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A certificate (libellus) from the persecution under the emperor Decius, in which Aurelia Bellias and her daughter Kapinis declare to the sacrifice commissioners of Theadelphia that they have always sacrificed to the gods and have now poured libations, sacrificed and tasted the sacrificial meat. Two officials, Aurelius Serenos and Aurelius Hermas, certify that they witnessed it, on 21 June 250.
Decius' edict of 249/250 required all inhabitants of the empire to sacrifice to the gods and obtain such certificates; Christians who refused were persecuted. The scribe began the emperor's name Traianus twice and the first attempt is marked as an error.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Libellus of the Decian Persecution). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
Certificate, signed by two official witnesses, proving that Aurelia Bellias has participated to a sacrifice to the traditional gods, as ordered by an edict of the emperor Decius. This was considered as a proof of loyalty to the government, and the Christians who refused to do thi…
τοῖς ἐπὶ θυσιῶν κώμης Θεαδελφίας παρὰ Αὐρηλίας Βελλιᾶ Πετερήως καὶ τῆς ταύτης θυγατρὸς Καπίνιος. ἀεὶ θύουσαι τοῖς θεοῖς διετελέσαμεν καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ παρόντων ὑμῶν κατὰ τὰ προστεταγμένα ἔσπεισα καὶ ἔθυσα καὶ ἐγευσάμην τῶν ἱερείων καὶ ἀξιῶ ὑμᾶς ὑποσημειώσασθαι ἡμῖν. διευτυχεῖτε. Αὐρήλι…
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