The Chaldean Rite 9781463217051

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The Chaldean Rite

Analecta Gorgiana

137 Series Editor George Kiraz

Analecta Gorgiana is a collection of long essays and short monographs which are consistently cited by modern scholars but previously difficult to find because of their original appearance in obscure publications. Carefully selected by a team of scholars based on their relevance to modern scholarship, these essays can now be fully utilized by scholars and proudly owned by libraries.

The Chaldean Rite

Archdale King

1 gorgias press 2009

Gorgias Press LLC, 180 Centennial Ave., Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2009 by Gorgias Press LLC Originally published in 1948 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. 2009

1 ISBN 978-1-60724-101-0

This is an extract from Archdale King's The Rites of Eastern Christendom, Vol. 2, Chapter VIII.

Printed in the United States of America

CHALDEAN

RITE

Nomenclature It would seem that the name "Chaldean" was first applied to Catholics of the East Syrian rite by Pope Eugenius IV (1431-1447) in 1445, when by the bull Benedictus sit Deus the pope accepted the reconciliation of the Nestorians of Cyprus. T h e title was adopted since the majority of those who used the rite were inhabitants of the land of Chaldea, and descendents of the ancient Babylonians. T h e name "Chaldean" (Kaldayi) in the time of the Mazdean persecution at the end of the 4th century had been specifically rejected by the Christians in favour of the term "Syrian" (Surayt), lest the faithful might be mistaken for pagan magicians or astrologers. T h e word "Chaldean" was also used to describe the form of Aramaic found in certain chapters of the book of Daniel. In the 17th century, the Latin mission at Mosul employed the term in the same sense as Pope Eugenius, and since that time the East Syrians in communion with the Holy See have borne the name Chaldean. T h e most general name for the dissidents of the rite is "Nestorian" (Nestorayi), and they appear to have no objection to the term. There is, however, much in their liturgy which is inconsistent with true Nestorianism; while the few passages which could be taken in a heterodox sense are for the most part capable of an orthodox interpretation.

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THE RITES OF EASTERN CHRISTENDOM

More doubtful language is used in some of the anthems in the Kudra proper to festivals, and the dissidents in holding the names of Nestorius, Theodore the Interpreter and Diodore of Tarsus in veneration have thereby rejected the council of Ephesus, which condemned them. The title "East Syrian" differentiates the rite from that used by the Jacobites and Syrian Catholics ("West Syrian"); while the Nestorians still speak of the "Church of the East," to distinguish their church from the other churches of Christendom, an expression which originally denoted the group of Christians living beyond the eastern boundaries of the Roman Empire. "Assyrian" 1 was a term commonly given by those Protestants who for some years worked amongst them, and "Persian," since the development of Nestorianism was largely effected in that country, is applied to the rite by Dr. Brightman and other scholars. The dissidents speak of themselves as "Christians" (.Mshihaye) or "Syrians" ( S u r y d n e ) . At the present day, the Chaldeans chiefly inhabit Mesopotamia, 2 and the mountain fastnesses of Kurdistan around Kotchanes, once the main centre of the Nestorians, have been abandoned since 1918. History Centuries of misfortune and persecution have reduced the members of this rite to a fraction of their former strength, but the church has had a great and glorious history. 1 The East Syrians claim descent from ancient Babylon and Assyria. Dahane. Liturgie de la Sainte Messe selon le rite chaldéen, p. u . 2 Bait Nahrain, "Land of the two rivers."

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RITE

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Holy Scripture, s in narrating the birth of our Lord, says: "ecce Magi ab oriente venerunt Jerosolymam," and tradition connects these worshippers of Christ the King with astrologers from Chaldea, who, on their return home, published the "good news" to their compatriots. Again, when on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostolic hierarchy, we read 4 that those who benefitted by the gift of tongues included Parthi, et Medi, et Aelamitae, et qui habitant Mesopotamiam, none of whom would be likely to remain silent concerning the wonders that they had seen and heard. A very natural desire on the part of a church is to have had an apostle as founder, and tradition has given to St. Thomas 5 the honour of preaching Christianity at SeleuciaCtesiphon. Then, the legend continues, St. Thomas, before he went to India, delegated his authority to St. Addai, one of the seventy-two disciples, who with Saints Aggai and Mari are claimed as the apostles of the country. The Chaldean priest recites in the Office: "May the prayers, intercessions and supplications of our chaste and holy Father, St. Thomas, the blessed Apostle, of St. Addai and St. Mari, the evangelisers of the East... be our help and our refuge, and deliver us everywhere and always from Satan and his infernal hosts." It has been well substantiated that the faith of Christ cime to Edessa about the end of the 1st century, even if the story of Abgar receiving baptism from Thaddeus be considered mythical, although this tradition is confirmed by * Matth., II, 1. * Act. Apost., II, 9. 5 Chaldean tradition asserts that St. T h o m a s stayed six years in - ' -