Mithras Liturgy

The "Mithras Liturgy" is a text from the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, part of the Greek Magical Papyri, numbered PGM IV.475–829. Albrecht Dieterich, the first translator of the text in 1903, coined the name it is known by today, based on the invocation of Helios Mithras (Ἥλιοϲ Μίθραϲ) as the god who will provide the initiate with a revelation of immortality. The text is generally considered to be a product of the religious syncretism characteristic of the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial era, as were the Mithraic mysteries themselves. Some scholars have argued that the text has no direct connection to Mithraic ritual practice; others consider it an authentic reflection of Mithraic liturgy, or view it as Mithraic material reworked for the syncretic tradition of magic and esotericism.

The codex containing the text was acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale in 1857. It is thought to date to the early 4th century AD, though Dieterich proposed a date of composition as early as 100–150 AD. Its likely provenance in Egypt, where evidence of the Mithraic cult is rare, presents a major challenge to the possibility of it being an original Mithraic liturgy.