Surrender of church land to Apollos, Joseph’s son, by a bishop

the tax for sowing and rent for the property. And we confirm the said emphyteutic agreement, on the basis of all provisions it contains, according to its own force, wherever it is produced, continually and forever. Today again we address the same requests to you, the aforesaid Apollos, son of Ioseph (pap.: Iosephios), concerning the half part of the real property belonging to the aforementioned holy church, consisting of how many arourae there are, with water installation and various plants, and buildings and with all the rights inside and outside according to the limits, situated in the plain of the village Thmounameris of this Antaiopolite nome, being a joint property of the abovementioned holy church and the heirs of Asklepios, son of Dorotheos, of splendid memory, to the second half part, and about other arourae being on the property situated in the plain of the village of Pteme of the same Antaiopolites, called Piah Papa, with a part of water installations and everything being there and appertaining there and rights pertaining to this property and appurtenances according to its old boundaries, so that you, according to the agreement of cession and quitclaim, hold the arourae, own and acquire the full revenue from them and possession and ownership and ususfructus, in return for the public tax imposed on them, be it statutory or transient, according to the register in the official book of Ioannes of learned memory, former scholasticus and censitor; and start to collect the revenues from these produce on the fields from the current harvest of the coming, God willing, fourth indiction, including this indiction, continually and forever. We henceforth acknowledge, making an oath by the almighty God and the victory and permanence of our serene Lord Flavius Iustinianus, the eternal August and Emperor, that we cede and quitclaim to you, the abovementioned Apollos, son of Ioseph, from now on and forever and perpetually, the possession and eternal ownership and ususfructus of our entire part of two properties according to the above-said provisions; so that you have it in exchange for pious public taxes, be it statutory, transient, or extraordinary, from the current harvest on the fields of the fortunately coming, God willing, fourth indiction, including this indiction, and the following, continually and forever, and you are allowed to lawfully act according to the complete proprietary way, such as the laws give to full owners, blamelessly and unaccusably, so that you are able to demonstrate all improvements to the land cultivation as well as you can, and if you wish, to lease it out and levy rent and sale off and re-sale it simply in any way that seems good to you. At this point, you have the power of the remaining possession and ownership of the above said entire part of our two aforementioned properties. And it is not allowed to us, that is the dikaion of this holy church, and its each time clerics and administrators and bishops to decide something else or change their mind or regret this written agreement of quitclaim and cession, but to keep it firm and valid produced here before any official or authority. You are allowed from this aforewritten day to use, the way you may wish, the mentioned part of properties and to convey them to your own heirs and successors and possessors, no one of those coming after us, successors of the holy church and its each time clerics and administrators will ever be able to oppose you now and in the future; because we just invited you and you came at our request so that, as it was said above, you have the possession and ownership of the above-said our entire part of properties in return for their pious taxes; on this account you will have the income and ownership unhinderedly and without a disruption from anyone, for the penalty set for all the time is compulsory twelve ounces of gold, for the intended violation of this agreement of cession and quitclaim, for the sole attempt of the violation, for this not less and together with the penalty for the imperial treasury, the payment is due by the force of this very agreement and will satisfy and comply with it being bound by the imperial oath, and because we have made this (agreement) for you willingly and without any violence or deceit, compulsion or fraud, and imposture and circumvention and plundering, (we made this) completed and subscribed with my, Ioannes’s, the above-said humble bishop, own hand in the public office, according to the laws, when the gathered witnesses witnessed. Being present and having been asked I agreed so that I will have, give, do, keep.