A church with no books and a reader who cannot write the strange case of P.Oxy. 33.2673

The article discusses a declaration of Church property, submitted on papyrus in triplicate by the reader of the "former ekklesia" in the village of Chysis, near Oxyrhynchus, during the "Great Persecution" in the early fourth century CE. This text, one of the few which shows the perspective of the Roman administration on these events, provides insights into how the edict against the Christians was enforced in Egypt. The article also addresses how a "reader" could require another person to sign for him, provides a new interpretation of the list of property which he declares the church does not own, and discusses why books are not on this list.