Lydia Bremer-McCollum
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lcbmphd.bsky.social
Lydia Bremer-McCollum
@lcbmphd.bsky.social
380 followers 430 following 200 posts
Teacher-scholar of religion and ancient Christianities. Coptic language lover. Fighting for the Undercommons. Currently a Lecturer @ Spelman College | Assistant Editor of the Journal of Interreligious Studies

Website: https://lcbmphd.com/
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lcbmphd.bsky.social
Lydia Bremer-McCollum @lcbmphd.bsky.social · Dec 14
Interested in reading Coptic with a wonderful group of global readers? Group meets Mondays at 11am Eastern (Atlanta, GA time zone). DM for a zoom link.

Currently reading (pseudo)-Celestine's Encomium of Victor (tinyurl.com/ybdsjrpu).
Coptic Scriptorium Text Server - Encomium on Victor part 1
Coptic Scriptorium
tinyurl.com
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
greggiven.bsky.social
Very pleased to be able to finally announce "The Critical Edition in the Infrastructure of Philology," a special issue of Philological Encounters edited by me and @danielpicus.bsky.social out this Spring.
Screen shot from an email, which reads: PHEN 11.1–2: Special issue "The Critical Edition in the Infrastructure of Philology," edited by J. Gregory Given and Daniel Picus. 1. J. Gregory Given and Daniel Picus: "The Critical Edition as Technology: A View from Biblical Studies." 2. Gregory Fewster: "Edition as Communication: David Wilkins's 3 Corinthians in the Eighteenth-century Republic of Letters." 3. Kristine Palmieri: "Philology and the Politics of Self-Promotion: F. A. Wolf's Symposium (1782) as Critical Edition and School Text." 4. Andrew S. Jacobs: "'A Clear Account of the Codex Simonideios:' Ideological Infrastructures of Biblical Vulnerability in the Nineteenth Century." 5. Isaac Landes: "Our Most Pressing Need is the Critical Edition: J. N. Epstein and the Rise of Talmudic Philology." 6. Jennifer Knust: "The New Testament Apparatus and the Rise of the American Cold War." 7. Mark Vessey: "Afterpiece - Roads, Bridges, Precincts, Thresholds: The Critical Edition in the Infrastructure of Philology since Late Antiquity."
January 21, 2026 at 1:25 PM
lcbmphd.bsky.social
Beginning my Coptic lecture today with a bit of MLKjr:

ⲧ-ⲁⲧ-ⲙⲛⲧ-ϩⲱⲛ ⲉ-ⲡ-ⲉⲧ-ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲟⲩ-ⲙⲟⲩⲣ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉϥ-ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩϥ ⲉϥ-ϣⲏϣ ⲉ-ⲧ-ⲙⲛⲧ-ϩⲱⲛ ⲉ-ⲡ-ⲉⲧ-ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩϥ.

Martin Luther King Jr., “Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience” (1961) tinyurl.com/5d2sxe8r
Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience, by Martin Luther King, Jr.
tinyurl.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
drewjakeprof.bsky.social
coming March 2026! @monikaamsler.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org

www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Education in Religious Contexts of Late Antiquity
Cambridge Core - Religion: General Interest - Education in Religious Contexts of Late Antiquity
www.cambridge.org
January 16, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
chiaweilin.bsky.social
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

For anyone interested in learning Austronesian languages spoken in Taiwan, all courses are offered online :)
January 14, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
uclpress.bsky.social
#OutNow: Sahidic Coptic by Bill Manley 📖

This new textbook offers students a clear and concise introduction to the grammar of Sahidic Coptic, as well as essential historical and cultural context.

Download the eTextbook for free.

Find out more: uclpress.co.uk/book/sahidic...
Promotional image for UCL Press featuring their new open access eTextbook "Sahidic Coptic: An Introductory Textbook" by William Manley, set against a background of ancient Egyptian statues.
January 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
lcbmphd.bsky.social
A bit of Bobby's "One more Saturday Night," ϩⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲙⲛⲧⲣⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ:

ⲁⲓ̈-ⲃⲱⲕ ⲉⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ ⲛ̄-ⲡ-ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲛⲧ-ⲁⲓ̈-ⲥⲟⲩ-ⲏⲣⲡ
ⲁⲓ̈-ⲛⲁⲩ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲡⲉ, ⲱ ⲡ-ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ, ⲉⲓ̈-ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲛ̄-ⲟⲩ-ϭⲟⲙ ⲙ̄-ⲙⲁⲉⲓⲛ
ⲁⲩ-ⲥⲁϩⲧ-ϥ ϩⲓⲧⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲡⲉ ⲉ-ⲟⲩ-ⲡⲁⲛⲇⲏⲗⲟⲛ ⲡⲉ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉϣϫⲉ ⲉϥ-ⲥϩⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ-ⲕⲁⲙⲉ ⲙⲛ-ⲁⲗⲁⲩ
ⲥⲟⲃⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟ-ⲕ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ϫⲉ-ⲟⲩⲛ-ⲟⲩ-ⲥⲩⲙⲡⲟⲥⲓⲟⲛ ⲛⲁ-ϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲛ-ϭⲱⲣϩ ⲛϭⲱⲣϩ
January 11, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
acbm.bsky.social
A try in (non-metrical) Syriac:

ܢܚܬ̇ܬ ܠܛܘܪܐ ܟܕ ܫ̇ܬܐ ܐ̄ܢܐ ܡܢ ܚܡܪܐ
ܚܪܬ̇ ܠܥܠ ܒܫܡ̈ܝܐ ܚܙܝ̇ܬ ܗ̄ܘܝܬ ܢܝܫܐ ܥܙܝܙܐ
ܕܟܬܝܒ ܗ̄ܘܐ ܒܢܘܪܐ ܒܓܘ ܫ̈ܡܝܐ ܟܠܗ ܢܗܝܪ ܐܝܟ ܐܘܟܡܐ ܘܚܘܪܐ
ܐܬܥܬܕܘ ܗܐ ܗܘܝܐ ܡܫܬܘܬܐ ܒܗ ܒܠܠܝܐ܀

(transcription below)
lcbmphd.bsky.social Lydia Bremer-McCollum @lcbmphd.bsky.social · 14d
A bit of Bobby's "One more Saturday Night," ϩⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲙⲛⲧⲣⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ:

ⲁⲓ̈-ⲃⲱⲕ ⲉⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ ⲛ̄-ⲡ-ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲛⲧ-ⲁⲓ̈-ⲥⲟⲩ-ⲏⲣⲡ
ⲁⲓ̈-ⲛⲁⲩ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲡⲉ, ⲱ ⲡ-ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ, ⲉⲓ̈-ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲛ̄-ⲟⲩ-ϭⲟⲙ ⲙ̄-ⲙⲁⲉⲓⲛ
ⲁⲩ-ⲥⲁϩⲧ-ϥ ϩⲓⲧⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲡⲉ ⲉ-ⲟⲩ-ⲡⲁⲛⲇⲏⲗⲟⲛ ⲡⲉ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉϣϫⲉ ⲉϥ-ⲥϩⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ-ⲕⲁⲙⲉ ⲙⲛ-ⲁⲗⲁⲩ
ⲥⲟⲃⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟ-ⲕ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ϫⲉ-ⲟⲩⲛ-ⲟⲩ-ⲥⲩⲙⲡⲟⲥⲓⲟⲛ ⲛⲁ-ϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲛ-ϭⲱⲣϩ ⲛϭⲱⲣϩ
January 11, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
lcbmphd.bsky.social
Admittedly not a bobby lyric but it was just played on the GD station: ⲙⲁⲣⲉ-ϥⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̄-ⲛⲓϥⲉ ⲛⲟϣⲡ-ⲕ ⲛ̄-ⲡⲉⲕ-ⲏⲓ̈ ϩⲛ̄-ⲟⲩ-ⲧⲟⲩϫⲟ
January 11, 2026 at 3:23 PM
lcbmphd.bsky.social
A bit of Bobby's "One more Saturday Night," ϩⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲙⲛⲧⲣⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ:

ⲁⲓ̈-ⲃⲱⲕ ⲉⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ ⲛ̄-ⲡ-ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲛⲧ-ⲁⲓ̈-ⲥⲟⲩ-ⲏⲣⲡ
ⲁⲓ̈-ⲛⲁⲩ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲡⲉ, ⲱ ⲡ-ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ, ⲉⲓ̈-ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲛ̄-ⲟⲩ-ϭⲟⲙ ⲙ̄-ⲙⲁⲉⲓⲛ
ⲁⲩ-ⲥⲁϩⲧ-ϥ ϩⲓⲧⲛ̄-ⲧ-ⲡⲉ ⲉ-ⲟⲩ-ⲡⲁⲛⲇⲏⲗⲟⲛ ⲡⲉ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉϣϫⲉ ⲉϥ-ⲥϩⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ-ⲕⲁⲙⲉ ⲙⲛ-ⲁⲗⲁⲩ
ⲥⲟⲃⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟ-ⲕ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ϫⲉ-ⲟⲩⲛ-ⲟⲩ-ⲥⲩⲙⲡⲟⲥⲓⲟⲛ ⲛⲁ-ϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲛ-ϭⲱⲣϩ ⲛϭⲱⲣϩ
January 11, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
mattboot.bsky.social
it's interesting that Ancient Egyptian (Coptic ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓ /woy/ < <wy> */way/) and Proto-Indo-European (*wáy) have the exact same "woe!" interjection.

this seems like either a wanderwort or one of those para-linguistic utterances that keep reinventing themselves (papa, mama, caca)
entry for Coptic ouoei in Cerny's etymological dictionary. interjection 'woe' from <wy> 'woe' wiktionary page for *wai: Descendants Proto-Anatolian: *uwáy Hittite: [script needed] (uwai) Albanian: vaj Proto-Balto-Slavic: *wái, *uwái Latvian: vai Lithuanian: vai̇̃ Proto-Slavic: *uvy Proto-Celtic: *wai (see there for further descendants) Proto-Germanic: *wai (see there for further descendants) >? Proto-Hellenic: *wái >? Ancient Greek: αἴ (aí), αἶ (aî), αἰαῖ (aiaî), οἴ (oí), οἶ (oî), ὀῐ̈́ (oĭ̈́) — Ionic >? Ancient Greek: οὐαί (ouaí) (possibly) Proto-Indo-Iranian: *wáy, *uwáy Proto-Indo-Aryan: *uwáy Sanskrit: उवे (uvé) Kashmiri: وای (wāy) Proto-Iranian: *wáy Avestan: 𐬬𐬀𐬫𐬋𐬌 (vayōi) Middle Persian: [Book Pahlavi needed] (wʾd /⁠wāy⁠/), 𐫇𐫀𐫏 (wʾy /⁠wāy⁠/) Persian: وای (vây) → Turkish: vay Parthian: 𐫇𐫀𐫏 (wʾy /⁠wāy⁠/) Zazaki: way → Old Armenian: վայ (vay) Armenian: վայ (vay) Proto-Italic: *wai Latin: vae (see there for further descendants)
January 5, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
mikemotia.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/3SmJ...

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Susanna Elm, "The Importance of Being Gorgeous: Gender and Christian Imperial Rule in Late Antiquity" (U California Press, 2025)
open.spotify.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
lcbmphd.bsky.social
I love that streamlining data and hiring is HR speak for submitting the same documentation you have already provided at least 5x previously.
December 19, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
annetteyreed.bsky.social
Lovely CSWR "Research Reflection" @maiakotro.bsky.social cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/12...
Lyricism as Historical Method | Center for the Study of World Religions
cswr.hds.harvard.edu
December 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
lcbmphd.bsky.social
Interested in reading Coptic with a wonderful group of global readers? Group meets Mondays at 11am Eastern (Atlanta, GA time zone). DM for a zoom link.

Currently reading (pseudo)-Celestine's Encomium of Victor (tinyurl.com/ybdsjrpu).
Coptic Scriptorium Text Server - Encomium on Victor part 1
Coptic Scriptorium
tinyurl.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
historianca.bsky.social
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

"an alumnus gifted the land to Harvard in 1678, though the University did not touch the land until a century later. Harvard sold the land in 1780, though members of the Penobscot and Abenaki peoples lived there at the time"
Undergrad Researchers Find Harvard Owned, Sold Indigenous Land in Maine | News | The Harvard Crimson
Scholars have spent years studying Harvard’s colonial-era land holdings in New England. Now, undergraduate research on the University’s ownership of Indigenous land in Maine is helping push the resear...
www.thecrimson.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
sarahparkhouse.bsky.social
The first two books of our 'Coptic Gospels & Associated Texts' series with @universitypress.cambridge.org are now available to read online. The series provides thematic introductions & new translations to non-canonical gospels. www.cambridge.org/core/series/...
Coptic Gospels and Associated Texts
Welcome to Cambridge Core
www.cambridge.org
October 27, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
ancientjewreview.bsky.social
New pod! Mike talks to Susan Harvey about Ministries of Song

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
open.spotify.com/show/6uGXkAl...

And if you're enjoying the show: subscribe, rate, and review. It helps others find us!
December 9, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
mattboot.bsky.social
a neat pun we found in Coptic reading group:

ⲡⲁⲓ ϩⲱⲱϥ ⲟⲛ ϥⲛⲁⲁⲁⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁⲣⲛⲉⲧⲛⲁⲁⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ.

"he himself will do them too"
(ⲛⲁ-ⲁⲁ-ⲩ "will do them" [great works])
".. and he will do [things] which are greater than they"
(ⲛⲁⲁⲁ-ⲩ "they are great")
December 8, 2025 at 5:52 PM
lcbmphd.bsky.social
Today in Coptic reading: Came across this descriptor of Moses, ⲡ-ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲛ-ⲧ-ϣⲉⲉⲣⲉ ⲙ-ⲫⲁⲣⲁⲱ, where pharaoh comes back into Egyptian language as a Greco-Coptic re-mix (from Celestine's Encomium of Victor the General 9.4).
November 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
acbm.bsky.social
Coptic word of the day
ⲗⲱϫϩ
"lick"

as in Acta Pauli (ed. Schmidt) 21.26-22.2
ⲧⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲛ̅ⲇⲉ ⲉⲧⲉⲣⲉ ⲑⲉⲕⲗⲁ ⲧⲉⲗⲁⲉⲓⲧ ⲁⲣⲁⲥ ⲛⲉⲥⲗⲱϫϩ̅ ⲛ̅ⲛⲉⲥⲟⲩⲣⲓⲧⲉ ⲡⲉ
"the lion Thekla had been set on was licking her feet"
November 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
emuehlbe.bsky.social
My best advice for other writers: read everything and anything you want!

www.ucpress.edu/blog-posts/a...
Author Ellen Muehlberger on Building a Book
Author Ellen Muehlberger on her path to writing THINGS UNSEEN.
www.ucpress.edu
November 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
lcbmphd.bsky.social
Shared the Life of Thecla in my Wo/men + Bible course yesterday. What an immense privilege and delight to share a text that started my scholarly journey (wrote my senior capstone on it). I hope that never gets old.

Many thanks to @drewjakeprof.bsky.social for providing a free translation!
November 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
acbm.bsky.social
From my colleague Fabien Muller, whose translation of Porphyry's Letter to Anebo and Philosophy from Oracles will appear soon as the 2nd volume in the 4T series
A Phoenician Guide to Happy Protest | Center for the Study of World Religions
cswr.hds.harvard.edu
November 6, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
arturoviaggia.bsky.social
Working on some aspect of clothing in #LateAntiquity? Going to NAPS? Submit a proposal to the @catacombsociety.bsky.social organized panel!
catacombsociety.bsky.social International Catacomb Society @catacombsociety.bsky.social · Nov 5
We are organizing an online session for the 2026 annual meeting of the North American Patristics Society: "Clothing and Meaning-Making in Early Christianity".

Proposal deadline is Nov. 19.

www.patristics.org/annual-meeti...
Clothing and Meaning-Making in Early Christianity (online) Organizers: Arthur Urbano (aurbano@providence.edu) & Robin Jensen (robinmjensen@gmail.com) For this online session organized by the International Catacomb Society, we are seeking papers that address the theme “Clothing and Meaning-Making in Early Christianity”. Garments were a defining aspect of Roman society, serving as markers of status, gender, ethnicity, profession, and so on, part of what Terence Turner coined as “the social skin.” The curation and adornment of the body were not necessarily personal choices, but determined by custom, and sometimes mandated by law, locating individuals within a complex of social categories. But garments are not limited to material forms. They can also be verbalized as text, appearing in literary sources as conveyors of meaning, in the form of metaphor, allegory, or symbol. They also appear visualized in art, not simply displaying what actual garments looked like, but part of the code of the overall composition, contributing to the image’s meaning. Early Christians both subscribed to and challenged the sartorial norms of Roman society and produced material, verbal, and visual garments that created and conveyed meaning. For this session we are looking for papers that specifically address meaning-making through material, textual, and/or visual clothing in Early Christian contexts. This could include textiles with embroidered images, or other material remains; allegorical exegesis of biblical garments, or symbolic interpretations of ascetic or episcopal garments; or, interpretations of garments as represented in catacomb frescoes, or on sarcophagi, or in the mosaics of churches. Alternatively, the complex messaging in garments adorned with both Christian and traditional iconography, such as Dionysian imagery, presents another lens through which to explore the “social skin” of Early Christianity.
November 5, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Reposted by Lydia Bremer-McCollum
jamarchal.bsky.social
Did you know that Westminster John Knox Press is already running their 50% off sale, now through December 31?!?

Use promo code WJK25 for great books, including *Trans Biblical*, and if you order now, you won’t need to carry all of your books on your flight home from #AARSBL25!
@wjkbooks.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM