John bishop of Dadybra (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. Stephen holding a small cross in his right hand. Inscription in two columns: |στ|ε-φ|α. : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Στέφα[ν(ος)]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
κ̅εRθ
.̅επισ
.οπδα
δυRρ
ν
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) [Ἰ]ω(άννῃ) ἐπισ[κ]όπῳ Δαδύβρων
Obverse
Bust of St. Stephen holding a small cross in his right hand. Inscription in two columns: |στ|ε-φ|α. : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Στέφα[ν(ος)]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
κ̅εRθ
.̅επισ
.οπδα
δυRρ
ν
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) [Ἰ]ω(άννῃ) ἐπισ[κ]όπῳ Δαδύβρων
| Accession number | BZS.1947.2.78 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 17.0 mm; field: 10.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 15.1 Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 443 (listed by Laurent as Coll. Shaw, no. 1126). |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Ἰωάννῃ ἐπισκόπῳ Δαδύβρων.
Lord, help John, bishop of Dadybra.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Studies in Byzantine Sigillography (Open in Zotero)
- Paphlagonien und Honorias (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The location of this see is unknown. It is tentatively identified with Devrek in the valley of the river Ladon (Devrek Çayi) at 61 km to the north north-east of Bolu. It is listed as a suffragan of Gangra in all notitiae episcopatuum, starting with pseudo-Epiphanios (Darrouzès, Notitiae, no. 1, l. 230) up to the thirteenth century. It has been suggested that the episcopal church may have been dedicated to St Stephen (J.-Cl. Cheynet-C. Morrisson, in SBS 4 [1995] 24). See Paphlagonien, 186-187; Laurent, Corpus V/1, 322. List of bishops in Fedalto, HEO I, 87-88.