On St. Artemius as ‘Deacon’

The publication of an English translation of the 7th-century Miracles of St. Artemios, with facing Greek text and accompanying commentary, is most welcome, and will undoubtedly invite further discussion of the various points of interest raised by this text. Here I wish to focus on the physical appearance of St. Artemios, in particular his alleged appearance as a deacon in miracle 32. In this miracle, a friend tells a certain Menas how St. Artemius had appeared to him as he slept in the Church of St. John the Baptist and had cured his hernia. The text, and recent translation, run: καἱ τῆ τρίτη ήμέρᾳ όρῶ καθ’ ὕπνους τινά χλαινηφόρον στιχάριν φοροῦντα καἱ βαλτίδιον... “and on the third day” I saw in my sleep someone wearing a cloak, also a deacon’s alb and a belt ...