[Offering] of [the sinful (?)] Simon.

 

The restoration proposed by Solomonik faces one obstacle: the inscription on the bottom of the raised border is most likely dedicatory, and if we restore an accusative, we would have to imagine either a formula "Lord, help" or "Lord, save." The alpha before the name, however, cannot belong to an article or to a verb of this kind. The name Simon, taken from ancient Hebrew, can be declined or remain indeclinable. In the latter case, we would interpret the following two letters as the beginning of the next word (ΑΜ), with the word "sinful" readily springing to mind, as it is a typical Byzantine topos of self deprecation. The alpha before the name most likely indicates a feminine noun, denoting either the act of gifting or the object given, e.g., προσφορά "offering," although the absence of an article before an indeclinable name certainly seems problematic.

At the same, it should be noted that a restoration based on the name "Simon" (here Semon) is not the only possibility; others include [ὑπὲρ σωτηρί]ας ἡμῶν ἀμ[αρτωλῶν].