Sulca, is a matter of doubt. It can hardly be identified with the see of that name in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. More likely it was situated somewhere in Egypt, and it has been conjectured that it is the same as Psilka, a city of the

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nome (Egypt), nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos, Egypt, Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximit ...

in the neighbourhood of

Syene Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has ...

Works

Following the example of earlier scholars like Ammonius of Alexandria, Euthalius divided the

into chapters and verses. He grouped the New Testament, aside from the Gospels and the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

, into sections for reading in public liturgical services; the 57 sections likely corresponded to the 53 Sundays of the year,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, Epiphany,

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

, and

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. Euthalius's divisions were quickly adopted throughout the Greek Church, bringing uniformity to the liturgical readings. Today, scholars use their presence or absence in a manuscript as an indication of its age, since they were widely used by copyists. Besides these textual labours, Euthalius framed a catalogue of the quotations from the Old Testament and from profane authors which are found in the New Testament writings. He also wrote a short ''Life of St. Paul'' and a series of "Argumenta" or short summaries which are placed by way of introduction to the different books of the New Testament. After having long lain in oblivion, the works of Euthalius were published in Rome, in 1698, by Lorenzo Alessandro Zaccagni, Prefect of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. They are embodied in the first volume of his ''Collectanea Monumentorum Veterum Ecclesiæ Græcæ ac Latinæ.'' They can also be found in Gallandi (''Biblioth. Pat.,'' X, 197) and in

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

(''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (''PG'', or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–18 ...

,'' LXXXV, 621).

References

{{Authority control Roman-era Alexandrians 5th-century Byzantine bishops

Works

See also

References