The Early History of the Syriac Liturgy: Growth, Adaptation and Inculturation 344711746X, 9783447117463

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Baby Varghese

The Early History of the Syriac Liturgy Growth, Adaptation and Inculturation

GÖTTINGER ORIENTFORSCHUNGEN

SYRIACA Band 62

© 2021, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11746-3 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-39220-4

G Ö T T I N G E R   O R I E N T F O R S C H U N G E N I. R E I H E:  S Y R I A C A Herausgegeben von Martin Tamcke Band 62

2021

Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

© 2021, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11746-3 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-39220-4

Baby Varghese

The Early History of the Syriac Liturgy Growth, Adaptation and Inculturation

2021

Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

© 2021, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11746-3 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-39220-4

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://dnb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet at https://dnb.de.

Informationen zum Verlagsprogramm finden Sie unter https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de © Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden 2021 Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen jeder Art, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und für die Einspeicherung in elektronische Systeme. Gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem Papier. Druck und Verarbeitung: docupoint GmbH Printed in Germany ISSN 0340-6326 eISSN 2749-3288 ISBN 978-3-447-11746-3 eISBN 978-3-447-39220-4

© 2021, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11746-3 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-39220-4

Table of Contents Foreword (S.P. Brock) ................................................................................................. Vorwort (M. Tamcke) ................................................................................................. Preface .........................................................................................................................

9 11 13

I. Introduction .........................................................................................................

15 15 17 18

1. 2. 3.

Early History of Edessa .................................................................................... Origins of Christianity in Edessa ...................................................................... Earliest historical references to the Christianity in Mesopotamia ....................

II. Early Syriac Literature and Hymnography before St Ephrem ............ 1. 2. 2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.2 2.3 3. 4. 5. 5.1 5.2 6. 6.1 6.2 6.3

Translation of the Scriptures ............................................................................ Early Christian hymnody in Syriac .................................................................. Odes of Solomon .............................................................................................. Odes of Solomon and the early Syriac baptismal theology .............................. The stream of baptism ...................................................................................... The crown ........................................................................................................ Odes of Solomon and the early liturgical theology .......................................... The ‘enigmatic imageries’ of Ode 19 ............................................................... Psalms of Solomon ........................................................................................... Manichaean Psalm Book .................................................................................. Bardaisan and his work .................................................................................... Bardaisan and madrashe .................................................................................. Mani and madrashe .......................................................................................... The hymns in the Acts of Judas Thomas .......................................................... Hymn of the Bride ............................................................................................ Hymn of the Pearl ............................................................................................ The Song of Praise ...........................................................................................

III. Saint Ephrem ................................................................................................... 1. 2. 3. 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

Ephrem and Greek hymnography ..................................................................... Origins of madrashe ......................................................................................... St Ephrem and the women’s choirs .................................................................. Dialogue poems ................................................................................................ Different types of dialogue poems ................................................................... Alphabetic acrostic ........................................................................................... Use of rhyme .................................................................................................... Examples of dialogue poems ............................................................................

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21 21 22 22 25 26 26 27 31 34 35 37 38 39 39 40 41 47 49 50 51 55 60 60 61 61 62

6

Table of Contents

IV. Jacob of Serugh and later Poets .................................................................. 1. 1.1 1.2 1.3 2. 3. 4. 5.

Jacob of Serugh ................................................................................................ Memre and turgome .......................................................................................... Literary styles ................................................................................................... Jacob and bo‘wotho .......................................................................................... Balai and bo‘wotho ........................................................................................... Simon Quqoyo .................................................................................................. Isaac of Antioch ................................................................................................ Later poets ........................................................................................................

V. Origin and Development of the Syrian Orthodox Fenqitho ................ 1. 2. 2.1 2.2 3. 3.1 3.2 3.3 4. 4.1 4.2 5. 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.

Psalms and hymns ............................................................................................ Earliest collections of hymns ............................................................................ Madroshe, sugyotho and seblotho .................................................................... ‘enyane/‘enyone ................................................................................................ Hymns of Greek origin: ma‘nyatha/ma‘nyotho ................................................. Quqoye............................................................................................................... Greek canons .................................................................................................... Syriac canons .................................................................................................... Prayers, homilies and turgome ......................................................................... Homilies, turgome and extracts from Bible commentaries ............................... Hagiographies ................................................................................................... Further additions of hymns ............................................................................... Bo‘wotho ........................................................................................................... Qole .................................................................................................................. Quqliun ............................................................................................................. Origins of qauma ..............................................................................................

VI. Adaptations of Elements from the Mesopotamian Culture ................ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Liturgical feasts and processions ...................................................................... School culture ................................................................................................... Church and the common people ....................................................................... Syriac Christianity and the Islamic culture ....................................................... Art and architecture ..........................................................................................

VII. Liturgical Adaptations in the East Syriac Church ............................... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Synod of Mar Isaac (410 AD) and liturgical adaptations ................................ ‘Western Rite’ and the Anaphora of Addai and Mari ....................................... Introduction of the Anaphoras of Nestorius and Theodore ............................... Isho‘yahb I and the East Syriac liturgy ............................................................. The liturgical reforms of Isho‘yahb III (580-659) ............................................ The Turfan Hudra ............................................................................................. Pahlavi-speaking Christian communities in Persia ...........................................

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65 65 66 69 71 71 71 72 72 75 77 82 82 83 84 86 86 90 93 94 95 96 96 98 99 100 103 103 106 107 108 110 111 111 113 114 114 116 117 118

Table of Contents

VIII. Inculturation in the East Syriac Church in Central Asia and China ........................................................................

7

China and Central Asia .................................................................................... Possible phases of inculturation ....................................................................... Translation of Scriptures .................................................................................. Middle Persian and New Persian texts ............................................................. Sogdian texts ..................................................................................................... Uyghur Turkic texts ......................................................................................... Translation of prayers ....................................................................................... Adaptation of prayers ....................................................................................... Chinese version of the Gloria .......................................................................... Sogdian version of the Gloria .......................................................................... Praise to the transfiguration of the Great Holy One (Chinese) ......................... On the meaning of worship (Chinese) .............................................................. Adaptation of liturgical practices: fasting rules ................................................ Para-liturgical rites ........................................................................................... Blessing of koumis ........................................................................................... Ceremonial drinking ......................................................................................... Spring festival .................................................................................................. Holy Week and the blessing of the bread ......................................................... Prayers for blessing .......................................................................................... A healing ritual ................................................................................................. The Cross in the world of religious pluralism and Shamanism ........................ In China proper: the Cross on tombstones ....................................................... Inner Mongolia ................................................................................................. Central Asia ...................................................................................................... Amulet Cross .................................................................................................... Tent chapels ..................................................................................................... Conclusion .......................................................................................................

121 121 121 122 123 123 124 124 125 125 126 126 127 127 129 129 130 132 132 132 133 134 135 136 137 137 138 139

IX. Conclusion ........................................................................................................

141

Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. Bibliography ................................................................................................................

145 145

1. 2. 2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 3. 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5. 6. 6.1 6.1.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 7. 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 8. 9.

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© 2021, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11746-3 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-39220-4

Foreword Most studies of Syriac liturgy focus on particular topics or aspects and, while certain areas are well covered, above all that of the Eucharistic liturgy and the many anaphoras, there remain many others areas on which little or no serious study has been undertaken. One result of this situation is that can be hard to see the wood for the trees, and an overall picture of developments in the Syriac liturgical tradition over time is difficult to grasp. In this pioneering work the Rev. Dr. Baby Varghese, who has written extensively and authoritatively on many areas of Syriac liturgy, has now provided a well-informed overview of the general development of the Syriac liturgical tradition, covering from the beginnings to the earlier Middle Ages, paying especial attention to the ways in which particular developments are often shaped by the changing cultural contexts over the course of time. Among the notable features of the Rev. Dr Baby Varghese’s study, three might be singled out. Firstly, the significance he attaches to some of the earliest witnesses, above all, the Odes of Solomon, for understanding the earliest developments of Syriac liturgical poetry. As he stresses, they need to be seen against a wider background than just their more immediate historical context, which is hedged around with so many uncertainties and imponderables. Secondly, he has made excellent use of the evidence available for liturgical history tucked away in the pages of William Wright’s wonderfully detailed Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts acquired by the British Museum from Dayr al-Suryan in Egypt in the mid nineteenth century, now housed in the British Library. The importance of this collection lies in the fact that almost all the oldest surviving Syrian Orthodox liturgical manuscripts, of the 9th/10th century onwards, have thanks to the dry Egyptian climate, been preserved intact over the centuries in the library of Dayr al-Suryan. Thirdly, creative use has been made of the scanty and scattered evidence both from Central Asia and from the Tang and Yuan (Mongol) dynasties in China, materials for the most part ranging in date from the 8th/9th century to the 13th/14th century. Since the aim of his book is to take the history of the East and West Syriac liturgical tradition up to the around the end of the 13th century, it does not cover the author’s own country, India, since it is virtually impossible to discern anything of its liturgical history prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in south India at the end of the fifteenth century. Only from the sixteenth century do written Syriac liturgical sources survive, and to trace the complex history of the Latinization of the East Syriac rite and the later introduction of the West Syriac rite, with the continuing controversies surrounding both of them, would require a separate volume; such a volume, which one hopes might one day be written sine ira et studio, would certainly provide many fascinating insights on how liturgies can develop and change due to altering outward circumstances. Sebastian Brock Emeritus Reader in Syriac Studies Oxford University, GB

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Vorwort Father Baby Varghese habe ich 1980 kennengelernt, als er hier nach Göttingen/Goslar zum Symposium Syriacum kam. Das war das erste Symposium Syriacum, an dem ich teilnahm, wenn auch nur als Hilfskraft, die gerade sich an ihrer Dissertation versuchte. Göttingen war damals ein weltweit anerkannter Standort der syrologischen Forschung und beherbergte an der Theologischen Fakultät einen Lehrstuhl für Syrische Kirchengeschichte (Werner Strothmann, später mit Wolfgang Hage und Jouko Martikainen und Lorenz Schlimme fortgeführt als Orientalische Kirchengeschichte), an dem zahlreiche Arbeiten zur Geschichte der syrischen Liturgien und Hymnen entstanden. Baby Varghese hat lange am Orthodoxen Seminar in Kottayam und am St. Ephream Ecumenical Research Institute daselbst gelehrt, hat seine Kirche bei ökumenischen Veranstaltungen vertreten, wenn es um deren historische und liturgische Tradition ging, gerade weil er in seinem umfangreichen wissenschaftlichen Bemühen aus dem üblichen Rahmen in Kerala in vielfältiger Weise heraussticht. Zur Bedeutung des vorliegenden Werkes hat der Kollege Sebastian Brock aus Oxford in seinem Vorwort bereits einige wichtige Aspekte hervorgehoben. An diesem Band zeigt sich die ökumenische Weite Vargheses aber auch daran, dass er die Perspektive auf die ostsyrische Tradition weitet, ohne die die frühe Kirchengeschichte Indiens kaum zu denken ist. Ein besonderer Verdienst ist es, dass er mit seinen Beobachtungen früh einsetzt und damit darauf hinweist, dass wir mir liturgischen Elementen wohl schon in biblischer Zeit zu rechnen haben. Erst jetzt läuft die Forschung zur früheren syrischen Literaturgeschichte Indiens intensiver an, auch wenn sie nach wie vor erst mit dem Auftreten der Portugiesen intensiver greifbar wird. Immer war es eine offene Frage, inwieweit etwa die bestimmten Personen zugeschriebenen Hymnen tatsächlich auf diese zurückzuführen sind, oder ob etwa unter dem Namen Ephraem auch andere Texte überlebt haben. Chancen und Grenzen eines darauf zielenden historischen Ansatzes sind bis heute kontrovers diskutierte Möglichkeiten, die liturgischen Quellen auch über ihren Sitz im Leben hinaus fruchtbar werden zu lassen. Wie kaum eine andere Quelle, so prägt die Liturgie bis heute das kollektive Bewusstsein und die kollektive Erinnerung und wirken so tief auf das alltägliche Leben ein. Dabei ist, das kann schon aus diesem Buch gelernt werden, die Geschichte der Liturgie, die nicht unbedingt deren Tradierung durch die Zeiten sein muss, durchaus vielfältig und selten einfach einseitig positioniert. Im Gegenteil bilden sich unterschiedlichste Prozesse in der Liturgie mit ab und zeigen so, dass auch Liturgie den historischen Veränderungen unterworfen ist, wenn in der Regel auch mit viel Langmut und Nachhaltigkeit. Zum Verstehen genügen westlichen Interessierten da nicht die Übersetzungen von Liturgien (etwa nun gerade ist die Liturgie/Qurbanakramam seiner Kirche in Deutsch erschienen, Kottayam 2020) und deren musikalisch-spiritueller Genuss, es bedarf auch eines kompetenten Vermittlers, der historische Linien dazu aufzeigen kann. Genau dazu verhelfen viele der Arbeiten Baby Vargheses, den wir immer gern in Göttingen zu Gast hatten. Dieses Buch nun versucht einen besonders auf die Geschichtlichkeit abhebenden Ansatz. Es ist ihm zu wünschen, dass es westliche Leser in die Hand nehmen, um sich der li-

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12

Vorwort

turgischen Tradition und Geschichte einer Geschwisterkirche nähern zu können, und sie es in das ökumenisch-liturgische Gespräch aufnehmen. Ohne Frage wird die eigene liturgische Tradition bereichert, wenn eine andere hinzutritt und das einseitige Verständnis einer Polyphonie Platz macht, die die Vielfalt ehrt, indem sie die je besondere Tradition auch je gesondert als Bereicherung empfindet. Nicht weniger ist zu erwarten, wenn man sich mit Baby Varghese auf den Weg durch die Geschichte der syrischen Liturgie macht. Dr. Egbert Schlarb habe ich wieder zu danken für die sehr aufwändige Druckvorbereitung des Manuskriptes. Martin Tamcke Universitätsprofessor für Ökumenische Theologie und Orientalische Kirchen- und Missionsgeschichte Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen

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Preface The present work is the result of my one year stay at the Yale University as ISM (Institute of Sacred Music) Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Yale Divinity School (2013-14). There are many who have inspired and supported me in my researches on the West Syriac Liturgy since 1979. The list may be very long. But I want to mention Dr Sebastian Brock (Oxford), my friend and supporter since our first meeting at the third Symposium Syriacum in Goslar, Germany in 1980. He has read the draft of this book and made several important suggestions, and wrote a foreword. However, I am solely responsible for the mistakes and inaccuracies. This is an essay to trace some aspects of the encounter between the Syriac Christianity and its surrounding world. I have tried to maintain a balance between East and West Syriac traditions. Chapters II and III cover elements common to both traditions. Chapters IV-VI deal with the West Syriac tradition. In chapter VII, I have briefly discussed the liturgical reforms in the East Syriac Church. Finally, chapter VIII focuses on the ‘inculturation’ in the East Syriac liturgy in China and Central Asia, which was originally presented as a paper in a Conference held in Almaty, Kazakhstan in June 2019. Other chapters were never presented in the form of lectures or conference papers, though some aspects were discussed in my published works. In this study, I have not discussed the history of Eucharist and baptism, as I have already done in my previous publications. Many topics are not discussed here mainly to limit the size of a monograph. I am not competent to discuss the Arabic and Islamic influence on the Syriac literary genres and hymnography. Possible Byzantine influence on several areas of the Syrian Orthodox Church needs to be explored, especially on the liturgical year, on the liturgical vestments, liturgical objects, as well as on liturgical services. Likewise, the interactions between the East and the West Syriac liturgy also need to be studied. I am building on he works of several scholars like A. Baumstark, H.J.W. Drijvers, H. Husmann and S. Brock. This is far from being complete or perfect. But I think it is important to put together the fruits of my labour, so that the researches on Syriac liturgy may be continued. I am living in Kottayam, South India, where all the published materials are not readily available. Some of my friends in Europe, USA or West Asia have kindly sent me the electronic versions of publications. My friend Dr Martin Tamcke, Göttingen, accepted to publish this work in the Collection Göttinger Orientforschungen/Syriaca. Kottayam, 10th October 2021

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© 2021, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11746-3 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-39220-4

I. Introduction The word ‘inculturation’ became part of the theological vocabulary rather recently and is used as synonymous with ‘adaptation’, ‘indigenization’ and ‘contextualization’. A.J. Chupungco, who is regarded as the godfather of ‘inculturation’ in the Catholic circles, proposed the definition of inculturation as follows: “Liturgical inculturation may be described as the process whereby the texts and rites used in worship by the local Church are so inserted in the framework of culture, that they absorb its thought, language and ritual pattern”1. It implies the integration of the Church with the language, culture and symbolic system of the country. Since its origins, the history of Syriac Christianity provides examples of such integration. We shall begin with an overview of the early history of Syriac Christianity.

1. Early history of Edessa Edessa, the earliest centre of Syriac Christianity, was founded in 304 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as one of his military colonies, and he named it after the Macedonian city bearing this name2. . In later Syriac, the city was known as‘wrhy, Orhay. According to later Syriac tradition, as recorded by Bar Hebraeus, Urhay (Orhay) was the smallest of the 180 cities built in the days of Enoch3. But its recorded history begins with 132 BC when the Seleucids retreated westward over the Euphrates and abandoned Mesopotamia to the Parthians. Soon the Kingdom of Osrhoene was established with Edessa as capital. The dynasties, which succeeded each other in this kingdom over some 350 years (132 BC–AD 224), were mostly Nabatean Arabs or Parthians. Otherwise the population of the region was of varied origins, descendants of Macedonian colonists, Persians and Jews. The ethnic diversity ensured the coexistence of different religious currents in the paganism of Edessa. Alongside Babylonian divinities like Nabu and Baal, the goddess Atargatis and the god Hadad of Harran were venerated, and all the gods of the pantheon of the desert Arabs. Castration in honour of Atargatis, goddess of fertility was widely practiced; Chaldean astrology was much in vogue4. Moreover, Edessa’s medicinal springs gave it the prestige of a centre of miraculous cures. Probably it was in this context that Christ was presented as the “Physician who heals without medicine” (Doctrine of Addai, Acts of Thomas). The stories related to the evangelization of Edessa under1 2 3 4

Chupungco (1989), p. 29. See also, pp. 23ff: “Approaches to Adaptation: Acculturation, Inculturation and Creativity”. When more than one work by an author is quoted, an abbreviation of the title will be indicated (see note 4). See Lavenant (1992), p.263 (excellent article with Bibliography). See also Segal (1970); various works by Drijvers. Bar Hebraeus, The Chronography, tr. by. E.A.W. Budge, I, (Oxford, 1932), p. 5. Drijvers (1980), Cults and Beliefs; also, Healey (2019). Drijvers (1982), Facts and Problems, in id. EA.

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16

I. Introduction

score the healing ministry of St Thomas and Addai, who were, according to tradition, the first evangelizers of the region. In Mesopotamia (around Edessa), the language spoken by the majority of the population was Aramaic with its different dialects. We may assume, however, that Greek was in use at least among the upper class of society, and for administrative purposes5. Epigraphic evidences confirm this fact. Thus inscriptions in Aramaic, or both Aramaic and Greek or purely Greek ones were found (even Latin)6. The art of Edessa is commonly called Parthian because of several common features7. Palmyra represents oriental Hellenistic art that developed in Mesopotamia after Alexander the Great. Paganism continued to be popular for many centuries, even after Christianity became well established in Edessa. However, all different religions and cultural traditions used the local Aramaic dialect which was later called Syriac, “which was also used to express philosophical ideas stemming from Hellenistic traditions”8. This complex situation of the co-existence of different religious traditions sharing a common culture raises the questions of mutual dependence and influence. Moreover, Edessa is situated at a junction of the Silk Road. As Drijvers has observed, “Edessa’s history, clearly related to its geographical situation in northern Mesopotamia, where it was open to various influences, makes, ‘The Blessed City’ an example of this cultural assimilation, especially in the field of religion”9. Because of the highly active cultural life, Edessa was often called the Athens of the East. Regarding the paganism of Edessa, Drijvers says: “Grosso modo we therefore can discern three main components of Edessa’s religion in pagan times: Babylonian deities, divinities worshipped in the Syriac area that belong mainly to the traditional religions of Aramaic speaking population of that region, and Arab gods”.10 There was an active Jewish community in Edessa at the time of the origins of Christianity. The Jewish presence in Mesopotamia goes back to the Babylonian exile. According to the accounts of Josephus (75-79 AD), there was a strong Jewish presence in Syria, especially in Antioch (War VII, 43). Following the Jewish rebellion of the Palestinian Jews, the Syrian Jews also suffered violence and massacres. In Edessa, there was a small Jewish community with two Synagogues11. The first Christian converts of Edessa were probably the Jews. This explains several Jewish features in early Syriac Christianity12.

5 6 7 8 9 10

Drijvers (1980), Cults and Beliefs p. 3. Ibid. p. 4. Ibid. Ibid. p. 7. Ibid. p. 18. Ibid. p. 176. According to Drijvers, there is no evidence of Iranian religious influence at Edessa. p. 176. The religion of the ancient Arameans was an Amalgam of Mesopotamian, Cananite, Phoenician and Hittite gods. See. Claude Selis, Les Syriens Orthodox et Catholiques, Fils d’Abraham, (Editions Brepols, Turnhout, 1988), p. 143. This preligious pluralism would perhaps explain the popularity of various forms of Christian ‘heretical’ groups in Mesopotamia. 11 On the Jewish Presence in Edessa and Mesopotamia: Segal (1970), pp. 41-43; Drijvers (1985), Jews and Christians, reprinted in HRAS. 12 Rouwhorst (1997).

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Origins of Christianity in Edessa

17

2. Origins of Christianity in Edessa The so-called Abgar legend narrates the origins of Christianity in Edessa13. Two versions have come down to us: a fourth century Greek version given by Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History (I,13; II,1, 6-7) and a Syriac version found in the Doctrine of Addai, a 5th century Syriac document14. The original Syriac version, certainly legendary, goes back to the 4th or early 5th century, and reflects the viewpoint of the Orthodox Christianity at the time of St Ephrem (+373). The story aims at explaining the apostolic origin of the Edessan Christianity and the ‘connections’ with Antioch since early times. The Armenian Church took up this legend in order to derive its own origin from the apostles. Abgar is the name of several kings of Osrhoene. Abgar VIII (179-216) visited Rome, where he met Pope Eleutherus (Lib. Pont. I,17). Eusebius’ claim (Chron. Ad. ann. 218) that Abgar VIII was converted to Christianity would make him the first baptized king and would account for the evangelization of Edessa, but this is not universally accepted. Eusebius gives the earliest reference to the exchange of letters between Abgar V Uchama or the Black (9-46) and Jesus15. Ephrem makes no allusion to the conversion of Edessa or the correspondence between Abgar and Jesus. The letter appears in the Doctrine of Addai16 and reappears in the Travelogue of Egeria (ch. 19), where in 395-6, the bishop of Edessa shows the letter to the pilgrim, who remarks that she has seen copies in her own country, without adding further details17. The text of the letter is found in Syriac, Armenian, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Persian, Paleoslavonic and Coptic. However, Christianity seems to have reached Mesopotamia at an early date. According to one tradition Christianity reached Edessa from Adiabene in the East. The ruling royal dynasty of Adiabene seems to have been converted to Judaism in the first century AD. Thus this tradition claims that the first Christians were converts from the Jewish community of Adiabene and then Christianity had spread westwards to Edessa and Osrhoene18. The Syriac version of the Old Testament, known as Peshitta, seems to have originated among the Jews of Adiabene (see below). However, Christianity in Edessa was not a homogenous community. A large part of Christians was probably converted from Judaism. But there was also a significant community of gentile Christians19. In Edessa, probably there were Greek and Syriac speaking communities and it is not unlikely that they had separate congrega13 See Taylor (2019), Coming of Christianity. 14 Syriac text and French trans. in: Tixeront (1888), pp. 195-196 (Syr.); 200-201 (tr); Cureton, ASW, p. 154ff; Segal (1970), pp. 73-78. 15 Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, I, 13-21; II, I, 6-7. 16 Doctrine of Addai the Apostle, Phillips, p. 4-5; also in Cureton, ASW, pp. 6-23; Syriac text and French tr. Tixeront (1888), pp. 195-196 ((syr) ; pp. 200-201 (tr). 17 Egeria, Diary, p. 81. 18 Adiabene is the region between the Upper and Lower Zab. It was conquered by Trajan in 116 and it became the Roman province of Assyria, but was soon re-conquered by the Persians. Many of its inhabitants embraced Judaism. Tradition ascribes its evangelization to Addai’s disciple Mari. The Chronicle of Arbela attributes the evangelization to Addai himself [Chronicle of Arbela is probably fake of 1907, is shown to be unreliable, cfr. P. Peeters, Les Passionaires d’Adiabene, 261-304]. According to Sozomen (PG 67, 965), at the time of the persecutions of Shapur II (309-79), most of the inhabitants were Christians. Later East and West Syraic communities flourished there. 19 See Rouwhorst (1997), p. 88.

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18

I. Introduction

tions. The circulation of the early Christian literature of Edessa in Greek and Syriac versions points towards that possibility.

3. Earliest historical references to the Christianity in Mesopotamia The first historical document attesting a Christian presence in the region of Edessa is the epitaph of Abercius 20 . Abercius (Avircius) Marcelleus was the bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, in the latter half of the second century. Eusebius refers to him as a participant in the Montanist controversy21. He visited Syria and Mesopotamia and later composed his own epitaph (c. 192), which was discovered in 1883. Abercius records: “And I saw the land of Syria and all its cities – Nisibis I saw when I passed over Euphrates, but everywhere I had brethren”22. In fact, following the war of 162/167, Nisibis came under Roman protection and about thirty years later, in the time of Septimius Severus, it became a Roman colony. It was probably during this time that the bishop Abercius visited the city and saw the Christian community there. Eusebius of Caesarea writes that, following a letter from Victor, bishop of Rome (189198), the bishops of Palestine, Rome, Pontus, Gaul, Corinth and Osrhoene held synods to discuss their position on the question of the date of the Easter23. Eusebius gives the names of the presiding bishops, except for Osrhoene, suggesting that he or his source did not know much about Christianity in that region24. However, there is no reason to doubt the existence of an ecclesiastical structure there. The Chronicle of Edessa (a short history of Edessa, written in Syriac by an anonymous author, covering mainly the period between 201 and 540 AD), is a compilation based on much older archival documents. The work starts with the flood that struck Edessa in AD 201 and particularly “destroyed the temple of the church of the Christians”25. The Chronicle makes no claim that Christianity was a dominant group in Edessa. However, we have a strong evidence for the presence of Christians in that city at the turn of the third century. Other earlier events mentioned after the account of this catastrophe, are the birth of Christ, the apostasy of Marcion in 138 and the birth of Bardaisan in 154. The birth of Mani in 240 is also mentioned, but there is nowhere any mention of the conversion of the King of Edessa.

20 See Van Rompay (1999), Jacob of Edessa. 21 Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. V, xvi, 1-3. 22 W.M. Ramsay, The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, 2 Vols. Oxford, 1895, 1897; Vol I, part II, pp. 722-29; “Abercius”, art. in Dictionnaire de l’archéologie chrétienne at de liturgie, Vol. I (Paris, 1907), pp. 66-87; “Abercius, inscription of”, in The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. I, (New York, 1913), pp. 4041. 23 Ecclesiastical History V, xiii-xxv 24 McCullough (1982), pp. 23-24. 25 The Chronicle of Edessa: Syriac text in CSCO, SS. 3rd series, T. 4, Chronica Minora, ed. by, I. Guidi, (1893), pp. 1-13. English Translation in The Journal of Sacred Literature, New Series [= Series 4], Vol. 5 (1864), pp. 28-45. Also http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chronicle_of_edessa.htm.

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Earliest historical references

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We have sources, which suggest that at the start of the third century, the Church of Edessa was linked to the Church in Antioch; it was to Antioch that Palut, the legendary disciple of Aggai (who succeeded Addai) went to receive Episcopal consecration from the hands of Serapion26. Soon after, in 216, Osrhoene was annexed by the Roman Empire. Despite Edessa’s links with Antioch, local Christianity continued to show a great variety of forms. Edessa’s cultural and religious milieu was fertile ground for the birth of a multitude of sects, more or less Gnostic.

26 In fact, Palut must have lived during the 2nd and early 3rd cent. and was ordained bishop by Serapion of Antioch.

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II. Early Syriac Literature and Hymnography before St Ephrem Aramaic was one of the most widely spoken and literarily creative languages of the antiquity and it became so influential that it replaced Hebrew as the spoken language of Palestine in New Testament times and even the Aramaic script replaced the old Hebrew script. When Christianity reached Mesopotamia, its culture had a long history. Soon the Bible was translated into Syriac, the Aramaic dialect of Edessa. Edessa, the intellectual capital of Mesopotamia was a city open to the cultures and ideas coming from the West or the East. Most of its population was bilingual. Thus along with Greek, Aramaic/Syriac served as a language of intense literary activity. Several of the most original literary works of early Christianity have come down to us in Syriac, in the form of poetry, hymns, prose, Apocryphal Gospels, Apocryphal Acts and Novellas. Early Syriac writers employed almost every kind of literary genre to translate the message of the Scriptures and the Christian doctrines. Syriac Apocryphal literature provides invaluable information regarding the early history of Syriac liturgy, theology and spirituality. Students of the early Syriac Christianity need to rethink of their attitude towards Apocrypha, which is often viewed as literary works of early heretical movements. But this is not the case always. Some of them certainly had their origin in Orthodox circles and were adapted, revised or interpolated in heretical circles. Several of the documents have come down to us in Syriac, Greek or other ancient languages, attesting their wider circulation and popularity in various Christian groups. The imageries and vocabulary that we find in Syriac Apocrypha appear in the writings of the fathers like St Ephrem or Jacob of Serugh. From the early centuries of CE, Syriac speaking Edessa and Mesopotamia produced several noted literary works of which very little information regarding authorship or date has come down to us. The epistles of Mara bar Serapion is one of the earliest pieces of Syriac literature. This brief treatise on philosophy was written by a pagan from Samosata to his son, as the author was taken captive to Seleucia, probably at the end of the second century1. The Oration to Antonius Caesar, a discourse on free will and sin is attributed incorrectly to the philosopher Melito of Sardis. It was composed probably by a Christian from Osrhoene in the third century2.

1. Translation of the Scriptures Translations of the books of the Bible into Edessan Syriac (by the third century), have played a vital role in the spread of Christianity in Mesopotamia, especially in the rural areas, thus making ‘the religion from Palestine’ truly indigenous and it had a profound impact 1 2

Syriac text, ed. W. Cureton, Spicilegium Syriacum, 1885, pp. 43-48. Eng. translation available on: www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/mara.html Segal (1970), p. 35.

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upon the development of Syriac literature. A language of the common speech, first attested in sales deeds, and inscriptions, was rendered to be capable of transmitting theological and philosophical ideas and served as a model for prose, poetry and above all the language of prayers and liturgical hymns, which reflect the idiom and thought of the Scriptures. It provided a paradigm of both vocabulary and style for the first writers in their native language. The Greek speaking communities of Syria must have known the Septuagint and the original Greek text of the New Testament from the very beginning of Christianity in that region. The history of the earlier Syriac versions is still obscure. Scholars have argued that the Syriac Old Testament was the work of the Jewish Christians and that there are clear signs of Targumic traditions behind parts of it. However, some scholars have found the influence of Septuagint (LXX) in certain books3. In any case, Aramaic Targum and the Syriac translation of the Scriptures provided vocabulary and imageries for the Syriac literature since its origin. The Doctrine of Addai contains one of the earliest references to the ‘Canon of the Scriptures’ followed in the Syriac Christianity of Edessa. According to it, “the Law, the Prophets, the Gospel, the Epistles of Paul and the Acts of the Twelve Apostles (also Acts of John)” were read in the liturgy4. It is significant that the Doctrine refers to the Gospel (in the singular), because the document clearly says that the Diatessaron was read in liturgy [“But a large multitude of people assembled day by day and came to the prayer of the service, and to the reading of the Old and New Testament, of the Diatessaron…”]5. The Diatessaron was the widely followed Syriac version of the Gospels in the Syriac Christianity, until the first half of the fifth century, when it was replaced with the four separate Gospels, apparently as a measure to become conformed to the Orthodoxy of the Churches in the Roman Empire. Aphrahat and St Ephrem quoted from the Diatessaron and the latter wrote a commentary on it. The Diatessaron was an indigenous version of the Gospel and provides an example of literary creativity. However, it is highly probably that the four separate Gospels were in use at least in some communities, as the Old Syriac Version of the Gospels and the Peshitta circulated before the suppression of the Diatessaron under the initiative of Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (+ 436).

2. Early Christian hymnody in Syriac 2.1 Odes of Solomon Odes of Solomon is a collection of 42 short lyric poems that have come down to us in two Syriac manuscripts (both defective), supplemented by a Greek text of one of the Odes (Ode 11), and by a Coptic version of five of them preserved in the Gnostic work Pistis Sophia (Odes 1, 5, 6, 22 and 25). Ode 2 is missing and also the beginning of the Ode 3. Probably

3 4 5

See Brock (1989), Bible; B.J. Roberts, The Old Testament Text and Versions, Cardiff, 1951, pp. 21723.; C. Van Puyvelde (1960),Versions. Syriac text, pp. 46, 11 8-13; Eng. p. 33. Ibid. Eng. p. 34.

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they were not the work of a single author6. There is no scholarly consensus regarding the date of its composition and the original language (Greek, Syriac, Hebrew or Aramaic are suggested). However, a good number of modern scholars believe that they were composed in the first half of the second century. If the original language was perhaps Syriac, they were probably composed in Edessa. The metre of the early Syriac poetry was based on syllables. The Odes are not in syllabic verse and this has been pointed out as an argument against the view that they were originally composed in Syriac7. Sebastian Brock believes the Odes to be a translation from Greek and hence he does not discuss them in his studies on Early Syriac Hymnography8. However, it is not unlikely that there existed non-syllabic poetic patterns, like ‘The Song of Praise (Teshbuhto) of Thomas the Apostle”9. In Syriac manuscripts, Odes of Solomon are followed by 18 Psalms of Solomon. The Syriac word zmirta (Ode or song) is used for both collections. The title Ode (appears in Greek, Coptic and Latin) was probably inspired by the summary of Solomon’s literary activities in 1 Kings 4:32: “He also uttered three thousand proverbs; and his songs (odes in LXX; shir in Hebrew and Teshbḥoto in Peshitta)”. However, the various versions suggest that they were widely circulated as early as the third century. It has been argued that the Odes betray Gnostic influence. They were probably composed in a milieu where ‘Gnostic or proto-Gnostic’ ideas were current. However, it has not been conclusively shown that there is trace of “any developed or logically formulated Gnostic system 10 . According to Robert Murray, “the milieu certainly seems JudeoChristian, not sectarian-Gnostic, and perhaps not far in date and milieu from the fourth Gospel and Ignatius”11. Every Ode concludes with halleluiah, suggesting that they were used in liturgy. This is further confirmed by a final doxology addressed to the name or to Christ, found in four of them (Ode 16:20; 17:17; 18:16; 20:10), probably sung by the congregation. In Ode 17, the final doxology is addressed to Christ: “Glory to Thee, O Lord Messiah. Halleluiah” (17:17). In Ode 16, 18 and 20, we find a doxology of ‘His name’ (“Praise and honour to His name”: 16:20; 20:10; “great honour”: 18:16). The doxology of the name suggests an early date of the Odes. Odes 5 and 26 are prayers/praises similar to the canonical Psalms. There are passages reminiscent of the canonical psalms (e.g. Ode 4:5 cfr. Ps. 84:10). However, the Odes do not conform to the norms of any known Syriac verse form12. According to H.J.W. Drijvers, this collection of 42 Odes is based on the second century Antio6 Syriac text with English translation and notes: Odes of Solomon (ed. Charlsworth). For a detailed commentary Michael Lattke, Odes of Solomon: A Commentary, [tr. by Marianne Ehrhardt], Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2009. The Syriac text gives no hint to determine the date and authorship. Scholars have suggested dates ranging from 50 BC to ca. A.D. 200. 7 Brock (2008), Poetry and Hymnography: Syriac, p. 660. 8 Brock (1985), Syriac and Greek Hymnography, p. 79, n. 9. 9 Syriac in Wright I, pp. 279-283; tr. Klijn p. 195-198. Probably it was chanted, not sung. In an email (dated 14.10.2020), Dr. Brock wrote that it can be described as ‘artistic prose’ (like the Gloria in Excelsis). The third century pagan funerary inscription from Edessa may be another example of non-syllabic verses. See Brock 1985, p. 79 (discussed below). 10 J.A. Emerton (tr.), “The Odes of Solomon”, in Sparks, AOT, pp. 683-731; here, p. 684. 11 Murray (1977), Symbols, p. 25. Cfr. J.H. Charlesworth, “Qumran, John and the Odes of Solomon”, in J.H. Charlesworth (ed.), John and Qumran (London, 1972), pp. 107-136. 12 Brock (1997), Brief Outline, pp. 15-16.

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chene Theology13. Drijvers has argued that at least a few of the Odes (e.g. 33 and 38) were directed against the Manicheans as well as the Marcionites. However, they represent a unique collection of hymns, which throws light on the style, content and orientation of early Syriac liturgical poetry14. Parallels have been pointed out in the Qumran texts (1 QH: Thanksgiving Hymns and 1 QS: Rule of the Community), the Johannine Corpus (John and 1 John) as well as the letters of Ignatius of Antioch15. Apart from one apparent quotation in Ephrem (Hymn on Paradise 7:21: “Nothing in it is idle”), the Odes have not left clear traces of influence in Syriac literary history. This is probably a quotation of Ode 11: 23 (‘And there is nothing in it which is barren’ (lit. idle, ‫)ܒܜܝܠ‬. We have evidences suggesting that the Odes were circulated in Orthodox circles. They were probably used in public worship in the early 5th century, as suggested by a reference in the Testamentum Domini (which has come down to us in a Syriac translation made by Jacob of Edessa (+ 708). Thus the Testamentum gives the direction: “Let them sing psalms and four hymns of praise (‫ – )ܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ‬one by Moses and of Solomon and of the other prophets”16. In fact, the Odes are called Zmirtha (song; hymn) in Syriac. The 18 ‘Psalms of Solomon’ are often found in manuscripts in sequence with the Odes. Therefore it is likely that the Testamentum refers to this larger collection17. The liturgical use of the Odes of Solomon is further attested by the interjection of h(alleluiah) into the middle as well as at the ends of each of the Ode in the later manuscript (15th/16th Syrian Orthodox manuscript). This certainly indicates that they were adapted in the manner of the canonical Psalms to liturgical chants. However, one can easily detect several ideas that are later developed by St Ephrem or other liturgical poets. The Odes generally follow the style of the canonical Psalms, especially the poetic parallelism. Scholars have often found it difficult to understand the meaning of symbolic expressions that the Odes often use and often qualified them as the vocabulary of ‘esoteric/heretical groups’. They are highly allusive in character, probably representing a literary genre of the time. It is highly probable that there occurred interpolations in the Odes, made by the ‘nonorthodox circles’. We do not know where and how long the Odes were used in the Syriac liturgy. The limited number of Syriac manuscripts that have come down to us suggests that they were not widely used. However, as Drijvers has pointed out, the Odes represent an important witness to the early Syriac theology and the style and contents of the liturgical 13 Drijvers (1982), Facts and Problems, pp. 166-67; also ID. (1981), Odes of Solomon; ID. (1978), Die Oden Salomos. These three articles are reprinted in Drijvers, East of Antioch. 14 Drijvers writes: “ The Odes of Solomon and the Manichean Psalms are (…), each in its own way, exponents of a Syriac hymnology that may go back to Bardaisan (154-222 A.D.), but which, very likely, is of much earlier date and which was eventually to find its most mature form with Ephrem Syrus …”, Drijvers (1981), Odes of Solomon, p. 119. 15 Lattke, Odes of Solomon, pp. 12-13. See also Vleugels, Odes of Solomon. 16 Testamentum Domini (I, 26), ed. Rahmani, p. 54 (syr); p. 55 (Latin). 17 In a personal email message (of 22 Dec. 2020) Dr. Sebastian Brock said that if it implies the actual Psalms of Solomon, it may be the collection without the Odes. According to him, unlike the Syriac manuscripts, in the Greek manuscript tradition, the Psalms of Solomon are not attached to the Odes. [In fact, the Testamentum as we have today is a Syriac translation of a Greek original).

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hymns before St Ephrem18. I shall point out a few passages that are important for understanding the liturgical theology of the Christian community, which produced the Odes. 2.1.1 Odes of Solomon and early Syriac baptismal theology The Odes of Solomon do not give the details of the baptismal liturgy. But they expound the theology of baptism using poetical imageries drawn from the Bible. As in the canonical Psalms, the Odist sometimes speaks in first person singular “I”. Apparently, “I” refers to a baptized Christian who is united to Christ and has attained a new dignity and a new way of life. One who is united to Christ has become a son and immortal: I have been united (to Him), because the lover has found the Beloved Because I love Him that is the Son, I shall become a son. Indeed he who is joined to Him, who is immortal, Truly shall be immortal. (Ode 3:7-8) Elsewhere the Odist says that Christ invites men and women to “leave the ways of that Corruptor and approach me” (Ode 33:5-8). The baptized ‘put on’ (‫ )ܠܒܫ‬Christ (Ode 33:12; cfr. Gal 3:27)19. In fact ‘putting on’ (‫ )ܠܒܫ‬is a favourite expression of the Odist, which is used about a dozen times of which 10 are in baptismal context20. We shall quote four passages that are representative (7:4; 15:8; 21:3 and 33:12). He became like me, that I might receive Him. In form He was considered like me, that I might put Him on. (7:4)21 I put on incorruption through His name, and took off corruption by His grace. (15:8) And I put off darkness and put on light. (21:3) And they who have put me on shall not be falsely accused, but they shall possess incorruption in the new world” (33:12). The Odes bear witness to the early Syriac baptismal theology, which saw the baptism of Christ as the institution of Christian baptism. Odes 24:1-4 refers to the Baptism of Christ. In fact, the Pauline theology of baptism as participation in the death and resurrection of Christ has not left any traces of influence in the Odes. Christian baptism is ‘circumcision of the heart’ (Ode 11:1-23); it is renewal and putting on new garment (Ode 11:11 “And the Lord renewed me with His garment”). 18 Drijvers (1980), The 19th Ode, reprinted in: id. East of Antioch]. Drijvers writes “(The Odes) form a link between Ephrem’s works and theology and his theological and literary antecedents”. Ibid. p. 355. 19 See also the articles by Drijvers on the Odes of Solomon and the Psalms of Mani in the same volume. 20 Ode 3:1; 4:6; 7:4; 13:3; 15:8; 20:7; 21:3; 23:1; 33:12; 39:8. In 4:8 and 23:3 it is used in a non-baptismal sense. On the use of the imagery of garment (putting on) in Early Syriac Theology: S.Brock, “ Clothing Metaphors as a means of Theological Expression in Syriac Tradition,”, in M. Schmidt& C.F. Geyer (eds), Typus, Symbol, Allegorie bei den östlichen Vätern und ihren Parallelen im Mittelalter, (Regensburg, 1982), pp. 11-38; Hannah Hunt, “’Clothed in the Body’: The Garment of Flesh and the Garment of Glory in Syrian Religious Anthropology”, in Markus Vinzent (ed.), Studia Patristica LXIV (Leiden, 2013), pp. 167-173; Emmanuel Kaniamparampil, “The Holy Spirit as ‘Clothing’: An Imagery of the Holy Spirit in the Early Syriac Theology”, The Harp (22, 2004), pp. 23-35. 21 Cfr. Gal 3:27.

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Instead of the garment of skin, the baptized has received the “vestment of the Spirit” (Ode 25:8 – “And I was covered with the covering of Thy Spirit, and I removed from me my garments of skin”). Probably baptism included an anointing as well (Ode 36:4: “And He anointed me with his perfection; and I became one of those who are near Him”). The baptized has been given access to Paradise, a place of fragrance (cfr. Ode 11:1516). [Ode 11 gives a vivid description of the Paradise]. 2.1.2 The stream of baptism In the 6th Ode, the poet speaks of a stream, which became a great river (6:8-8), and “the living water of eternity” (6:18). Here he draws on various biblical imageries of stream and water, especially Ezekiel 47. Certainly it is not a Gnostic theme, as Charlesworth seems to have suggested22. Ode 6:7 could imply that the stream is rather the praises (cfr. Ps. 45:1). The imagery of ‘living water’ appears in Ode 11:7 as well, where it is used in a Eucharistic sense (“And so I drank and become intoxicated, from the living water that does not die’). In Ode 30, it was probably used to refer to the Gospel, the life giving teachings of Christ. However, ‘living water is a theme characteristic of St John (4:10; 7:38; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:1.17)23. Ode 30:4 (“For much sweeter is its water than honey”) is reminiscent of Ps. 119:103 (“How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”). 2.1.3 The crown The new dignity of the baptized has been presented as a “crown”, an imagery that appears in several Odes (1:1; 5:12; 9:8; 9:11; 17:1; 20:7f). In the opening words of the collection of the Odes, the imagery has been presented. The Lord is on my head like a crown, And I shall never be without Him. Plaited for me is the crown of truth, And it caused Thy branches to blossom in me. (1:1-2) And because the Lord is my salvation, I will not fear. And He is a crown upon my head, and I shall not be shaken. (Ode 5:11-12) Crown is the symbol of truth (9:8), victory (9:8-10), salvation (17:1-2; 20:7). It is certain that the imagery of the crown has been taken from the Bible. The Lord as the crown is certainly based on Is. 28:5 (“The Lord of hosts will be a crown of salvation/life and a wreath of glory to the remnant of his people”). Elsewhere Isaiah speaks of the “helmet (‫)ܣܢܘܤܬܐ‬ of salvation” (Is. 59:17. Cfr. Eph. 6:17; 1 Thess. 5:8). The “crown of righteousness” of which St Paul speaks (2 Tim 4:8) is also related to salvation. In Ode 17, the baptismal meaning of the imagery of the crown is rather clear24. Then I was crowned by my God, and my crown is living. And I was justified by my Lord, for my salvation is incorruptible. I have been freed from vanities, and am not condemned. (Ode 17:1-3) 22 The Odes of Solomon (ed. Charlesworth), p. 31, n. 10. 23 For other Judeo-Christian sources, see Charlesworth, Odes, p. 33, n. 24. 24 Allusion to baptism is clear in 17:1-5; 15-16.

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The imagery of crown in the Odes should be understood in the light of its use in the Bible and in the context of the early Syriac baptism. However, a few centuries later, the imagery of crown was ritualized by giving a real crown to the newly baptized and the meaning of this rite was explained using the same ideas. In a fifth century Syriac commentary on baptism (published by Brock) we find the earliest reference to this rite: “The crown placed on the heads of the baptized signify the freedom they have received from Christ”25. 2.2 The Odes of Solomo and early liturgical theology The author of the Odes is one of the earliest representatives of a liturgical theology, according to which, worship is man’s vocation, the very purpose for which he was created. Thus in the 16th Ode we find: 1. As the occupation of the ploughman is the ploughshare, and the occupation of the helmsman is the steering of the ship, so also my occupation is the psalm of the Lord by His hymns. 2. My art and my service are in His hymns, because His love has nourished my heart, and His fruits He poured unto my lips. 3. For my love is the Lord; hence I will sing unto Him. 4. For I am strengthened by His praises, and I have faith in Him. 5. I will open my mouth, and His Spirit will speak through me the glory of the Lord and His beauty, 6. The work of His hands, and the labor of His fingers; 7. For the multitude of His mercies, and the strength of His Word. This is followed by a meditation on the creation (16:8-19) and the Ode is concluded with a doxology and Halleluiah. The content is Orthodox, and reflects the early Syriac theology. The centrality of worship in Christian life is underscored as the Odist exhorts: Pray and increase, and abide in the love of the Lord. (8:20) In fact the newly baptized has been granted the privilege to worship, an idea recurs in the Odes. The baptized have been “anointed with His Odes”. Thus in Ode 40, we find: As a fountain gushes forth its water, So my heart gushes forth the praise of the Lord, And my lips bring forth praise to Him. And my tongue becomes sweet by His anthems And my members are anointed (‫ )ܕܗܢܝܢ‬by His odes (‫ܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ‬: praise). (40:2-4) Early Syriac (and Eastern) theology spoke of the ‘priestly vocation’ of Adam and his children. In baptism, Christians are made a ‘royal priesthood’ (cfr. 1 Pet 2:6), whose vocation is to worship according to the Spirit, an idea that recurs in Patristic tradition. Ode 20 follows this line: 1. I am a priest of the Lord, and Him I serve as a priest; 25 S. Brock, “Some early Syriac Baptismal Commentaries”, OCP 46 (1980), pp. 20-61; here § 17, pp. 4445. According to Brock, this Commentary was probably written in the first half of the fifth century (p. 22). This has come down to us in BL Add 14496 (10th cent) and BL 14358 (10th cent).

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2. And to Him I offer the offering of His thought. 3. For His thought is not like the world, nor like the flesh, nor like them who worship according to flesh. 4. The offering of the Lord is righteousness, and purity of heart and lips. 5. Offer your inward being faultlessly; and let not your compassion oppress compassion; and let not yourself oppress a self. The priestly vocation of Adam/man is implied in some passages in the canonical psalms. Thus in Psalm 139:5 we find: “You created me and placed your hand on me ( ‫ܔܒܠܬܢܝ ܘܣܡܬ‬ ‫)ܥܠܝ ܐܝܕܟ‬. This has been often seen as a reference to the priestly ordination of Adam26. Worship as man’s vocation is implied in Psalm 119:175 (“Let my soul live and may she praise you”, Pesh)27. Worship or singing hymns is natural for one whose heart is with the Lord; it is the natural expression of our faith in God who lives and loves us (Ode 26:1-4): I poured out praise to the Lord, because I am His own. And I will recite His holy ode, because my heart is with Him. For His harp is my hand, and the odes of His rest shall not be silent. I will call unto Him with all my heart, I will praise and exalt Him with all my members. “I poured out (‫ )ܐܒܥܬ‬praise to the Lord” might be a paraphrase of Ps. 45:1-3 (Pesh): “My ̈ ‫ܦܬܔܡܐ‬ ̈ ‫)ܐܒܥ ܠܒܝ‬. Similar idea is heart overflows with a good word/praise (?) (‫ܜܒܐ‬ repeated in Ode 40:2: As a fountain gushes forth its water, so my heart gushes forth the praise of the Lord, And my lips bring forth praise to Him. As in the Psalms, prayer is qualified as extending our hands towards the Lord and is regarded as the sign of the Cross. By praying, we imitate Christ, the goal of Christian life (Ode 27): I extended my hands and hallowed my Lord, For the expansion of my hands is His sign. And my extension is the upright cross. Hallelujah.28 The Odes follow the early Christian theology, according to which the Spirit inspires the believers to pray29: “And open to me the harp of Thy Holy Spirit, so that with every note I 26 See BCP Friday Evening, Qolo: “On Friday in the beginning God created Adam from the dust and breathed on him the spirit and gave him speech, that he might sing praise to him, and give thanks to his creator” (BCP, pp. 723-25). 27 Cfr. Ps. 4:5 (“Offer sacrifices of righteousness)”; Ps. 33:1 (“Praise the Lord, O Upright, and praise befits the upright). Ode 20:4 was probably inspired by these psalms: “The Offering of the Lord is righteousness and purity of heart and lips” (Ode 20:4). 28 Cfr. Ode 42:1-2: “ I extended my hands and approached my Lord, for the expansion of my hands is His sign. And my extension is the upright cross that was lifted up on the way of the Righteous One”. Cfr. Ode 37:1. 29 See Rom. 8: 15; 26; Gal. 4: 5-7 etc.

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may praise Thee O Lord” (Ode 14:8). Again, “I will open my mouth, and His Spirit will speak through me the glory of the Lord and His beauty” (Ode 16:5). The Odes are primarily prayers. Thus the Odist, as in the canonical Psalms, makes petition, “Teach me thy ways”: “Teach me the odes of Thy truth, that I may produce fruits of Thy love” (Ode 14:7)30. Recent studies on the Odes are rather interested to find parallels in the Gnostic and nonChristian texts and have rarely or insufficiently used the writings of St Ephrem or early patristic and liturgical texts to understand the meaning of the Odes. The Christology of some of the Odes agrees with the Pre-Nicene theology and they duly point out the humanity and the divinity of Christ and the pre-existence of the Word and his relationship with the Father. Ode 41:11-15 provides an example: 11. And His Word is with us in all our way, the Saviour who gives life and does not reject ourselves. 12. The man who humbled Himself, but was exalted because of His own righteousness. 13. The Son of the Most High appeared in the perfection of His Father. 14. And the light dawned from the Word that was before time in Him. 15. The Messiah in truth is one. And He was known before the foundations of the world, that He might give life to persons forever by the truth of His name. In His kindness the Son of God diminished his greatness (Ode 7:3) and he really became man like us. Thus the reality of incarnation is underscored in phrases reminiscent of Irenaeus and St Athanasius31 (Ode 7:4-6): 4. He became like me, that I might receive Him, In form He was considered like me, that I might put Him on. 5. And I trembled not when I saw Him, Because He was gracious to me. 6. Like my nature He became, that I might understand Him, And like my form that I might not turn away from Him. Ode 23 is a meditation on the Scripture. Odist points out that it was “entirely written by the finger of God”, that is the Holy Spirit32. The Scripture contains the doctrine of the Holy Trinity: And the name of the Father was upon it; And of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, To rule for ever and ever. (Ode 23: 22) The ideas and imageries that the Odes use (e.g. bridal chamber 42:9, descent into the Hades 42:10-20, to name a few) are to be understood rather in relation to their use in the New Testament and the early patristic literature. The expressions such as “Putting on Light” (21:3) and ‘Putting on the garment of the Spirit’ (25:8) are reminiscent of the “Robe of Glory”, an 30 Ps. “Teach me Thy ways”: Ps. 25:4; 27:11; 119:33; 143:10. Cfr. Is. 2:3. 31 Irenaeus, Adversus haereses V, Preface, PG 7, col. 1120; Athanasius of Alexandria, On Incarnation of the Word 54, 3; PG 25, 192 B. 32 See Lk. 11:20 and Mt. 12:28.

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important idea in the writings of St Ephrem33. European scholars who are not so familiar with the Eastern liturgical milieu in which the Odes (and also the liturgical texts in the Acts of Thomas),originated, often made attempts to interpret them in the light of Gnostic sources and unsympathetic studies on the early Christian literature, which reflects the typically Western prejudice against the Eastern Christianity and Apocryphal literature. Christ’s descent into Hades and his victory over death and Satan is a theme widely attested in early Christian sources as well as in the liturgical texts, currently used in the Eastern Churches34. The Odes is probably the earliest source that presents the theme in vivid phrases (42:10-20): 10. I was not rejected although I was considered to be so, and I did not perish although they though it of me. 11. Sheol saw me and was shattered, and Death ejected me and many with me. 12. I have been vinegar and bitterness to it, and I went down with it as far its depth. 13. Then the feet and the head it released, because it was not able to endure my face. 14. And I made a congregation of living among his dead; and I spoke with them by living lips; in order that my words may not be unprofitable. 15. And those who had died ran towards me; and they cried out and said, Son of God, have pity on us. 16. And deal with us according to Your kindness, and bring us out from the bonds of darkness. 17. And open for us the door by which we may come out to You; for we perceive that our death does not touch You. 18. May we also be saved with You, because You are our Saviour. 19. Then I heard their voice, and placed their faith in my heart. 20. And I placed my name upon their head, because they are free and they are mine. Hallelujah. The union of the faithful with Christ is reminiscent of the Song of Songs and some of the hymns of the Syrian Orthodox marriage liturgy (where the union of the Church to Christ is the dominant theme) (Ode 3:7-10): 7. I have been united to Him, because the lover has found the Beloved, because I love Him that is the Son, I shall become a son. 8. Indeed he who is joined to Him is immortal, truly shall be immortal. And he who delights in the Life will become living. 10. This is the Spirit of the Lord, which is not false, which teaches the sons of men to know His ways. In baptism, the faithful are united to Christ. Unlike the People of the Old Covenant, the people of the New have received ‘the circumcision of the heart’, by the Holy Spirit himself. Thus in the 11th Ode, which is a meditation (‘exposition’) on baptism in poetical expressions:

33 Varghese (2018), Robe of Glory. 34 See Alfeyev (2009), Christ the Conqueror.

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1. My heart was circumcised (‫)ܐܬܓܙܪ‬35 and its fruit appeared, then grace sprang up in it, and my heart produced for the Lord. 2. For the Most High circumcised me by His Holy Spirit, then He uncovered my inward being towards Him, and filled me with His love. 3. And his circumcising became my salvation, and I ran in the Way with His love. 4. From the beginning till the end I received His knowledge. 5. And I was established upon the rock of truth, where He had set me. 6. And rational36 waters touched my lips from the fountain of the Lord generously. 7. And so I drank and became intoxicated, from the living water that does not die. 8. My intoxication did not cause ignorance, and I abandoned vanity. […] 11. And the Lord renewed me with His garment, and possessed me by His light. 12. And from above He gave me immortal rest, and I became like the land that blossoms and rejoices in its fruits. […] 15. My breath was refreshed by the pleasant fragrance of the Lord. 16. And He took me to His paradise, wherein is the wealth of the Lord’s pleasure […] 17. Then I worshipped the Lord because of His magnificence. 18. And I said, Blessed, O Lord, are they who are planted in Your land, and who have a place in Your Paradise. One who is familiar with the early and Eastern baptismal liturgy and commentaries will find the earliest expression of a baptismal theology using vocabulary borrowed from the Psalms (23; 1) and the Book of Revelation. Baptism is the circumcision of the heart (11:13), the renewal of our human nature (cfr. 17:4), and re-entry into Paradise (11:16-21). We are made to drink the living water that flows from the side of Christ (John 7:37-38; cfr. 1 Cor 10:3-4; 12:13). The baptism enables us to worship God, the essence of our life in Paradise, an idea found in the Book of Revelation (ch. 7; see Ode 11:17). 2.3 Ode 19 and the ‘enigmatic imageries’ Ode 19 uses enigmatic imageries to describe the meaning of sacraments. A cup of milk was offered to me, And I drank it in the sweetness of the Lord’s kindness, The Son is the cup, And the Father is He who was milked; And the Holy Spirit is She who milked Him; Because His breasts were full, And it was undesirable that His milk should be ineffectually released. The Holy Spirit opened Her bosom, And mixed the milk of the two breasts of the Father. Then She gave the mixture to the generation without their knowing; [Then the Ode 19:6-11 speaks of the virgin birth]. 35 I have modified the translation Charlesworth (“pruned”). See Col. 2:11 where baptism is explained in terms of circumcision. 36 Literally, it means ‘speaking waters”. But I think ‘rational waters’ may be more logical.

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Here the Odist follows an early Syriac tradition, which used feminine imagery to refer to the Holy Spirit37. A parallel may be found in Isaiah who speaks of God as comforting mother (Is. 42:14b; 49:14-15; 66:13). Ode 19:1 suggests a baptismal context38. This is reminiscent of 1 Cor 12:13 (“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body … and all were made drink of one spirit”). ‘The sweetness of the Lord’s kindness was offered to the newly baptized. Father is the Source of the kindness and the Spirit bestows it to the believers. Again the idea evokes Psalm 34:8 (“O taste and see that the Lord is good!”), which was often sung during the communion39. Breast may be an imagery taken from the Song of Songs. “For Thy breasts are better than wine” (Song 1:2b, LXX). According to Origen, this refers to the “treasures of wisdom that are hidden in the Word of God”40. The Odist might have adapted this imagery from the Jewish circles where the allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs was popular. Again the imagery of ‘breast’ appears in Song 1:13: (“My Beloved is to me a bag of myrrh that lies between my breasts”). Origen sees the breasts ‘as the ground of the heart in which the Church holds Christ’, or ‘the soul holds the Word of God”41. The ‘Breast and milk’ imagery appears also in Ode 8:14; and 35:5, where it has apparently sacramental significance. [In Ode 14:2, breast has been used in the sense of heart]. “I fashioned their members, and my own breast I prepared for them, that they might drink my holy milk and live by it” (Ode 8:14). In Ode 35 (which is a baptismal hymn) the imagery of milk certainly refers to the Eucharist: “And I was carried like a child by its mother; and He gave me milk, the dew of the Lord” (35:5). ‘Milk from the breast of Christ’ (Ode 8:14), that is from his heart (cfr. Ode 14:2), is to be understood in relation to John 19:34 (But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water”), which in the patristic tradition has a sacramental significance42. In fact, in his Hymn on Nativity, St Ephrem uses the imagery of ‘sucking’ and refers to Christ as the “Living Breast”: “He was lofty but he sucked Mary’s milk, and from His blessings all creation sucks. He is the Living Breast of living breath; by His life the dead were suckled, and they revived”43. 37 Harvey (1993), Feminine Imagery. On the use of feminine imageries in the Odes, see pp.123-139. 38 For a study on Ode 19: Drijvers (1980), The 19th Ode, reprinted in Drijvers, East of Byzantium. 39 See Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catechesis, 5:20. In NPNF Vol. VII. Apostolic Constitutions VIII,13, 16. W. Jardine Grisbrooke, Liturgical Portions of the Apostolic Constitutions: A Text for Students, Alcuin/GROW Liturgical Study 13-14, (Bramcote, 1990), p. 42. 40 Origen, Commentary on the Song of Songs § 2, ACW 26, p. 70. Drijvers does not refer to the use of this imagery in the Song of Songs. Cfr. the article cited in n.64. 41 Ibid. § 10, ACW 26, p. 165-166. Cfr. § 2, p. 64. 42 See S. Brock, “Mysteries hidden in the side of Christ”, Sobornost 7-6, (1978), pp. 462-472. 43 Hymn on Nativity 4 (St. 149-151, Ephrem (McVey), p. 100.

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The imagery of milk should be understood in terms of the Bible and early Christian sacramental theology. “Milk and honey” are the food of the Promised Land” (Dt. 6:3). According to Diatessaron, the diet of John the Baptist consisted of “milk and honey” (Mt. 3:4; instead of the traditional reading ‘locust and wild honey’). The reference to milk and honey in Ode 4:10 shall be understood in relation to its symbolism as the food of the Promised Land44. In fact, Tertullian refers to the custom of giving milk and honey to the newly baptized 45 . According to the Apostolic Tradition known under the name of Hippolytus of Rome, the newly baptized were given water, milk and wine46. Elsewhere in the New Testament, milk is used to refer to the Gospel or its simple and correct interpretation47.Breast and milk are symbols of motherly love, protection and nourishing. The author was probably using biblical imageries with poetical imagination. The Odist uses a symbolic language drawn from the Bible to bring out the meaning of Baptism and Eucharist and the Christian growth towards the perfection of the heavenly Father. The theological language of the early Christian writers is often evocative, pointing to the mystery of God and the salvation. Thus Irenaeus speaks of the Son and the Holy Spirit as ‘the two hands of the Father’48. To conclude this section, the liturgical character of the Odes is evident. They are the ‘Hymns of praise’ sung by the baptized, who are united to Christ. Odist succinctly explains the reason and meaning of worship. They most probably had their origin in an ‘orthodox milieu’. The Odist uses biblical images that are regularly used by later Syriac poets (e.g. St Ephrem or Jacob of Serugh) in an original way to describe the meaning of baptism, Eucharist and the life in Christ. His style and themes may be used or adapted in Gnostic writings such as Pistis Sophia. It is not unlikely that it was used by the Gnostics as well as other early heretical groups in the Syriac speaking regions of Mesopotamia. Perhaps this may be reason why the Odes were not very popular in the Orthodox circles. In the context of our present study, it should be noted that the Odes of Solomon represents the earliest attempt to articulate the basic Christian doctrines in poetry using the imageries of the Bible and the style of the canonical Psalms. In the Bible, worship is part of the revelation, God’s will for humanity. The language of the prayers or liturgical hymns is not descriptive, but evocative of the mystery of God. Prayers, like the Psalms, never deal with the Person of God. His works reveal who He is (cfr. Ps. 19:1-2). The Odes of Solomon followed this approach. In the Bible, images are used as pointers to God and their use is similar to apophatism. The aim of the Odist was apparently to compose hymns for liturgical use, rather than for study and discussion.

44 45 46 47 48

“And open Thy bountiful springs which abundantly supply us with milk and honey” (Ode 4:10). Tertullian, The Crown (or De Corona), ch. 3. See Whitaker, DBL, 9-10. Apostolic Tradition (GROW), p. 21. 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-13. 1 Pet. 2:3 Irenaeus, Against Heresies V, 6: “For by the hands of the Father, that is by the Son and the Holy Spirit, man , and not [merely] a part of man, was made in the likeness of God”.

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3. Psalms of Solomon The Psalms of Solomon, a collection of 18 hymns, were originally composed in Hebrew in Jewish circles and were translated into several ancient languages, including Greek and Syriac49. Syriac may be a translation from Greek and “breathe the atmosphere of the canonical Psalms of David”50. The 17th Psalm has a similarity with the canonical Psalm 72. In the Syriac version, they follow the Odes of Solomon with the numbers 43 to 60. Like the Odes, they are often called zmirata51. This would suggest that they were used in Christian liturgy along with the Odes. However, the Psalms of Solomon are dated between 63 BCE and 42 BCE52. So far no one has pointed out that they were cited in any of the present Syriac liturgical texts. However, their liturgical usage, at least in some circles, is highly probable and thus must have served as a source of inspiration, along with other pseudepigrapha, for some of the Syriac poets of later period. We have example of similar apocryphal psalms used in the Syriac tradition53. In the Syrian Orthodox Book of Common Prayer(Shehimo), the eniono of Thursday Night is reminiscent of the Psalm of Solomon 3:1-2: “Why do you sleep, my soul, and why do you not bless the Lord? Sing a new song to God who is worthy of praise. Sing and be wakeful in vigilance for him, for pleasing to God is a psalm from a glad heart”54. In Shehimo we find: “Why do you love sleep more than praise, my soul, and how long will you be engrossed in pleasures which do not profit? Awake now and rise and sing praise.”55 Along with the Old Testament books, the Psalms of Solomon (Ps. Sol.) seem to have served as a source for a number of ideas that were popular in early Syriac tradition, especially in St Ephrem. Thus Ps. Sol. 15:3 speaks of the fruits of the lips” (cfr. Hos. 14:2; Ps. 50:14; 81:11; 107:22; Eccl. 30:10). “The mark of the righteous for salvation” found in Ps. Sol. 15:6, is certainly inspired by Ezch. 9:456. “The garment of glory” (Ps. Sol. 11:7 and Is. 52:1) is a favourite idea of St

49 See Kenneth Atkinson, An Intertextual Study of the Psalms of Solomon, The Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston-Queenston-Lampeter, 2001. [Studies in the Bible and early Christianity, Volume 49]. Syriac text: W. Baars, “Psalms of Solomon”, in The Old Testament in Syriac According to the Peshitta Version, (Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1972), Vol. 4, part 6, pp. 1-27. English translation of the Syriac version by: S. Brock, “The Psalms of Solomon”, in Sparks, AOT, pp. 649-682. 50 Brock, ibid. p. 650. 51 In a personal email dated 21st Dec 2020, Brock wrote: “Since the beginning and end of the main manuscripts are lost, the only evidence in Syriac is the title in an extract in Cambridge Add 2020, fol. 104 b, where the numbering (Ps. 58) shows that it comes from another ms. where the Psalms of Solomon were preceded by the Odes: ‫ ܒܪ ܕܘܝܕ ܡܢ ܡܙܡܘܪܐ ܢܚ ܕܫܠܡܘܢ‬. 52 See Introduction by Brock, in Sparks, AOT, p. 652. 53 William Wright has published five such psalms: “Some Apocryphal Psalms in Syriac”, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology Vol. 9 (1886-87), pp. 257-58; 264-66 [www.tertullian.org/ fathers/wright_syriac_apocryphal_psalms.htm]. The first among these five psalms is numbered as 151 in Greek and Syriac Hexapla MSS. (see, the Codex Ambrosianus, ed. Ceriani, f. 38f). 54 Brock (tr.), in Sparks, AOT, p.658. 55 BCP, p.625. 56 Cfr. Rev. 9:4; Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 1:22, where mark is related to baptism.

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Ephrem57. The poet speaks of the Paradise, and the trees of life are identified with the community of the redeemed: The Lord’s holy ones shall live by it (= the law) forever. The garden of the Lord, the trees of the life, are his holy ones. Their planting is rooted forever: They shall not be pulled up all the days of the heaven. (14:3-4) This is reminiscent of the canonical Ps. 1:3 (“he is like a tree planted by streams of water”). The life of the redeemed ones is characterized by worship that is offering “the fruit of the lips”: For who, o God, is strong, except to give thanks to thee in truth? And how can a man show his power, except in giving thanks to thy name? A new psalm with song in gladness of heart, The fruit of the lips together with the tongue in harmony, The first-fruits of the lips from a holy and righteous heart. He who performs these things shall never be shaken by evil” The flame of fire and wrath against the unrighteous shall not touch him, […] For the mark of God is upon the righteous for salvation. (15:2-6) ‘The mark of salvation’ (15:6) is contrasted with the ‘mark of destruction’ (15:9). ‘The fruit of the lips’ is an imagery that appears in Hosea 14:2. As we have seen these ideas already appear in the Odes as well as in early Syriac tradition. The poet points out that ‘the fear of God’, that is worship, gives eternal life (3:12), an idea we find in the Book of Revelation. (cfr. 6:1-6: prayer grants salvation: “When he makes mention of the Lord, he will be saved: 6:2). Elsewhere it is said that ‘fasting and affliction’ are means of atonement: “[The Righteous] made atonement for sins of ignorance by fasting and affliction of his soul” (3:8). To conclude this part, I want simply to point out that Psalms of Solomon is an important witness to understand the style and content of Syriac poetry before Saint Ephrem.

4. Manichaean Psalm Book The Manichaean Prayer book has been preserved in a Coptic translation, made probably in the fourth century, from a Syriac text, with the aid of a Greek version58. The Coptic text seems to have preserved the metre of the Syriac Original and therefore it is of great importance for our knowledge of the early Syriac poetry59. Its careful arrangement shows the importance of hymns and music in Manichaean worship. The Manichaeans loved very much beautiful music and regarded it as gift from heaven. We can understand why a person 57 Varghese (2018), Robe of Glory. 58 See Torgny Saeve-Soederbergh, Studies in the Coptic Manichaean Psalm-Book. Prosody and Mandaean Parallels, Uppsala, 1948, p. 156. For the translation of the text: C.R.C. Allberry (ed.), Manichaean Manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Collection. Vol. II: A Manichaean Psalm Book Part II. With a contribution by Hugo Ibscher, Stuttgart, 1938. 59 Ibid. p. 1; also the notes by Baumstark, in OrChr 6 (1906), pp. 319ff; 8 (1911), pp. 2ff.

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like Augustine was attracted by it. The collection contains about 360 psalms, arranged in 24 different groups, each containing 5 to 30 psalms. The most striking characteristic of these Manichaean texts is the strong influence of Christian scriptures, images and figures. It is highly probable the authors of these liturgical hymns had made use of the existing Syriac models and vocabulary. It was even possible that some of the ‘psalms’ were adaptations of the already popular Christian liturgical hymns60. Ps. 241, which narrates the works of Mani, might be an example of this adaptation. The Praise of the Lesser Ones also seems to be an adaptation of a Christian hymn: Eternally shall we praise you, we and our kin, who are chosen, and the family, to which we belong, that is those that are of you, Father, we should call upon you, we should lift up our eyes to you. Our souls sing before you, so that you may be merciful to us in your great mercy, so that you may send us the helper […] Holy, Holy to you, Father! Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy to your praised reign. Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy to you, Father! Holy to your chosen name! Holy, Holy, Holy to you, Father! Drijvers has pointed out the formal parallelism of the Manichaean Psalms with the Odes of Solomon61. According to him, Ode 38 is an example of anti-Manichaean polemic, which is the oldest anti-Manichaean document known so far62. He has pointed out that all the symbols and imageries in Ode 38 have exact parallels and counterparts in the Manichaean Psalm Book 63 . The Odes, like the canonical Psalms, were interpreted in a Manichaean way64. In the context of the present study, we have to note that Manichaean documents provide information regarding the nature of the early Syriac liturgical poetry and prayers. As Baumstark has noted, Manichaean Psalms were revised Christian hymns. Five Odes of Solomon found their way into the Pistis Sophia. In fact the Marcionites and the Manichaeans have certainly used Christian symbols and imageries and often with different meanings and nuances. Methodologically it is wrong to read into them the meaning attributed in ‘nonorthodox’ circles. Moreover, non-orthodox groups shared many things, including scripture and liturgical practices, in common with the orthodox/catholic communities.

60 E.g. The Psalms addressed to ‘Jesus the anointed one’ (Ps. 21; 30; 31). Ps. 228 is a litany with a refrain “Implore him all!” Psalm 1 is another example of litany with the refrain “Jesus, do not forsake me!” 61 Drijvers (1981), Odes of Solomon and the Psalms of Mani, Reprinted in Drijvers, East of Antioch. 62 Ibid. p. 129. 63 Ibid. p. 123. 64 Ibid. p. 119. Odes 5:1-11; 6:8-18; 22 and 25. Cfr. M. Lattke, Die Oden Salomos, I, 187-225.

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5. Bardaisan (c. 154-222) and his works Bardaisan’s works bear witness to the intellectual culture of Edessa in the second half of the second century and the first decades of the third65. He is the earliest known representative of a Syriac intellectual tradition with a wide range of interests in different branches of knowledge, the most striking characteristics of Syriac scholarship which lasted for over a millennium, down to the time of Bar Hebraeus. Unlike most of the eminent scholars of the later Syriac tradition, Bardaisan apparently ventured to make a synthesis of philosophy, astrology and theology, which was viewed as heresy by the Church. His system has been often called ‘Syncretistic”66. However, Bardaisan was an original thinker who made an effort to ‘contextualize’ the Christian doctrine in a pluralistic milieu of Edessan Christianity in the second century, which was not very successful67. Bardaisan and his school are the examples of bilingualism of Edessa, where several members of the upper class knew both Greek and Syriac. However, he wrote in Syriac and according to Eusebius, his disciples translated his works into Greek. There are Platonic and Middle Platonic as well as Stoic elements in his thought68. Numerous convergences have been noted between Origen and Bardaisan. Both played a crucial role in helping Christianity to acquire a cultural and philosophical credibility in the second and the third century. Didymus the Blind says that Bardaisan was a presbyter and that he remained in the ‘Orthodox’ Church until his death. The authors who esteemed Origen, from his contemporary Africanus to Eusebius and Jerome, none of them depicts Bardaisan as a heretic. Along with Origen in Alexandria and then in Caesrea, Justin in Rome and Athenagorus in Athens, Bardaisan in Edessa played a crucial role in the development of Patristic philosophy. St Ephrem (whose works represent the most valuable, albeit biased source on Bardaisan), called Bardaisan ‘the Aramaic Philosopher’69. Ephrem was the most ardent opponent of Bardaisan’s system of thought, which,according to him, depends too much on the Greek philosophy, rather than on the Scriptures and thus deviated from the Orthodox doctrine. It was apparently in this context that Ephrem spoke of the ‘bitter venom of the Greek wisdom’70, often misunderstood by students of early Syriac tradition, as implying that the poet of Edessa represents a rather ‘purely semitic theological tradition’.

65 Most important studies on Bardaisan is by Drijvers (1966), Bardaisan of Edessa; Ramelli (2009), Bardaisan of Edessa. In the words of Ramelli, “He was a philosopher and theologian who was active at the cross roads of several cultures, Greco-Roman and Syriac in [particular, but also Iranian, Parthian and Armenian, not without connections even with India”, (p. 1); cfr. the excellent summary on Bardaisan: Denzey (2005). 66 Drijvers (1971), Bardaisan von Edessa, reprinted in East of Antioch. 67 As Ramelli says, Bardaisan, a complex intellectual figure, had numerous interests: philosophy and theology, ethnography and geography, history and Bible, including apocryphal Christian literature”. Ramelli (2009), Bardaisan of Edessa, p. 3. Ute Possekel points out that Bardaisan, who considered himself as a Christian, tried to render his faith acceptable from an intellectual point of view. Possekel (2007), Bardaisan. See also Satoshi (2012), Reconsidering. 68 Ramelli (2009), Bardaisan. 69 Ephrem, Prose Refutations, 2.225.25-26; 2.7.48-8.1. 70 Hymn on Faith 2.24. On St Ephrem’s discussion of Bardaisan, see Ramelli (2009), Bardaisan, pp. 156238.

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The only work of Bardaisan that has survived is The Book of the Laws of Countries71. In fact it was probably written by his pupil Philippus. Bardaisan himself is the principal speaker in this dialogue, developing a stringent exposition in answer to questions and objections advanced by Awida, one of his pupils. Bardaisan is believed to be the teacher of Mani, who consistently developed the system founded by the Aramaic philosopher72. 5.1 Bardaisan and madrashe Edessa from the very early period had a passion for music and folk songs73. Music and musicians played an important role in making the pagan cults of Mesopotamia popular74. Bardaisan, a native of the city knew it very well and used it in popularizing his teachings. He composed a hundred and fifty hymns, corresponding to the number of Psalms in the Bible, and he popularized his ideas through hymns, which served as one of the main models for the hymns of Syriac Christianity. Ephrem writes that the followers of Bardaisan met in caves and sang hymns and studied and expounded various writings, including the works of their leader75. The most popular poetic genre Bardaisan had used is madrasha [= teaching hymn]. Madrasha is a stanzaic poem or hymn in strophes; strophes are constructed on isosyllabic principles, but syllable metres may be different76. The origin and earliest history of madrasha is a vexed question. No early source enumerates the characteristic features that constitute the madrasha. The word itself has no connection to music. In Ephrem’s hands the madrasha is a powerful teaching device [see next chapter]. Apparently, Bardaisan followed the music of the folk songs, with its simple style and vocabulary. The fragments of his works in Ephrem’s works are too scanty to judge their style77. However, the charm and popularity of these hymns, made St Ephrem to take counter-measures by forming choirs to sing his own canticles and responses78. Women were particularly focused by the groups of Bardaisan and Mani. [According to the Acts of Judas Thomas, the followers of St Thomas included several women]. In order to win them back, Ephrem encouraged women’s participation in liturgical singing (see below). In spite of the intense works of the orthodox group, hymns of Bardaisan continued to be popular even in the early decades of the fifth century, as we learn from the life of Rabbula. The Bardaisanites were forcibly converted and the building where they met was destroyed 71 Drijvers (1965), BLC. 72 In the words of St Ephrem, Mani “went through the door that Bardaisan had set ajar”. Ephrem, Prose Refutations I, p. xc (tr.); p. 122 (Syr). See Drijvers (1966), Bardaisan, pp. 225ff. also ID., (1974a), Mani und Bardaisan. Reprint in East of Antioch]. 73 J.B. Segal writes: “Edessans’ had a lively partiality for music in early, as in later, times”. Segal (1970), p. 34. Orpheus with his magic lyre is the theme of a beautiful Edessan Mosaic of the last days of the Aryu dynasty. Segal (1970), p. 34.52. 74 In the pagan temple of mother goddess at Hierapolis, there were temple musicians with pipes and flutes. Women also participated in processions with tambourines and dances. Segal, p. 47. 75 E. Beck, Ephrem, Hymns against Heresies, CSCO, 76-77 (Louvain, 1957). l.17-18. Drijvers (1965), BLC, p. 162ff. 76 Brock (2004), Ephrem and Syriac Tradition, p. 364. 77 A longer extract is quoted by Theodore bar Koni (8th cent): see the text in Segal, Edessa, pp. 37-38; Drijvers (1965), pp. 99-104. 78 Segal, Edessa, p. 34.

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in the time of Rabbula. In the time of Jacob of Edessa (+708), there were still Bardaisanites79. 5.2 Mani and madrashe Ephrem affirms to Mani’s use of the literary form without specifying that these compositions were sung80. But a large body of Manichaean hymns survives. ‘The existence of these Manichaean Psalms encourages the uncritical supposition that Ephrem knew Manichaean hymns as madrashe rather than as zmirata, and that he refers to them in Hymns against Haereses. However, the Manichaean Psalms also witness – albeit indirectly- to the style of the early Christian liturgical hymns. As the people of Mesopotamia, especially of Edessa, loved to demonstrate their piety in the form of cultic processions and choral singin, it is not surprising that Manichaeism found many adherents in Mesopotamia and the Manichaean communities continued to exist for several centuries. The Coptic Manichaean Psalm book shares a plethora of themes with early Syriac literature, notably the Odes of Solomon. [The Odes of Solomon are not madrashe, but rather zmirata]. The Coptic Manichaean texts, the Psalm Book, the Homilies and the Kephalaia all go back to a Syriac original through a Greek translation81. The putative Syriac predecessor of the Coptic Psalms would have been in existence in the later 3rd century. The 20 psalms attributed to Thomas were translated directly from East Aramaic (but not necessarily Syriac) without a Greek intermediary. [Here Thomas was a disciple of Mani]. The underlying Syriac form of the Manichaean Psalms is not madrasha, but rather zmirata or mazmore (the Peshitta word for Psalms). Manichaean Psalms may provide parallels to the Syriac madrasha as opposed to the zmirta or mazmora; but no attention has been given to this subject perse82.

6. The hymns of the Acts of Thomas Further examples of pre-fourth century hymns and prayers are found in the Syriac Acts of Judas Thomas (early 3rd cent.) (= AJT)83. We shall consider three of them. (1). The Hymn of the Bride (ch. 6-7) [HB]; (2) the Hymn of the Pearl (ch.108-113) [HP]. (3) Song of Praise by the Apostles Thomas (ch. 113). They were originally composed in Syriac, and the first two are poetry based on syllabic principles. They are incorporated into the AJT and are probably earlier than the rest of the work. The first two have been subject of scholarly studies.

79 80 81 82 83

Drijvers (1965), BLC, p. 228. McVey (1999), Earliest madrashe, pp. 190-193. Drijvers (1982), Facts and Problems, p. 170 with bibliography. McVey (1999), Earliest madrashe, pp. 192-193. Varghese (2010), Acts of Judas Thomas.

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6.1 Hymn of the Bride [HB] [zmirta in Syriac and odē in Greek)]84 was sung by Judas Thomas as he attended in Sandaruk, the wedding feast of the local king85.The Odes of Solomon are also called zmirta (zmirata pl.). The title Hymn of the Bride has been attributed by scholars. In the text it has been introduced as follows: “And Judas Thomas began to sing this song (zmirta)86” (ch.6). But the appropriate title may be A Hymn on the Church. The theme of the hymn is the Church that praises God87. This liturgical hymn of Biblical inspiration is one of the earliest writings on ecclesiology. Scholars have seen literary parallels to the Biblical Song of Songs, to other Near Eastern and Jewish Literature, to Sumerian poems. In the AJT, HB is rich in the language of praise, which is comparable with songs in Jewish and Christian as well as other contexts of worship. In HB, there is neither a clear strophic structure nor a refrain; but parallelism is frequent and there is a tendency toward isosyllabism. While the pattern is not strictly followed, it approximates six-syllable half-lines and 12 syllable lines. Thus HB recalls some literary features of Bardaisan’s songs, in so far as they have been preserved. There is no reason to doubt the orthodoxy of the contents of the hymn. In the Syriac version, Church has been identified as the daughter of light88. Thus the hymn opens with the words: “My Church is the daughter of light; the splendor of kings is hers” (l. 1-2). Church as the ‘daughter of light’ is an idea appears in St Ephrem and Jacob of Serugh89. The Church has been adorned as the Bride of Christ (lines 2-6; 2324), an imagery certainly based on the Bible (cfr. Rev 21:2; Eph 5:21-33). Then the hymn continues: “Her garments are like unto flowers, the smell thereof is fragrant and pleasant” (l. 5-6). “Her bridal chamber is lighted up, and full of sweet odour of salvation. A censer is ready in its midst.” (l. 23-25). This is reminiscent of Sirach 24:15 (“Like choice myrrh I spread my fragrance… and like the odour of incense in the tent). Some of the ideas appear in the Odes of Solomon: ‘On her head dwells the king” (l.7). This idea appears in Odes 1:1: “The Lord is on my head like a crown”. Again, “And He is a crown upon my head” (Ode 5:12). Then the Hymn adds: “Truth is placed on her head” (l. 9). Apparently, ‘Truth’ refers to Christ. (cfr. John 14:6). Again this appears in the Odes. “Plaited for me the crown of Truth” (Ode 1:2). Again, “An everlasting crown is Truth” (Ode 9:8). The Church is presented as a liturgical gathering, which ‘utters praise to God, an idea regularly found in the Early Syriac liturgical tradition 90. Those who praise God put on “shining garments” and put on the glory of God: Her mouth is open, and it becomes her, wherewith she utters all songs of praises. The twelve Apostles of the Son, and the seventy-two thunder forth in her. Her tongue is the curtain, which the priest raises and enters in. 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

AJT ch. 6-7; Klijn, p. 28-29; Commentary. pp. 30-38. Syriac Text: Wright, AAA I, pp. 176-177. Klijn, p. 28 See Varghese (2010), pp. 83-85. Klijn, AJT, p. 38. See Brock, Bride of Light, (SEERI, Kottayam, 1994). See Odes of Solomon 6:7; 7:17-19; 25; 8:20; 11:17; 13:1-2; 16: 1-5; 16:1-6.

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Her neck is the lofty flight of steps, which the first architect did build. Her hands, both of them, proclaim the place of life; and her ten fingers have opened the gate of Heaven. Her bridal chamber is lighted up and full of sweet odour of salvation. A censer is ready in its midst, love and belief and hope, gladdening all: within truth (dwells) in humility. Her gates are adorned with truth. Her groomsmen surround her, all whom she has invited and her pure bridesmaids (go) before her uttering praise. The living are in attendance upon her, and they look to the Bridegroom who shall come, and they shall shine with his glory, and shall be with Him in the kingdom which never passes away. And they shall be in the glory to which all the just are gathered; and they shall be in the joy into which some enter; and they shall put on shining garments, and shall be clothed with the glory of the Lord. And they shall praise the living Father, whose majestic light they have received, and have been enlightened by the splendour of their Lord, of whose food they have received, […] and have drink of the life which makes those who drink of it long and thirst (for more); and have glorified the Father of the Lord of all,and the only-(begotten) Son, who is of Him., and have praise the Spirit, His wisdom91. As we will see below, the Hymn of the Pearl also speaks of the garment of glory. It is interesting to note that HB is the first liturgical passage given in the AJT (ch. 6-7). Like Odes of Solomon, HB appears to be a kind of song (zmirta) that existed before Bardaisan’s transformation of the madrasha. 6.2 Hymn of the Pearl [HP]: (Syriac madrasha; and Greek psalmos = psalm – 3 times). It is clear that the Hymn of the Pearl was interpolated into the Acts of Thomas92. 12 syllable pattern 6+6 or 5+7: syllable half line is followed. HP is also presented as a liturgical hymn uttered by the apostle, as a prayer for his companions in prison. Both Greek and Syriac versions say that HP was spoken, rather than 91 Ch. 7; Klijn, p. 29 (lines 10-54; Syr. Wright I, pp. 177-178. Eng. id. II, pp. 151-152. 92 On linguistic grounds, Klaus BEYER has argued that HP was originally compose in East Aramaic, not in Syriac: Klaus Beyer, “Das syrische Perlenlied: Ein Erlösungsmythos als Märchengedicht”, ZDMG 140 (1990), 234-259. [Beyer gives a re-constructed east Aramaic text with German translation]. For the same conclusion J. Tubach, “Der Weg des Prinzen in Perlenlied”, OLP 24 (1993), pp. 87-111; esp. 111. McVey (1999), seems to support this view. Cfr. McVey (1999), Were the Earliest, p. 196. In a personal e-mail (30th July 2021) Sebastian Brock wrote to me that “it is hypothetically a possibility”. But he adds:” and what exactly is meant by Eastern Aramaic in this context? Especially when so little written material survives”.

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sung. In fact, the title “Hymn of the Pearl” is a scholarly attribution. In Syriac it is called madrasha (the madrasha of Judas Thomas the Apostle in the country of the Indians). In this enigmtic hymn, the pearl is of minor importance. In fact it is the story of a Prince who went in search of the pearl and his victorious return. HP is written in the first person singular. A prince tells how he was sent away by his royal parents to a faraway country – Egypt – in order to snatch away a pearl from a dangerous serpent or dragon. Before setting on his journey, he put off his royal garments, obviously to hide his princely identity and dignity. His parents promised him that the garment will be returned to him and that he will inherit the kingdom with his brother. After a long stay in Egypt, he forgot about his mission and fell asleep. Finally a letter from his parents reminded him of his mission. He woke up, and cast a spell on the serpent and snatched away the pearl. On his return, he was received with great pomp; he worshipped the majesty of his father who sent him. His dignity was restored to him and he was with his father in his kingdom where his servants praise him. The hymn concludes saying that with his ‘offering and pearl’ the prince was present to the king. In fact, it is a lyrical story in which the mystery of redemption is narrated in the style of a fairy tale. The imageries used are multifaceted and are drawn from the Bible and the Apocryphal literature. Each imagery seems to have different shades of meaning to delve into the mystery of salvation. The poet handles a particular literary plot and has a rather clear theological motif, though he used a style different for the HB and the ‘Hymn of praise’. However, they share some ideas with the prayers given in the AJT. I shall quote the prayer that the Apostle Thomas said in the bridal chamber of the princess of Sandaruk. (Which may throw light on some of the imageries used in HP). After a series of encomium of Christ, the prayer continues: Thou art hidden in all Thy works, and art manifested in their acts, Jesus, perfect Son of perfect mercy; and Thou didst become the Messiah, and didst put on the first man. Thou art the power, and the wisdom, and the knowledge, and the will, and the rest of Thy Father, in whom Thou art concealed in glory, and in whom Thou art revealed in Thy creative agency; and Ye are one with two names. And Thou didst manifest Thyself as a feeble (being), and those who saw Thee, thought of Thee, that Thou wast a man who had need of help. And Thou didst show glory of Thy Godhead in Thy longsuffering towards our manhood, when Thou didst hurl the evil (one) from his power, and didst call with Thy voice to the dead, and they became alive; and to those who were alive and hoping in Thee, Thou didst promise an inheritance in Thy kingdom. Thou wast the ambassador, and wast sent from the supernal heights, because Thou art able to do the living and perfect will of Thy sender. Glorious art Thou, Lord, in Thy might; and Thy renovating administration ( ‫ܦܘܪܢܤܟ‬ ‫ )ܡܚܕܬܢܐ‬is in all Thy creatures, and in all the works which Thy Godhead hath established; and no other is able to annul the will of Thy majesty, nor to stand up against Thy nature as Thou art. And Thou didst descend to Sheol, and go to its uttermost end; and didst open its gates, and bring out its prisoners, and didst tread for them the path (leading) above by the nature of Thy Godhead93. 93 AJT ch. 10; Wright, AAA I, pp. 179-180; II, pp. 154-155.

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Limitation of space does not allow us to quote the entire text of HP. In HP and in the prayer quoted above, “Christ’s renovating administration” has been narrated. The Hymn of Praise also follows the same line, glorifying the Father and the Son for the economy of Salvation. The style and the literary genres are different. But the theological motif is apparently the same: To describe the great things that God had done in Christ. HP narrates the ‘great things God has done in Egypt’94.In this respect, these prayers closely follow the orientation of the Jewish prayers like Birkat ha-mazon in which the narration of the mirabilia dei has an important place95. Now let us come to the HP. Obviously the king of the story is God the Father and the Prince is Christ, the Son of God. The prince speaks of his home/country: the kingdom was in the East (‘from the East our home’ (Stanza 3). This has to be understood in the light of the Biblical symbolism of the East (Gen. 2:8; Ez. 43:1-2; 47:1 etc.). According to Zachariah 6:12, East is the symbol of Messiah (see LXX and Peshitta). Paradise was planted in the East (Gen. 2:8). According to Ezekiel, ‘the glory of God of Israel came from the East (4312), and the temple faced the East (47:1). “My parents” (abahai) (st. 3) may be a figurative reference to God the Father and the Holy Spirit (see below the comments on the Holy Spirit). “They took off from me my glittering robe (or ‘my splendour’; st. 9)”. This may be understood in terms of the Kenotic Christology of Philippians (2:6-11). The self-emptying of Christ led to his glorification96. The prince was sent on a mission to bring the pearl and a promise was given to him (st. 1215). “You shall put on your glittering robe (or your ‘Splendour’)” (st.14).The pearl might be Adam (‘humanity’) who was held captive by the serpent in Egypt, kingdom of Pharaoh and the symbol of the dominion of evil. It is significant that the prince left the East (st. 3; 16) to the west, that is to Egypt, where the serpent dwells97. “I quit the East (and) went down” (st. 16), says the prince. Descending from the East to the West may be related to Psalms 68:5 and 33 (Peshitta): “Praise Him who rides to the West; Lord is His name” (Ps. 68:5). “Sing to the Lord, to Him who rides in the heavens of heaven; from the East, He send forth His voice (Ps. 68:33). Later in the Syriac tradition, the liturgical processions that leave the sanctuary and go in the anticlock-wise direction (north to south) and return to the sanctuary are interpreted as indicating the ‘descent and ascent’ of Christ98. However, since the apostolic times, the coming down of Christ from God the Father has been narrated with vivid expressions and HP follows this line.

94 See Ps. 106:21: “God (who) had done great things in Egypt”. Cfr. Ps. 78:42-43. 95 Di Sante (1991), Jewish Prayer, pp. 145-149. 96 See AJT ch. 10 (Prayer of the Apostle Thomas for the bride, quoted above); “Thou didst manifest Thyself as a feeble (being)…”; Wright, AAA II, p. 154. 97 In the Baptismal Catechesis and commentaries, West is always presented as the symbol of darkness, Satan and death. See. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catechesis I,4, Whitaker DBL, p.28. Likewise, on the basis of Malachi 4:2 (“Sun of Righteousness”) the East has been given Christological interpretation. According to Origen, the Second Coming of Christ will be from the East: “The Redeemer comes to you from the East….Because of this you are invited to look always to the east where the Sun of righteousness rises for You” (cfr. Mt. 24:27; Malachi 4:2). 98 E.g. Consecration of the Myron. Commentary by George, Bishop of the Arabs (lines 345-352; 392404); Moses bar Kepha (ch. 15; 16) and Dionysius Bar Salibi (ch. 21; 23; 24)

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He left the East accompanied by two guardians (‫)ܦ̈ܪܘܩܝܢ‬. The imagery is reminiscent of the angels in the Ascension of Isaiah (ch. X-XI)99. The second part of the hymn (st. 21-55) presents a problem regarding the life of the prince in Egypt. It is not clear whether the prince here represents Christ or Adam (type of Christ). Probably it means the complete identification of the prince with Adam100 . The prince says, “I forgot that I was a son of the kings, and I served their kings” (st.33). Does it mean that ‘Adam’ forgot his vocation (“mission”), as the priestly guardian of the creation? 101 Does it mean the fall of Adam, who according to the Syriac tradition served ‘Satan’ and the idols? However, in the Syriac tradition, redemption is often understood as liberation from the worship of idols and restoration to true worship102. When the people of Egypt recognized the prince, they persecuted him (st. 31-32) and because of their oppressions he was “in a deep sleep” (st. 35). This may be an indication of the passion and the ‘sleep of Christ’ on the cross and in the tomb. In fact in the Syriac tradition, the death of Christ and his three days in the tomb are often presented in terms of sleep and his resurrection as waking up and ‘shaking off the wine” (see below). The Prince’s parents perceived all that had happened and they were grieved for him (st. 36). Therefore, an assembly of the ‘kings and princes of Parthia, and all the nobles of the east’ was convened and they were consulted and a letter was sent to the prince in Egypt (st.37-40). The letter was signed by every noble of the East, the king, queen and the brother of the prince. This evokes the image of the heavenly assembly where decisions are made (Ps. 82:1;89:7). It is important to note that the presence of the ‘heavenly assembly’ has been indirectly indicated in the creation story (Gen. 1:26: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness). In the hymn, the assembly was held for the redemption. However, this may be related to the Christian doctrine that the creation and redemption are the common work of the Holy Trinity. The letter was a message for waking up the prince from his sleep. This evokes also Hosea 11:1 “From Egypt, I called my son”. (cfr. Mt. 2:15). In Matthew it has been quoted in the context of flight to Egypt. It is not unlikely that the author of our hymn has used it as an example of “paschal imagery”. On the other hand, the letter may be related to the New Testament idea that God the Father raised Christ to life103. The imagery of waking up (st. 5155) may be based on Psalm 78:65-66, which is repeadly chanted as the Pethgomo before the Gospel reading on Easter and in the following week: “The Lord awoke like the one who sleeps and like a strong man who shakes off the wine” (Pesh). Then the prince continues: 99 100

Sparks, AOT, pp. 806-810. In the prayer quoted above (ch. 10) we find: “Thou didst become Messiah, and didst put on the first man”. Also in the Hymn of praise we find: “(Christ) put on humanity and whom our adversary slew”. Klijn, p. 196). Both passages imply the perfect identification of Christ with Adam. 101 On the priestly vocation of Adam: see Varghese, WSLT, pp. 8-9. 102 Liturgy of marriage (Sugitho of the first part): “He took me from among the idols and showed me the hidden mysteries”, Varghese, Sacraments, p. 39; Syriac in Pampakuda, Sacraments (1982), p. 88. Again: “Woe to the evil one who made me to go astray, and I was corrupted by idolatry. Praise to Jesus who redeemed me’, Varghese, id., p .39. Pampakuda id. p. 88. This has certainly biblical foundations. 103 Acts 2:32, Rom. 8:11 implies that the raising of Christ was the common work of the Father and the Spirit.

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I remembered that I was a son of a royal parents and my noble birth asserted its nature. I remembered the pearl, for which I had been sent to Egypt, and I began to charm him the terrible loud-breathing serpent. I hushed him to sleep and lulled him into slumber, for my father’s name I named over him, and the name of the second (in power), and of my mother, the queen of the East; and I snatched away the pearl, and turned to go back to my father’s house. And their filthy and unclean dress I stripped off, and left it in their country; And took my way straight to come to the light of our home the East (st. 56-63). Here the content of the literary plot becomes clear. The prince, Christ conquered the serpent who held humanity (‘Pearl) captive. We can find several parallels in the Apocryphal literature. The nearest parallel can be found in the Testament of Asher, which speaks of the Most High coming down as a man and “ eating and drinking with men and quietly breaking the head of the dragon through water”. Then the Testament continues: “In this way he will save Israel and the Gentiles –God playing the part of man”104. The descent of Christ to Hades is an important theme in the Judaeo-Christian theology105. In the early Christian tradition, the descent of Christ to Sheol is vividly described using a variety of imageries: destruction of the iron gates, breaking of locks, flight of death from Christ, disarming of the enemy, captivity of death, plundering of the treasures of the kingdom of Satan and the liberation of the souls held captives106. ‘Snatching of the pearl’ by the prince is the plundering of the treasure held by the serpent. The same idea is presented in the prayer (AJT ch. 10) quoted above: Christ descended into Sheol; opened its gates and brought out its prisoners. In the hymn of praise of Thomas, the same idea appears: “Your angels glorify you on high through your Messiah, who became in Sheol peace and hope to the dead, who came to life and were raised”107. The ‘plundering’ of Sheol (HP: ‘snatching of the pearl’) is an imagery used by Origen108, also found in the Apocryphal Old Testament. The Ascension of Isaiah says: “And when he (Christ) has plundred the angel of death, he will ascend on the third day (IX:16)109. Likewise, according to the Testament of Isaac (V:22), ‘Christ will despoil hell and deliver all mankind from the enemy’110. The ‘charming of the serpent’ by the prince has parallel in the Odes of Solomon (42:1112): Sheol saw me and was shattered, and death ejected me and many with me.

104 105

Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs: The Testament of Asher VII:3 in Sparks, p. 581. Danielou (1958), pp. 257-273. This is based on 1 Pet. 3:19; 4:6. Also indicated in Acts 2:31; Mt. 27:52-53. For the early Syriac tradition: Murray (1977), Symbols, pp. 231-236; 299-301; 324-329. In St. Ephrem: Texidor (1961). For a detailed Study on the subject: Alfeyev (2009). 106 Alfeyev, chs. 1-3; cfr, p. 56. 107 Klijn, p. 198; Wright II, p. 250. Cfr. Prayer of Judas Thomas, AJT ch. 156 : “Thou didst descend into Sheol with mighty power, and the dead saw Thee and became alive”. Wright II, p. 288. 108 See Commenatry on the Romans 5,10; PG 14: 1051C -1052B; Alfeyev, p. 51. 109 Sparks, AOT, p. 804; cfr. ch. X, pp. 806-7. 110 Ibid. p. 431.

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I have been vinegar and bitterness to it111. The prince invoked the name of the Holy Trinity. Certainly the text has a baptismal resonance and may refer also to the baptism of Christ in Jordan, which was seen in the Syriac traditon as an anticipation of his descent into Hades and his victory over the forces of death. The Holy Spirit is referred to as ‘Queen of the East” (st. 60; also in 41). In fact in the early Syriac tradition feminine imagery was regularly used for the Holy Spirit 112 . The “filthy and unclean dress that the prince stripped off’ (st. 62) might be the mortality of human nature that Christ has “stripped off” in Hades as well as in baptism. The prince’s victory in snatching the pearl may be an imagery used to indicate Christ’s descent into Hades and the Victory over Satan, an important idea we find in the Odes of Solomon113. In the Odes, instead of the imagery of ‘charming and snatching’, Christ is presented as a victorious warrior. Thus in Odes 15: 8-11, we find: I put on immortality through his name, and took off corruption by his grace. Death has been destroyed before my face, and Sheol has been vanquished by my word. And eternal life has arisen in the Lord’s land, and it has been declared to his faithful ones, and has been given without limit to all that trust in him. However, at the end of his mission, the “bright robe” (‘splendour’) was restored to the prince (st.72-74). The robe (lbusha) appeared to become like a mirror (st. 76). The stanzas that follow (st. 77-87) and the reference to “the image (ṣalma) of the king of kings” (st. 86) would evoke the “putting of body” (lbesh pagra) an idea that regularly appears in early Syriac Christology. On his return, he was received with great pomp (st. 88-98). He wrapped himself wholly in his toga “of brilliant hues” (st. 97), which he had stripped off when he left his home, and worshipped the majesty of his father who sent him’ (st. 99). This is reminiscent of Rev. 1:13 (the risen Christ in the garment of the High Priest)114. In fact, ‘the robe of glory’ is an idea that we find in Saint Ephrem, which has liturgical significance115. As we have already seen, the HP speaks of the “shining garments” and the praising of God. This may refer to the heavenly worship. After having put on the toga, the prince joined his father, in whose kingdom his servants praise him: “I mingled with his princes, for he rejoiced in me and received me, and I was with him in his kingdom, and with the voice of… all his servants praise him” (st. 101-103). This is reminiscent of the festal assembly of which the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks (12:22-24). However, the story as a whole has some parallels in the first chapter of the Epistle to the 111 Cfr. Ephrem, Nisibene Hymns 36: “With gall and vinegar he sweetened the poison of the serpent which had bitten man”. Alfeyev, p. 109. 112 See Brock ( 1990), Holy Spirit as Feminine, pp. 73-88; Harvey (1993), Feminine Imagery, pp. 111139; Murray (1975), Symbols, pp. 312-320. In the AJT ch. 27, Holy Spirit is called “Mother of Seven houses”. Wright, AAA I, pp. 192-193. 113 See Odes 15; 17; 22; 24; 42. Alfeyev (2009), 17-42. 114 Ps. 132:8; “Your priests shall put on righteousness, and your righteous glory” (Pesh). 115 Varghese (2018), Robe of Glory.

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Hebrews. According to the author of Hebrews, “through the eternal Spirit, (Christ) offered himself without blemish to God’ (Heb. 9:14). The hymn concludes with a reference to the offering of the prince: And he (the father) promised that to the gate too of the king of kings with him I should go, and with my offering and my pearl with him should present myself to our king. (st. 104-105) The offering of the pearl to the king has its parallel in the Homily ‘On the Soul, Body, and Passions of Our Lord”, attributed to St Athanasius. The homily survives in Coptic and Syriac and has a “direct genetic link” with the poem of Melito of Sardis “On Pascha”116.The homily in question speaks of the “man put on by Christ as a garment, which Christ took to heaven as a gift to the Father: And the Lord died on behalf of every one, in order that everyone should rise from the dead with Him. For having died, he put man on himself like a garment, and took him with him to the heaven, and man became one of one with him. He took him as a gift to his Father117. In this enigmatic lyrical story, the salvation history is narrated in a mythopoeic language of biblical resonance. The imageries or types used in the hymn shall be understood in relation to the language and style of the Jewish and Christian Apocrypha. The mystery of Salvation is narrated in a genre probably popular in Mesopotamia. It is not unlikely that it was used as a liturgical hymn at least in some communities as it is presented (or ‘inserted’) in a liturgical context, as a hymn sung by Judas Thomas. 6.3 The Song of Praise (teshbuḥta) of the Apostle Thomas is not a hymn in the strict sense. In a personal communication (dated 14 October 2020), Sebastian Brock wrote that it has no metrical/syllabic structure. To quote him: “I suppose it would best be described as artistic prose (like Gloria inexcelsis), such as is found in some extended passages in Aphrahat and Ephrem (Letter to Publius)”. However, it provides an example of early Syriac prayers. According to Klijn, it does not belong to the original Acts118. The Song of Praise was obviously chanted as a prayer. Alternate stanzas begin with the phrases: Glorified are You (‫ )ܡܫܒܚ ܐܢܬ‬and Praised are You (‫)ܡܗܠܠܬ‬. The ideas are orthodox and Trinitarian theology is carefully maintained: To be glorified are you, the good Father, who revealed the mystery of your Firstborn to the prophets by the Spirit of holiness119. The goal of incarnation was to make humanity one community that worships God: 116

Alfeyev (2009), p. 53; 53ff. Coptic text: E.A. Budge (ed.), Coptic Homilies in the Dialect of Upper Egypt (London, 1910). Syriac Version in A. Mai, Nova Patrum Bibliotheca (Roma, 1844), pp. 529539. 117 Coptic Homilie, p. 274. 118 Klijn, p. 195. 119 Ibid. p. 196; Wright, AAA I, p. 281; II, p. 247.

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To be glorified are you, the Father giving life to all, who assembled the worlds for you glory by the hand of your dear (Son), that they might make praise to ascend to you120. The Fall means cessation of the worship of true God and alienation from God. This may be implied in the “Hymn of the Pearl” (the pearl under the sway of the serpent). Salvation means reconciliation with God and worshipping Him in Christ: To be praised are you, the Son of life, accomplishing the will of your Father; who has reconciled your creatures, so that they worship in you him who sent you and become partakers of your mysteries (bnai razaik)121. To conclude this section, I want to point out that the AJT provides examples of using various literary genres in composing prayers and hymns. Their style and contents should be studied in the context of the popularity of the Apocryphal literature in Mesopotamia, both in Syriac and Greek speaking communities. The imageries of biblical origin were widely used in these writings, and are often multifaceted. They represent a theological language proper to Early Mesopotamian Christianity, which was less influenced by the Greek philosophical categories. Several of these imageries appear in the writings of St Ephrem and in Syriac liturgical texts. AJT follows the style of historical novella to narrate the mission of the Apostle Thomas in India. The author uses a literary style appealing to popular imagination. Sometimes he follows the style of fairy tales or mythology. Thus we find the cup-bearer who smote Thomas was killed by a lion at a fountain and the hand that smote the apostle was carried by dogs into the banquet hall (ch. 6-8), the story of the palace built in heaven, death and revival of Gad the brother of the king (ch. 17-23), the Colt speaking (ch. 39), raising of a dead girl (ch. 54) and the story of a demon speaking (ch. 76-77). These are most probably the elements drawn from the Mesopotamian literary tradition of story telling, adapted to the Christian context. Their use is similar to that of the poetical genres of Mesopotamia and their adaptation. There is certainly a theological motif behind this literary genre, which soon lost popularity. The documents, which we have discussed in this chapter, are of great importance for the study of the theology, content and the structure of early Syriac hymnography and prayers. Unfortunately, scholars have rarely used them as credible sources for the study of early liturgical traditions. A document should not be understood solely in the context of its possible origin (which is often hypothetical). It shall be understood in a wider context, taking into account its circulation and reception, both in its original language and in translations. A document represents the tradition(s) of a community in a particular locality or region, which was soon or later received in other communities with additions, omissions or interpolations. As we will see in the course of our study, documents or liturgical elements often enjoyed a reception beyond confessional and linguistic barriers. The best example is the adaptation of the “Greek canons” (qonune yawnoye) and music system known as the octoechos in the Syrian Orthodox tradition (see chapter IV). 120 Klijn, ibid; Wright, ibid. Cfr. Ode 7:25; cfr. Sirach 51:22. 121 Klijn, p. 197; Wright, AAA I, p. 282; II, p. 249.

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III. Saint Ephrem Studies on early Syriac literature and literary styles give particular attention to Aphrahat and Ephrem, the two most important early Syriac writers. But we know hardly anything about their sources and their literary background. Aphrahat’s writings have come down to us in 23 Demonstrations, some of which have ‘extended passages’ providing examples of ‘artistic prose’. His writings were probably not read in liturgical assemblies. However, they must have influenced the prose prayers, at least in the East Syriac tradition. In the case of St Ephrem, a good number of the poetic compositions found a place in Syriac liturgy, some of them since his lifetime. Their links with “older Aramaic tradition as well as with contemporary Jewish and Samaritan Aramaic traditions may be presumed”1. But we have no more than a few scholarly suppositions, as the writers themselves say very little to answer our ‘burning questions’. Syriac poetry follows metre based on syllable count, whereas in Greek poetry vowel length and (later) stress were the essential elements2. The majority of Syriac hymns are stanzaic, often containing a refrain. There are two categories of poetry: (i) isosyllabic couplets (known as memre: [metrical] homily), for the narrative and didactic verse and (ii). Stanzaic verse (known as madrashe: ‘teaching songs’3) . Isosyllabism is an ancient feature of Semitic poetry. Recent studies have claimed that syllable count plays and important part in early Hebrew poetry4. A word needs to be said about memre. Memra is a form used without distinction to identify two different styles of composition, one prose and other metrical. In the liturgical context, memra refers to the second Type, that is, composition in metres. Memre usually employ a small number of different metres. The most usual are the following: (i). 7+7 (metre of Ephrem); (ii). 12+12 (metre of Jacob of Serugh); (iii). 5+5 syllables (known as metre of Balai)5. G. Khouri-Sarkis mentions a fourth metre (8+8) which, according to him, is known as “Maronite metre”6. The Syrian Orthodox Church also uses this metre in the offices of Holy Week, under the name bote d-ḥasho (‘stanzas/hymns of the passion’). These bote resemble 1 Van Rompay (2000), Past and Present, p. 73. 2 I am using the studies of S. Brock (1985), Syriac and Greek Hymnography; Id. (2008), Poetry and Hymnography; Id., (2020), Interactions; Id., (2021), What can the manuscripts tell us? 3 ‘Teaching song’ is the expression used by A.N. Palmer and taken up by S.H. Griffith on several occasions. On this see: Palmer (1993) Merchant of Nisibis; Griffith (2006), Ephrem the Exegete. Also Lattke (1989), Ephrem’s Madrase. Cfr. P. Maas’ description of the kontakion as a ‘lyrische Predigt’. 4 See D.N. Freedman, “Acrostics and metres in Hebrew Poetry, HTR 65 (1972), pp. 367-392; Also found in Ugaritic, see F.M. Cross, “Prose and Poetry in the mythic and epic texts from Ugarit”, HTR 67 (1967), p. 1-15. Also Brock (1985), Syriac and Greek Hymnography, p. 80. 5 They are known as âfrimâyâ, ya’qûbâyâ and bâlynâyâ respectively. Balai flourished in the first half of the fifth century. On the metres: G. Khouri-Sarkis, «Notes sur les mètres poétiques syriaques», L’Orient Syrien III-1 (1958), pp. 63-72. 6 OS III-1 (1958), p. 64.

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qole rather than bo‘woto because two pairs of long verses are intercalated with two brief verses (8+8 +4+4+ 8+8)7. About 400 madrashe (‘teaching songs’) by Ephrem are known, using around forty-five syllabic metres. However, in a single poem, the same pattern is employed in all its stanzas. Madrashe is the form often used by St Ephrem, which most probably existed before him. Complete texts of the madrashe are preserved almost exclusively in sixth- and seventhcentury manuscripts. In these early manuscripts the madrashe are grouped into cycles of varying sizes. With 87 poems, Hymns on the Faith from the largest collection8. This grouping into cycles may be of a late date. But it seems likely that at least some of them go back to Ephrem himself. Manuscripts give about 100 different qale or melody titles. In some cases the same madrasha bears different qale titles in different manuscripts9.We have no idea about their origin. It is not unlikely that at least some of them have their roots in the early Syriac tradition. Ephrem quite often uses alphabetic acrostic and some of them are imperfect even in early manuscript, suggesting corruption has entered in10. However, acrostic is a literary feature regularly found in Hebrew, Aramaic and early Mesopotamian literature11.Thus it represents a clear example of inculturation.

1. Ephrem and Greek hymnography Before discussing the question of the origins of madrasha, we need to see the possible connection between the works of Ephrem and the Greek hymnography. The connection between Syriac and Greek hymnography has been the subject of scholarly studies for long time. On the basis of a claim by Sozomen (Hist.Eccl. III.16), a good number of scholars believed that Bardaisan’s son Harmonius introduced isosyllabism which was something alien in early Syriac poetry and this new feature was followed by Ephrem12. We shall quote the statement made by Sozomen, a Byzantine historian from Palestine, who wrote between 439 and 450 as a continuation of Eusebius13. I am very well aware that formerly also there were such very learned men among the inhabitants of Oshroene, such as Bardaisan, who raised up a heresy that bears his name, and Harmonius, the son of Bardaisan. They say that he, induced by the science practiced by the Greeks, was the first to subject his mother tongue to measures and melodies that let (the verses) be sung by choirs. And even now the Syrians still often sing, not the texts of Harmonius, but his melodies. For he was not entirely free 7 For the Offices of the Holy Week, see, B. Varghese (tr.), Prayers of the Holy Week, Kottayam, 2011. Syriac Text: Ktobo da-ṣlutho d-shabto rabto d-ḥasho poruqoyo, Pampakuda, 1958. 8 On the grouping of the Madrashe, Brock (2008), Poetry and Hymnography, p. 660 9 Brock (2008), Poetry and Hymnography, pp. 661-662. 10 Brock (2008), 662. This problem has been studied by A. Palmer (1995), Words, Silences. 11 Palmer (2002), Akrostic poems, esp. p. 278. 12 Brock (1985), Syriac and Greek Hymnography, pp. 77-78; 13 On the surces used by Sozomen, Drijvers (1966), Bardaisan, p. 180.

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from the heresy of his father, and touching his soul, the birth and death of the body and regeneration nourished opinions that he shared with the Greek philosophers, he embodied some of these views in the lyric poetry he made. Now when Ephrem saw that the Syrians were charmed by the beauty of the words and the rhythm of the melody, were accustomed to them and so held the same opinions as he, he applied himself to master the metres of Harmonius, although he had not had a Greek education. To the melodies of Harmonius he made other texts which agree with the doctrines of the Church, and he wrote sacred hymns and songs in praise of worthy men. Since then the Syrians sing the songs of Ephrem to the metres of Harmonius14. According to Sebastian Brock, there is absolutely no doubt that Syriac verse is based on isosyllabic principles15. We have several examples of early Syriac isosyllabic poetry written before the time of Harmonius (early third century)16. Recent researches have shown that Harmonius is an invention of Sozomen and is not a historical figure17. Sozomen’s statement is now regarded as an example of Greek chauvinism. When he wrote his Ecclesiastical History, Ephrem was certainly famous in Mesopotamia, and probably among the Greeks on the Roman side of the region. Sozomen wanted to claim that Ephrem himself has indirectly imitated Greek poetical genres. But now researches have shown that the influence was the other way round, for they have pointed out the Syriac influence on Byzantine hymnography, in particular on Romanos, the greatest of all Byzantine poets, both as form (isosyllabism) and content are concerned18.

2. Origins of madrashe It has been generally agreed that madrashe existed before Ephrem. The meaning of the term madrasha has been the subject of discussion. The precise meaning of the term is not clear. Its Hebrew cognate midrash means exposition. The verb drash in Syriac means ‘to dispute’, or ‘to tread out’, hence to explain or argue. Thus the word may have its origin in the didactic traditions of the early Mesopotamian Christianity. Unlike zmr (to sing) and its derivatives, the word itself is not connected to music. However as early as fourth century, perhaps earlier, it became the name of a popular poetical genre19. Ephrem used the style to refute the false teachings and to make an exposition of the faith of the Church using mainly the Scriptures. Recent studies have pointed out the close analogue between Ephrem’s madrashe and the Hebrew Piyyutim20.

14 15 16 17

Sozomen, H.E. III, 16. SC 418 (Paris, 1996). Tr. Drijvers (1966), Bardaisan, pp.180-181. Brock (1985), Syriac and Greek Hymnography, p. 78. Ibid. pp. 78-79. Drijvers (1966), Bardaisan, pp. 180-183; Sprengling, AJSL 32 (1915/16), p. 199f; Brock (1985), Greek and Syriac Hymnography, pp. 79-80. 18 Brock, ibid. p. 76. 19 For a discussion of the madrasha as literary form, see Lattke (1989), Ephrems Madrashe, pp. 38-43. 20 See Schirmann (1953-1954), Hebrew Lit. Poetry; Yahalom (1984), Piyyut, Griffith (1997), Faith Adoring, pp. 10-11; Id., (2006), Ephrem the Exegete, pp. 1399-1421.

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In the earliest manuscripts (6th cent.) of the collections of the poems of Ephrem, madrasha is a hymn sung, either by a soloist, with the refrain (‘onitha), sung by a choir, or by two choirs in alternating verses with the refrain by both21. McVey has argued that madrasha was originally a literary form (chanted) and that Bardaisan transformed it into song22. It is based on an interpretation of the Hymn against Heresies (HcH) 53:1-5, which perhaps makes a rather vague allusion to Bardaisan’s role in using madrashe to popularize his teachings. This passage has been the subject of scholarly studies for over a century and many have drawn conclusions similar to that of McVey. As Brock says: “In reality all that Ephrem is saying in this particular hymn – as Sprengling pointed out long ago – is that Bardaisan put over his pernicious doctrines in poetic form – a well-known technique in early Christianity”23. We shall quote HcH 53:5, followed by the translation of Sprengling as quoted by Brock. ̈ ‫ܔܒܠ ܔܝܪ ܡܕ̈ܪܫܐ ܘܡܙܔ‬ ‫ܒܩܝܢܬܐ‬ ̈ ‫ܠܡܘܫܚܬܐ‬ ‫ܘܪܟܒ ܙܡܝ̈ܪܬܐ ܘܐܥܠ‬ ̈ ‫ܘܡܬܩܐܠ ܦܠܔ‬ ̈ ̈ ‫ܒܢܬ ̈ܩܐܠ‬ ‫ܒܟܝܐܠ‬ ̈ ‫ܘܐܣܪܚ ܠܬܡܝܡܐ ܡܪܪܐ ܒܚܠܝܘܬܐ‬ ‫ܟ̈ܪܝܗܐ ܕܡܐܟܘܠܬܐ ܐܠ ܔܒܘ ܕܚܘܠܡܢܐ‬ He (Bardaisan) wrote madrashe and provided them with tunes, he composed psalms of measures and put them into metrical form; by means of measures and balances he distributed the words. He offered to the guileless bitter things in sweet guise, in order that, though feeble, they might not choose wholesome food”24. Here Ephrem says that Bardaisan used a poetic form called madrasha. Does it mean madrasha in its technical sense as it was known in later tradition? Or does it simply mean ‘hymn’ in a general sense? Syriac scholars have often assumed that certain words always have the same technical meaning [e.g. raza, bnai qyama to quote two examples]. Likewise, the psalms are called teshbḥata even in printed texts, though the usual term is mazmure. Ephrem does not say that Bardaisan invented madrasha as it was sometimes assumed. According to McVey, it means that Bardasian ‘changed a literary form to a song’ which is open to discussion25. She suggests the following interpretation: “ Bardaisan introduced two kinds of ‘measures’ (mushḥata) into Syriac song: kayle and matqale; if the first refers, as many agree, to isosyllabic meters, the second is perhaps better rendered as ‘counterpoised amount’ (tql = to weigh), indicating the balanced phrases and especially the parallelism

21 22 23 24

Brock (2008), Poetry and Hymnography, p. 659. McVey (1999), Earliest Madrase. Brock (1985), Syraic and Greek Hymnography, p. 80; Sprengling, (1915/16), Antonios Rhetor, p. 202. Hymns against Heresies 53:5; Beck, CSCO 169, SS 76, p. 203 (syr); Brock (1985), p. 80; Sprengling, p. 168. In his useful introduction “L’hymnographie syriaque”, François Cassingena-Trèvedy (2006) quotes the translation which appeared in Dalmais (1957), p. 246. Dalmais himself quoted from R. Duval, Littérature syriaque, Paris, 1900, p. 18. 25 McVey (1999), Earliest madrashe, pp. 188-189.

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characteristic of madrasha”26. This is purely a conjecture, because the text does not suggest that isosyllabism and parallelism were introduced in madrasha by Bardaisan. However, as McVey has pointed out, Bardaisan may have composed songs in genres other than madrasa. Ephrem’s comments suggest that Bardaisan composed a variety of songs, which are named as madrasha, zmirata, qunqane, nuṣrata. At David he wanted to gaze that with his beauty he might be adorned. That he might be praised like [David], he too composed one hundred and fifty zmirata27. “And he said again, ‘When will we see your wedding banquet, Young Spirit?’ She is the daughter [of the Holy Spirit], who sets her on her knees and sings her lullabys (nṣartah). He testifies in his madrashe, raving in his soft words (b-nuṣraw(hy); (cfr. nuṣrata), that he defiles the fair name of the Holy Spirit who is the purest of all28. The earliest known piece of madrasha is probably the Hymn on the Pearl found the Acts of Thomas (sections 108-113). Acts of Thomas gives another Hymn known as Bride of Light (sections 6-7), which is called zmirta or song. The madrasha is introduced as being ‘spoken (‫’)ܢܐܡܪ‬. Both poems, though somewhat corrupted, were composed in the six-syllable metre, which was rarely used later on. Both are without rhyme. According to Anton of Tagrit, six syllable metre was used by the early poet Aswana29, of whom we know practically nothing. Philoxenos Dolabani writes that Aswana was the teacher of Ephrem30. Scholars have translated this passage to suit their arguments31. Rhyme is attested in a few fragments of early Syriac poetry that have come down to us. We have couple of examples of even earlier poetry. Baumstark identified a quotation form a pagan poet in a memra of Isaac of Antioch32. This is in rhyming seven syllable couplets. But the date is not known. Another quotation is identified by Baumstark, a fragment in rhymed seven syllable couplets, which is incorporated into the Letter of Mara to Serapion, one of the very earliest pieces of Syriac literature. Baumstark suggested dating to soon after AD 70, but others have preferred slightly later date33. There is also a short pagan funerary inscription of the third century AD, which may possibly be in verse, and isosyllabism seem to be absent, but rhyme is present34.

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Ibid. p. 189. Hymns against Heresies 53.6; tr. McVey (1999), p. 189. Hymn against Heresies 55:5; tr. McVey (1999), Earliest madrashe, pp. 189-190. J.W. Watt, The Fifth Book of the Rhetoric of Antony of Tagrit, (CSCO 481, SS 204, Louvain, 1986), p. 41. Mar Phlioxenos Dawlabani, Pu’itutho (Aleppo, 1970), p. 24. I owe this reference to Brock (2008), who adds that Dolabani does not mention his source. p. 660. See. McVey (1999), p. 187; Griffith (2001), Thorn among the Tares, p. 406. A. Baumstark, “Altsyrische Profandichtung in gereimten Siebensilbern“, Orientalische Literaturzeitung 36 (1933), col. 345-48. I owe this reference to Brock (1985), p. 79. See Brock (1985), Syriac and Greek Hymnography, p.79. F. Altheim prefers a third century date, c. 260, and F. Muller supports a first century. References in Brock. p. 79, n. 8. J.B. Segal published it in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 30 (1967), pp. 293-97. The inscription is no 48 in H.J.W. Drijvers’ collection, Old Syriac (Edessan) Inscriptions, Leiden, 1972. I owe these references to Brock (1985), p. 79. n. 9.

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As we have already seen, the same madrasha appears in manuscripts with differing qala titles35. This may probably suggest that they were sung in different melodies. We have practically no information whether the melodies were adapted or adopted from the indigenous music. From the earliest times, Edessans were known for their love of religious festivals celebrated with great pomp36.Thus certainly in Edessa there existed a religious musical tradition that could go back to the second century. However, Bardaisan made use of the popular poetical and musical styles of Mesopotamia, for the effective propagation of his teachings. Ephrem speaks of it: In the lairs of Bardaisan are melodies and chants. Since he saw the youth longing for sweets, With the harmony of his songs he excited the children37. The melodies seduced the people: Bardaisan’s speech outwardly displays chastity. Inwardly it is perverted into the very symbol of blasphemy. It is a stealthy woman; she commits adultery in the inner room38. Ephrem was mindful of the quantity of the literary works composed by Bardaisan, who wrote 150 Psalms emulating the Psalms of David. The music used by Bardaisan was certainly indigenous, as he used “the music of the infidels, whose lyre is falsehood.”39 Ephrem points out that Mani and Marcion, following the example of Bardaisan, used madrashe as an effective literary genre to propagate his teachings in the environs of Nisibis and Edessa.40Their songs were very popular among the young.41 In fact, the Psalms and Prayers attributed to Mani were composed originally in Syriac. Ephrem names them generally as madrashe: “Mani in his madrashe published [the fact] that to his colleague [Satan] he had sold his freedom.”42 According to the Syriac Vita of Ephrem, our poet wrote madrashe expressly to counteract the popularity of the works of Bardaisan43.This has been attested by Dionysius the Bar Salibi (12th cent.). In his Treatise against the Melkites, Bar Salibi speaks of the different Types of hymns popular in his Church. He points out that the Church fathers composed hymns to counter the heretics. On Bardaisan and madrashe, Bar Salibi writes: “When Bar-

35 See Brock (2008), Poetry and Hymnography, pp. 661-662. 36 In fact Mesopotamia was marked by a ‘Bardic Culture’ and ballads were popular. See Palmer (1993), pp. 167-68. 37 Beck, Hymnen contra Haereses I, 17. Tr. Griffith (2001), Thorn among Tares, p. 406. 38 HcH I: 11; tr. (Griffith, 2001), p. 406. 39 HcH LIII: 6. 40 HcH I: 16 : “ Mani in his madrase published [the fact] that to his colleague [Satan] he had sold his freedom”. Tr. in McVey, p. 191. 41 “with the harmony of his songs he excited the children” HcH 1:11. 42 HcH I.16, see Griffith (2001), p. 191. 43 Griffith (2001), p. 407. He quotes Joseph A. Amar, ‘The Syriac Vita Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian’, ch. 31.

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daisan became insane and composed kinta, St. Ephrem was obliged to multiply the madrashe through which he destroyed Bardaisan’s lustful kinatha”44. Thus, Ephrem adopted the most compelling literary genre available in his cultural milieu to defend the faith of his Church45. Sometimes he ‘signed’ the madrashe by the acrostic device of beginning each stanza with the letters of his name46. Rhyme and isosyllabism appear in artistic prose (Kunstprosa), a favourite literary genre of early Syriac writers, which is employed by Aphrahat, Ephrem, as well as the authors of the early Acts of the Persian Martyrs. According to Brock, this has much in common with the corresponding Greek style that flourished in the Second Sophistic period (AD 50–230). The nature of exact relationships is not clear47.

3. St Ephrem and the women’s choirs From the earliest times, in Syriac Christianity women exercised specific pastoral and liturgical role. In the Acts of Thomas, in the baptism of female candidates, women anointed their body48. According to Jacob of Serugh (+ 521), St Ephrem encouraged women to sing in the church in order to counter the advance of various heretical groups49. But the Syriac Vita (6th cent.) of Ephrem presented it in a different way. Thus Ephrem is said to have organized choirs consisting only of women or for the daughters of the covenant, which has been uncritically repeated in recent studies. Some have even stated that madrasawas musical genre sung by women or ‘daughters of the covenant’. In her article on the origins of madrashe McVey wrote: “Beginning at least by the late fourth century, the performance of madrashe is a task particularly assigned to choirs of monastic women”50. In order to support her affirmation, she quotes J.Quasten, who apparently, has not checked the original Syriac sources. [Quasten quotes an English translation of the Latin version of ‘an anonymous writer’ (from Assemani)]51. This is certainly based on a later hagiographical tradition. Assemani’s text (as quoted by Quasten) is based on a version of the Vita of Ephrem, which has been published by Amar (Manuscript V): 44 Dionysius Bar Salibi, Treatise against the Melchites, Woodbrooke Studies Vol. I, (Cambridge, 1927), pp. 34-35. 45 Ibid. p. 407. 46 See A. Palmer, “St Ephrem of Syria’s Hymn on Faith 7: an ode on His own Name”, Sobornost 17 (1995), pp. 28-40. 47 See Wright I, 279-283; tr. KLIJN, 195-198 (section 113). In an e-mail Brock wrote that the ‘Song of Praise’ in the Acts of Thomas may belong to this category. 48 See Baptism of Mygdonia (ch. 120-121); Baptism of some women (ch. 157). Didascalia ch. 16. 49 See Ephrem (Homily on), ed. Amar. Studies: Kathleen McVey, “Jacob of Serugh on Ephrem and the Singing omen”, in The SyrianAntiochian Perspective 1 (1992), pp. 36-41; Mor Polycarpus A.Aydin, “‘A Wedding feast of Song’: St. Ephrem and the Singing Ministry of Women I the Church”, in Dorothea Weltecke (ed.), Geschichte, Theologie, Liturgie und Gegenwartslage der syrischen Kirchen. Beiträge zum sechsten deutschen Syrologen-Symposium in Konstanz, Juli 2009, (Wiesbaden, 2012), pp. 5963. 50 McVey (1999), p. 185. see also HARVEY, Revisiting, pp. 132-133. 51 J. Quasten, Musik und Gesänge (1973), pp. 116-120. See the English tr.: Music and Worship (1983), pp. 78-79. Quasten’s quotation is a translation of the Latin version given by Assemani, Bibliotheca Orientalis I (Rome, 1720), pp.47-48.

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Seeing that all the people were attracted to singing and that (human) nature was drawn (to it), blessed Ephrem summoned his strength which was in weakness to conquer the opposing strength of the enemy. This blessed one called up and deployed (forces) in opposition to the silly songs of children. He assembled and organized the Daughters of the Covenant and taught them hymns and songs and antiphons and intercessions. He arranged songs and verses in rhythmic measures and transmitted his wisdom to all the learned and wise women. And he mixed the hymns and chants sweet melodies which were pleasing and delightful to the hearers. He put in the hymns words of subtle meaning and spiritual knowledge about the birth and baptism and fasting and the entire economy of Christ: the passion and resurrection and ascension; and about the martyrs and repentance and about the deceased. He composed (hymns) on all of these. Every day the daughters of the Covenant would gather in the churches on the feasts of the Lord and on Sundays and for the commemoration of the martyrs. And he, like a father, would stand among them (as) the harpist of the Spirit, arranging various songs for them and demonstrating and teaching and alternating melodies until the entire city gathered round him. And he shamed the opposition and did away with them52. Amar gives another version (Ms. D): With his eloquence he (Ephrem) overcame all the wisdom of the Greeks. In a single word he was able to comprise a multitude of thoughts. He prepared troops for battle against those heresies of which we spoke previously. He appointed teachers among all the Daughters of the Covenant who regularly came to the holy, catholic church, and taught them hymns. Evenings and mornings they would gather in church before the liturgy on the feasts of martyrs and for funeral processions and they would sing53. Various versions of the Vita circulated. Murray quotes another version as given by Lamy (II, 67; ch. 31 of Vita). We shall give it: […] he prepared for himself a treasure for war against them [the heresies], namely all the ‘Daughters of the Covenant’ who were always going down to the church. He organized classes for them and taught them doctrinal hymns (madrashe); evening and morning they would gather in the church before the service and in the martyria, and they would sing likewise at dirges for the departed, even for those outside the city or dwelling in the mountains [these would be the authorities]. He was a fine sight as he stood among the sisters, singing a melody of praise54. According to Amar, Ephrem’s Syriac Vita is dependent upon Sozomen’s report55. In the Metrical Homily on St Ephrem, Jacob of Serugh does not speak of the role of daughters of the covenant in liturgical singing, nor it is said that Ephrem organized choirs 52 53 54 55

Ephrem, Syriac Vita (ed. Amar) CSCO 630, SS 243, p. 80. Ephrem, Syriac Vita, pp. 77-78. Murray (1977), p. 30. n. 1. J.P. Amar, “The Byzantine Ascetic Monachism and Greek Bias in the Vita Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian”, OCP 58 (1992), pp.128-156; here p. 142, n. 64.

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consisting only of women. In the Homily, which is an encomium of St Ephrem, Jacob points out the poet’s role in defending faith with the participation of the entire community, both men and women. Jacob narrates how the city of Addai (§ 119) resisted heresies as one community. Seeing that women were silent in the liturgical celebrations, Ephrem promoted their active participation. Certainly liturgical hymns were sung in Edessa, in which men and women participated. Ephrem assured the participation of all members of the church and he taught everyone who came forward (not only women!): New wine whose colour and fragrance are from Golgotha; He [Ephrem] intoxicated with its drink men and women to give praise. A fountain of melodies which, behold, has been passed down to all mouth; With his songs, he has intoxicated the earth to meditate him. A godly philosopher in his actions; He acted as he taught whosoever heard him56. Ephrem composed new hymns: A harpist of the house of God, who in measured lines Enclosed his verses to make a joyful sound with great wonder57. As the salvation is for both men and women, a single song of praise is to be offered: A single deliverance took place for both you and them from God; Let a single song of praise rise from your mouths58. Traditionally women remained silent in the Church. Jacob says that Ephrem encouraged them to participate actively in singing the hymns. Thus drawing a parallel between Moses and Ephrem, Jacob writes: The wise Moses caused the virgins not to hold back from the praise that was requisite; likewise, the blessed Ephrem, who was a second Moses for women folk, taught them tossing praise with the sweetest of songs59. Ephrem composed hymns, organized them and taught them to sing in the church services: The blessed Ephrem saw that the women were silent from praise and in his wisdom he decided it was right that they should sing out; So, just as Moses gave tambourines to the young girls, thus did this discerning man composed hymns for virgins. As he stood among the sisters, it was his delight to stir these chaste women into songs of praise; He was like an eagle perched among the doves as he taught them to sing new songs of praise with pure utterance.

56 57 58 59

Ephrem (Homily on), [lines] 24-25; PO 47, p. 31 (tr.). Ibid. line 33, PO 47, p. 33. Ephrem,( Homily on), line 84, cfr. line 81; PO 41, p. 45. Ibid. lines 47-48; p. 36-37.

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Flocks of meek partridges surround him, learning how to sing a new song of praise with a purity of voice. He taught the swallows to warble and the church resounded with the lovely voices of chaste women60. Thanks to the initiative of Ephrem, writes Jacob, women now sing like the Hebrew women who played tambourines: Long ago, a boastful bride came up out of sea, while Hebrew women played tambourines to give praise. And now, with the redeemed church bathed in baptism, ̈ our sisters (‫)ܐܚܘܬܢ‬ play melodies of Ephrem to make a joyful soul61. Here the word ‘sisters’ certainly means believing women, not particularly a special group (like ‘daughters of covenant’). Apparently, some of the women were not very enthusiastic. Therefore, Ephrem exhorted them to be part of the singing, as they are co-heirs of salvation: (Words) such as these were spoken by Ephrem ̈ to the pure women (‫)ܕܟܝܬܐ‬ as he taught them a new song of praise: ‘O daughters of the nations, approach and learn to praise the One who delivered you from the error of your fathers. You have been rescued from the worship of dead idols, give praise to the One through whose death you have been freed. You put on glory from the midst of the waters like your brothers, render thanks with a loud voice like them also. You have partaken of a single forgiving body with your brothers, and from a single cup of new life you have been refreshed. A single salvation was yours and theirs (alike); why then have you not learned to sing praise with a loud voice? Your silent mouth which your mother Eve closed, is now opened by Mary, your sister, to sing praise. The old woman (Eve) tied a cord of silence around your tongues; the Son of the virgin loosed your bonds that you may sing out. The married one ‘put a muzzle’ of silence on your mouths, but the virgin opened the closed door of your tongues. Until now, ‘your gender’ was brought low because of Eve, but from now on, it is restored by Mary to sing Alleluiah. Because of the wickedness of Eve, your mother, you were under judgement, but because of the child of Mary, your sister, you have been set free. Uncover your faces to sing praise without shame to the One who granted you freedom of speech by his birth. The wise (Ephrem) admonished them with these words to make their chants instructive melodies.62 60 Ibid. lines 96-101; pp. 48-49. 61 Ibid. lines, 58-59; PO 41, p. 39.

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Ephrem duly points out the equality of gender and the dignity of women. But his intention was to promote their active participation in liturgical singing. There is no question of choir consisting uniquely of women, nor of daughters of the covenant. Jacob refers to ‘pure ̈ ̈ line 79). But these are certainly referwomen’ (‫ܕܟܝܬܐ‬: line 102) or ‘chaste women (‫ܟܢܝܟܬܐ‬: ences to believing women, not necessarily to the ‘daughters of the covenant’63. The Vita of Ephrem makes passing mention of his work among the daughters of the covenant64: “Evening and morning they gathered in church before the service and on the feasts of the Martyrs and for funeral processions and they would sing”65. But there is no question of ‘choirs consisting only of the daughters of the Covenant’. However, Ephrem encouraged them to sing with the whole community. A century before Ephrem, Paul of Samosata (3rd cent.) is said to have encouraged women to sing in the church and Eusebius of Caesarea was critical of it: The hymns in honour of our Lord Jesus Christ he set aside as too new and known by few of the older men. But for his own glorification he had women sing hymns on the first day of Easter in the middle of the assembly. One would shudder to hear them.66 It is not evident that Paul of Samosata organized women’s choirs (see the French translation). It means rather, as in the case of St Ephrem, women were permitted to sing in the church. As we have seen, Ephrem or Jacob of Serugh (Homily on Ephrem) does not speak of the choirs of the daughters of covenant (bnat qyama). A series of canons attributed to Rabbula, bishop of Edessa, speak of the daughters of Covenant. Canon 27 insists on their obligation in participating in canonical prayers as well as other services in the church: The priests and deacons and the bnai qyama and bnat qyama shall be continually in the worship service of the Church and shall not neglect the time of prayer and psalmody night and day67. Among the 59 canons known under the name of Rabbula, this is the only instance that speaks of the liturgical obligation of the bnat qyama. Susan Ashbrook Harvey’s assumption that separate women choirs existed in the Syriac Churches from the fourth century onwards or that the dialogue poems (see below) were sung antiphonally by male and female choirs are interesting from a feminist perspective. But it lacks sufficient evidence to support it.68

62 Hom. Lines 102-114. PO 41, pp. 49-53. ̈ 63 Likewise the reference to ‘honorable/chaste women’ (‫)ܢܟܦܬܐ‬ in the Hymn on Resurrection II, 9 (CSCO 248, p. 84) may not imply daughter of covenant. It should be taken in the general sense. 64 Amar, PO 47: Introduction, p. 20. 65 Ephrem, Syriac Vita, CSCO 630, SS 243, pp. 77-78. 66 Eusebius, Eccclesiastical History, 7, 30, 10 (quoted by Quasten p.78). See SC 41 (Paris, 1955), 217: “Quant aux psaumes en l’honneur de Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ, il en fait cesser l’usage comme trop récents et écrits par des hommes trop modernes, et en son honneur, au milieu de l’Eglise, le grand jour de Pâques, il fait chanter des femmes qu’on frémirait d’entendre”. 67 Canon 27: Vööbus, Syriac and Arabic documents, p. 43. 68 Harvey, Singing Women, pp. 171-189.

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In fact, Western-Type special liturgical choirs did not exist in the Syriac Church before the origins of uniatism. Choirs in the western sense have become popular in the diaspora. The usual custom was that two groups (‫ܔܘܕܐ‬ ̈ ) of deacons and minors orders stand around two lecterns in the Qastromo (the space between the nave and the sanctuary) and sing antiphonally. Men and women stand in the nave often without much participation. Even today in the Monastery of St Gabriel in Tur Abdin, the nuns usually stand behind and do not sing with the gude.

4. Dialogue poems Saint Ephrem introduced a literary genre known as ‘precedence dispute’ in the form of a dialogue (or dispute or mock contest) between two or sometimes more characters. This genre, existing in prose and verses, was popular in Mesopotamia since the origins of its literature. Thus it appears first in Sumerian in third millennium BC and then in Akkadian. Its popularity and continuous use is evident from the fact it appeared in various literary cultures of the region such as Aramaic, Classical Syriac, Hebrew, Middle Persian, Arabic, Persian and Modern Syriac69. In Aramaic and in Syriac, the literary disputes are usually composed in verse. Their structure remained rather the same since the origins: A short introduction, providing setting; the main part where the disputants speak in alternate stanzas or verses, and finally the conclusion (in which the winner is declared or a reconciliation takes place). In the West Syriac tradition, they appear almost invariably in the Night Office (Lilyo) of the Holy Week. About 50 dialogues (or dispute/contest) poems are listed in Syriac, thus forming the richest collection in the Aramaic group70. Only one example in prose is known: a dispute between Heaven and Earth71. In languages other than Syriac, the disputants are often personifications and not human beings [e.g. disputes between the body and soul, wheat and gold, the months of the year etc.]. But in many of the Syriac poems, the disputants are not personifications, but biblical characters, such as Abel and Cain, Abraham and Isaac, the Angel and the Virgin Mary, the Sinful Woman and Satan, two thieves crucified with Christ and many others. 4.1 Different types of dialogue poems Sebastian Brock has identified five “somewhat” different Types of dispute poems72. This classification is very important to have a clear idea of the adaptation of the ancient Mesopotamian literary genre. Type I: It represents the oldest form of the precedent dispute, that is, formal dialogues in alternating stanzas. There is a brief introduction (and sometimes an epilogue), but no narrative framework. The verse form madrasha with simple stanza pattern is employed 69 See Grelot (1958) Un poème; For an overall survey: Murray (1995), (Aramaic and Syriac) and Brock (1979), Dialogue Poems; see also Brock (1984), Dialogue Poems pp. 31-34; Brock (1989a), Dispute. Soul and Body. 70 See the list by Brock (1991) Syriac Dispute poems; Brock (1984), Syriac Dialogue Poems, pp. 53-55. 71 Brock (1978), A Syriac Dispute Poem. 72 Brock (1987), Dramatic dialogue poems, OCA 229, pp. 135-147.

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[e.g. Ephrem Carmina Nisibena 52-54: Dispute between Death and Satan73. Good number of anonymous poems of this Type bear the name sogyatha (which is asub-division of madrasha)74. A 12-syllable memra and two prose disputes are also included in this group. Type II: This represents a transitional form of dispute poem, where the contestants no longer speak in alternating stanzas. They are allocated uneven blocks of speeches (eg. Ephrem’s Carmina Nisibena 56-59)75. Type III: Three important developments are noted in this Type of dialogue poems: (i) a narrative framework appears. (ii). A developed thematic content; (iii) speeches are no longer in alternating stanzas, and more than two people may be involved. The verse form used may be either madrasha (with a complicated pattern) or sogitha (i.e. madrasha with simple stanza structure. [E.g. Ephrem’s Carmina Nisibena 35-42: Dialogue between Death and Satan]. Type IV: This Type, which follows the memra style, could be described as poems consisting of speeches within a bare narrative framework. The subject is always biblical (unlike Types I-III). The author narrates a story and homiletic material is absent outside prologue and epilogue76. Type V: In this Type, dramatized narrative of homiletic material appears and the author makes ‘moralizing and exegetical comment’ or ‘he may himself address one of the characters directly (apostrophe). Here also memra style is used. (E.g. many of the verse homilies of Jacob of Serugh). Type I and III are predominantly or exclusively madrashe (sogyatha). In Type I, madrashe have a simple stanza pattern (identical with sogyatha), and Type III is characterized by a complicated pattern. Types IV and V are exclusively memre (madrashe are never used in these two Types). Memra is never used for Type III, and only exceptionally for Type I. Type I, III, IV and V have their parallels in Greek, mainly in Kontakia77. 4.2 Alphabetic acrostic Usually an alphabetic acrostic is present in a dialogue poem, which does not begin at stanza 1 (of the introduction consisting of 2 to 12 stanzas). Acrostic is introduced at the beginning of the dialogue, usually having 44 stanzas, in which a pair begins with each of the 22 letters in Syriac. Thus each speaker has a stanza beginning with the same letter. With the introduction and the conclusion, there will be about 50 stanzas in all. According to Brock, these are the main features of the normal pattern. However, there are exceptions78. In the liturgical manuscripts some stanzas are often left out and new pieces were sometimes introduced. 4.3 Use of rhyme Rhyme is occasionally found in early Syriac poetry. However, under the influence of Arabic poetry, from about 9th century onwards rhyme becomes a regular feature. Thus, rhyme 73 74 75 76 77 78

See Grelot (1958), Un poème. See Brock (1987), Dramatic dialogue poems, p. 136, n.2. For further examples, see Ibid. p. 136. Brock (1987) pp. 138-142 gives a detailed discussion of this type. See the table ibid. pp. 144-145. Brock (1991), Syriac Dialogue Poems, pp. 111-113. Examples are given by Brock,

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does not appear in the earliest soghyatha. In a few cases end rhyme as well as internal rhyme is found, providing an example of literary adaptation. In the case of dispute poems, Brock has pointed out two particular instances of fusion between originally separate genres. First is the fusion of dispute poem (soghita, a subcategory of madrasha) with the ‘dramatic narrative form’ (memra). This is attested in the case of poems on biblical topics with a narrative element. In some cases, the sogitha form remains dominant (e.g Abraham and Isaac), while in others it the memra form that takes over (e.g. Jacob of Serugh: Dispute between Synagogue and Church)79.Second instance of fusion of genres is provided by the disputes of the Months. The poem combines elements of both the precedence dispute and the ekphrasis tradition80. In his conclusion, Brock says: “We can recognize in the Syriac dispute of the Months a successful fusion of the ancient Mesopotamian precedence dispute with the Greek ekphrasis tradition – a fusion which happens to be symbolic of the character of early Syriac literature as a whole”81. 4.4 Examples of dialogue poems For those who are not not familiar with the dialogue poems, we shall give couple of examples. The first one is a hymn by St Ephrem (Nisebene hymns No.52), a dialogue between Death and Satan in 27 stanzas with a refrain82. Probably this represents one of the oldest hymns of this genre. The structure is as follows: Introduction in which the poet speaks (2 stanzas) + Dispute in 23 stanzas in which Death and Satan speak in alternate stanzas + Chorus (2 stanzas) + Refrain. We shall quote the extracts: 1. I heard Death and Satan loudly disputing which was the strongest of the two among men. 2. Death has shown his power in that he conquers all men, Satan has shown his guile that he makes all men sin. 3. Death: Only those who want to, O Evil One, listen to you, but to me they come, whether they will or not. 4. Satan: You just employ brute force, O Death, whereas I use traps and cunning snares. […] 8. Satan: You, Death, received your power from God, but when I make men sin I do it without any outside help. 9. Death: You, Evil One, lay snares like a coward, but I use my power like a king.

79 80 81 82

Brock (1991), p. 115. Brock (1991), see the text quoted by Brock. Ibid. p. 116. English translation in Brock (1983), The Harp of the Spirit. Eighteen Poems of Saint Ephrem, Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius, 1983, Studies Supplementary to Sobornost, Number 4, Poem 14, pp.7072.

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10. Satan: You are too stupid, Death, to recognize how great I am, seeing than I can capture free will. 11. Death: You Evil One, go around like a hooligan, whereas I am like a lion, fearless crushing my prey. […] Refrain: Praise to You, Son of the Shepherd of all, who has saved His flock, from the hidden wolves, the Evil One and death, who had swallowed it up. The Refrain was sung by the congregation, as two choirs or two singers sung the alternate stanzas. The poem uses simple language, with humour and wisdom which imprints the message of the Bible and the doctrines in the minds of the ordinary believers. Now we shall quote the well known the Sugitho of the two thieves sung on Good Friday (ninth hour)83. According to the current practice, the congregation sits down and listens attentively as two singers sing alternate stanzas. The poem consists of 25 stanzas, including refrain (unitho) and a concluding stanza. Probably the original poem was edited and a few stanzas were dropped. The introduction consists of 4 stanzas and the first stanza has been marked as unitho (refrain)84. Most probably the last stanza (25) was the refrain. In fact, the thief ‘on the left’ speaks less than his friend (Stanzas 4 to14 in alternate stanzas).In stanzas 15 to 24 only the good thief speaks. However, this sugitho provides an example of the use of the earliest genres in the liturgical texts, whose compilers or copyists did not always have a proper understanding of the structure and purpose of the early pieces. The introduction speaks of the confession of the good thief and the doubts of the thief of “the left hand”. The one on the left begins the dialogue: 4. […] if this man has a kingdom, why does he mount on the cross of disgrace? 5. I, your friend, have believed. The cross separates you and me, and His blood was sprinkled on me and I have been purified and He has promised me life, and I have been consoled. 6. Have you not seen the suffering of His body? Behold, like us His body has been pierced with nails. If He is able to give us kingdom, let Him free Himself and (then) we will believe Him. […] The dialogue focuses on the human Christ who suffers and the Crucified God. 8. He is a man crucified on the tree like me, and endures more sufferings than us. If He is a king as you say, let Him gather together His legion that He may not be insulted.

83 Syriac in Ktobo da-ṣlutho d-shabto rabtho d-ḥasho poruqoyo, (Pampakuda, 1958), pp. 290-294. Eng. tr. B. Varghese, Holy Week, pp. 236-39. Syr. pp. 290-94. The full form, preserved in early mss, has 51 stanzas; text in Brock, Sughotho mgabyotho [Select Dialogue Poems], Monastery of St Ephrem, Holland, 1982; Eng. tr. Brock, “The Dialogue between the Two Thieves (Luke 23:39-41)”, HARP 20 (2006), 151-170. 84 Unitho: Come and listen, all peoples; hear the voice of the thieves saying; inquire correctly and see the dialogue between them (stanza 1).

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9. Jesus, who mounted on the tree (here) below, behold, on His chariot of fire above! The natures recognize the Lord and behold they are terrified, for He was crucified. […] 12. You say that He has promised you Paradise. But, how can the bearer of the Cross lead you to Eden that you are looking for? 13. Death of this man has destroyed Sheol and emptied its wealth. His voice overturns it and it does not stand. He enters to lay it waste! […] Then in the remaining part (stanzas15 to 24) only the good thief speaks, pointing out the signs at the time of the crucifixion and death of Christ: 15. If you give heed, you can hear the sound of rocks bursting open and the bones of the righteous come together! Why do you not believe my friend?” […] 20. The Cross of the Lord opened the Sheol and the sun became dark and the earth quaked. The curtain (of the temple) was torn apart. They bear witness that he is the Lord of all. […] 22. My friend, listen to the voice of the dead who came out from Sheol and behold Sheol has believed in Him, and He gives life to the dead, as I have announced. 23. He had fallen asleep in order to give life to Adam who had died. Those who lie down in Sheol looked at Him. He loosed Adam who was bound. And he leads me to the Garden of Eden. The dialogue ends with a rebuke addressed to the thief on the left for his blasphemy: 24. I was astonished that you blaspheme the Son of God who died voluntarily. Shut up your mouth full of blasphemy! Blessed is the cross in which I have believed. The last stanza (25) of the sugitho is a doxology and a prayer, which must have been the original refrain. Gracious is He who promised him who believed in Him that he will be with Him in the Garden of Eden. [Refrain?] Remember us also in the day of Your coming, for we confess You, O Lord of all! The Sugitho on the Cherub and the Robber Titus (the lilyo of the Holy Saturday) provides another example of abridging and adapting the dialogue poem to the liturgical use. Here only the stanzas containing the words of the Cherub are given and those on ‘the Robber Titus’ have been dropped85.

85 Syr. Ktobo. d-haso poruqoyo. pp. 306- 310; Varghese, Holy Week, pp. 249-251 (24 stanzas). See also Brock, “The Dispute between the Cherub and the thief”, Hugoye 5:2 (2002), pp. 169-193.

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IV. Jacob of Serugh and Later Poets 1. Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Serugh (c. 451-521), known as “the Flute of the Holy Spirit and the Harp of the Church”, is considered second only to St Ephrem, who lived in the golden age of Syriac literature. He was born at Kurtam on the Euphrates and had his education at the School of Edessa, which left its influence on his literary career. However, in his Christological teaching he was anti-chalcedonian and was remarkably moderate in his criticism of the Chalcedonian diophysite and East Syrian two-hypostases christologies. According to Bar Hebraeus, he had authored 760 memre and had 70 scribes with him to write down (copy?) his works1. His first work was On the Chariot of Ezekiel and the last was on Mary and Golgotha which he left unfinished. Jacob wrote six prose homilies (turgome) on the dominical feasts: Nativity, Epiphany, Fasting (Lent), Sunday of Hosanna, Friday of the Passion and the Sunday of the Resurrection2. Other works include 43 Epistles or letters 3 , some of which are important christologically, and numerous Madroshe and Sugiotho. Three anaphoras and a baptismal liturgy are known under his name4. His memre are written in two-line units (“isosyllabic couplets”), each line with 12 syllables. A line (or verse) is usually divided into three sections (4+4+4). A pair of verses forms a baito (Stanza) in which an idea is often fully expressed. Within a single stanza there will be metrical breaks (caesura) between various segments usually corresponding to slight breaks in the sense5. G. Khouri Sarkis has pointed out the similarity between the metre of Jacob and the Arabic metre ar-Rajaz, which also consists of two verses each consisting of 12 syllables6. Jacob’s metre is syllabic as in the case of Syriac poetry, whereas rajaz metre is based on stress. However, the twelve syllable pattern must be an adaptation from the Mesopotamian literary tradition. Thus, it became popular in the East Syriac tradition as well where it is known under the name of Narsai. According to Vööbus, Jacob was the inventor of this metre and Narsai might have imitated him7. Perhaps he was not the inventor of this meter, but rather the first to use it in Christian hymnody8. 1 Bar Hebraeus, Chronicle (tr. Wilmshurst), p. 68. According to Jacob of Edessa, the number of memre is 763. Cfr. Assemani, BO I, 299. Another 195 memre have been published in five volumes by Bedjan. For other editions and translations see the Bibliographies compiled by Alwan and Brock. 2 Syriac text and French tr. By Rilliet: See Jacob of Serugh , Hom. Festales. in PO 43. Eng. tr. Jacob of Serugh, SFH (Kolomparampil). 3 See G. Olinder (ed.), I. Sarugensis, Epistulae quotquot supersunt, CSCO 110, Paris, 1937. 4 Varghese, WSA, pp. 148-209 (Syriac text and English Translation). Syriac text with Latin translation ed. by H.G. Codrington, AS, Rome, 1951. 5 Brock (2008), Poetry and Hymnography, p. 658. 6 See the example given by G. Khouri-Sarkis, “Notes sur les mètres poétiques syriaques”, OS III-1 (1958), pp. 63-72; here p. 69. 7 Vööbus, School of Nisibis, CSCO 266 Sub. 26, 1965), pp. 65-69. 8 Alwan also says that Jacob was the first to use this meter. See Alwan, Jacques de Sarug. Quatre Home-

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Along with St Ephrem, Jacob of Serugh’s poetical works provided a sound hymnal tradition for the Syrian Orthodox liturgy, which assured a stability to the contents of the liturgy and sacramental celebrations. In the Fraction ceremony of the Anaphora, extracts from a homily of Jacob are sung9. His memre, madroshe and sughyotho found a place in the earliest manuscripts of the Breviary (Fenqitho) along with the works of St Ephrem. As we will see later, his turgome or prose homilies, were read in the offices of Night. The excerpts from his memre were used in offices and were imitated especially in the bo‘woto known under his name. Several of the Hymns of the Passion Week (bote d-ḥasho) are adapted from Jacob’s memre10. Likewise, his prose homilies served as the source for a number of Sedre or their style influenced the composition of the new ones. In the offices of the Holy Week we can find several examples. The popularity of the memre of Jacob is evident from the fact that some of them were translated into Armenian, Arabic, Ethiopic (by way of Arabic) and Georgian. An extract of one of his turgome found place in the East Syrian Hudra11. 1.1 Memre and turgome Jacob’s memre and turgome follow the Mesopotamian narrative style, which used simple language in a direct style12. In recent years, the style of Jacob was studied and its characteristics have been pointed out13. Blum argues that Jacob’s memre follow the classical rhetorical principles with four parts: Exordium, Narratio, Argumentatio and Peroratio. It is not unlikely he might have been familiar with such principles. But strictly speaking, his memre are not theological treatises taking part in the theological or Christological controversies of his days. He was miaphysite in his Christology and with remarkable lucidity, he narrates the mystery of incarnation and duly underscores the reality of the human nature in Christ. In his “Homily that explains why our Lord abode upon the earth for Thirty years before He wrought Miracles in the World”, Jacob underscores the reality of Christ’s humanity14: Because He loved the sons of men, He became a son of man; He became their brother and made them to be sons of God. And by the same measure according to which the race of men grows to maturity; For thirty years He grew up in their streets and market places, So that the Word who came and was made flesh would be held worthy of trust, That He became a man not in pretence but in truth, So that the world might perceive that the second Adam had revealed Himself

lie sur la Création, CSCO 508-509; SS 214-215 (1989), p. 215; Introduction, p. xvii. 9 Memra 95, Bedjan III, pp. 646-663. Eng. tr. J. van der Ploeg, “Une homélie de Jacques de Saroug sur la réception de la Sainte Communion”, in Mélanges Eugène Tisserant, Vol. III, Orient Chrétien. IIe Parties, Studi e Testi 233 (Rome, 1964), 395-418. See. p. 416-17; (Syr. Bedjan III, 662). 10 W. Strothmann (ed.), Syrische Passionlieder, GOFS, 1989. 11 S. Brock, “An Extract from Jacob of Serugh in the East Syrian Hudra”, OCP 55 (1989), pp. 339-343. 12 See below, Homily on Edessa and Jerusalem. 13 Blum (1983; Albert (1986); ID; Introduction, 38, pp. 20-23; PO; Rilliet (1987); Papoutsakis (1998); Kollamparampil (1997). Brock, Introduction to M. Hansbury, Jacob of Serugh, Mother of God, pp.1-14. Sony (1979), La méthode. 14 Syriac text Bedjan III, 321-332; Eng.tr. in The True Vine II-4 (1990), pp. 36-49

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To renew the world in the stead of the first Adam whom the serpent bit15. Christ is “the Son of the Most High God” who came down from “the secret heights of His Father”; “He bowed the heavens and came down to walk upon the earth”16. As God incarnate, He is God and man. In his Homily on New Sunday and on Thomas the Apostle, he says that the incident of the apostle Thomas touching the scars of Christ proves the reality of divine and human natures in Christ17: Thomas forged an armoury against the deniers of Christ’s incarnation. So that when he had touched His body, he could reprove him that rejects the same […]. By the touch of his hand, he confirmed the Son’s human nature, And by his confession, he clearly indicated that He is also God18. These passages attest very well his attitude towards people having doctrinal differences. He was often moderate and ‘ecumenical’ in his approach. His memre or turgome are expositions of the Bible and meditations on the mysteries of faith addressed to worshipping communities. Thus, often he adopts the style of prayers, and his memre very well illustrate how poetry served as an effective medium to articulate doctrines. In other words, often in his works, prayer and theology overlap. We shall quote a few texts to get an idea of Jacob’s style. Usually his memre begin with a prayer in the form of meditation of the mystery of God and the divine transcendence. Thus, the third homily on the Nativity begins: Let my word move itself to speak about your nativity, O Son of the Rich One who resembles His Father in his hiddenness19. Or in the opening verses of the Homily on the Annunciation of the Mother of God, we find: Son of God, who is the ineffable Word, give me a word which sings your praise abundantly. O Hidden One who willed to be manifest, manifest yourself to me, that I with a loud voice might bring to manifestation your hidden story20. The wonder and paradox of the incarnation are succinctly narrated in a language and style reminiscent of that of Ephrem: It is a wonder to narrate, while being God, He became human and the Lord of (all) times came to the time of birth. The Flame-clothed One who clothed himself with a body from the daughter of David; The One concealed in His Sender, who came to become manifest in the body that He assumed. 15 16 17 18 19 20

Ibid p. 48 (lines 250-258). Ibid. p. 40 (lines 71-75); cfr. Ps. 144:5. Hom. 57. Syriac Text Bedjan II (1906), pp. 649-669; Eng. tr. in The True Vine IV-2 (1992), pp. 48-66. Ibid. p. 62 (lines 327-28; 331-432). Jacob of Serugh, SFH, p. 110. Jacob of Serugh, On the Mother of God, p. 43.

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The Ancient of Days21 whom Mary wrapped in swaddling clothes and the aged Simon held in his arms without being weakened. The High Priest, who gave atonement by the sons of Levi, was being offered in the holy Temple with the young doves22. Often he confesses divine incomprehensibility and his limitations to narrate the story and divine assistance is invoked: My Lord, I am inadequate because your story is fearful and I am feeble. Your homily is rich and my tongue is poor and by what means shall I comprehend you? Serene is the search for you, but my mind is agitated and how shall I be capable? Your honour is luminous, but my mind is dark, so how shall I see you? Shall I choose silence? But it breeds harm, seeing that it belongs to inertia. Shall I venture to speak? But there is fear there, which frightens me […]. I am giving the harp of my words to you and let me borrow your finger; and in your hymns let the sound whisper to your glory. By the impulse of the Spirit let my mind bring forth the homily of your praise, for I am not competent for your homily: please speak through me. I am the flute, when your word is breath and your story is the voice. Please take control of it, and by your means may we sing to you using what is your own23. His memre often end with a prayer/doxology suggesting that they were composed for liturgical use. Sometimes he explains the reason for offering doxology. In his memre on Nativity (II), Jacob says that by his incarnation, Christ reconciled the heaven and the earth and the heavenly and the earthly have become one community that ‘praises God with the same chant’. He describes how the angels, Magi and the shepherd offered praises and thus provides a reason for worship: Through His nativity He reconciled the earthly and the heavenly and He established peace between those above and those below. He broke down the fence of enmity between the sides (cf. Eph. 2:14) and united them to praise with the same chant. He taught (the hymn of) praise to men and to angels so that there might be tranquillity in the height and peace in the depth through His new birth. The supernatural beings rejoiced, the earthly exulted, creation was enlightened by the Son who came to renew them by His nativity. […] Heaven praises and the earth exults and (its) extremities resound, because the great Redeemer has shone forth to creation from Bethlehem. The Magi are travelling with their provisions and their gifts of honour, likewise the shepherds with their offerings and praises. 21 Dan. 7:9; 13; 22; Mic. 5:2. 22 Presentation of our Lord (FH V), Jacob of Serugh SFH, pp. 141-142. 23 Nativity I (FH I), Jacob of Serugh, SFH, pp. 43-44.

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The watchers make joyful noise with their hosannas and with their chants, and Mary is glad in her virginity as well as in her babe. His nativity has gladdened and given joy and light to the whole of creation, Glory to the Father who sent Him to give life to the whole world24. 1.2 Literary style In his study on the literary style of Jacob, Rilliet has made an interesting analysis using the vocabulary of modern linguistics25. Certainly, Jacob had made use of the literary genres popular in the bilingual cultural world of Mesopotamia, especially in Edessa. It is not at all surprising, as the Church Fathers had made use of the popular styles of their days. Jacob’s prose is probably an example of the literary works of a period of ‘hellenization’ of the Syriac literature since the last decades of the fourth century26. His training at the school of Edessa must have played an important role in shaping his literary style. According to Rilliet, in his prose homilies on the Nativity and Resurrection, Jacob preferred a literary style of narrative “plus arétalogique” and “parénétique”. [The first refers to narrative of miraculous deeds and the second to exhortation]. But his homilies on other festivals are marked by the style of ‘biblical commentary’ and ‘exposition of symbols’27. Jacob’s literary style, especially the use of ‘Christian diatribe’ seems to have been influenced by the rhetoric as shaped by the encounter between native Syriac language and the Syrian Hellenism28. Another rhetorical style used by Jacob is antithetic parallelism. The concluding part of his Homily on the Friday of Passion provides an example. Jesus was enchained and Barabas was liberated. The Innocent one was condemned, but the debtor became victorious. The Innocent One was imprisoned, but the evildoer went out (free). Our Lord was scourged, but Adam was exempted from scourging. The Sun embraced the column and the Flame was scourged with whips. The Mighty One carried the burden of the world and removed the sickness of evil-doers by His passions. The Rich One repaid the debt of the poor torn up the bill (of debt) (cfr. Col. 2:14) which all generations have not succeeded in repaying29. Another rhetorical device that Jacob uses is the repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of successive clauses (Anaphora). Thus, about half of the Homily on the Nativity (IV) begins with the phrase ‘Today’ (‫)ܝܘܡܢܐ‬30. In the Homily on Lent, several clauses begin with the words ‘Forty days” (‫)ܐܪܒܥܝܢ ܝܘܡܝܢ‬31. Jacob’s homily on ‘Edessa and Jerusalem’ is another example of his poetic genius, in which he retold the popular Abgar Legend, using imageries taken from the Song of Songs 24 25 26 27 28

Jacob of Serugh, SFH, p. 107. Rilliet (1987); also Introduction in PO 43. Ibid. p. 292. Ibid. p. 293. Ibid. p. 293. Example of the use of diatribe: Prose Homily on the Sunday of Hosannas, Jacob of Serugh XI, 24, p. 269 (a verbal attack on Jerusalem, the unfaithful Bride who turned away from the bridegroom). 29 Jacob of Serugh, SFH, p. 291. 30 Jacob of Serugh, SFH, (FH IV), # 11-28. pp. 133-136. 31 Ibid. (FH IX), # 13-25; pp. 237-240.

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and the New Testament32. Jacob narrates how Edessa, the daughter of the Arameans, heard about the bridegroom who was renounced by the daughter of the Hebrews, asked about him and invited him with ardent love. “The news about the bridegroom reached Edessa the comely one, and she desired his beauty, and longed very much to see Him. For her sake, she clothed herself with zeal, spoke warmly and asked to come to her”33. According to the Abgar Legend, King Abgar himself invited Jesus Christ to his city kingdom. Jacob certainly wanted to give a historical validity to the story proudly held by the Edessans. Jacob presents Abgar as the ‘father of the bride’ who invited the bridegroom to his kingdom34. Using the antithesis Edessa-Jerusalem, Jacob exalts the faith and the origins of the Edessan Christianity. Even before the ‘glorification’ of Christ, she recognized and accepted Him. She received the good news directly from Christ and she is the bride chosen by Christ from among the gentiles. Edessa needed no teachers, no apostles, no messengers for her renewal, in order to tell her the arrival of the Bridegroom. The Son was still not glorified, but she gave Him the honour, even during the Christ’s life she desired to be His35. She (Edessa) did not need a Paul to exterminate the idols, even not a Peter to preach there. From the land of Edessa, her faith grew in the king’s heart due to the gift of God’s Son36. Unlike Jerusalem, Edessa received Christ without seeing Him. Thus, Jacob uses pictorial language to depict the rejection of the People of God (‘amo) and the election of the Church from among the gentiles (’amme), an idea already appeared in the Pauline Epistles and in the early Syriac literature37: To Edessa, the good news (came) and found open ears in the distance; but in Jerusalem, the miracles and acts of power were near. The daughter of the Hebrews ate His bread and drank His wine; but she blasphemed and did not want to be with Him. The daughter of the Arameans from far away heard His news; sick in love for Him, she told Him to come to her. In her wisdom, she recognized who was and what His country was38.

32 Bedjan, Homiliae, Vol. 5 (1910), pp. 731-774. A brief overview by Popa (2019). 33 Ibid. pp. 732-733. 34 Ibid. pp. 732-733. “King Abgar, who was also called Ukkama (the Black), spoke as father of the bride to the bridegroom meaningfully that he might come to him”. 35 Bedjan, Vol. V, p. 736. 36 Ibid. p. 736. 37 See Rom. 9-11; Gal. 3:29; 4:28; for the early Syriac Theology: Murray (1977), Symbols, pp. 41-68 (ch. I). 38 Bedjan, Vol. V, pp. 740-41.

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1.3 Jacob and the bo‘woto The metres of Jacob and Ephrem and Balai became the norm of the liturgical poetry known as Bo‘utho (literally: supplication). As we will later below, the bo‘wotho of Jacob have been given special preference in the Syrian Orthodox Shehimo (Weekly Breviary: BCP). The origins of the poetical genre bo‘wotho is not known. The bo‘utho (of Jacob) consists of 4 to 7 stanzas. The first and the last one or two stanzas are supplications or doxologies. The structure is similar to that of his memre. This can suggest that the memre of Jacob might have served as the model for his bo‘wotho and were the first to appear.

2. Balai and the bo‘utho Balai (early 5th cent.) was a poet from the regions of Aleppo. He was a Chorepiscopos of the Church. Five madroshe and two memre are known under his name. However, he is known as the originator of the five-syllable meter (also identified as ḥoen l-ḥaṭoye) in which the hymns called takspoto were composed. Zetterstéen published 134 poems ascribed to Balai39. Among his bo‘woto the most commonly used is ḥadet mle raḥme (“Renew, O Merciful One…”), which is on the departed and is sung at the Ninth Hour as well as at the third qauma (nocturne) of lilyo, in the funeral as well as in the prayers at the cemeteries and tombs.

3. Simon Quqoyo (Simon the Potter, c. 500) Simon the Potter was the author of nine poems on the Nativity40. Very little information on his life and literary career has come down to us. He was a contemporary of Jacob of Serugh. In his Ecclesiastical Chronicle, Bar Hebraeus wrote: “At the same time (c. 500) there also flourished Shem‘on Qoqaya in the territory of Antioch, in a village named Gishir. He composed some verses of Orthodox doctrine, which he learned by divine favour and not from any study of his own”41. According to Patriarch Ignatius I Barsoum, Jacob of Serugh, who discovered the poetic talents of Simon the Potter, took copies of the songs to Severus of Antioch (in 514) and the Patriarch translated parts of them into Greek42. However, a specific genre of poems called quqoye became part of the Syrian Orthodox offices of the major feasts and the Passion Week. Several of them might be the compositions by later unknown poets. The tradition attested by Bar Hebraeus and Patriach Barsoum suggests that Quqoyo was a native poetic genre, probably popular in the community of potters. They might be of Antiochene origin and was almost certainly a sub-species of ma‘nita. (On ma‘nyata, or an-

39 K.V. Zetterstéen, Beiträge zur Kenntnis der religiösen Dichtung Balais, Leipzig, 1902. Cfr. Barsoum (2000), pp. 82-83. 40 Eng tr. Brock (1994), Bride of Light, pp. 102-110. 41 Bar Hebraeus, Ecclesiastical Chronicle, p. 68. 42 Barsoum (2000), Syr. Lit. p. 85.

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thems see below). This is evident from BL 451, Add. 14, 520 (8th/9th cent.), which is a collection of ma‘nyata and madrashe43. On folio 4, we find the following description: Penqitho of the collections of the madroshe of the feast of Nativity and the ̈ ‫)ܡܥܢܝܬܐ‬ ̈ ma‘nyatha quqayatha (‫ܩܘܩܝܬܐ‬ for all festivals. Then it gives the titles of a few more items. Then again, on folio 13b we find: “Ma‘nyatha of the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, composed by the deacon Shem‘un Quqoyo, that Pottor (Qadoro) from Gashir, and therefore they are called quqayatha”. Nine such hymns are given. Stylistically the hymns called quqoye are different from ma‘nyatha. They must have been composed by a Syriac speaking poet of the Antiochene region. This would perhaps explain why they are called ma‘nyatha, a title used for the Syriac translation of the hymns of Severus of Antioch.

4. Isaac of Antioch Among the famous poets of the golden period of Syriac literature, there are three Isaacs: Isaac of Amid (4th to early 5th cent.), Isaac of Antioch (5th cent.) and Isaac of Edessa (6th cent.)44. All three of them composed memre. Isaac of Antioch, the most prolific among them, seems to have composed about 200 works, and nearly all of them were written in the seven syllable metre. 69 of them have been published. In most of the cases, it is unclear which Isaac was the author. Excerpts from them must have found place among the liturgical texts, and they have not yet been completely identified. The best-known title among his works is a long memra on a parrot that was trained to recite the Trisagion with the Christological addition He who was crucified for us. Isaac is said to have seen a man in Antioch who was carrying a parrot, which sang the expanded version of the Trisagion, which inspired him to compose this work, obviouly against the Chalcedonians who were opposed to the addition. However, the contents of this memra are less known45.

5. Later Poets In his History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, Patriarch Ignatius Barsoum gives the names of several poets, some of whom were known for their contributions in other areas of Syriac literature46. His list includes poets of the 20th century as well. Some of the hymns of the ordo communis have been composed by poets of the modern days. The best example is the ḥuthomo (‘sealing’ the concluding hymn of the Eucharistic celebration). In the collec43 Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 363-65. 44 See the brief articles by E.G. Mathews Jr, pp. 212-213. Brock (1997), Syr. Lit., pp. 41-42; Barsoum (2000), Syr. Lit. p. 81; 83; 45 M. van Esbroeck, “The memre on the parrot by Isaac of Antioch”, JTS ns. 47 (1996), pp. 464-476. Cfr. BL Add. 14592 (6th/7th cent.). 46 Barsoum (2000), Syr. Lit., pp. 8-12 [part I, ch. 7-9].

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tion of ḥuthomo, almost all of them were composed by H.H. Catholicose Baselius Augen I (+1975), who was one of the leading Syriac Scholars of the 20th century47.

47 Gedsh does not have an entry on this great Scholar of the Syrian Orthodox/Malankara Orthodox Church. His baptismal name was Mathai and was the son of a priest. As a young deacon he went to Tur ‘Abdin and stayed at the monastery of Mar Augen for two years (1906 -1908). There he took the name Augen. In 1927, Patriarch Ignatius Elias III consecrated him under the name Augen Mar Timothios in Jerusalem. From 1927 to 1942, he was the Metropolitan of the Diocese of Kandanadu under the Patriarch. During this period he made genuine efforts for healing the division in the Church. Having been disappointed by the intrigues of some people who wanted to continue the division for their own gains, Mar Timothios pledged allegiance to the Catholicose of the Malankara Orthodox Church. In 1958, the division came to an end and in 1964, following the demise of the Catholicose Baselios Geevarghese II, he was enthroned catholicose in a ceremony presided over by H.H. Patriarch Jacob III, who visited India for this function. H.H. Augen had a respectable knowledge of Sanskrit, which has left traces on his translation of the Promiun-Sedre of the whole year as well as other prayers from Syriac into Malayalam. He had translated the Chronicle of Michel the Syrian into Malayalam (unpublished). Among his compositions in Syriac the ḥuthome are the most important.

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V. Origin and Development of the Syrian Orthodox Fenqitho Early Syriac liturgical documents are not numerous, but the available ones provide sufficient information to have an idea about the early history of liturgical practices. Isolated examples or a couple of references do not necessarily represent a widespread practice. There is a tendency among liturgical scholars to make quick conclusions that a particular document represents the Syriac liturgical tradition as a whole. For example, the Acts of Judas Thomas or the works of St Ephrem represent a tradition proper to a place such as Nisibis, Edessa or elsewhere. This is true in the case of almost every liturgical document available in Syriac. The Syrian Orthodox Breviary is a compilation of elements of various elements and therefore in a sense an example of contextualization (‘inculturation’). We can find elements of Mesopotamian origin, Greek hymns of Syrian Orthodox and Byzantine origins translated into Syriac, hymns composed in Syriac following Greek models, as well as elements of East Syriac origin. Syrian Orthodox Breviary exits in two versions: one known as Fenqitho, containing the offices for the whole year and secondly, the weekly Breviary known as Sheḥimo (‘Book of Common Prayer’- BCP). The word Fenqitho comes from the Greek pinakidion (‘little book’). Fenqitho thus refers to the “book (Fenqitho) of the cycle (ḥudro) of the entire year, or even part of the prayers such as ‘collection of hymns’1. Two editions of the Fenqitho are existing: the Mosul edition of Fenqitho in seven volumes, and the Pampakuda edition in three volumes2. Both Breviaries have local variations with striking differences. Studies on the Syrian Orthodox Festal and ferial Breviaries have not given sufficient attention to this interesting phenomenon3. Students may often get the impression that there existed only one liturgical tradition and consequently only one type of breviary. Elements of Syriac and Greek elements were freely mixed in various places, usually at the interest and initiative of a bishop, or of the head of a leading monastery. It was the printing that brought uniformity to the Festal and ferial breviaries. The diversity has been pointed out by the H.H. Ignatius Ephrem I Barsoum (+1957). In his History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, the Patriarch writes: What should be noted here is that the traditions and customs of performing the rituals and prayers differed in the countries of the Syrians. The practical customs were called traditions or perhaps better still ‘Orders’. The most important of these were of 1 The title Fenqitho is used for such collections since the sixth century. See, Tannous (2016), p. 169, note 23. 2 Francis Acharya published an adapted and abridged translation of the Mosul Fenqitho: Prayer with the Harp ofthe Spirit: The Prayer of Asian Churches, 4 Volumes, Kurishumala Ashram, Vagamon, Kerala, 1982-1986. This translation should be used with caution, because many believe that it is a faithful translation of the Mosul Fenqitho. 3 E.g. Baumstark (1910), Festbreviar, pp. 25-97; Chibas-Lassalle, pp. 5-27.

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the Order of Edessa, the Order of the Monastery of Qinnesrin, the Order of Malatya (Melitene), the Order of the Monastery of Mar Barsoum, and the Order of the East practised in Takrit and Mosul, the Order of Mardin and the Monastery of Mar Hananya, the Order of Amid, the order of the Monastery of Qartmin, the Order of Tur Abdin, the Order of Mopsuestia, the order of the Upper Jazira situated on the river Khabur. Also the, the Monastery of Mar Abḥai, the Monastery of Natfa (Qatra) were sometimes in this regard added to the Monastery of Mar Ḥananya4. Then the Patriarch Aprem quotes a note from the Beth Gaza (‘Treasury of Melodies’) compiled by Simon, metropolitan of Ayn Ward (+ 1490): To begin with, we have the Order of the Nativity according to the tradition of the Church of Forty Martyrs in Mardin; the Order of the Epiphany revised by Jacob of Edessa and preceded by an explanatory note by George Bishop of the Arabs and followed by a comment of Bar Hebraeus. (This Order has been arranged according to the tradition of the Monastery of Mar Barsoum, the Monastery of Mar Ḥananya and the Monastery of Natfa or Strangers as copied from the manuscript of Rabban Saliba Khayrun (al-Shaykh) in 1340 which in turn was transcribed from the copy of Patriarch Michael the Great). Then, the Order of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple according to the tradition of Mardin; the Order of Forgiveness for the Lent; a second Order according to the tradition of Mardin; the Order of the Consecration of Branches transcribed from the copy of Rabban Saliba from the copy of Patriarch Michael the Great; the Order of Lights according to the Edessan tradition; the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Christmas eve as well as on the evening of Thursday of the Passion Week; the Order of Good Friday (the Crucifixion) according to the tradition of the Forty Martyrs Church in Mardin; a second Order according to the tradition of the Monastery of St Gabriel in Tur Abdin; the Order of Easter according to the Monasteries of Mar Barsoum and Mar Hananya, another order for Easter according to the beautiful established tradition of the Monastery of St. Gabriel5. The basic structure of the Fenqitho and Sheḥimo is the same with the following elements: Psalms, various types of hymns, a long prose meditative prayer known as Sedro (with its Promiun or Introduction), a prayer of incense known as ‘eṭro, a concluding part known as quqliun consisting of verses from the Psalms and hymns and finally Bo‘utho (supplication). This structure is of later origin, perhaps of 14th or 15th century. Several local traditions existed side by side and fusions and synthesis have taken place. But almost always the liturgical reforms were not planned by experts and imposed from above. Most of the changes have taken place in an unnoticed way. Psalms and hymns were certainly among the earliest elements of the breviary as well as other offices along with prayers of various length.

4 Barsoum, Syr. Lit., p. 29. 5 Ibid. p. 29; also quoted in Ma’de’dono (1984; ed. Athanasius Yeshu Samuel), p. 6.

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1. Psalms and hymns Since the apostolic times, ‘Psalms and hymns’ were among the elements of worship6. It is not unlikely that individual compositions were used in the early stage 7 .However early Christian hymns seem to have closely followed the Biblical models like the Magnificat and Benedictus8. As we have seen earlier, Odes of Solomon, Psalms of Solomon and the hymns in the Acts of Judas Thomas were probably sung in the early Syriac liturgy. Since the hymns were very popular among the heretical groups (e.g. Manichaeans), some local churches preferred Psalms against non-biblical hymns. This is attested in the Didascalia of the Apostles. According to the Didascalia Apostolorum, before the end of the third century, Psalms have become an important element in liturgy. The author speaks of the books that are to be read by the faithful: “And if you desire songs, you have the Psalms of David”9. Again, the ‘Commandments from the Writings of ‘Addai the Apostles’ (or ‘Doctrine of Addai’) quoted in Didascalia give directions to sing the ‘Praises of David” in the service of the church. “Again the apostles constituted: in the service of the church, you shall recite the praises of David, day by day, because of the (word): ‘I will bless the Lord at all times, and at all times His praises are in my mouth’ (Ps. 34:1), and ‘By day and night will I meditate and speak, and cause my voice to be heard before Thee’ ((Ps.1:2)” 10. Elsewhere Didascalia speaks of the vigil of Saturday of Holy Week: “And also the vigil of the Sabbath, with the reading of the Scriptures, and psalms, and prayer and intercession for those who have sinned, andfor the expectation and the hope of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus until the third hour in the night after the Sabbath”11. However, by the fourth century the Psalter was generally regarded as the ideal hymnbook of the Church. Thus, Psalms were sung in almost all liturgical celebrations: between the readings at the Eucharist, at communion, in the daily offices or at processions. The congregation participated in the singing of the Psalms with a Halleluiah to the verse chanted by the reader or the cantor (which seems to be the earliest custom), or by singing refrains. A verse from the Psalms was chosen to serve as a refrain between the verses, sung by a reader or soloist. However, antiphonal singing of the Psalms existed among in the Jewish tradition12.An example may be found in Psalm 136 with the refrain: ‘for his steadfast love endures forever’. Philo refers to acclamations at regular intervals, either simple Halleluiah or a brief doxology “Glory to You O Lord, for You are worthy of glory!”)13. 6 Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; cfr. Acts 16:25; James 5:13; 1 Cor. 14:13-17; 26. 7 Cfr. 1 Cor. 14:26: “When you come together, each one has a hymn.” See Acts 16:25: “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God”. Pliny the Younger, Governor of Bithynia and Pontus (AD 111-112) reported to Trajan (Letters 10:96) that Christians gather together ‘before dawn on a fixed day’ and ‘sing a hymn (carmen) to Christ as if to a god’. 8 “In form, it (hymnography) avoided classical metres and remained closer to the poetry of the Bible and to the rhythmic prose”, J. Gelineau, “Music and Singing in the liturgy”, in Cheslyn Jones (ed.), The Study of Liturgy (SPCK, London, 1979, 3rd. imp.), pp. 440-454; here p. 445. 9 Didascalia ch. II, CSCO 402, p. 14-15. 10 Didascalia III (Commandment 19), CSCO 402, p. 40. Cfr. ASD § 19. 11 Didascalia XXI, CSCO 408, p.199. 12 Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. I. ii, ch. 16. 13 Ibid.; cfr. Chibas-Lassalle, p. 20. Such custom of singing refrains must have exited in the pre-Nicene

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In the fourth century, in some churches no hymnbook except the Psalter was permitted to be sung in the liturgy. In a collection of canons attributed to St Basil, it is directed that the Psalmists who sing any hymn other than those in the Psalter shall be expelled14. By the fourth century, in the place of refrains, or along with them, newly composed hymns were sung to high lighten the content of the Psalm verse, or as a supplication. Variety of customs of singing or reciting Psalms existed in the early Church. The people’s responses were not uniform. In some places, the choir sang hymns and people simply said “Halleluiah”. Thus in the Canons of the Testament of the Lord, we find (canon 36): The little boys shall say spiritual psalms and hymns of praise at the shine of the lamp. All the people shall respond, ‘Halleluiah’, to the psalm and to the chant with voices in harmony, sung together with one accord15. However, there were strict norms regarding the hymns and their tunes. They should be orthodox and suited to the serenity of the worship. Thus the Canons of the Apostles and of Synods (canon 23) directs: […] it is unlawful for spurious books or feigned psalms to be read as sacred or to be sung in the church16. This agrees with the 59th Canon of Laodicea: Concerning those things that are lawful to recite and read in the church: It is unlawful that private psalms by an individual (author) be read in the church and uncanonical books, except only canonical (books) of the Old Testament and the New (Testament)17. According to the Travelogue of Egeria (or Etheria), a Spanish pilgrim who visited Jerusalem towards the end of the fourth century, in the holy city, Psalms intercalated with hymns were sung. She writes on the office of the night at the Anastasis: “From this hour until dawn, hymns are sung, and responses are made to the Psalms, and likewise to the antiphons and after each hymn a praise is said”18. Obviously, Psalms were the major element of the offices in Jerusalem. Thus, Egeria writes on the prayers on the sixth hour: “Once again at the sixth hour, every one returns a second time to the Anastasis, where Psalms and antiphons are sung…”19 In the office before dawn, the clergy sang three Psalms with responses and prayers. At the first cockcrow, the bishop comes to the church, and goes into the grotto at the Anasta-

14

15 16 17 18 19

Church. It is attested in the Manichaean Psalm Book (Ps. 1 & 228), cfr. ch. II. 4. of the present study. Probably Manichaeans might have imitated the Christian practice. See Rahmani, I fasti p. XVI, quoted by Khouri-Sarkis (1957) , “Réception d’un évêque”, p.153: Que ceux qui chantent près des autels ne chantent pas pour leur plaisir mais avec sagesses, et qu’ils ne chantent rien d’autre que les psaumes. Si certains chantaient ce qu’eux-mêmes auraient composé, on ce qu’ils auraient entendu des autres, sans que cela soit écrit dans le psautier, qu’ils soient expulsés ». Synodicon I, (CSCO 368), p. 61; see Canon 40: “In answer to him who sings the psalms in the church, let the virgins and boys respond”. Ibid. p. 62. Synodicon I, (CSCO 368), p. 68. Synodicon I, (CSCO 368), p. 126. Egeria , Diary, ch.24, p. 89. Egeria, Diary, ch. 24, pp. 89-90.

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sis, “where countless lights are already glowing”. Then the people enter. “And as soon as the people have entered, one of the priests sings a Psalm and they all make the response; afterwards, a prayer is said. Next one of the deacons sings a Psalm, and again a prayer is said, whereupon a third Psalm is sung by one of the minor ministers, followed by a third prayer and a commemoration of all”20. However, the custom of singing hymns instead of Psalms seems to have existed in Jerusalem when Egeria visited. Thus, she writes on the office of Pentecost, which was celebrated in the afternoon in Imbomon, the traditional site of Christ’s Ascension on the Mount of Olives: “The bishop sits down there, and the priests and all the people too. Passages from the Scripture are read, hymns interspersed and sung, and also antiphons proper to the day itself and the place are sung. The prayers which are interspersed are said in such a manner that they fit both the day and the place”21. According to Theodoret of Cyrrhus (+ 460), in Antioch, the custom of singing Psalms intercalated with responses (‘onyȃta) and antiphons was introduced into the vigils and the feasts of martyrs by Flavian and Diodore about 360 A.D22. As we have seen above, according to the Travelogue of Egeria, Psalms with antiphons existed in Jerusalem in the end of the 4th century, which must be an earlier custom. It is not sure whether the custom is of Antiochene origin and it reached Jerusalem. However, the fourth century collection of the antiphons has not come down to us. In the early decades of the sixth century, Severus of Antioch refers to the Lenten Vigil in Sunday night (that is the night between Saturday and Sunday) as “office of psalmody”: “[During Lent], beside the love of labour (= fasting), put equally the wakeful office of psalmody which keeps watch during the night”23. In another homily, Severus says that during the Great Lent, those who do domestic works also can take part in fasting and “live as if in a spiritual sanctuary by singing psalms and spiritual hymns24. “Office of the Psalmody” was a usual title of the canonical hours25. According to Bar Hebraeus, Shem‘on bar Ṣabba‘e (329-344) introduced the custom of antiphonal singing in ‘the East’ (the Persian Church), which probably included the singing of the Psalms as well: He (= Shem‘on) ordained that prayers should be sung in the eastern churches by two choirs, as had been established in the West (= patriarchate of Antioch) in the time of Ignatius the Fiery, the disciple of the evangelist John, the son of Zebedee. He also

20 Egeria, Diary, ch. 24, p. 92. 21 Ibid. ch. 43, p. 119. Likewise on the Sunday after Pentecost, in the office at dawn held in the Anastasis consisted of reading the Gospel passage of the Resurrection, hymns and antiphons, which were “sung in the Anastasis until daybreak”. Ch. 44, p. 121. 22 Theodoret, Hist. Eccl. II, 24, 28; SC.501; cfr. Socrates (c.450). HE I.VI. c.8. 23 Hom. 88, PO 23, p. 97. 24 Hom. 87, PO 23, p. 90. 25 See Answers from the Oriental fathers, (§ 40). The followers of Julian (of Halicarnasus?) returning to the Church may be allowed to attend the “Office of the Psalms”, before they are given communion. Synodicon I (CSCO 368), 167.

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decreed that the clerics should not recite the psalms of David in the Offices from a book, but from memory26. In some places in the Syriac Church, the canonical hours consisted of singing the psalms. According to The Teachings of Addai (§ 18), it was a custom established by the Apostles: The Apostles further constituted: In the services of the church, you shall say the praises of David day by day because of this (word), ‘I will bless the Lord at all times and at all times His praises are in my mouth’ ((Ps. 34:1), and ‘By day and by night will I meditate and speak and cause my voice to be heard’ (Ps. 1:2)27. This means that the Psalter served as the most important prayer book for several centuries. The present Syrian Orthodox practice of giving more importance to the anthems and hymns than to psalmody is not traditional28. In several places, Psalms were used as the major element of the canonical hours. Psalms were intercalated with responses (‘enyane). Some of them survive in the canonical hours. In the Syrian Orthodox Church, the number of Psalms recited was different from place to place29. Bar Hebraeus speaks of three customs of reciting psalms. (1) Reciting the entire Psalter each day. (2) Reciting once every week. (3) Reciting once in a month. According to Bar Hebraeus, the most widely followed custom was the second one. Thus, the Psalter was divided into 15 marmyatha in order to recite in a week. The 15 marmyatha known to Bar Hebraeus are the following: I. Ps. 1-14; II. Ps. 15-24; III. Ps. 25-36; IV. Ps. 37-44; V. Ps. 45-55; VI. Ps. 56:168:1; VII. Ps. 68:2-75:1; VIII. Ps. 75:2-83:1; IX. Ps. 83:2-92:1; X. Ps. 92:2-103; XI. Ps. 104-108:1; XII. Ps. 108:2-119:1; XIII. Ps. 119:2-131; XIV. Ps. 132-144; XV. Ps. 145-150. It is important to note that Syrian Orthodox followed their own division of the Psalms and Byzantines and East Syrians have different division systems. Almost every Psalter that has come down to us from the 9th century onwards indicates the divisions into marmyata and shubaḥe in the margin often in later hands30. However, the divisions into marmyata certainly existed as early as the seventh century. Thus in BL 494, Add 17129 (7th/8th century), we find “Prayers between marmyata for all 26 Wilmshurst, Bar Hebraeus. Ecclesiastical Chronicle, II, 33, p. 318. Dom Anselme Chibas-Lassalle (p. 20) suggests that the custom of singing non-biblical hymns between the verses of the Psalms may be a custom of Edessene origin, which eventually might have penetrated the Churches in Syria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Caesarea. This is not unlikely, but there is no clear historical evidence to support it. 27 Synodicon, I (CSCO 368), p. 191.cfr. Cureton, ASD, §19. 28 Puyade OS. III-1 (1958), Composition, p. 27. 29 Gregory Bar Hebraeus, Ethicon, Memra I (tr. H. Teule), CSCO 535, SS 219 (Louvain, 1993), ch. 4 (= pp. 46-53). On a presentation of the problem, A. Baumstark, Festbreviar, pp. 30-35; Dom. Julien Puyade, “Composition interne de l’Office Syrien”, OS III-1 (1958), pp. 24-62 ; Here pp. 27-30 ; see also OS II-1 (1957), pp. 77-92. 30 See the Psalters: BL 168-218; Wright, Catalogue, I, pp. 116-145. Division of the psalms into groups could be a custom that can go back to the pre-Nicene times. It is attested in the Manichean Psalm Book, in which 360 psalms are divided into 24 groups, each consisting of 5 to 30 psalms. (see above 1:3). As we have already noted, it is possible that Manicheans had adopted principle of division from the Christian tradition.

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occasions”, which are alphabetically arranged 31 . Likewise in BL 499, Add 14521 (10th Cent), which is a collection of Sedre and prayers we find the note: “ Ends the order of the prayers (said) between marmyata for all feasts of the Lord, and the God Bearer, martyrs and the departed”32. In another manuscript (BL 502, Add 14517: 10th/11th cent.)33 we find three collections of such prayers in the following order: (i). Prayers between the marmyata of the feasts; (ii) Prayers between the marmyata of the commemoration of the God Bearer , (arranged alphabetically); (iii). Prayers between marmyata for all occasions (alphabetical)34. In the third group, three prayers are ascribed to Patriarch John [the First] (fol. 52 a), Cyriacus, bishop of Tella (fol. 64 b) and Dionysius the Areopagite (fol. 65b). Though the Psalters do not refer to the canons or ‘enyono, it is likely that they were sung. In the East Syrian tradition, marmyata (marmita: sing.) is used in a different sense. The East Syrian Psalter is divided in to 20 hullale ( more or less corresponding to the Greek kathismata) and each hullale is divided into two, three or four marmyata. In the East Syrian practice, each marmita is usually preceded by a prayer35. The Syrian Orthodox Psalter is divided into 15 marmyata and 60 shubaḥe. This division is retained in later manuscripts (as late as the 17th or 18th centuries)36 with psalms assigned for each canonical hour. Thus, two manuscripts of Berlin (Sachau 147 and 150) give the following arrangement of the Psalter. Safra: Ps. 1-24; third hour: Ps. 25-44; sixth Hour: Ps. 45-67; ninth Hour: Ps. 68-81. Ramsha and Sutara: Ps. 82-107; Lelya: first qauma: Ps. 108-117; second qauma: Ps. 118130; third and fourth qauma: Ps. 131-15037. However, as we can expect from the Syrian Orthodox liturgy, there existed different arrangements. Sometimes, the usual division of marmyata and shubaḥe was ignored and selected psalms were sung. Thus in BL 218, Add 17221 (14th/15thcent.), we find the following arrangement of the psalms. In this Breviary, ‘the Psalms proper for the several daily Offices, accompanied by certain prayers’ are given38. 1. Morning: (Imperfect at the beginning): Pss. 15, 16, 19, 27, 113. Prayer (fol. 69 a): ‫ܣܔܕܬܐ ܕܨܦܪܐ܇ ܫܘܒܚܐ ܠܟ ܡܕܢܚܗ ܕܢܘܗܪܐ‬ Another prayer (fol. 69 b). 2. Third hour (segdtho): Two prayers. Second one is attributed to Gregory Thaumaturgus. Pss. 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 41, 43, 46, & 47. Then Prayer of Philoxenus of Mabug. 3. Sixth hour: A prayer. Pss. 54, 57, 61, 65, 55 (sic)), 48, 84, 85. 86, 87, 91 & 93. Prayer of Abraham Kidunaya. 4. None: Prayer of Macarius of Egypt. 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

Fol. 32 a; Wright, Catatlogue I, p. 383. Fol. 11a, Wright, Catalogue I, p. 384 Wright I, pp. 385-88. (i). 1 g (beta), fol. 25b; (ii) 1-o fol. 29a; (iii) fol. 52a See Varghese, (2017) “Psalms”, pp. 417-418. Berlin Sachau 147 and 150. See also BL 197, Add 17223 (14th century), Wright I, p. 137 (several folios are missing). In this manuscript, each hour, including each of the four nocturns, is called “teshmeshta”. 38 Wright, Catalogue I, p. 145.

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Pss. 94, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 110, 111, 112, 113 & 115. Two prayers. 5. Evening: (Ṣlutho d-ramsho): Prayer of St Basil. Pss 35, 37, 39 & 40 (imperfect). In a few cases, the manuscripts have marked the Psalms in red letters aleph or beth to be sung/chanted by two choirs39. As we will see, gradually the singers simply omitted the Psalms in favour of the hymns, obviously to save time. Singing a selected or limited number of Psalms is also a practice that can go back to the fourth century sung in the so-called ‘Cathedral Offices)40.

2. Earliest collections of hymns In this section, we shall limit our discussions to the Syrian Orthodox Church. As we have noted above, hymns were sung along with the psalms since the origins of Christianity. But we know very little about their genre, length or melodies. Available evidences suggest that a variety of hymns were sung. Certainly, there existed both Greek and Syriac hymns. With St Ephrem some new genres of hymns (like madrashe, sogyatha or memre) became popular, and they replaced the existing ones and even psalms. We can assume that there may be at least three reasons for their popularity: (i). most of them were expositions of the Bible; (ii). The succinct exposition of the doctrines in the hymns served as an effective tool to refute heretical teachings and to imprint right faith in the minds of the faithful; (iii) the simple and popular melodies. However, it should be pointed out that in the early centuries, the basic guiding principle of the music was not aesthetic, but to enable the faithful ‘to sing in unison’, which was common to almost all churches41. The first step in the formation of the Breviary was probably collecting the hymns and arranging them according to the themes. This must have taken place in the case of the works of St Ephrem at an early period. Thus, we have early collections of madrashe, sogyatha and memre, which became the main elements of the earliest versions of the Syrian Orthodox Breviary. 2.1 Madrashe, sogyatha and seblatha Madrasha is certainly a Mesopotamian (Aramean) element, popularized in Syriac liturgy by St Ephrem. Madrashe and their sub-species continue to exist in Syrian Orthodox liturgy, especially during Holy Week. They must have become part of the Syriac liturgy even before the days of Ephrem (e.g. HP in AJT). However, complete texts of Ephrems’s madrashe are available almost exclusively in sixth and seventh century manuscripts (three are dated 519, 551 and 551)42. In these early manuscripts the madrashe are already grouped into cycles of varying sizes. The largest group On Faith consists of 86 hymns). As Brock

39 40 41 42

E.g. BL 175, Add 17125 (9th/10th cent.); Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 123-125. See Taft (1993), Liturgy of Hours, pp. 31-56; see also pp. 80-84 (on the Antiochene custom). See Quasten, Music and Worship, pp. 66-72. (2008), Poetry and Hymnography, p. 660.

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says, it is uncertain whether the grouping into cycles goes back to Ephrem himself43. However, in the course of time, the hymns of Ephrem were ‘excerpted, broken up, added to, and even completely reconstituted for liturgical purposes’44. In BL 309, Add 14522 (9th cent.), the madrashe are arranged according to the main feasts of the liturgical year45 . Along with madrashe, the subspecies sogitha became part of the early Syrian Orthodox festal breviaries of the end of the first millennium. An adaptation of madrashe is known as ̈ lit. ‘ladder’ or ‘step of the staircase’]. Seblotho is a sebalta46 [pl. seblatha/seblotho: ‫ܣܒܠܬܐ‬collection of pieces selected from various works. But the first strophe is usually drawn from a work of St Ephrem47. This mosaic (or “potpourri”) is a series of strophes on five or six subjects: Mother of God, martyrs, fathers, departed etc. The number of strophes dedicated to each subject varies according to manuscripts48. For example, in Paris syr. 149, the first Sebaltho Honaw yarḥo consists of 36 strophes: 8 for the Mother of God, six for martyrs, two for St Ephrem, six for penitence, eight for the departed, one for the priests, two for Bar Sauma, one for the cross and two for the Resurrection. In a broader sense, Sebaltho has retained some of the themes of the liturgical year. Thus, theologically it is the summary of the liturgical year to be commemorated in offices. Sebaltho seems to have influenced the arrangement of the hymns of the evening and the morning of the Weekly Breviary (Sheḥimo). Thus, we can find a structure more or less similar in these two major offices. E.g. Qolo d-pirmo (hymn of the incense) and qolo d-botar pirmo (hymn after the incense). Not all seblotho are sung with eight melodies49. Some have one melody, others two or three (e.g. Ṭubaik Ophrat). Some have different melodies (e.g. Hymn of Lent, or the hymn known as ḥad qnumo, which is addressed to a particular saint)50. 2.2 ‘enyane/‘enyone ‘eniono (response; pl. ‘enione; Greek antiphon) refers to the verses of Psalms as well as the non-biblical pieces sung between two verses of the Psalms. Such pieces can be the same for the whole Psalm or different for each verse. As we have noted above, the custom of singing non-biblical hymns existed in Jerusalem and Antioch. This must be an innovation to make the monotonous singing/chanting of the Psalms more attractive for the believers with their participation. However, the innovation had an adverse impact. Gradually Psalms – often sung in a monotonous way - lost their significance and were regarded a secondary, and ‘enyone emerged as the essential element. Psalms were often chanted in recto tono and ‘enione were sung in different melodies. Gradually Psalms were replaced by ‘enione and qole. Usually the Psalms were chanted solo by a member and the responses were sung by both choirs alternatively. 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Ibid. p. 660. See Brock (1997), (transmission of Ephrem’s madrashe), pp. 490-505. Wright I, pp. 246-47. As Chibas-Lassalle suggests, they may be an adaptation of the madroshe. “Introduction liturgique”, pp. 16-19. Ibid. pp. 18-19. Ibid. p.18. Ibid. p. 19. Ibid.

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In the case of Ps. 51, often a brief acclamation is sung after each verse: Have mercy upon us (‫)ܐܬܪܚܡܥܠܝܢ‬, or Lord of all, have mercy upon us (‫)ܪܚܡܥܠܝܢ ܡܪܐ ܟܠ‬. Sometimes the opening versicle (pethgomo) of the psalm is modified and sung (Have mercy upon us, O Lord! ‫ )ܪܚܡܥܠܝܢ ܐܠܗܐ‬51 .‘enyone sung between Psalm verses were known under various names: often as kuroko (‫ܟܘܪܟܐ‬: procession; circuit etc.) or as ‘eqbo (‫ܥܩܒܐ‬: termination or end)52. Kuroko may refer to a group of hymns (or pieces) and ‘eqbo the hymns sung in the last division of the Psalms in an office. In the present Weekly Breviary, ‘eqbo often consists of only one stanza. Collections of ‘enyone must have existed at an early date. However, the oldest available manuscripts go back to the end of the first millennium. We have a fragment of such a collection in BL 315, Add 14525, fol. 25-27 (10/11th century) which gives the “‘enyone or anthems for the Nativity, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Epiphany”53. Likewise, BL 316, Add 14,525 (10th/11th century) gives ‘enyone and qole of the festivals54. Apparently these manuscripts represent an earliest tradition continued by Syriac speaking community. As we will see below, there were pro-Greek communities in which similar hymns were known as ‘canons’, and Syriac speaking communities composed ‘Syriac canons’ modeled on the Greek canons.

3. Hymns of Greek origin: ma‘nyatha/ma‘nyotho The sixth and seventh centuries are characterized by an “accelerated pace of the hellenization of the Syriac literary culture”55. From the sixth century onwards, several Greek hymns were translated into Syriac, obviously as part of an effort to preserve the liturgical and theological heritage of Antioch from where Syrian Orthodox were expelled by the proChalcedonian Emperor Justin in 518. Several of those hymns were apparently introduced by Severus of Antioch. According to the Biography of Severus composed by John, abbot of the monastery of Beith Aphtonia, the people of Antioch loved songs, both of the theatre and of the church. This enabled the patriarch to compose hymns to save them from the perdition of the theatre and to encourage them to attend liturgical services. Moreover he appointed the chanters (Psaltai: Psalthu in Syriac) to sing them. John writes that some of these hymns were on theology, contemplation (theoria) and doctrines, while others expounded on Scripture56. 51 Peshitta version is in singular. 52 Chibas-Lassalle, p. 21. 53 Wright I, p. 254 (three vellum leaves). Baumstark (1910) (p. 72) refers to BL 314, Add 14, 667, fol. 771 (10th century: Wright I, p. 254) as an earliest collection of ‘enyone. But in fact Wright’s Catalogue describes it as ‘qanune of the memory of the Mother of God, Martyrs, Saints and the departed”. [Also Baumstark gives the date as 9th cent]. 54 Wright I, p. 254. It consists of 18 vellum leaves. 55 See Brock (1982), and “Charting the hellenization of a literary culture: the case of Syriac”, in Intellectual History of the Islamic World 3 (2015), pp. 98-124. 56 “Voyant que les habitants d’Antioche aimaient les chants, les uns, ceux l’on chante sur la scène, les autres ceux des poètes de l’Eglise, il se montra plein de condescendence pour ce penchant. Comme un père qui balbutie avec-ces enfants, il forma des chantres (psaltys), composa des hymnes et leur remit. Sans ce rapport encore, il imita l’exemple de Dieu. Dieu s’étant, en effet apperçu que les fils d’Israel

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A collection of short responsorial hymns were translated from Greek into Syriac by Paul, bishop of Edessa in 620s. In Syriac, these hymns, often consisting of a single strophe, are known as ma‘nyotho (singular ma‘nitho). The translation of Paul was later meticulously revised by Jacob of Edessa in 674/5. Paul wanted to ensure the same number of syllables in the Syraic translation as in the Greek, so that the same melodies could be employed; thus he had to add a few words. In his revision, Jacob had indicated the additions made by Paul in red ink. In a long note, Jacob says: All the hymns of the holy Severus that are in this book are two hundred and ninety five, but the rest are the work of John, son of Aphthonia archimandrite of Kenneshre, and of another John, archimandrite of the same cloister, and of others whose names are not known, as they are also set down within the book itself. And they have been translated from the Greek tongue into the Edessene or Syriac Speech by the saintly Mar Paul who was the bishop of the city of Edessa, while he was in the island of Cyprus, in flight from the Persians; and they have been with great care and industry corrected and compared with the Greek manuscripts with all possible accuracy by me the poor and sinful James the industrious, in the year 986 of the Greeks […] and with all carefulness in my power I have distinguished between the words of the doctor and those that are added by the same Mar Paul in order that the number of rhythmical divisions might be equal when the words are pronounced on account of the brevity and succinctness of the expression of the Syriac language in comparison with the Greek language, by writing the words of the doctor in ink, and the writings those that were added in red paint; while the words which the translator altered for the same reason inserting one expression in place of another, in order that the measure of the period might agree with the rhythm of the Greek words, I have written for you in small, fine letters above the same groups of words between the lines, in order that you may easily know how they stand in the Greek whenever you wish to do so.57 Thus, apparently Paul had made an attempt to retain the original melodies of the Greek hymns. Ma‘nyatha became very popular, probably because of two reasons: firstly, because of their attribution to Severus, and secondly, the belief that they represent the hymnal tradition of Antioch. Jacob of Edessa’s notes suggest that he was eager to maintain, as far as possible, this tradition in its purity. However, new hymns were composed and added to this collection. According to the note by Jacob of Edessa, the original collection contained 295 étaient attachés aux sacrifices de taureaux, aux immolations de brebis, aux viandes offerts aux idoles, a l’effusion du sang – […] Sévère ne composa pas de ces chants poétiques, frivoles et efféminés, qui mènent ceux qui s’y laissent aller à la volupté de perdition et non a la volupté spirituelle, amis des chants pleins de gémissement, qui provoquent les larmes aimées de Dieu chez les auditeurs. Aussi il arracha-til beaucoup de la perdition du threâtre par leur fréquenter avec assiduité l’église. Parmi ces chants, les uns enseignent, en effet, la théologie (theologia), la théorie (theoria) l’exactitude du dogme, d’autres découvrent les profondeurs des Livres divins, d’autres conduissent à la possession des oeuvres, beaucoup ont pour sujet les fléaux et les palies infligés au people tout entier et les châtiments communs.” Severus, Biography, PO 2 (1971), pp. 244-245. See ALLEN (2004), pp. 54-55. 57 PO VII, p. 801-802. See Brock, “Interactions between Syriac and Greek Hymnography”, Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 3 (2015), 98-124.

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hymns attributed to Severus. However, the collection published in Patrologia Orientalis (Vol. VII) contains 365 hymns. The collection has the following end note: “The End of the hymns (ma‘nyatha) of Severus, Patriarch of Antioch and John son of Aphtonia and of John Calligraphus, Archimandrite of Kenneshre and of many others”58. According to Brock, the ma‘nyata were popular for a while (as a large number of manuscripts survive, dating from between 9th and 13th cent.), but later lost popularity59. Husmann says that ma‘nyatha are often found in manuscripts reflecting the monastic rite60. Thus, it is quite possible that they were given special prefernce in monasteries where monks of Greek background were present and promoted Greek studies. In some later manuscripts ma‘nyatha are refered to a qale61. 3.1 Quqoye The popular genre known as quqoyo was almost certainly a sub-species of ma‘nitho [we have already discussed in ch. 4, see Simon Quqoyo]. 3.2 Greek canons The Greek hymns known as ‘canons’ originated among the Greek speaking Chalcedonians in Palestine in the 7th/8th centuries62. The most popular authors of canons are John of Damascus (+ 750), his adoptive brother Kosmas of Maiouma (675-752) and Andrew of Crete (c. 660-740). Groups of hymnic strophes or troparia were sung with the Biblical Odes or Canticles in the morning offices. They were first adopted in the Syro-Palestinian monasteries like Mar Saba, followed by the monasteries of Constantinople, where new canons were composed since the 9th century63. Large numbers of canons were translated into Syriac as early as the late 8th century for the use of the Syriac speaking Chalcedonians (‘Melkites’) and dozens of them found a place in the Syrian Orthodox liturgical services64. The most notable example is the Paschal canon attributed to John of Damascus found in the Mosul Fenqitho65. The translation got momentum since the 10th century, following the Byzantine occupation of the Northern Syria (969-1084)66. Along with the ‘Greek canons’, Syrian Orthodox adopted the octoechos or liturgical music in eight tones. Severus of Antioch (+538) whose name has been often associated with the octoechos, has certainly nothing to do with its origin. In the Byzantine tradition, 58 PO VII, p. 799. The last one is ‘the hymn of the Angels’ (Gloria in excelsis), sung by the Syrian Orthodox Church at the end of Lilyo. Ibid. p. 799. In his article “Interactions between Syriac and Greek Hymnography”, Brock compares the Syriac translation of Hymn 171, with the Greek original and points out the number of syllables in Syriac and Greek versions. The Greek original of Hymn 171 is preserved in a Catena, ed. F. Petit, Sévère d’Antioche. Fragments tirés des chaînes (Traditio Exegetica 14, Louvain, 2006), n. 35, (pp. 120-123). 59 Ibid. 60 Husmann (1980), 478. 61 E.g. “Penqitho of Tagrit”: Add 14501 (11th cent.), fol. 87a; Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 270-71 (§ 7 & 8). 62 See Tannous (2016), here p. 151. 63 Cody (1982), p. 97; see note 57 on p. 110. 64 Ibid. p. 97; note 58 on p. 110. 65 Vol. 5, pp. 542-545. 66 Varghese (2013 & 2015).

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octoechos seems to have originated in the 8th century. Syrians were used to the ‘septenary’ system, rather than ‘octonary’. Thus, the ‘septenary’ system is attested by most of the lectionaries before the early 11th century67. Even today, the ‘octonory’ system is not completely introduced in the Syrian Orthodox liturgical year. Octoechos or the arrangement of the hymnographic texts in identically structured modal system first appeared among the Melkites, not in the Syrian Orthodox liturgy. Moreover, the Maronites and the East Syrians, who share several liturgical elements with the Syrian Orthodox, do not have such musical system similar to octoechos68. The Greek canons seem to have inherited at least a few Syro-Palestinian elements like melodies. Thus, there are obviously Palestinian elements in the Greek/Syriac octoechos as it has come down to us69. The metre or at least the syllable count of the Greek originals was imitated by the Syriac translators, as had Paul of Edessa done when he translated the ma’nyata of Severus of Antioch70. Thus, apparently the music of the Greek text was carried over to the Syriac71. As in the case of the ma’niata of Severus, the early translations of the Greek canons were revised, but this time among the Melkites. Often the Syrian Orthodox manuscripts simply refer to them as ‘Greek canons’ (qonune yawnoye) without identifying them as being composed by Chalcedonians. Paris Syr. 155, a Syrian Orthodox manuscript copied in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1280 AD, provides an example. It contains 65 Greek canons and the colophon says that the canons “were translated from Greek into Syriac through the diligence of learned individuals and lovers of labour”72. Mar Sabas in Jerusalem and the Monastery of St Catherine in Sinai were bilingual Greek-Syriac Chalcedonian monasteries. Such a community existed in Edessa with a bilingual choir, as we learn from the colophon of a manuscript written in 723 AD73. Several of the canons might have been translated from Greek into Syriac in Edessa74. In the earliest available manuscripts of the Fenqitho (written in the 9th century), canons do not occur75. From the tenth century onwards, they appear in the Syrian Orthodox manuscripts. It is possible that they were introduced in the 9th century or even before. In fact Bar Hebraeus quotes Lazar bar Sabta, Syrian Orthodox bishop of Baghdad (early 9th cent.), who had observed that Greek canons composed by John of Damascus were entering into the Syrian Orthodox churches in the east and the west76.

67 Cody (1982), pp. 94-97; 102-103. 68 Cody(1982) ; For a general introduction, see, H. Husmann, “ Syrian Church Music”, New Grove Dictionary of Music 18 ((1980), 472-481; Ulricke Nieten, “ Syrische Kirchenmusik”, in Ludwig Finscher (ed.), Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik, Sachteil 9: Sy-Z, (Kassel, 2008), 186-200. 69 Cody (1982), pp. 97-98; 104-105. 70 Heiming (1932), Syrische ‘Eniane’, p. 47-51; Cody (1982), p. 97. 71 (1982), p.97-98. 72 Zotenberg, Catalogue, p. 111; see Tannous (2016), p. 153. 73 BL. Or. 8606. One choir sang in Greek and the other in Syriac. Cfr. Tannous (2016), p. 154-155; Robert W. Thomson, “An Eighth-Century Melkite Colophon from Edessa”, JTS 13 (1962), p. 253. 74 Tannous (2016), p. 156. 75 For the references , Tannous (2016), p 156. 76 Bar Hebraeus, Ethicon, I.5.4, (ed. Teule), CSCO 534-535; SS 218-219, p. 73 (syr); pp. 62-63 (tr).

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The translations of Greek canons are usually free, in order to retain approximately the same number of syllables for each verse (and each phrase within a verse)77. In the 9th century, Syrian Orthodox appropriated the terms like troparion and troparia to refer to the collection of hymns. Thus two Syrian Orthodox manuscripts of the ninth or tenth century, each described as a Tropologion, contain large number of canons (qanune), arranged for Theotokos and for the saints78. Another development in the Syrian Orthodox liturgy of this period was the adoption of the Nine Biblical Canticles (‘Nine Odes’) with their canons. [As we will see below, some of them were used in the Syrian Orthodox liturgy at least since the 8th century]. The nine odes appear in the Syrian Orthodox manuscripts from 10th and 11th centuries (BL Add. 14507). The nine Odes (of the Byzantines) are the following: (1) Ex. 15:1-9; (2) Dt. 32:1-43; (3) 1Sam. 2:1-10; (4) Hab. 3:1-19; (5) Is. 26:9-20; (6) Jonah 2:3-10; (7) Dan. 3:26-45; (8) Dan. 3:52-88; (9) Magnificat: Lk. 1:46-55; Benedictus: Lk. 1:68-79. Normally the Syrian Orthodox do not have Benedictus (Lk. 1:68-79)79. Instead of it, they have Beatitudes (Matth. 5:3-13). The liturgical use of these Odes is certainly very ancient. Codex Alexandrinus gives them in appendix, along with Gloria in Excelsis. But they were practically unknown for the early Syriac tradition (but appeared in the Syrian Orthodox Psalter by the 8th/9th)80. The East Syrians have “the Canticles of Blessed Moses”: (1). Ex. 15:15-21; Is. 42:10-13; 45:8; (2). Dt. 32:1-21 ab; (3). Dt. 32:21c-43 in its 21st Hullala, sung in three marmyata)81. Three canticles are common to the East Syrians and the Syrian Orthodox (Ex 15:1-21; Is. 42:1013 + 45:8; Dt. 32:1-43). In the Syrian Orthodox Psalters, “the Odes” are always called “Canticles/praises” teshbḥotho (teshbuḥto: song), a term used to refer to the Psalter in most of the ancient manuscripts. Most probably, the Syriac versions of the Odes existed before the Syrian Orthodox Liturgy came under the direct influence of the Byzantine tradition in the 10th and 11th centuries. Thus, the collections of the Odes, as they appear in Syrian Orthodox Psalters differ in contents and the order of their arrangement. We shall give a few examples. I. In Add. 14436 (8th/9th) century we find the following ‘Canticles’: 1. The First Song of Moses: Ex. 15:1-21 2. The Second Song of Moses: Dt. 32:1-43 3. The Song of Hannah:1 Sam. 2:1-10 4. The Song of Habakkuk: Hab. 3:1-19 5. The Song of Jonah: Jonah 2:3-10 6. The Song (teshbuḥto) of the Holy Children in two parts: Vs. 3-34 and vs. 35-66 7. The Song (teshbuḥto) of the Blessed Mary: Luke 1:46-55 77 Brock, Interaction... I would like to mention here that this was followed by late Mr. C.P. Chandy, who versified the Malayalam translation of Syriac hymns. Mr Chandy had a respectable knowledge of Sanskrit and thus almost always he used words having the same number of syllables as in Syriac. 78 British Library, Add 14, 504 and 14,505 (Wright, Catalogue, nos. 338, 339). The term, ‘Tropologion’ seems to have originated in Jerusalem (Brock, Interaction). 79 Exceptions are Add. 14436 & 17109. 80 E.g. BL 169, Add. 14436, Wright I, pp. 119-120. 81 See Varghese (2017), pp. 417-18.

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8. The song of Zachariah: Lk. 1:68-79 9. The Beatitudes: Mt. 5:3-12 10. The Hymn (teshbuḥto) Gloria in Excelsis Deo 11. The Nicene Creed In this collection, Isaiah is wanting II. In Add. 17109 (A.D 873-74) we find a list much closer to the Byzantine list, but with three striking differences. 1. The First song of Moses: Ex.15:1-21 2. The Second Song of Moses: Dt.32:1-43 3. The First Song of Isaiah: Is.42:10-13 & 45:8 4. The Song of Hannah: 1 Sam 2:1-10 5. The Song of Habakkuk: Hab. 3: 1-19 6. The Second Song of Isaiah: Is. 26:9-19 7. The Song of Jonah: Jonah 2:3-10 8. The Song of the three Children: vs. 35-66 9. The Song of Mary: Lk. 1: 1:46-55 10. The Song of Zachariah: Lk. 1:68-79 11. The Beatitudes: Mt. 5: 3-13 12. The Canticle (teshbuḥto) Gloria in Excelsis Deo 13. The Nicene Creed. 14. Lord’s Prayer (i). It contains Is. 42: 10-13+ 45:8 (First Song of Isaiah); (ii) part 2 of the ‘Song of the Three Children’ (vs. 35-66) is given; (iii) Beatitudes, and other Syrian Orthodox ‘Canticles’. III. In Add. 17110 [fol. 73a-76a: the writing appears to be of 9th/10th cent]82 the list is modest, but it contains Isaiah, and is placed between the two ‘songs’ of Moses. 1. First Song of Moses: Ex. 15:1-21 2. The Song of Isaiah: Is. 42:10-13 and 45:8 3. The Second Song of Moses: Dt. 32:1-43 4. The Song of Mary: Lk. 1:46-58 5. The Beatitudes: Mt. 5:3-12 6. The Hymn (teshbuḥto) Gloria in Excelsis Deo 7. The Nicene Creed. 8. The Lord’s Prayer Only three Old Testament Canticles are given here. (Also in Add 17125, 9th/10th cent.; 17111, A.D. 927; Add. 14433, 10th cent.). In Add 17125, the New Testament Canticles, along with the above three Old Testament Canticles, Magnificat and Beatitudes are given, followed by Lord’s Prayer, Nicene Creed, the Creed of Gregory Thaumaturgus83 and Gloria in Excelsis respectively. This very well suggests the existence of diverse liturgical practices and probably indicates that adaptations were made at different periods. 82 The original text was written in 600 AD. 83 The colophon notes: “The Creed of Gregory Thaumaturgus, sent to him from God by the hand of St John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary, and handed down by Gregory Nazianzen”. Add 17125, fol. 77a (Wright I, pp.123-25).

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In the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Magnificat, Beatitudes and Gloria in Excelsis Deo (often attributed to St Athanasius) form a new series of Canticles with Pater and Credo. These Canticles are found in almost all the Syrian Orthodox Psalters. For the arrangement of the canticles, we find two types of manuscripts: (i). The manuscripts containing only the three Canticles (e.g. BL. Add. 17110: 9th/10th; Add. 17125: 9th/10th cent.; Add. 17111: 10th cent.). (ii). The manuscripts containing the nine Canticles, mainly belonging to the 9th/10th cent., the period in which the Greek canons entered on a large scale into the Syrian Orthodox liturgy84. There existed considerable diversity in the use of the Canticles. Thus in Add. 17135 (10th cent.), we find only five Old Testament Canticles in the following order: (a) The Song of Hannah; (b) The Song of Habakkuk; (c) The Song of Isaiah; (d) The Song of Jonah; (e) The Song of the Three Children (part 2) However, as we have seen the Syriac versions of the Odes or Canticles had become part of the Syriac offices, probably even before the adaptation of the canons of Chalcedonian origin. Some manuscripts witness a fusion of the two practices. Thus, a 15th century manuscript replaced the 5th Ode (Is. 26:9-20) with the Syrian Orthodox Ode (Is. 42:10-13 + 45:8). Again BL Add. 17109 (9th cent,), mixed the two series. It placed the Syrian Orthodox Ode of Isaiah between the 2nd and the 3rd Ode. Then added the Beatitudes, the Gloria in Excelsis, the Pater and Credo after the 9th Ode. 3.3 Syriac canons Later, modelled on the ‘Greek canons’, new Syriac hymns known as ‘canons’ were composed. From the10th century onwards, we find in the Syrian Orthodox manuscripts a distinction between “Greek canons” and “Syriac canons”85. The ‘Syriac canons’ might be either earlier translations or simply new compositions modelled on the recently translated canons of Melkite origin. Sometimes they are referred to as ‘Eastern canons’, probably indicting their place of origin (in Edessa?). Syrian Orthodox manuscript BL Add. 14507 (10th/11th cent.) and BL Add. 14695 th (11 /12th cent.) contain both Greek and Syriac canons of “the entire cycle of the year”.86 In some Syrian Orthodox circles, there was a tendency to preserve earlier material as far as possible. As we have seen above, Syrians already had ‘enyone intercalated with Psalms. When Greek canons were adopted, they were just apposed with Syriac ‘enyone, as we find in a few Syrian Orthodox manuscripts (Add. 12145/10th cent., and 14698, 12th/13th cent., a Tropologion). At least in one instance all the three types appear in a single manuscript. [e.g. Add. 12145 (10th cent.): fol. 118a-139a, Syriac ‘enione of Resurrection; fol. 160b-181b,

84 See Baumstark, Festbreviar, pp.30-35; Puyade OS III-1 (1958), p. 29. 85 Husmann, ‘Die melkistische Liturgie als Quelle der syrischen Qanuna iaonaie“, OCP 41 (1975), 5-56. 86 Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 283-86.Also BL Add 17723 (13th cent). Cfr. Tannous (2016), p. 173, n. 55. Add. 14507 is a collection of Greek and Syriac canons and Toparia for the cycle of the whole year. Add. 14695 is a collection of Greek and Syriac canons for the entire cycle of the year “according to the the new recension and ptrevailing tradition ( ‫( ”)ܚܕܬܐ ܘܡܫܠܡܢܘܬܐ ܕܐܚܝܕܐܐܝܟ ܬܘܪܨܐ‬fol. 1b)

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Greek and Syriac canons on Theotokos, saints and the departed; fol. 185b-189a, a Greek canon on the burial of the Theotokos]87. In some cases, “the new canons” have been pointed out. An example may be found in Add. 17138 (11th cent.: A Collection of the Greek canons of Resurrection etc.), for Easter the scribe notes: “We write the new canons of the Resurrection”88. Among the Melkites as well as among the Syrians, the terms ‘enyone or canons are sometimes used interchangeably89. In principle, canons are sung intercalated with biblical odes, while ‘enyone accompany psalms. Thus ‘enyone correspond to Byzantine stichera ‘in their use, though not in their typical form’90. Among the ‘Greek canons’ sometimes a distinction is made between ‘Melitenian’ and ‘Edessene’. Thus in Add. 14698 (12th/13th) cent., a collection of Greek and Syriac ‘enyone for the whole year), for the feast of Epiphany, we find the subscription: “Canons of Melitene and Edessene canons”91 . According to Brock, “these probably point to earlier translations, made at Edessa, or later revisions/new translation made in Melitene”92. In Add. 17135, (10th cent.) Greek and Syriac canons are given separately93. In the first collection (fol. 1-61), we have canons for several occasions. This includes Kathismata of the Theotokos and Troparia for the third, sixth and the ninth hours.The second part (fol. 62189) has the subscription: “Canons for the whole year according to the order of Mesopotamia (‫”)ܐܝܟ ܛܟܣܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ‬94. In Berlin Sachau 349 (10th/11th cent.), Greek canons are identified as “Greek and Edessene Canons”. At the bottom of several pages, we find the colophon, “Greek, that is, Edessene canon”. In other places, the manuscript indicates canons as being “the correct recension of Edessa”. And in two instances, we find, “this is the translation of the Greeks and Edessenes”95. “Greeks” here obviously means the Chalcedonians. Add. 14697 (Syrian Orthodox Tropologion: 12th cent.), gives ‘enyone and Greek canons according to the “the tradition of the Edessenes”. The Syriac text speaks of the “correct recension, that is the melody (‫ )ܩܝܢܬܐ‬and tradition of the Edessenes”96. Some 13th century 87 See Wright , Catalogue I, pp.251-254. Cfr. Tannous (2016), p. 157; 174, note 59. 88 BL 354, Add. 17138, § 1; Wright I, p. 295.Cfr. Add. 14696 (13th cent.) a large collection of canons. For the feast of the Resurrection, the scribe notes: “Order of the old and new canons of Resurrection” (fol. 213: in 8 modes), see, Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 289-90. 89 Cody (1982), 98; p.110, n.62(literature),; also n. 74; Tannous (2016), p. 157. According to Husmann (Eine alte orientalische christliche Liturgie, p. 169), ‘enyone and canons are not same. But Heiming (Syrische ‘Eniane’) says that they are the same type of hymns sung as responses. See Tannous (2016), p. 157; 170, n. 60. 90 Cody (1982), p. 98. Typical ‘enyono is shorter than sticheron. It often consists of a single short theme, followed by a supplication, which is repeated as refrain at the end of the ‘enyone. See Cody (1982), 110, n. 61. 91 BL 343, Add. 14698, § 11, (fol. 45a). Wright I,p. 288. 92 Brock, Interactions; cfr. Husmann, “Die syrischen Auferstehungskanones”, pp. 217-227. Husmann lists the heirmoi for both traditions according to the eight tones. The canons for the Resurrection period, according to each of the eight tones, are also found in the Beth Gazo Rabo, (Published by the Monastery of St Ephrem, NL, 1992, 602-625. 93 BL 350, Add. 17135, Wright I, pp. 293-294. 94 BL 350, Add. 17135, part II (fol. 68-189). Wright, I, pp.293-294. 95 Sachau, Verzeichnis, p. 43. For a study of the Greek canons in this manuscript: Heiming, Syrische ‘Eniane’. Cfr. Tannous (2016), p. 174, n. 63. 96 Wright, Catalogue, I, pp. 286-288.

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manuscripts contain “canons from Melitene” [BL Add. 14699 and Add. 14700]97. Paris Syriaque 155 gives in several cases two versions of the same canon: Edessene and Melitenian98. The double versions of particular canons were used in the services of the feasts of Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, Feast of the Cross and the Feast of Abgar99. In his studies, Husmann has identified the Greek Vorlage of some of these canons100, but in the case of some of the Greek canons of Edessa, the Greek Vorlage has not been identified. According to Husmann, they either go back to a lost Greek original or represent new compositions. Husmann has pointed out that both Edessene and Melitenian versions were made by the Chalcedonians. The recension of Edessa represents an earlier translation, which he qualified as “paläosyro-melkitisch” or “altsyrisch-melkitisch”. The recension of Melitene represents a “Byzantinized Melkite liturgy”, which became standard for the Melkites. Interestingly, the Syrian Orthoox have retained both versions. However, we do not know when, where and by whom these Greek canons were introduced into the Syrian Orthodox liturgy101. In the Syrian Orthodox liturgy, canons were sung along with the ‘enyono to Psalm 50/51 (at the beginning of Sapro) where canons are regularly found. Sometimes canons served as a substitute for the ‘enyono. Occasionally canons appear in the Psalm 50/51 recited at the opening of the ramshoas well102. The ‘Greek’ and Syriac canons appear in the two printed editions of the Fenqitho103. Parts of the canons of Cosmas on the Cross appear in the Pampakuda Fenqitho for the feast of the Cross104. This edition puts a distinction between ‘Edessene’ and ‘Melitene’ troparia as well. The Beth Gazo Rabo (ed. Metropolitan Julius Çiçek) gives an extensive repertoire of ‘Greek Canons’ used in the Syrian Orthodox Church (derived from a manuscript of 1568)105. They are arranged according to the liturgical year, and they include, in addition to many of those in the two editions of the Fenqitho, some further canons of Cosmas. On one occasion, the Pampakuda Fenqitho gives two different versions of the same stanza, describing the first as ‘Melitenian’ and the second as ‘Edessene’106. The Beth Gazo Rabo gives the ‘Edessene’ version, while the Mosul Fenqitho has the ‘Melitenian’ one107. 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107

See Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 304-306. Wright has not recorded them as from Melitene. See on this identification: H.W. Codrington, “A Medieval Eastern Sacramentary”, The Eastern Churches Quarterly 4 (1940), p. 305. I owe this reference to Tannous, p. 174, n. 65. Zotenberg, Catalogue, p.111. The Syrian Orthodox manuscript BL Add. 14698 describes canons variously as Greek, Syrian, Edessene and Melitenian. Wright has not noted this distinction. But noted by H.W. Codrington, art cit. p. 305. See Tannous, p. 174-75, note 67. Husmann (1972), Die syrischen Auferstehungskanones, p. 215. Ibid. pp. 215-16. See Tannous (2016), p. 161. Brock, Interactions. Fenqitho Mosul and Fenqitho Pampakuda. Baumstark had already noted the presence of the Greek canons in the Mosul edition, see Baumstark (1910), pp.125-126. For the canons by John Damascene and Cosmas, see Brock, Interactions, Appendix B & C. Brock gives the list of the Syriac translations of the Canons of Kosmas and John of Damascus as they appear in the Mosul and Pampakuda Editions of the Penqitho. See, Brock, Interactions… Monastery of St Ephrem, NL, 1992. Exaltation of the Cross, Ode 1, stanza 1, Pampakuda Fenqitho III, p. 329. Fenqitho Mosul VII, p. 482; Beth Gazo Rabo, p. 636. The Melitenian version is also found in the

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Thus, we have an example of another stage in the process of adaptation. The Syrian Orthodox Church had no difficulty in adopting hymns and musical elements from the Byzantine Chalcedonians, their main adversary since the Council of Chalcedon (451). The Christological disputes were not a problem for enriching their liturgical tradition by adopting Greek elements. Thus in the thirteenth century, Bar Hebraeus justifies this adaptation. After having described the contributions of Ephrem, Isaac of Antioch, Balai and Severus of Antioch towards the enrichment of liturgical hymnody, Bar Hebraeus writes108: Furthermore, at the time of the holy Jacob of Edessa and of the excellent George of the Arab Tribes those canticles which are called ‘the Greek canons’ were introduced by a certain Damascene author, whose name was Cyrene bar Mansour109 and by a certain monk, who among them, was surnamed Aba Qusma 110 , the inventor of Quqlia, viz. canons which are more delightful than those composed by the former. Since this Cyrene, though belonging to the partisans of the council of Chalcedon, did not apply himself to mentioning in his songs the points of dispute by which the schism had originated, his canons began to be introduced into our Church in East and West, as we learn from the holy Lazarus bar Sabta111.

4. Prayers, homilies and thurgome (discourses) Along with hymns of Syriac and Greek origins, various types of prayers found a place in the festal breviaries. Some of them disappeared, while others survived under new names. Prayers between the marmyoto is one of the earliest collections of the prayers112. We have already seen that prayers were said between marmyoto of the Psalms. Some of such prayers survive in the liturgy of the consecration of Myron with the title “prayer’ (ṣlutho). In some services, after the ‘enyono of Ps 51, we find a “prayer’ (ṣlutho), which may be a remnant of original ‘prayer between the marmyoto’ (e.g. liturgy of marriage, part I & 2; blessing of the water on Ephiphany). Then “the prayers of incense” form another ancient element of the offices. Towards the middle of the seventh century a new genre of prayers appeared, under the name Sedre. By the end of the first millennium, Sedre became an important element of the major offices as well the Pre-anaphora. Soon Sedre were preceded by a brief introductory prayer known as Promiun (introduction)113. Though they bear a Greek title, they are of Syriac origin. However, some of the old “prayers of incenses” were retained under a new name ’etro (incense). “Introductory prayer” (ṣlutho d-shuroyo) and concluding payer (ḥutomo) are two other el108 109 110 111 112 113

Melkite collection of canons in Add. 12 139. Bar Hebraeus, Ethicon, pp. 62-63, John of Damascus. Cosmas of Mayuma, the adoptive brother of John. Both names are often connected with the composition of ‘Greek canons’. The work of Lazar bar Sabta has not come down to us. Bar Hebraeus is our only source of information on this comment by Lazar. See Matéos (1965) Une collection. On the origins of Promiun and Sedre, see the important studies by J. Matéos (1962, 1965, 1967. 1968).

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ements that appeared towards the end of first millennium. It is difficult to place these elements in the order of their origin. However, by the beginning of the second millennium, Introductory prayer, Promiun-Sedro, ‘etro and ḥutomo became the “skeleton” of the offices to which selected Psalms and hymns were added. 4.1 Homilies, turgome and selected portions from Bible commentaries Prose homilies of Syriac and Greek Fathers were certainly read as part of the Night and Morning offices. In BL 308, Add. 14516 (dated 9th cent.), we find the following homilies for the feast of the Nativity (fol. 6a-22b)114: Homily of Gregory of Nyssa (fol 8a); Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, 101st Homily of Severus of Antioch, and Prose homily of Jacob of Serugh. This was followed by selected portions from Bible Commentaries. However, this arrangement was not uniform. There existed variations. BL 306 and 307 (Add. 14515 and 17190), both dated AD 893, provide an example of the use of prose homilies and turgome. They form the first and second volumes of a collection of hymns and homilies for the principal feasts of the whole year. The collection consists of madroshe attributed to Ephrem and bo‘wotho attributed to Ephrem and Jacob of Serugh115. The following homilies are included in the collections. In all cases, the homilies are preceded by a madrosho of St Ephrem. BL 306, Add. 14515 1. Annunciation of Zachariah: Homily of St John Chrysostom (fol. 2a) (cfr. Add 14516, fol. 1a) 2. Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin: - Homily (turgomo) of St John Chrysostom (10b) - Another anonymous homily 3. Nativity of the Lord (fol. 13 b) - Homily of Gregory of Nazianzen - Homily of St John Chrysostom - Prose homily of Jacob of Serugh 4. The Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Homily of St John Chrysostom 5. The Massacre of the Innocents (fol. 53a) - Eighth homily (turgomo) of Severus of Antioch 6. Epiphany - Homily of St John Chrysostom - Prose homily of Jacob of Serugh During the Lent, the following homilies were read: - First week: Second Homily of St Basil on Lent (fol. 115b) - Homily of St John Chrysostom ((fol. 120 b). [Several homilies of Chrysostom are read during the Lent] - Various selected portions from Bible commentaries are read116

114 115 116

Wright I, pp. 244-246. BL 307, Add 17190, Wright I, p. 244, (# 8). Wright I, p. 242 # 14.

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According to BL 307, Add 17190, on Palm Sunday, in addition to the poetical pieces such as madroshe, sugyothyo and memre (prose?), the 20th Homily of Severus of Antioch was read (fol. 1b). Gradually the homilies, turgome and the reading of the selected portions from the commentaries lost popularity and disappeared from the festal breviary. However, two of such pieces are included in the Holy Week Service copied in 13th/14th century117. In the Lilyo, which has been divided in to four Nocturns (teshmshotho), we find the turgomo of John Chrysostom (second nocturn, fol. 30a) and ‘Extracts from a discourse of John Chrysostom on St Matthew 24:3, fol. 111a). An extensive collection of homilies for the whole year is found in BL 825, Add 12165 (AD 1015)118. The collection originally contained 113 homilies, of which four are missing. A balance is kept between the homilies of Greek and Syriac Fathers. Thus on the feast of Ascension, a homily of St John Chrysostom is read, followed by another by Jacob of Serugh119. On Pentecost, the homily of Gregory Nazianzen is followed by that of Jacob of Serugh. Later, Sedre of the services of Pentecost were composed using the homily of Gregory Nazianzen. Thus, we have an example of re-cycling ancient material by giving a new form. On the feast of the Nativity, three homilies are read (Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria and Jacob of Serugh). For Epiphany, there are four homilies (Gregory Nazianzen, Hippolytus, Cyril of Alexandria and Jacob of Serugh). One of the homilies of Jacob of Serugh appears under the title Martyonutho (exhortation/homily), which was read in the night of the Wednesday of the third week in the Great Lent120. We can assume that the reading of the homilies disappeared when Sedre became popular. 4.2 Hagiographies It is not clear whether hagiographies were a regular element of the Breviary. In various libraries in Europe and West Asia, we have an impressive collection of manuscripts of hagiographies. At least some of them must have been read in a liturgical context. We have referred to BL 825, Add 12165 (AD 1015), which contains 11 homilies arranged for the reading for the whole year. Rubrics say that the homilies on Lent were read in the Lilyo, which might be their usual place in the canonical hours. As we have noted at least two homilies, one by a Greek Father and another by a Syriac Father (often that of Jacob of Serugh), were read on every feast. Homilies on the saints were probably read on their feasts, which are always hagiographical, with their encomium. For the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec 26) two homilies were read, of which the first is incomplete (which might be a homily by a Greek Father), then comes the homily of Jacob of Serugh on the Blessed Virgin Mary.121 A similar arrangement is found for the following feasts of the saints: The feast of the massacre of the Innocents: homilies of Severus of Antioch and Jacob of Serugh122. 117 Wright I, pp. 303-304. 118 Wright II, pp. 842-851; on the contents of this manuscript see J-M. Sauget, “Pour une interprétation de la structure de l’homiliaire syriaque: ms British Library Add. 12165”, Ecclesia orans 3 (1986), pp. 121-146, reprinted in his Littératures et manuscrits des chrétientés syriaques et arabes (ed. L. DuvalArnould and F. Rilliet; Studi et Testi 389; Rome, 1998), pp. 117-146.. 119 Folio 314b and fol. 316 b. Wright II, p. 849. 120 Fol. 98b. 121 Fol. 9a and 11a. 122 Fol. 13a; 15a.

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On the beheading of John the Baptist: three homilies were read: St John Chrysostom; The tenth homily of Cyril of Alexandria on the Gospel of St Luke, concerning St John the Baptist and Encomium of St John the Baptist by Jacob of Serugh. The feast of the Forty Martyrs: only one homily is given, that of Jacob of Serugh123 (the same as for the feast of the Decease and Obsequies – ‘ufoyo and ‘undono- of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Surprisingly, homilies of Greek fathers are not given for these feasts. It is almost certain that this homily was read in the office of the night (Lilyo), because the feast of the Forty Martyrs always comes during Lent and the rubrics of the homilies that precede and follow say that they were read in the office of night. New Sunday: Homily of Gregory Nazianzen on New Sunday and homily on St Thomas by Jacob of Serugh. Feast of Martyrs: Homily on the Holy Martyrs and Confessors by John Chrysostom and homily on the Holy Martyrs by Jacob of Serugh. Memory of Meletius (?): On the death of Meletius, bishop of Antioch by Gregory of Nyssa. (Only one homily is given; a homily by a Syriac Father is absent). In BL 967, Add. 14734 (AD 1085), which is a hagiography of Bar Sauma, we have two madroshe on the saint124. This would suggest that, along with the madroshe, the hagiography was read, perhaps in the vigil. However, a good number of Sedre for the feasts betray traces of influence of the hagiographies.

5. Further additions of hymns As we have seen, madrosho and its sub-species sugitho are among the earliest pieces of Mesopotamian origin. Certainly, there existed various genres of hymns and some must have survived, or reappeared under new names. Among them come the hymns sung between the verses of the psalms. At least part of the ’unitho or ‘unoyo must include ancient elements. As we have noted above, kukoyo must have been a type of ma‘nitha or perhaps inspired by them. We shall consider the most popular genres of hymns, which found place in breviaries. 5.1 Bo‘utho Bo‘utho is another popular genre of hymns along with madroshe. Bo‘utho was probably a Syriac genre which in the course of time, incorporated the memre of Ephrem, Jacob of Serugh and Balai. Etymologically, bo‘utho means supplication and was not really related to the purpose and content of the genre called memre. We have practically no knowledge of the origin of bo‘wotho. However, they are associated with the names of three popular authors like Ephrem, Jacob and Balai. In earlier manuscripts, the bo‘wotho of Balai are rarely attested. The reason may be that Balai’s works were not as popular as those of Ephrem or Jacob of Serugh and were originally used only in a few Syriac-speaking areas.

123 124

Fol. 105b II, 845. Wright, Catalogue III, 1147-48, fol. 174 sq.

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It is not unlikely that originally the metre was introduced by Ephrem and Jacob or at least part of the hymns were composed by them. It is also possible that the genre was first associated with one of them and then to the two others as well. Such attributions were common in Syriac tradition. The best example is the Anaphorae (about 80 are known by name), Sedre and several of the ma‘nyotho known under name of Severus of Antioch. Likewise, most of the sacramental celebrations as well as the structure of the canonical hours are attributed to Jacob of Edessa. So the attribution of the bo‘utho to a particular author is not a definite proof for its composition by him. Now in the weekly breviary (Sheḥimo) the bo‘wotho are placed as the conclusion of the Offices. But this is rather a recent development. In several ancient manuscripts, they are grouped with qale and were sung before madroshe and sugyotho. This ancient structure is maintained in the Passion Week service. Bo‘wotho became a regular element of the services much later. They are absent in the first part of the Marriage liturgy (known as ‘blessing of the rings’), which ends with a sugitho. Likewise, it is absent in the services of the Benediction of Water on Epiphany, the Blessing of the Palms, and Pentecost. In its origin, bo‘utho was probably a collection of selected hymns with a penitential theme from the works Ephrem or Jacob and the works attributed to Balai were added to it soon or later. The earliest collections of the bo’wotho contain texts of penitential nature; for example, Add. 14515 (A.D. 893) gives a collection of “qale and bo‘wotho of Penitence” for Lent, in which pieces are attributed to Ephrem and Jacob125. In Add. 12146 (A.D 1007) we ̈ ‫̈ܩܐܠ‬ find the “qale and bo‘wotho on Nineveh, that are sung in these three days” ( ‫ܘܒܥܘܬܐ ܥܠ‬ ̈ 126 th th ‫ ) ܢܝܢܘܐ ܕܡܫܬܡܠܝܢ ܒܗܠܝܢ ܬܠܬܐ ܝܘܡܬܐ‬.Add. 14695 (11 /12 ) is more explicit on this point: Order of the week of bo‘wotho of Nineveh, that is, of Repentance”127. Since the theme of the Fast of Nineveh is repentance, it was commonly referred to as “the Rogations (b’wotho) of Nineveh. I have already pointed out the similarity in the structures of the memre of Jacob of Serugh and the bo‘woto (supplication + main part + supplication/doxology). It is not unlikely that the structure of the bo‘utho has been inspired by that of the memre of Jacob of Serugh. If thist is true, we can assume that the bo‘utho of Mar Jacob was the oldest among the three. The bo‘wotho of Balai are found more often in the Weekday Breviary (Sunday to Saturday: 22 times, against that of Jacob 34 times and of Ephrem 14 times). In fact the bo‘wotho of Balai appear only three times in the Holy Week liturgy [Monday Night 4th nocturne, Monday sixth hour and Saturday Night third nocturne]. The opening and concluding stanzas of the bo‘wotho were adapted to suit the theme of the day and the liturgical hours. Likewise, we find their adapted versions in the Offices of Holy Week and the feasts. The adaptations suggest that the opening and concluding stanzas are later additions. Some are penitential and others supplications. On Friday (first nocturne and morning), in the Bo‘utho of Jacob, the opening stanzas are followed by the story of the discovery of the Cross of Christ by the Queen Helene. This may provide an example of the

125 126 127

BL 306, Add. 14515, # 11 (fol. 101a); Wright, I, pp. 240-43. BL 319, Add. 12146 # 14 (fol. 182a); Wright I, pp. 258-261. BL 341, Add. 14695, # 17; Wright I, pp. 285-86.

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use of extracts from the original memra. The bo‘utho of Balai underwent comparatively lesser modifications. The same hymns are often repeated. The bo‘utho of Balai must represent the tradition of a particular region, which may perhaps explain why they are rarely used in Holy Week. 5.2 Qole Qolo (qole, pl.) literally means ‘voice or sound’. But in the liturgical usage, it means a hymn, a tone, or tune. Now they represent an important part of the Syrian Orthodox services. Qolo and bo’utho are the two essential elements of a minor Office (Third, Sixth and Ninth Hour). They represent various genres of liturgical hymns. Some of them are adaptations of the existing hymns, while others are new compositions. Some of the oldest pieces were included among the qole128. In BL 324, Add. 14501 (11th cent.), the ma‘nyotho are called qole. Among the hymns of Palm Sunday, a collection of hymns has the following title: “ma‘nyotho, that is, qole”129. In Add. 14503 (A.D. 1166), also ma‘nyotho are apparently called qole130. However, we have already seen that quqoye are originally known as ma‘nyotho. Now in the services, quqoye are regularly called qole131. The title qole appears in the manuscripts of the festal breviaries of 10th and 11th centuries. In the beginning, compared to madroshe and sugyotho, qole had a limited place in the liturgical services. But gradually they became more popular. Several subspecies of qole are known. However, their classification is problematic. Sometimes the titles have been used without much thought about the contents. In the Beth Gazo some of the qole are collected under various titles whose meaning and purpose are not very clear. One such title is qole gnize, means ‘hidden’ or ‘mystical hymns’, that is, hymns with mystical meaning132. In fact, in BL 358, Add. 17252 (13th/14th cent.), we find ̈ for the ordinary days of Lent”133. Most probä “Mystical/Spiritual praises (‫ܡܬܝܕܥܢܐ‬ ‫)ܫܘܒܚܐ‬ bly, they were later additions and the title gnize was probably added to get wider acceptance. Another type is takshephto (pl. takshephotho), which are supplications or metrical litanies. Some of them are known transmitted under the name of Rabbula of Edessa (5th cent.)134. The title sebaltho (pl. seblotho: lit. staircase or ladder) refers to a group of songs, selected from various writers and arranged according to more or less fixed themes, such as Theotokos, saints, repentance, cross, resurrection etc135. Mawrbe (‘exaltations’) are the canons sung intercalated with Magnificat. Each set of canons consists of five stanzas. Several of them must have been translated from Greek136. ̈ 137 . In Add 14501 (11th cent.), mawrbe are called canons (‫)ܩܢܘܢܐ ܕܡܘ̈ܪܒܐ‬ 128 See Husmann (1979), “Zur Geschichte des Qala”, OCP 45 (1979), pp. 99-113. 129 BL 324, Add. 14501, Wright I, pp. 27-271, § 8, fol. 87a. 130 BL 318. Add. 14503, § 7 & 8, fol. 16b and 21 b. 131 See Chibas-Lassalle, p. 12. 132 See Ibid. p. 15. 133 Wright, Catalogue I, pp. 296-297, § 10, fol. 28b. 134 Ibid. p. 7. 135 Ibid. p. 18; cf. also above. 136 Chibas-Lassalle, p. 22-23.

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5.3 Quqliun Quqliun is one of the later additions. Apparently, they were adaptations of the psalms sung at the beginning of an Office. Usually two to four verses Psalm verses were sung with halleluiah. Originally, one or more psalms were probably sung with halleluiah, and gradually the number of verses was limited to two or four. Usually quqliun is placed after the opening prayer (e.g. in the Baptism and Funeral liturgy). This might be the remnant of a Psalm chanted at this place.In fact such an ancient custom of singing Psalms survives in the Safro of Good Friday and the consecration of Myron138. However, in some other services, Ps. 51 with its ‘enyone and a brief prayer come before quqliun (e.g. Marriage: Blessing of the rings and the crowns). However, in some services, Ps. 51 is missing. In the services of some feasts, in the place of Psalms, selected verses from Biblical Canticles are sung with ‘Greek canons’. Thus in the “Order of the Consecration of Water on Ephipany”, in the usual place of quqliun, Ex. 15:1 and Is. 16:9 are sung139. This is followed by Magnificat with its mawrbe is chanted. Likewise in the Service of Pentecost, we find the following arrangement: First service: Ex. 15:1-2; second service: Dan. 3:26; 52; 57; 88; third service: Magnificat. In both cases, the number of verses sung is limited. When Greek canons are sung with Old Testament canticles, only Halleluiah is sung with the Psalms verses. Originally, the term quqliun seems have been the title of a collection of Greek canons. We have an example in BL 347, Add. 14513 (9th/10th cent.), which is a collection of Greek canons for various occasions. In this manuscript we find “quqliun of the Fathers on the Theotokos”, followed by “quqliun of the Confessors”. In both cases, the word quqliun has been changed into quqloye140. Now the word quqliun is used in a different sense. In the Anaphora, a group of hymns are sung between the Holy Things to the Holy and the Communion. They are on the following themes: Theotokos, saints, the Cross, priests and the departed. Now each group has the following structure: Psalm (two verses) + ‘eqbo + qole (two stanzas) + bo‘utho (one stanza). Originally, they must have been introduced in the canonical hours like Ramsho or Safro as a concluding part. Thus in the present form of the Weekday Breviary, in Ramsho and Safro four Psalms verses are sung, followed by ‘eqbo + Promiun-Sedro + four stanzas of the qole. Then the usual bo‘utho is sung at the end. In Ramsho or Safro, this group always highlights the theme of the hour or the day. Then they were adapted in the present form and sung as an appendix to major Offices [e.g. the fourth nocturne of Lilyo, probably quqliun first appeared in Lilyo]. This adapted form is appended to the Eucharistic liturgy. In India, Add. 14501 (11th cent.) or “Fenqitho of Tagrit”. See Wright I, pp. 270-71, § 15. This manuscript gives “the canons of the mawrbe of the Magnificat for the whole year”. 138 In Good Friday Safro, Ps 51 is followed by Pss 63, 35, 69:20-30, 55 and 22 (all chanted with ‘enyone). See Varghese, Prayers of the Holy Week, (Kottayam, 2011), pp. 212-17. In the consecration of Myron the following Psalms with their ‘enyone are sung: Pss. 23, 45, 89, 92, 84, 76, 99, 110. In the consecration of Myron, between these psalms, ‘Prayers’ are given, which were probably selected from the ‘prayers between marmyotho’, 139 This is found in the Pampakuda edition of the m‘ad‘edono, but is absent in the text published by Mar Athanasius Samuel. 140 BL 347, Add. 14513, # 5, fol. 10a; Wright I, p. 292. 137

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when a bishop visits a church, he used to sing the ‘quqliun’ of the Theotokos and of the saints of the church. This is often known as Lutiniya (‘Litany’!). Here we have a good example of the metamorphosis of certain items of liturgical vocabulary.

6. Origins of qauma The present fixed initial prayers of the Syrian Orthodox daily Offices, known as qaumo (station) is the result of a long evolution, which has not yet been studied 141. However, qaumo seems to have acquired its present structure by the 13th century. Bar Hebraeus (d.1286) was apparently responsible for its permanent reception as an essential part of the Syrian Orthodox Offices. In Ethicon, he prescribes it as a compulsory prayer: And the manner of executing this prayer is that he who prays shall stand, his face eastward and his hands folded on his chest; he shall collect his thoughts from thinking of worldly things as much as he can, and say: “Holy, holy, holy, mighty Lord”. And he shall bow down his head and prostrate himself with bowed neck and back. Then he shall straighten himself up and make the sign of the cross on himself from between his eyes to the chest and from the left shoulder to the right shoulder. Hereupon he shall say: “Heaven and earth are full of your glories”, “Glory in the highest”, and prostrate himself a second time, make the sign of the cross, saying also: “Blessed is He who came and comes in the name of the Lord” (cf. Ps. 118:26), glory in the highest”. And he shall prostrate himself a third time and make the sign of the cross. Then he shall say: “Holy art Thou, O God, Holy art Thou, O Almighty, Holy art Thou, O Immortal, who was crucified for us, have mercy upon us”, and make a genuflection with his head touching the ground. And standing up, he shall make the sign of the cross in the aforesaid way. Next he shall repeat the prayer “Holy art Thou”, genuflect on the ground as the first time, rise up and make the sign of the cross Then he shall say the same prayer for the third time, genuflect on the ground for the third time, rise up and make the sign of the cross, saying: “Lord have mercy on me, O our Lord, save me and have mercy on me, our Lord, hear me and have mercy on me, glory to you, O our Lord, glory to you, our help for ever”. Then he shall perform one prostration, without genuflection, and, standing upright, he shall continue with: “Our Father, Who art in heaven”. When he has finished this prayer, he shall make one more prostration, asking from his Lord anything, which he has at heart, provided that it belongs to the requests that are suitable to be granted. And in this way, this prayer, common to all believers, is achieved whether they be at home, in a church, on the road, on the top of a mountain or on a ship at sea. And everyone who is sound in his body and capable of performing it, but neglects it, will be judged with the unbelievers at Judgement Day. And he who is able to add to the 141

See Varghese, “Bar Hebraeus and the Syrian Orthodox Liturgy”, PdO 41 (2015), pp. 573-589; here pp. 582-84.

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aforesaid prostrations and genuflections will receive a greater reward, if he does so. Priests must, first, perform their canonical Office, after that, complete this common prayer, and then conclude142. The presentation gives the impression that the readers were not familiar with the “new” prayer and its structure and contents. Thus Bar Hebraeus seems to be first Syrian Orthodox Church Father to promulgate the qauma. In the Nomocanon (V:5), he gives a shorter version of the above presentation. According to the Ethicon, the qaumo shall be said after the canonical prayers as its conclusion, but the Nomocanon prescribes it as the prayer for a “believer who wants to pray”. However, “the common prayer” which Bar Hebraeus made compulsory for all, soon became the fixed initial prayer of all canonical Hours as well as of the sacramental celebrations. However, the Trisagion, which was originally sung in the celebration of the Eucharist at least since the end of the fifth century, became an initial prayer of the West Syrian offices as early as the 9th century, as we learn from John Naqar, a Syrian Orthodox monastic writer, who wrote: “At the beginning of an office, kneel down three times and say Holy (qadish) three times and (thus) begin an office”143. Apparently, John refers to the Trisagion. However, it is not clear whether the Trisagion was followed by the Lord’s Prayer. According to the late Patriarch Ignatius Aprem Barsoum, the Lord’s Prayer was added to the Trisagion in the liturgy of Tikrit about the year 780, at the initiative of David bar Paulos, a monk priest and his disciple Zachariah144. In Takrit, the Trisagion was recited only at the end of the Offices, a custom followed by the East Syrians of that time. Bar Hebraeus seems to follow this custom, when he directed the priests to conclude the offices with the qaumo. But in the East Syrian Tradition, Patriarch Mar Timothy (+ 816) directed to recite the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning as well as at the end of the Offices, whereas the Syrian Orthodox of Mesopotamia recited it only at the end145. Thus Bar Hebraeus seem to follow the ancient custom and the present practice of reciting qaumo at the beginning and at the end became widely followed after the 13th century. Here we have an example of adapting a custom of East Syriac origin.

142 Bar Hebraeus, Ethicon, ch. I: On Prayer, Section 6 (= pp. 15-16). 143 Teule (1998), Jean Naqar p. 69; Syr. p.75. 144 I.A. Barsoum, Syr. Lit. (2nd ed. Aleppo, 1956 in Arabic), pp. 90-91. I owe this reference to J. Mateos. In the English translation of the History by Matti Moosa, (Pueblo, 2000), I could not find this reference. Cfr. Matéos (1966), Prièreinitiales, p. 495. 145 Mateos (1959), Lelya-Sapra, pp. 81-82; id. (1966), Prières initiales, p. 495.

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VI. Adaption of Elements from the Mesopotamian Culture 1. Feasts and liturgical processions The people of Antioch and Edessa loved to demonstrate their piety with pomp. The active presence of various religions seems to have created a competition among their adherents to make ostentatious celebrations. According to the Doctrine of Addai, when Christianity reached Edessa, it had to compete with pagan cults, which had taken root among the urban population. The Doctrine says that there was a great altar in the midst of the city for offering sacrifices to the pagan gods as well as several other altars1. Edessa’s interest in demonstrative religious piety seems to have played a role in shaping the spiritual life of its first Christians. Thus, the Doctrine writes: “But a large number of people assembled day by day and came to the prayer of the service, and the reading of the Old and New Testament of the Diatessaron…”2 They also observed the festivals of the Church in their times, and every day they were constant in the vigils of the Church3. The claim of the Doctrine of Addai that that Edessa became a Christian city is certainly an exaggeration. Paganism continued to be popular for several centuries. The Chronicle of Joshua the Stylite writes on the newly introduced pagan spring festival celebrated in May 496: They kindled lamps without number in honour of the festival, a custom, which was previously unknown in this city. These were arranged by them on the ground along the river from the gate of the Theatre as far as the gate of the Arches. They placed on its bank lighted lamps and hung them in the porticoes, in the town hall, in the upper street, and in many other places4. The Chronicler describes the celebration of the same festival in 498, in which apparently the Christians also participated: [….] there came round again the time of that festival at which the heathen tales were sung; and the citizens (of Edessa) took even more pains about it than usual. For seven days previously they were going up in crowds to the theatre at eventide, clad in linen garments, and wearing turbans with their loins ungird. Lamps were lighted before them, and they were burning incense, and holding vigils the whole night, walk1

Doctrine of Addai (ed. Phlilips, 1876), pp. 26; 32. The Doctrine speaks of the merchants who evangelized “the worshippers of fire and the adorers of water”. p. 35. 2 Ibid. p. 34. 3 Ibid. p. 33. 4 Chronicle of Joshua the Stylite (1882), § XXVII, pp. 18-19. The dancing as part of pagan cults existed in Edessa as early as the second century. Thus, Trajan had witnesses a ‘barbaric dance’ on his visit to Edessa. See Segal (1970) p. 163.

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ing about the city and praising the dancer until morning, with singing and shouting and lewd behavior. For these reasons they neglected also to go to prayer […] and they kept saying that the inhabitants of the city in olden times were simpletons and fools . In this way they became daring in their impiety, and there was none to warn or rebuke or admonish5. Apparently, Philoxenus of Mabbugh, during his visit to Edessa, tried to persuade the Christians to discontinue this practice, but he was not successful6. Finally in 501-2, the Emperor Anastasius issued an edict forbidding the “wicked festival” (= Spring festival of May) in which the ‘tales of the ancient Greeks’ were chanted with dances7. This explains the origin of certain Christian festivals and processions in Edessa. In their processions, in the place of ‘Greek tales’, Christians must have sung liturgical hymns. Sometimes important events were celebrated with religious ceremonies, like processions and the Eucharist. Thus, when the Emperor Anastasius granted a tax exemption to the artisans of Edessa (in 498), it was celebrated with great pomp and even annually: The whole city rejoiced, they all put on white garments, both small and great, and carried lighted tapers and censers full of burning incense, and went forth with psalms and hymns, giving thanks to God and praising the emperor, to the church of S.Sergius and S.Simeon, where they celebrated the Eucharist. They then reentered the city, and kept a glad and merry festival during the whole week, and enacted that they should celebrate this festival every year. All the artisans were reclining and enjoying themselves, bathing, and feasting in the court of the (great) Church and in all the porticoes of the city8. Apparently, the spring festival exited during the days of Jacob of Serugh who condemns the popular demonstrations: The fruits [of the theatre] are… dancing and music, sport and music, the miming of lying tales, teaching which destroys the mind, poems which are not true, troublesome and confused sounds, melodies to attract children, ordered and captivating songs, skilful chants, lying canticles [composed] according to the folly invented by the Greeks9. This would explain why St Ephrem and Jacob of Serugh dedicated their life for composing hymns which were introduced in the liturgy during their life time itself. Natural calamities like earthquakes, famine, flood or locusts disrupted the normal life. They were seen as chastisements sent by God. Thus, the Chronicle writes: 5 Chronicle of Joshua, § XXX, pp. 20-21. 6 “For although Xenaias, the bishop of Mabbog was at the time in Edessa, - of whom beyond all others it was thought that he had taken upon him to labour in teaching, - yet he did not speak with them on this subject more than one day”. (ibid. p. 21) 7 Cfr. Chronicle of Joshua § XLVI, p. 35: “In this month (= May), when the day came on which the wicked festival of the tales of the (ancient) Greeks was held, […] there came an edict from the emperor Anastasius that the dancers should not dance any more, not even in a single city throughout his empire”. 8 Chronicle of Joshua, § XXXI, p. 22. 9 C. Moss, “Jacob of Serugh’s Homilies on the Spectacles of the Theatre”, Le Museon XLVIII (1935), p. 87.

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For although, because of our sins, war and famine and pestilence and captivity and noxious beasts and other chastisements, written and unwritten, were sent upon us, yet by His grace we have been delivered from the all10. Collective worship and processions were regarded as the means of appeasing the wrath of the gods. Certainly, Christians continued this custom with new liturgical elements. In 500 AD, there were ‘earthquakes and calamities’. In October, a breach was found in the city wall, and consequently the safety of the city came under threat. The Chronicle says how the Christians sought divine mercy: For there was a breach in the wall from the south to the Great Gate; and some of the stones at this spot were scattered to no inconsiderable distance from it. By the order of our father the bishop Mar Peter, public prayers were offered, and every one besought mercy from God. He took all his clergy and all members of religious orders, both men and women, and all the lay members of the holy Church, both rich and poor, men and women and children, and they traversed all the streets of the city, carrying crosses, with psalms and hymns, clad in black garments of humiliation. All the convents too in our district kept up continual services with great diligence; and so, by the prayers of all the holy ones, the light of the sun was restored to its place, and we were a little cheered11. Some of the solemn liturgical celebrations had their origin in Edessa, which may be understood in the context of the ostentatious piety of the people. Thus, the Chronicler writes on the Palm Sunday procession: In this year (AD 498), on the 5th of the month of Ḥaziran (June), Mar Cyrus, the bishop departed this life, and Peter succeeded him. He added to the festivals of the year that of Palm Sunday. He also established the custom of consecrating the water on the night immediately preceding the feast of the Epiphany; and he prayed over the oil of unction on the Thursday (in the Passion Week) before the whole people; besides regulating other feasts12. Some popular pagan festivals were probably replaced with new Christian feasts. According to Drijvers, “there are indications that the Christians tried to replace the pagan calendar of festivals by a Christian one; at Edessa (and Serug) the feast of the apostle Thomas might have taken the place of the pagan spring festival”13. Then Drijvers continues” “It is at least certain that the Christian festivals took over most of the customs of the pagan festivals such as fairs. It seems inevitable that the whole process during which Christianity at last supplanted paganism implied the taking over of a good deal of pagan practice; the practice of processions and festivals remained more or less the same, although the ideology changed. If you want to call that persistence of pagan cults

10 11 12 13

Chronicle of Joshua, § LXXXV, p. 67. Ibid. § XXXVI, p. 26-27. Ibid. § XXXII, p. 23. Drijvers (1982), (The Persistence of Pagan Cults), p. 39. He refers to U. Monneret de Villard, “La Fiera di Batnae e la translazione di S.Tomaso a Edessa”, RendLinc. 8. Ser 6 (1951), 77ff. (Drijvers, note 38).

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and practices, there is no strong objection to that. It is, however, more a matter of continuity of culture in which no sudden changes or breaks occur, only gradual shifts”.14

2. School culture Mesopotamia developed a vibrant school culture that persisted for several centuries. In the third century, Edessa had a School where Greek was taught. Thus, Edessa was known as “Athens of the East”. Not unlike the rabbinic academies, the East Syrian Schools were innovative as centres where study was formally institutionalized, in contrast to the informal study circles of the past. According to one tradition, St Ephrem taught in the ‘School’ (and even founded the School, which is unlikely). The first known master of the School of Edessa was Qiore in the early fifth century. In fact, in the middle of the fifth century, there were three Schools in Edessa: ‘the School of the Persians’, which was the oldest and the most prestigious of the three schools. ‘The School of the Syrians’, which was anti-Nestorian, probably adopted a Christology acceptable for both Chalcedonians and the Miaphysites15. The third one was ‘the School of the Armenians’ which was also anti-Nestorian. Students from the Persian territory came to the School of the Persians for studies. Some of them soon rose to high positions (Patriarch Acacius or Barsauma, bishop of Nisibis), others certainly engaged in literary activity (Narsai). However, ‘School of the Persians’ was one of the intellectual circles in the Syriac world that served as a centre for introducing Greek thought and thus influencing the style of the Syriac language and literature. Along with the study of the Bible and the writings of the Greek Fathers, the commentaries on works of Aristotle were composed and studied (e.g. by Proba)16. In spite of the School of Edessa’s adherence to the Antiochian two hypostasis- Christology, Syrian Orthodox (Miaphysite) students like Philoxenus of Mabbugh and Jacob of Serugh studied there. Following its active role in defending conservative Antiochian Christology as expounded by Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, in 489, the Emperor Zeno gave orders to close down the School. The community under the leadership of Narsai left for Nisibis, where they founded a new school, which continued the intellectual traditions of the School of Edessa. In the words of Becker, “Students acquired a broad range of learning at the School from basic literacy to knowledge of the East Syrian exegetical tradition, the basics of Aristotelian logic, and the forms of composition and debate”17. Towards the end of the sixth century, the School of Nisibis declined, following a theological controversy in which its head Henana of Adiabene was involved. Teachers and students deserted the School and a number of new schools emerged. Two of them gained fame: One was the Great Monastery on Mt. Izla near Nisibis. The second, the School of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, was more influential for a time due to the presence of Patriarch Mar Aba 14 Drijvers (1982), The Persistence, p. 39. 15 Cfr. Segal, Edessa, p. 150; Moffett (1998), History I, p. 188. 16 Vööbus, p. 104-105. Proba is now generally dated to the 6th century, with no connection to Edessa [note added by Brock]. 17 A.H. Becker, “Nisibis, School of”, in GEDSH, pp. 311-12 (here, 311). See also, Becker (2006); Vööbus (1961), The Statutes; ID., (1965) History of the School of Nisibis.

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who is said to have founded it18.The school culture played an important role in the early translation of Greek philosophical texts into Arabic in the ‘Abbasid period. In the Syrian Orthodox Church, a number of monastic Schools were active in teaching Greek language and Science, along with literary activity and manuscript production. The Monastery of Tell ‘Ada was one among them where Jacob of Edessa taught for about nine years and undertook there vision of the Old Testament19. The monastic School of Qenneshre played a key role in the transmission of the Greek learning into Syriac. The school developed a special style of translation of Greek texts into Syriac. A note in MS Oxford (Bodleian) Poc.10, which contains the hymns of Severus of Antioch, translated by Paul of Edessa, tells that Paul’s translation was made ‘according to the tradition of Qenneshre’20. Monastery of Mor Gabriel (or Qartmin) began to function long before its official foundation in 39721. It played an important role in keeping Syriac studies alive for centuries. In the 10th century, when the ancient Syriac script was out of use for more than a century, the Bishop Yoḥannan took initiatives to revive the Estrangela script22. Among the East Syrians, the School of Alqosh (since the second half of the 16th cent.) brought about a remarkable literary activity 23. The authors of this school popularized a Sureth poetic genre known as dorekah24, which is reminiscent of the age-long Syriac poetic tradition.

3. Church and the common people Bardaisan probably represented the upper class, rich and the élite, fascinated by new ideas and with a lavish life-style. Such a Christianity of the rich and élite could not take root in Mesopotamia, especially among the majority of the population, who were villagers, and poor and illiterate. St Ephrem’s simple poetic style was appealing to their taste, in simple melodies rendering the word of God. The imageries used by St Ephrem were familiar from their daily life, rural life and from nature and the agrarian culture in which they were living. The truth of the message was rendered present by the living examples of the ascetics and monks who lived among them, even living a life harder than their own. The ascetics, by living among them, demonstrated the spiritual significance of poverty and material wants and sufferings. By being living examples of prayer, they demonstrated that in spite of poverty, abasement, humiliation, sufferings and sickness, one can live with dignity and serenity. In the person of the ascetic, Christ, the Church was present with them and among them. This is indeed a unique example of inculturation. In 609, Chosroes II took possession of Edessa and deported the Syrian Orthodox en masse and imposed a ‘Nestorian’ bishop on the city. Between 622 and 627, Heraclius in18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Moffett, History I, p. 241. See J.A. Loopstra, “Tell ‘Ada, Monastery of”, GEDSH, p. 398. J. Tannous, “Qenneshre, Monastery of”, GEDSH, pp. 345-46 (here 345). A.N. Palmer, “Gabriel, Monastery of Mor”, GEDSH, pp. 167-169. See Barhebraeus, Chronicon I, col. 417-419; Varghese (2015), “Byzantine Occupation”, pp. 451-52. A. Mengozzi, “Alqosh, School of”, GEDSH, pp. 17-18. A. Mengozzi, “Dorektha”, ibid. pp. 130-131.

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flicted a series of defeats on Chosroes, who was assassinated by his son in 628. Soon after the Muslim Arabs put an end to the rivalry between the Persian and the Roman empires, on 20 August 636, at the battle of Yarmuk, Syria fell into their hands; in 637, they penetrated Mesopotamia and in 639 Edessa fell into their power. It was then that the city lost all its political importance, and on the religious plane, too its role was diminished.

4. Syriac Christianity and the Islamic culture With the rise of Islam, Syriac Christianity entered into a period of new challenges. Its cultural superiority gradually declined and gradually Christians were reduced to the status of a discriminated minority (dhimmi), often living at the mercy of their overlords25. In the pre-Islamic period, there were Syriac communities in the Arabic-speaking regions of the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf. We have practically no information regarding their liturgical practices. The ‘Arab Christians’ of this period must have followed the West or East Syriac language and liturgy, depending on their affiliation. Soon the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula were forced to be converted to Islam, followed by the rather settled communities of the Persian Gulf. Syriac gradually became the language of the minority community spoken at home or used in liturgical services and Arabic became the lingua franca. Though the Syriac Christians played a major role in the development of Arabic Culture in its origin, soon they were strongly influenced by the language of the rulers. Before the 11th century, East and West Syrian writers were much less affected by their Muslim surroundings even when they wrote in Arabic26. Recent studies have pointed out the Arabic influence on various aspects of Syriac literature; this includes grammar, historiography, literary styles, philosophy, secular sciences and religion27. Imitating Arabic literary genres, various patterns of rhymes were introduced, a process that began even before the Syriac renaissance (that is, 11th to 13th cent.). A notable example is the use of rhymed prose (Saj’), attested in lectionaries and introductions to the Gospel readings28. In his famous work Paradise of Eden, Abdisho of Nisibis (+ 1318) tries to emulate the maqamat of al-Hariri to prove that Syriac is in no way inferior to Arabic 29 . The popular Arabic Sufi poetry Khamriyya (‘Wine Poetry’) has inspired Syriac authors like Bar Ma‘dani, Bar Hebraeus and Khamis Bar Qardhaḥe30.The influence of these literary genres has not yet been the subject of a detailed study. 25 Griffith, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque. 26 H. Teule, “The Syriac Renaissance”, in H. Teule et al. (ed.), The Syriac Renaissance, ECS9, 2010, pp. 1-30 ; here p. 23. 27 Ibid. pp. 24-28. Several studies on this topic are published in this volume. Also see the useful summary (with bibliography) by Ignace Dick, “Le Syrie de Byzance à l’Islam. Retombées de la conquête arabe sur la chrétinté de Syrie”, POC 40 (1990), 235-244. 28 Kh. Samir, “Le préface de l’Evangéliaires rimé d’Abdishu’ de Nisibe”, POC 33 (1983), pp. 19-33; also id., “Religion et culture en Proche Orient arabe. Islam et christianisme comme facteurs d’intégraion et d’éclatement”, POC 39 (1989), pp. 251-309; here p. 276. 29 Teule, p. 24. Also Helen Younansardaroud, “‘Abdisho Bar Brika’s (+ 1318) Book of Paradise: A Literary Renaissance? “, in Teule et al. (ed), ibid. pp. 195-204. 30 See David G.K. Taylor, “‘Your Sweet Saliva is the Living Wine’: Drink, Desire, and Devotion in the Syriac Wine Songs of Khamis Bar Qardhahe”, in Teule et al. (ed.), ibid. pp. 31-52.

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Islamic law has played a most impost important role in the development of canon law. The most notable example is the Ktobo d-Hudoye (Nomocanon or the Book of Guides) by Bar Hebraeus, the second part of which is entirely influenced by al-Ghazali31. Probably Bar Hebraeus called his Nomocanon Ktobo d-Hudoye in emulation of the Kitab al-Hidaya, a popular Muslim book of Law by Burhan al-Din al-Marghiniani (+1197)32. However, in his Nomocanon, Bar Hebraeus has compiled the canons on Church administration and the celebration of the sacraments, feasts as well as different liturgical rites33. Another example of Islamic influence can be found in the field of spirituality. In his Treatise on Spirituality, known as Ethicon, Bar Hebraeus has made a massive use of some writings of Al-Ghazali (+1111) and parts of Ibn Sina34. Following the Islamic example of pilgrimage to Mecca, as expounded by al-Ghazali, Barhebraeus makes a systematic presentation of the guidelines regarding pilgrimage35. Though the pilgrimage and its principles existed in the East since the fourth century, Bar Hebraeus was the first to present them in a consistent way36. Syriac Renaissance (11th-13th) had its repercussions on the Syriac art. There was an artistic revival during this time, which reached its peak in the Ayyubid period (1176-1250). There were remarkable flourishing of the Syrian Orthodox art, especially in wall paintings, church decoration, metalwork and manuscript illustration. Recent studies like those by Mat Immerzeel and Bas Snelders have brought to light the influence of the Islamic art in this development37. In fact, Byzantine, Georgian and Armenian art also had played their role in the artistic revival38. Islamic influence is obvious in stone carving (eg. The Royal Doors in the Churches at Deir Mar Behnam amd Mar Ahudemmeh)39. In the manuscript illustration, Islamic influence is mostly seen in the facial features of the biblical figures like Virgin. The most interesting illustration may be found in a Syrian Orthodox lectionary (BL 7170, fol. 145r, dated around 1220), where the scene of Christ’s trial has been painted. The facial features of Caiphas are derived from Islamic art and the whole arrangement of the scene is an adaptation of the Islamic trail scenes under a Qadi40. Likewise, Virgin is ‘mongolized’ with almond shaped eyes41. The best example is the Virgin Hodegetria on the Medallion of the

31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Teule, p. 26. see Nomocanon. Teule, p. 27. See B.Varghese, “Bar Hebraeus and the Syrian Orthodox Liturgy”, in PdO 41 (2015), pp. 586-87. Herman G.B. Teule (ed & tr), Ethicon. Memra I, Scr.Syr. 218-219 (1993). See H. Teule, Gregory Bar Hebraeus and His Time: The Syriac Renaissance”, Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 3 (2003), 21-43; id., “Barhebraeus’ Ethicon, al-Ghazali and b.Sina”, Islamochristiana 18 (1992), pp. 7386’; id., “L’amour de Dieu dans l’oeuvre de Bar ’Ebroyo”, in Dieu miséricorde. Dieu Amour. Actes du colloque, VIII (Antélias, 2003), pp. 260-275. See B. Varghese, “Pilgrimage in Syriac Tradition” (to be published in the Acts of Conference Saint Serge, Paris, 2019). See Ethicon, Chapter Nine of the Mimra: ‘On Going to Jerusalem’. Eng. tr. Teule, pp. 105-111. See Immerzeel (2009); id. (2010), Medieval Syr. Orthodox; Snelders (2010); id. (2010a), Relationship. Cfr. Snelders (2010a), Relationship, 247-251; esp. p. 251. Ibid. For a detailed study, Snelders (2010), pp. 257- 360. Snelders (2010a), p. 259-60; 264. Ibid. 262.

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famous liturgical fan (Flabellum) of Deir al-Surian (Syrian Monastery, Wadi al-Natrun, Egypt), which was produced in Mosul42. This is not surprising because Syrians were always open to the best elements of the cultural milieu in which it was living. This openness was certainly not limited to the visual arts. The over all impact of the Arabic-Islamic culture on the Syriac liturgy is a topic which needs scholarly attention.

5. Art and architecture The style of the architecture and visual arts of Syriac Christianity can suggest various influences depending on its interaction with various cultural and religious traditions. A comprehensive study of this topic is yet to be done. Studies have pointed out possible influences of Roman, Byzantine, early Mesopotamian, Persian and Islamic styles and decorations43. Syriac Christianity seems to have adopted at least a few elements from the ancient Pagan religions of the region. One such element may be the imagery of the Cross as the Tree of Life. In fact tree worship was popular in Mesopotamia44.This seems to have influenced the design of the bronze tree erected at Qartamin in 512 AD45. According to Palmer, there were still pagans in the region of Samosata in the twelfth century, who sought, as converts to Christianity, to continue their veneration of the tree under the name of the cross46. This may explain the ‘tree of life’ still found on the front side of the altar in the upper room chapel of Deir-al-Zafaran47. According to Palmer, “Architectural historians are agreed in seeing the Anastasian church at Qartamin (Mor Gabriel) as a syncretistic design, with important non-Greek elements which may go back to archaic Mesopotamians buildings”48. A typical example of inculturation in architecture may be found in the introduction of Beth Ṣlutho. The Syriac word literally means ‘house of prayer’. It is an open-air summer chapel outside the church. The best example is the church of Yoldath Aloho (Mother of God) in Ḥaḥ, Tur Abdin, with a stone lectern for the Gospel reading49. It might have been introduced to suit the need of the villagers, who used to come three times to the church in the course of the day. At noon, they may be coming from the fields. To avoid all the bother of taking off the mud-caked boots at the door of the church and putting on slippers provided, it may often have seemed simpler and practical to hold the daily prayers outside50.

42 See Snelders (2010), pp. 105-150. It contains a Syriac inscription dated 1202/3. See the photos in Snelders (2010), p. 454-55 (Pl. 10,11). Teule (2010), The Syriac Renaissance, pp. 393-94 (Pl. 25 & 26). The falbellum is now kept in the Musée Royal de Mariemont, Morlanz, Belgium. 43 A useful summary can be found in Pena (1997), esp. pp. 45-50. 44 See Palmer (1990), Monk and Mason, p. 30. 45 Ibid. p. 127. 46 Ibid. p. 30; 127. 47 See the photo in Hollerweger (1999), Turabdin, p. 339. 48 Palmer (1990), Monk and Mason, p. 122 (with bibliography). 49 Hollerweger, ibid. pp. 164-176. 50 Palmer ibid. p. 136.

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VII. Liturgical Adaptations in the East Syriac Church Towards the end of the first millennium, East Syrian Church (the ‘Persian Church’) was the largest Christian community in the world, having dioceses in various parts of Asia, including Central Asia, Mongolia, China and India. There were probably two reasons behind this expansion: missionary spirit and the able leadership of prelates of unusual vision and commitment. Since its beginning, the liturgy of the Church of the East was open to reforms by adopting new elements and adapting to the culture of its new converts. In this chapter, we shall give an overview of the early history of the East Syrian Liturgy, which was usually open to elements of Antiochene/Edessane origins. East and West Syriac liturgies have a common history in the early centuries. Antiochene and Mesopotamian/Edessan liturgical traditions played the most important role in their development. The fifth century Christological controversies and the political developments of the region led to the seperation between the two traditions. The liturgical traditions attested by the Acts of Judas Thomas and the writings of St Ephrem provided information on the liturgy followed by the Christian communinities on the Roman-Persian border. But regarding the Christian communities in the Pahlavi-speaking Persia (Iran), very little information has come down to us. In Mesopotamia, most probably different liturgical traditions must have existed. The most important among them seem to include a Judeo-Christian liturgical tradition as attested by the Acts of Judas Thomas 1 and a rather Greek tradition of Antiochene origin, of which we have very little information. It is not unlikely that the Apocryphal literature has preserved some of the elements of the early Syriac liturgy. The Doctrine of Addai speaks of the early relationship between Edessan and Antiochene Churches. Thus, Aggai, who succeeded Addai who evangelized Edessa, died suddenly and the next bishop Palut was made bishop by Serapion of Antioch. This pro-Antiochene community was known as ‘Palutians’2.Probably ‘the Palutians’ must have followed Antiochene liturgical rites.

1. Synod of Mar Isaac (410 AD) and liturgical adaptations The subsequent liturgical developments in the ‘Persian Church’ show the influence of Antiochene rites. The Synod of Mar Isaac, which met in 410 AD in Seleucia-Ctesiphon,marks the beginning of an important stage in the process of ‘antiochianization’ ‘or ‘westernisation’ which lasted until the end of the Sasanid period3.The principal organisers of the Synod were the Catholicos Mar Isaac and Marutha, bishop of Maiperqat (Martyropolis). Marutha 1 Cfr. Murray (1977), Symbols. p.7. n. 5 (bibliography). 2 Ephrem, Hymn against the Heresies 22:5; CSCO 169, syr. 76; p. 79. See McVey (1989), Ephrem p. 27. 3 See Varghese (2007). East Syrian Liturgy. On this Synod, see Synodicon Orientale (ed. Chabot), pp. 253-275; Birnie, pp. 1-15, 36.

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was an envoy from Constantinople who came to the Persian court twice and won the confidence of the Shah Yazdegerd. One of the important concerns of the Synod was correct liturgical practices (see canons 9 and 13). In liturgical matters the most important decision made by the synod is found in canon 13: Now and henceforward, we will all with one accord celebrate the liturgy according to the western rite, which bishops Isaac and Marutha have taught us and which we have seen them celebrate here in the church of Seleucia. As here, in each city the deacons shall make the proclamation. Similarly the Scripture shall be read. The pure and holy oblation shall be offered in all the churches on an altar. That henceforward, the custom of the old souvenir shall not exist among us and that the sacrifice should not be offered in houses. We shall celebrate uniformly the feast of the Epiphany of our Lord and the great day of His Resurrection as the Metropolitan, the Archbishop, the Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon indicates us. He who dares to celebrate in his church and among his people the feast of the Nativity, Lent and the great day of the Azymes (= Passover) alone and in disaccord with the Church of the West and the East, should be rejected and from all ecclesiastical ministries without mercy as someone deprived, and there shall be no remedy for him4. Canon 13 prescribes four things: (1) There shall be a liturgical uniformity. The liturgy according to the “western rite” (Edessan or Antiochene?) shall be adopted. (2) The Deacon’s role in making the proclamation and the reading of the Gospel. (3) The Eucharist shall be offered on an altar in a church; the custom of celebrating in houses shall be discontinued. (4) The festivals of the Church and the Lent shall be celebrated according to the Western calendar. The exact nature of the “western rite” that the Persian Church adopted in 410 is an open question. However, the main concern was to make the liturgical practices conform to those of the West that is of the Roman Empire. Since the School of Edessa had great reputation in Persia, the “western rite” could probably mean the liturgical practices of that city5. Marutha certainly played the most important role in the organization and the deliberations of the Synod of 410. Since his name is mentioned in this canon, the “western rite” in question could also mean the liturgy of Maiperqat (Martyropolis), a city about 300 kms northeast of Edessa (beyond Amid). Canon 15 speaks of the role of the archdeacon in the celebration of the liturgy: “In the bishop’s city, on Sundays the archdeacon shall read the koruzuto in the presence of the bishop and he shall read the Gospel”. This is one of the earliest references to the office of the Archdeacon. But here it would simply mean ‘chief deacon’ and his role shall not be understood in the light of the later developments in his privileges.

4 Synodicon orientale , pp. 266-67. 5 According to Macomber, it means probably the rite of Edessa. See, “The History of the Chaldean Mass”, Worship 51 (1977), pp. 107-120, here p. 110.

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Canon 13 permits deacons to read the Gospel and to make proclamations. The custom could be of Antiochene origin. Thus according to the Apostolic Constitutions a presbyter or a deacon reads the Gospel6. But in the Clementine liturgy of the Apostolic Constitutions, it is always the deacon who reads the litany, which corresponds to the Syriac koruzuto7. Thus, we can assume that the liturgical practices adopted in 410 were of Antiochene origin. Even if the liturgy in question were of Edessan origin, it would not mean that it was purely Mesopotamian. Edessa was always a city open to Antiochene influence. As we have seen above, the story of Palut’s ordination is an evidence for a closer relationship between Antioch and Edessa. In 412, when the see of Edessa became vacant, Rabbula (native of Qenneshrin-‘Chalcis’) was elected by a Synod held in Antioch8. In this context, it would not be surprising, if the “western rire” means a liturgy of Antiochene origin. In the course of time, several elements of Antiochene origin were incorporated into the Persian liturgy. The suppression of the Diatesaron and the introduction of the four separate Gospels also should be understood as part of “antiochianisation” of the Persian liturgy9.

2. The ‘Western rite’ and the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari The Anaphora of Addai and Mari became normative in the East Syrian Church at an early date. Has it anything to do with the “western rite” that the canon 13 of the Synod of 410 mentions? If the answer is positive, the Anaphora of the Apostles is of Edessan/Antiochene origin and might have been used in various places in Mesopotamia, including Martyropolis. The common origin of the Anaphora of the Apostles and the Maronite Anaphora of Peter (Sharar) would further support this hypothesis. It is not unlikely that the Anaphora of the Apostles was introduced in the Persian Church by the former students of the School of Edessa10. During the fifth century, the future prelates of the Persian Church were trained at the Edessan School. It was the pro-Antiochene theological position of the School that finally led to the ‘Nestorianisation’ of the Persian Church in the fifth century11.Therefore it would be quite possible that the ‘liturgy of Edessa’ (also of Antiochene origin) was adopted by the Persian Church in early fifth century. As William Macomber has suggested, there might have existed a common liturgical tradition in Mesopotamia with Edessa as its centre, which played a decisive role in the fixation of the structure and final form of the East Syriac liturgy. It is not unlikely that the Syrian Orthodox communities in Persia also had followed that liturgy and finally abandoned it in favour of the liturgy of St James. 6 Apostolic Constitutions II.57,7 (Les constitutions apostoliques, I : Livres I et II, ed. M. Metzger, SC 320 (Paris, 1985), 315. 7 Apostolic Constitutions VIII.10, 1-22 (Les constitutions apostoliques III : Livres VII-VIII ed. M. Metzger, SC 336 ,Paris, 1987), p. 167-173 ; VIII.13.1-11 (SC 336, p. 205-209); II. 57,18 (SC 320), p. 319 8 W.S. McCullough, A Short History of Syriac Christianity to the Rise of Islam, (Scholars Press General series 4 ) , Chico, CA, 1982, p. 64. See also S.A. Harvey, Rabbula of Edessa”, in GEDSH, p. 348 (Bibliography). 9 See Varghese (2007), East Syrian Liturgy, p. 274. 10 W. Macomber, “The Maronite and Chaldean Versions of the Anaphora of the Apostles”, OCP 37 (1971), pp. 79-80. 11 Moffett (1998), History, pp. 193-199.

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The churches of Mesopotamia and Syria shared several elements in common and in the course of liturgical developments, some of them were abandoned while new elements from other traditions were added. The Maronite and the Syrian Orthodox liturgical traditions have a common history, especially in the case of baptism, Eucharist and the pre-anaphoral rites. The Syrian Orthodox liturgy under the Maphrianate of Tagrit and the East Syrian liturgy share several common elements12.

3. Introduction of the Anaphoras of Nestorius and Theodore Another significant development in the history of the Persian liturgy took place during the patriarchate of Mar Aba (540-552). Before his consecration, while he was a professor at the School of Nisibis, Mar Aba made an extensive visit to the Byzantine Empire in search of the works of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius. He is credited with translating the Anaphora of Nestorius and possibly that of Theodore of Mopsuestia from Greek into Syriac13. Some of the manuscripts of the anaphora of Theodore bear the following title: “Liturgy of Mar Theodore, the Interpreter of the Divine writings and the bishop of Mopsuestia; that was translated and interpreted from Greek to Syriac by Mar Aba Catholicos, when he visited the Roman Empire; and translated it with the assistance of Mar Thoma, Doctor of Edessa”14. After his election as patriarch, Mar Aba might have popularized these anaphoras in the Persian Church. According to Macomber, another result of Mar Aba’s journey to the ‘West’ may have been the introduction into the anaphora and the daily office, of two litanies that have much in common with those of the Byzantine liturgy15. The litanies in question are the two koruzwoto that follow the reading of the Gospel16. In the sixth century, the canons 3, 4 and 5 of the Synod of the Catholicos Mar Aba (544) deal with the liturgical proprieties involving priests, deacons and sub-deacons17. Here also the western liturgical canons might have served as the model.

4. Isho‘yahb I (582-596) and the East Syriac liturgy In a collection of twenty canons, the Catholicos Isho‘yahb I answers the questions addressed to him by the priests about the correct procedures in liturgical celebrations. In fact, the term ‘canon’ here is anomalous, as they are not the decisions of a Synod of 584 as the 12 W. Macomber, “A Theory on the Origins of the Syrian, Maronite and Chaldean Rites”, OCP 39 (1973), pp. 235-242; B.Varghese, “Some common elements in the East and the West Syrian Liturgies”, The Harp 13 (2000), pp. 65-76. 13 Wright, Syriac Literature, p. 117; Duval, Littérature syriaque, p. 219. 14 See. J. Vadakkel, The East Syrian Anaphora of Mar Theodore of Mopsuestia, (Kottayam, 1989), pp. xlvi; 41; 77. 15 Macomber, “A History”, Worship 51 (1977), p. 111. 16 F.E. Brightmann, Liturgies Eastern and Western, Vol. I, (Oxford, 1896, repr. 1967), p. 262f; 266; compared with p. 362f; 381f. 17 Synodicon Orientale, p. 556; Birnie, pp. 65-66.

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title indicates. In fact, they cover, among a variety of subjects, various issues related to the liturgy: How should a priest begin his ministries at the altar? When should the celebrant takes communion” And so on18. Regarding the beginning of the celebration of the Eucharist, the patriarch answered as follows: […] When the priest approaches to celebrate, how should he begin and what should he say? How should he sign the mysteries? […] After having approached (the altar) and having bent the knees, he rises, venerates the altar, and then he greets and blesses the people saying, Peace be with you […]. They say, With your spirit. At once he adds, The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. With the apostolic words (2 Cor. 13:13), he blesses by asking (God) that these things shall be with each faithful. Then he recites, according to the custom of the ecclesiastical orders, other things, about which you have not asked, and you have not included them among your questions, as they are known and recited in all the churches of God19. Then the Catholicos explains the right procedure in the fraction of the bread. Isho‘yahb’s answer gives the impression that the Pauline version of the Trinitarian blessing had been newly introduced into the liturgy. In the Syrian Orthodox tradition, Jacob of Edessa, in his Epistle to Thomas the Presbyter also says that the Trinitarian blessing is a later addition. After having referred to the deacon’s admonition Stand fairly, Jacob writes: When they are attentive, the priest turns (towards them) and gives them the peace saying: Peace be unto to you all and he makes the sign of the cross over them and they answer him, saying: And with thy spirit. Later the Fathers (re-)arranged this part. They decided to say at the time of (sign) of the cross The Love of God the Father, the Grace of the Only Begotten Son and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, and the priest should make three signs over the people, instead of one. (But) in the place of these (prayers) the Alexandrian fathers say The Lord be with you all before the beginning of the qurobo20. In the Syrian Orthodox Eucharistic liturgy, the Trinitarian blessing replaced the initial greeting of peace (Peace be unto you all!). Thus we can assume that the Trinitarian blessing was introduced in the East Syrian liturgy, sometime in the sixth century, probably as part of the attempts for making it conform to the ‘western customs’. It is still absent in the seventh century commentary of Gabriel Qatraya. However, the 17th homily attributed to Narsai comments on it21.The Trinitarian blessing is not attested in the mystagogical catechesis known under the name of Cyril of Jerusalem as well as in the Testamentum Domini. In the Antiochene tradition, the Pauline order of Son-Father-Holy Spirit has been modified, prob-

18 19 20 21

Synodicon Orientale, pp. 424-451; Birnie, pp. 121-139. Ibid. p. 428; Birnie, p. 123. Dionysous Bar Salibi, Commentary on the Euchartist (tr. B. Varghese), ch.3:3, pp. 7-8. Connolly, The Liturgical Homilies of Narsai, p. 11.

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ably in the light of the fourth-century theological developments22. The Apostolic Constitutions is the earliest witness to the liturgical use of the modified formula with the order Father-Son-Holy Spirit23.

5. The liturgical reforms of Isho‘yahb III (580-659) Patriarch Ish’yahb is credited with the standardization of the Persian liturgy. The compilation of the Hudra or Annual Cycle of prayers is attributed to him. His reforms can be summarized as follows. 1. The first major contribution of Isho‘yahb is the revision of the Ḥudra or Service book for the Sundays of the whole year. He re-arranged the liturgical cycles and the seasons and fixed their length24. He assigned the anaphoras to each festival and reduced their number to the actual three. According to the eleventh-century author Ibn al-Ṭayyib, “the Fathers (i.e. Isho‘yahb’s predecessors?) had ordered the celebration of a fourth anaphora, that of Saint John Chrysostom” 25 . However, Isho‘yahb did not retain it in his Ḥudra. It is not clear whether his revision of the Ḥudra included the actual texts of the three anaphoras, as they are found in most of the older manuscripts of this Service book. If it contained the anaphoras, they also might have undergone a revision. Isho‘yahb’s reforms might be one of the reasons for adopting the Anaphora of the Apostles (Addai and Mari) as the ordinary liturgy of the East Syriac Church. We have evidences that once there existed more anaphoras among the East Syrians. According to the Chronicle of Séert, the East Syrians used an anaphora attributed to St Ephrem until the reforms of Isho‘yahb: “(Ephrem) composed an anaphora which is still used by the Melkites. In Nisibis, the Nestorians also celebrated this anaphora until the days of the Metropolitan Isho‘yahb, who re-ordered the prayers, chose three anaphoras and prohibited (the use of) others”26. Assemani mentions an anaphora attributed to ‘Mar Barsauma’ 27. The decrees of the Synod of Diamper (1599) speak of an “Anaphora of Diodore of Tarsus”28. Connolly has published an anonymous anaphora of sixth century29. Narsai, the founder-director of the 22 For a study on different forms of blessings: H. Engberding, “Der Gruß des Priesters zu Beginn der Eucharistie in den östlichen Liturgien”, Jahrbuch für Liturgiewissenschaft 9 (1929), pp. 139-143; A. Baumstark, Liturgie comparée, (Chevetogne, 1953), pp. 92-94; R. Taft, „Dialogue“, OCP 52(1986), pp. 299-324. 23 Apostolic Constitutions VIII, 12,4. But in the blessing before the reading of the Gospel, the Pauline formula has been used (see. VIII, 5,11). 24 J.M. Fiey, “Iso’yaw le Grand. Vie du catholicos nestorien Iso’yaw III d’Adiabène”, OCP 35 (1969), pp. 305-333; 36 (1970), pp. 5-41; for the references see, OCP 36, p. 10f.. 25 Cfr. W. Honerback and O. Spies, Ibn at-Ṭaiyib, fiqh an-nâsrâniya. “Das Recht der Christenheit” II Teil (CSCO 167/168). Scriptores arabici 18/19 (Louvain, 1957), p. 90 [text]; p. 93 [trans]. 26 Chronique de Séert, I, ch.26 : Histoire nestorienne inédite (Chronique de Séert). Première partie (I), ed. by A. Scherr, PO IV, fasc. 3 (Paris, 1907, repr. 1971), p. 295. 27 Assemani, BO III, p. 65. 28 J.D. Mansi, Diamperitana synodus in Malabar, in Mansi, Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio 35, 1250. 29 R.H. Connolly, “Sixth century Fragments of an East Syrian Anaphora”, OC (NS) 12-14 (1925), p. 99-

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School of Nisibis (+ 503) is said to have composed a liturgy30. If this attribution is correct, Narsai’s anaphora might have been either suppressed by Isho‘yahb, or revised by him with a new title, ascribing it to the “Apostles”. Quoting Baumstark, Vööbus says that there is a possibility that Narsai was the redactor of the normative liturgy of the Apostles31. According to Ibn al-Ṭayyib (+ 1043), Isho‘yahb abridged the Anaphora of the Apostles, which could perhaps explain the absence of the Words of Institution32. William Macomber has suggested that the anaphora of the Apostles originally contained the Words of Institution and were probably suppressed by Isho‘yahb33. 2. The second liturgical contribution of Isho‘yahb is the compilation of the Ṭaksa, an euchology for priests. It contains both rubrics and the texts of the three anaphoras besides other ceremonies like baptism34. In fact it was Isho‘yahb’s recension of the Ṭaksa which fixed the ceremonies of the Eucharistic celebration35. 3. The next contribution of Isho‘yahb was a commentary on the ceremonies of the Eucharist, the Daily Office and other liturgical rites. Thus, work seems to have given a theological rationale for the liturgical actions. According to Macomber, the theological explanations given to the liturgical actions by a leading prelate invested them with “a sacrosanct quality to change”36. This liturgical commentary now lost, is used in an anonymous commentary on the anaphora and other liturgical ceremonies probably written in the ninth century37. Though the reforms of Isho‘yahb gave a stability to the celebration of the Eucharist, baptism and other sacraments, the East Syriac communities of remote regions often introduced notable adaptations, as we will see in the next chapter.

6. The Turfan Hudra As we have seen above, the compilation of the Hudra is has been attributed to Patriarch Isho’yahb III. However new prayers and hymns were added down to 13th/14th centuries38. 128. 30 Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 59; Duval, Lit. syr., p. 347. 31 A. Vööbus, History of the School of Nisibis, (CSCO 206, Sub. 26, Louvain, 1965), p. 86; Baumstark, Syr. Lit., p. 112. 32 Ibn al-Ṭayyib, op.cit., also Michel the Syrian, Chronique, Vol. III (1905), p. 521. [“Il disposa la liturgie de Nestorius en abrégé, car elle était fort longue”]. 33 Macomber, A History, pp. 112-113. 34 Baumstark, Syr. Lit., pp. 199-200. On the revision of the baptismal liturgy, see G. Diettrich, Die nestorianische Taufliturgie ins Deutsche übersetzt und unter Verwertung der neusten handschriftlichen Funde historisch-krititisch erforscht (Giessen, 1900), p. XXX. 103. See the comments by R.H. Connolly in his preface to Vol.II of his translation to Anonymi auctoris Expositio officiorum ecclesiae Georgio Arbelensi vulgo adscripta, II. Accredit Abrahae bar Lipheh Interpretatio officiorum, (CSCO 72, SS 32 (Paris, 1915. Repr. Louvain, 1953; 1971), pp.2-3. 35 Macomber, A History, p. 113. 36 Ibid. 37 R.H. Connolly, Anonymi, I, part. II, p. 167-173; VIII,1. 38 Two editions of the Hudra are existing. Paul Bedjan, Breviarum iuxta ritum SyrorumOrientalium id est Chaldaeorum, 3 Vols, Paris, 1886-87; Thoma Dharmo, Ktabā da-qdam wa-d-batar wa-d-Hūdra wa-dkashkūl wa-d-gazā , 3 Vol. Prichur, 1960-61.

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The oldest surviving witness to the Hudra has come down to us in fragments from Turfan in Western China, whose original probably belongs to the ninth century39. We have evidences that in the late sixth and seventh century’s numbers of new forms of hymns were added to the Hudra, to which the monks were opposed. Dadisho (late 7th cent.) speaks of the addition of ‘onaye (or ‘onyata), qale d-shahra (vigil hymns) and qanone (refrains of Psalms, but different from Greek canons and the Syrian Orthodox qonue). According to Dadisho, these hymns belongs to the secular clergy, and the members of the theological schools (eskolaye) and were not suitable for monks40. Some of these ancient elements are found in the Turfan Hudra, in which ‘onitha is the dominant form of hymns. Unlike later composition of ‘onitha (e.g. by George Ward, 13th cent), the ‘onitha in the Turfan Hudra is attached to the Psalm verse, similar to Severus’ ma’nyotho. In Turfan Hudra, the qala titles of the ‘onitha and qanona are indicated41. Unlike the printed Hudra (by Bedjjan and Dharmo), Turfan Hudra does not contain madrasha. Perhaps madrashe were sung from a different manuscript, which ay has not come down to us from Turfan. In fact, the East and West Syrian Festal prayers were written in different manuscripts. In the Turfan fragments of the Hudra, 65 qale have been identified. The three volune Hudra published by Bedjan contains 192 qale of which 19 are common to the East and West Syrians42.

7. Christian communities in Pahlavi speaking regions of Persia The Persian Church was far from being a homogenous community, as it has been often assumed. There existed Arabic- and Persian-speaking communities43. Some of them were not necessarily under the Patriarchate of Seleucia-Ctesiphon until the Islamic domination of the region. It has been generally assumed that the Persian Church as a whole adhered to ‘Nestorianism’ since the pre-Islamic period. The Synodicon, the major source for the history of the Persian Church before the end of the eighth century mentions the existence of several Metropolitan sees that have not accepted the primacy of the Catholicos-Patriarch of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. This was often understood in terms of rebellion or schism, which is open to discussion44. Christianity in Fars provides a notable example45. Fars is a region in south western Iran where Christianity reached through two major channels: first through the large number of 39 Edited by: E.C.D. Hunter and J.F. Coakley, A Syriac Service-Book from Turfan, Berliner Turfantexte XXXIX, Turnhout, 2017. 40 Dadisho’, Commentray on Abba Isaiah’s Ascension (ed. R. Draguet), XIII, 5; CSCO SS 114 (1974), P. 182-183. Also Gabriel Qatraya (mid 7th cent.), Commentary on the Liturgy, British Library, Or. 3336 fol. 76r. [I owe this reference to BROCK, “What can the manuscripts tell us?”]. 41 Appendix C to Coakley’s edition pp. 286-301. 42 See H. Husmann, “Die Tonarten der chaldäischen Breviergesänge“, OCP 35 ((1969), pp. 215-248; ID., „Zur Geschichte des Qala“, OCP 45 (1979), pp. 99-113; here, p. 108. 43 See the articles: Beth Aramaye, Beth ‘Arbaye, Beth Garmai,Beth Lapat, Beth Nuhadra, Beth Qatraya, Fars in GEDSH (with bibliography; see especially the studies by J.M. Fiey). 44 See my study “Syriac Christianity in Iran and South India: Fifth to Eleventh centuries”, (Forthcoming, in The Harp). 45 See J. Walter, “Fars”, GEDSH, pp. 163-64.

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deportees from Roman Syria, forcibly resettled in the region by Shapur I (r. 240-272) and his grandson Shapur II (r. 309-379). Another channel was the commercial contacts. According to the Acts of Mari (7th cent.), merchants from Fars and Khuzistan travelled to the ‘West’, where they were converted by the ‘blessed apostle Addai’ presumably at Edessa and they must have introduced Christianity at home46. The Chronicle of Seert says that in the third century liturgy was conducted in Fars in both Greek and Syriac47. According to Fiey, there were at least two churches in Rev Ardashir (metropolitan see of Fars), one of the Romans, that is the deportees settled there by Sapor I, and another of the Karmanians, that is the Persians, who were converted to Christianity and were deported from inner regions and resettled there. Fiey says that the Romans used Greek and the Karmanians Syriac as their liturgical language48. During the 5th-6th cent., Fars emerged as one of the most important dioceses of the Persian Church under the Metropolitan of Rev Ardashir. Under him, there were bishops in several regional cities49. The bishops’ names were often Persian rather than Syriac, suggesting the presence of flourishing communities of ethnic Persians. By the beginning of the 6thcentury, several texts were translated from Syriac into Middle Persian, certainly for the use of the Persian speaking Christians of Fars and the neighbouring regions. A well-known passage in the Chronicle of Seert attests that Ma‘na, metropolitan of Fars in the mid-sixth century composed ‘hymns, metrical homilies and responses in Persian to be sung in the Church’ and sent them to the ‘maritime lands and India’50. In 680, the Patriarch Giwargis sent a letter explaining the Christology of the Church of the East to “Mina, the presbyter and Chorepiscopos in the land of the Persians”. It is significant that the letter was written in ‘Persian tongue’. In its concluding paragraph, the patriarch writes: “Behold I have written for your brotherhood’s recollection briefly, in the Persian tongue, which is easier for you”51. A Middle Persian version of the Gospels seems to have existed and what remains is the Lord’s Prayer inserted in an anti-Christian Zoroastrian treatise. Obviously, this has been made from an earlier Syriac version52. The number of Christians in Persia increased in the sixth and seventh centuries following the invasions of the Roman Empire by Chosroes I (531-579) and Chosroes II (589-628). They must have brought Antiochene liturgical rites to Persia. However, we have little information regarding their impact on the liturgy of the Church of the East. It is not unlikely that Isho‘yahb III limited the number of anaphoras to three and introduced other reforms in this context, as the dioceses were exposed to the liturgical practices came from the ‘West’. 46 47 48 49 50 51

Ibid. p. 164. Chronicle of Seert, I.1. PO 4, ch. 2, p. 222. Chronicle of Seert was composed in the 11th century. Fiey (1969) Diocèses syrien, Mem Khouri-Sarkis, p. 181-82. See Fiey (1969), Mem. Khouri-Sarkis, p. 202-203. Chronicle of Seert, II.1, PO 7, ch. 9, p. 117. See the letter in Synodicon, pp. 491-513; here p. 513; also Birnie, pp. 182-195; here p. 195. Apparently there was no ‘Nestorian bishop” in “the land of the Persians” Rev Ardashir) at that time. The letter makes no reference to the presence of a bishop there. It was addressed to ‘Mina, the Presbyter and Chorepiscopos”. 52 Antonino Panaino, “The Pazand version of Our Father”, in A. Mustafa & J. Tubach (ed.), Inkulturation des Christentums im Sasanidenreich, (Wiesbaden, 2007), pp. 73-90.

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A vigorous Persian Christian culture continued to mark its presence until the close of the first millennium. Christian law books composed in the 8th-9th centuries mention the adoption of Sasanian-derived marriage patterns by the Christians, and the efforts of the clergy to purge their flock of these ‘Magian’ customs53. The Christians of Fars were proud of their origin, independent of the Church in Seleucia-Ctesiphon. Bar Hebraeus refers to an incident that had taken place during the patriarchate of Timothy I (780-823): Up to the time of Timothy, the bishops of the region of Fars are said to have worn white robes like secular priests, and to have eaten meat and taken wives. They also did not obey the Catholicos of Seleucia, as they said: “We are the disciples of the Apostle Thomas, and we have nothing in common with the throne of Mari2. Timothy conciliated and joined them to him, and consecrated a metropolitan for them named Shem‘on, whom he instructed not to eat meat, not to marry, nor to wear white garments unless they were of wool. He also allowed him to consecrate bishops and perfect them in person, whereas all other bishops of the other provinces were required to come to the catholicos to be perfected by him. This custom remains in force to the present day54. Corresponding to the Persian mentality, monasticism was probably not popular among the Christians of Fars. Patriarch Timothy had to make concessions in the case of Fars and allowed them to follow their own customs. Bar Hebraeus says that even in his days Fars was not under the authority of the Patriarchate of Baghdad [he does not claim that the Christians of Fars were miaphysites]. In the context of our present study, it is important to note the efforts of the Church of the East to make concessions to accommodate the Christians of Pahlavi culture. The spirit of inculturation is further evident in the communities in Central Asia and China.

53 J. Walker, p. 164. See, R. Payne, Christianity and Iranian Society in Late Antiquity. c. 500-700 CE [Ph.D. Diss. Princeton University, 2010: von vidi; quoted by Walker]. 54 Bar Hebraeus, Chronicle, pp. 170-171, Wilmshurst, p. 360.

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VIII. Inculturation in the East Syriac Church in Central Asia and China 1. China and Central Asia For several centuries before Christ, Central Asia and China were in more or less uninterrupted contact with Persia and this explains the origins of Christianity there at an early period. East Syrian missionaries, who were fluent in Middle Persian, evangelized initially the Sogdians who were traders along the Silk Road and later the Turks, both the nomadic and settled groups1. Available texts and inscriptions attest that Christians of Central Asia used at least six languages: Syriac, Middle Persian, Sogdian, New Persian, Old Uyghur and Öngut Turkic2. However, Syriac seems to have been used as the primary liturgical language, while local languages, (namely Sogdian) were used, perhaps in a limited way, for singing hymns, chanting psalms and reading scriptural lessons3.

2. Possible phases in inculturation The inculturation that had taken place in the East Syriac Church in Central Asia and China should be studied in the light of the following historical facts. East Syriac Christianity reached different places in Central Asia and China at different times, springing up and disappearing. The extent of implantation was not uniform. In some places it was present as a migrant community from Persia and other places it consisted of migrants from Sogdia. The size of the communities was different from place to place. Certainly, the converts included Manichaeans, Marcionites as well as other Christian groups from Mesopotamia and Persia, as we learn from the Book of Governors by Thomas of Marga4. From the third century onwards, Merv, the gateway to central Asia, was also a centre of Manichaeism. At least since the fourth century, Merv was an important bishopric in the Church of the East. 1 2 3 4

On the origins of Christianity in Central Asia and China: Dickens (2019); Takahashi (2019); Li Tang (2004). Ibid. pp. 96-98. See Sims-Williams (1992), pp. 49-51; 54. Thomas of Marga writes on Bishop Shubḥalisho‘, who was ordained by the Patriarch Timothy as a missionary bishop to Central Asia: “He taught and baptized many towns and numerous villages and brought them to the teaching of the divine life. He built churches, and set up in them priests and deacons, and singled out some brethren who were missionaries with him to teach them psalms and canticles of the Spirit. And he himself went deep inland to the farthest end of the East, in the work of great evangelisation and he was doing among pagans, Marcionites, Manichaeans, and other kinds of beliefs and abominations, and he sowed the sublime light of the teaching of the Gospel, the source of life and peace”. Thomas of Marga, Liber Supeiorum (ed. P. Bedjan), pp. 269-271. Trans. by Mingana (1925), pp. 13-14.

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The literary or epigraphic evidence, as well as archaeological findings, attest rather the history of particular settlements, and not necessarily the history of the East Syriac mission in the region as a whole. Evidences suggest that there was no centralized organization for the communities in the region. This is implied in the inscription of the Xian-fu stele5. No metropolitan is named, and the relationship with the “Mother Church” is not highlighted. Inculturation in Central Asia and China might have taken place at different times and places. Literary evidences are insufficient to draw a clear picture of the inculturation in this region. It is not unlikely that Manichaean texts might have provided examples of literary styles and vocabulary to the first Christian writers in the languages of the region. The liturgical texts that have come down to us are not numerous; no rubrics, commentaries or descriptions have come down to us. However, using the available evidences, literary, epigraphic and epitaphs, we can have a general idea of the extent of inculturation. For the sake of the convenience of the study, I shall propose the following order in the development: 1. Translation of the Scriptures, 2. Translation of the prayers and liturgical texts, 3. Adaptation of prayers, hymns and liturgical texts, 4. Liturgical customs, 5. Liturgical symbols, vestments, art and architecture, 6. Para-liturgical rites, 7. Shamanist practices. It is almost certain that translation represents the first phase (1-2) and the next three (36) belong to the period when the Church was more or less settled in the region. The last one (no. 7) represents a community that was rather free from strict control of the hierarchy, both regional and meta-regional (“Patriarchate of Baghdad”). 2.1 Translation of the Scriptures The first phase of inculturation represents the translation of the Scriptures, using vocabulary that can convey the message of the Gospel with clarity and that is close to the original sense of the Biblical themes and concepts. The choice of the religious vocabulary is a difficult task, especially in the religiously pluralistic context of Central Asia and China. In both places, the situation was not the same. In one place, the coverts were rather illiterate nomads familiar with Buddhism from India or Manicheanism from Persia or simply the ancestral religions (“Shamanism”). In China, East Syriac Church encountered Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, religions strongly rooted in the country. Therefore, the Church had to adopt different methods. Before the origin of printing and easy availability of the books of the Bible, Biblical texts were read and preserved primarily in a liturgical context, especially in lectionaries. This is true in the case of the Bible in Central Asia. We do not know whether the whole Syriac Bible was translated into Sogdian or Uyghur Turkic. However, we have evidence that portions of the Scripture were read in Sogdian. But perhaps, Uyghur also was used6. Since the Psalter had an important place in the East Syriac Daily Offices and Festal Offices, it was certainly translated into the languages of Central Asia. Thus, Psalter fragments in

5 6

See Moffett (1998), History, pp. 287-323; J.W. Childers, “Xi’an”, GEDSH, pp. 428-29 (with Bibliography); H. Takahashi, “China, Syriac Christianity in”, GEDSH, pp. 94-96. Dickens (2009), pp. 92-120. Here, p. 111.

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Syriac, Middle Persian, New Persian and Sogdian were discovered in Turfan and Dunhuag7. The use of the Bible in local languages may be attested further in prayers, blessings of wedding, or other texts such as amulets or tomb inscriptions, which contain biblical allusions, paraphrases and direct quotations. The use of the Apocrypha is also attested, though in a limited way. Even the non-manuscript materials, like ostraca and funerary tiles show how Bible and its spirit had taken deep roots in the soil of Central Asia, particularly in Sogdian or in at least one dialect of the Turkic languages. The so-called “Gospel of Princess Sara”, copied for Princess Sara of Mongolia (“sister of Giwargis… King of the Önguts”) attests to the fact that the Buddhist style of copying Sutras sometimes inspired Christian copyists. It is an example of chrysography (gold ink on blue paper) inspired by the Buddhist custom of writing sutras in gold ink on blue paper. It is obviously a Gospel book commissioned for personal use8. Apart from the Syriac manuscripts of the Biblical books and lectionaries, Middle Persian, New Persian, Sogdian, and probably Uyghur versions of the scriptures were used by the communities in Central Asia9. 2.1.1 Middle Persian and New Persian texts The translation of the New Testament into Persian could go back to the late 4th and 5th centuries: Syriac hymns and liturgical texts seem to have been translated into Persian in the 5th century and were still in use in the 8th century: Unfortunately, none of them have survived. An important testimony to Middle Persian Christian literature is the Skand-gumânîg Wizâr, a 9th century polemic against Jews and Christians, which quotes several Old Testament and New Testament verses in Middle Persian10. We have a Middle Persian Psalter from Turfan, the only extant Christian manuscript in that language. The extant fragments contain most of Pss. 94-99; 118; 121-136. The manuscript, probably of 6th century, might have been copied from an original one or two centuries older. It is rather a literal translation of the Peshitta, using many Syriac loan-words. There is also an interlinear Syriac New Persian Psalter from Turfan containing Pss. 146:5-147:7 (according to the Peshitta numbering. i.e. Ps. 147 in the English Bible). The Syriac lines are followed by a New Persian translation in modified Syriac scripts (with the extra letters used in Christian Sogdian texts). These Psalters were most probably used by the East Syriac monks from Persia in their daily offices. 2.1.2 Sogdian Texts East Syrian mission to Sogdia provides another example of inculturation. Christian Sogdian Script is derived from Estrangela11. Sogdian was probably the lingua franca of the Bulayiq Christian community (North West China). Among the manuscripts discovered in the east 7 8 9 10 11

Ibid. pp. 92-120. Ibid. p. 111. Dickens (2009). Ibid. p.105. See Panaino (2007). Sogdia or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization. The territory included present day Tajikstan and Uzbekistan such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Khujand, Panjikent and Shahrisabz.

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Syrian Monastery near Bulayiq, north of Turfan in Central Asia, some were Sogdian and Syriac bilinguals. (a) Portions of a Gospel lectionary with rubrics in Syriac and Sogdian text in black ink, thus attesting the use of both languages in liturgy. Though the Sogdian text is mainly dependent on Peshitta, there are traces of the influence of the Diatessaron and the Old Syriac version of the New Testament. (b) Lectionary fragments with alternating Syriac and Sogdian sentences. (c) Fragments of a Sogdian Psalter, translated from Peshitta, in which the first verse of each Psalm is in both Syriac and Sogdian. This manuscript contains a Sogdian version of the Nicene Creed in Sogdian script. (d) A fragment of Ps. 33, with first phrase in Greek and continued in Sogdian. The text shows the influence of LXX as well as Peshitta. The translation was probably made in Sogdiana, where Melkites were present. 2.1.3 Uyghur Turkic Texts Among the some forty or more Christian Turkic manuscripts discovered in Turfan and Qata-Khoto, at least two suggest the use of the Uyghur language in liturgical celebrations. (a) We have a prayer booklet written in Syriac and Uyghur scripts, containing a Syriac phrase probably referring to Ps. 72:1712. (b) A wedding blessing, with a reference to Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua and Samson13. Although among the Turkic manuscripts, there are no biblical texts per se, there are texts with biblical allusions and brief quotations.

3. Translation of prayers The manuscripts fragments of a Sogdian Psalter contains the Sogdian version of the Nicene Creed, in Sogdian Script. Other texts include the Gloria, an early form of a Commentary on Baptism and Eucharist, known in East and West Syriac tradition and a verse text by Babai of Nisibis (“On the final evil hour”, not extant in Syriac)14. Among the Uyghur Turkic manuscripts discovered from Turfan, we have a wedding blessing with reference to Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua and Samson. (Uyghur in Syriac Script)15. Sims-Williams has pointed out that the wedding hymn is practically identical with the East Syriac version, as published by Bedjan and others16.

12 Dickens (2009), p. 109. 13 Ibid. 14 See S.P. Brock, “Turfan, Syriac Texts from”, GEDSH, p. 420-21; also I. Yakubovich, “Sogdia”, ibid. p. 382-83. 15 See Plate 5: Christian Uyghur wedding blessing in Syriac script [T III Kurutka 1857 = U 7264] published in Zieme (1981). 16 Sims-Williams (1995), p.258.

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4. Adaptation of prayers 4.1 Chinese version of the Gloria The most interesting liturgical text discovered from China will be the so called Gloria in Excelsis and it provides a good example of liturgical adaptation in China. The manuscript was discovered in 1909 in the Cave of the Thousand Buddhas, in Dunhuang by Paul Pelliot. The credit for identifying it as the Chinese adaptation of the Syriac version of Gloria in Excelsis goes to Mingana17. The Chinese version is generally considered as approximately contemporary with the erection of the Stele of Xian, i.e. 781 AD18. This is the only text from China, which can be compared to its Syriac Original. In the East Syriac Church, the Gloria is sung at the end of the Morning Prayer (Sapra)19. The East Syriac version differs from the Byzantine, West Syriac and Latin versions, which represent another redaction. The oldest known form is attested by the Apostolic Constitutions20. [The Alexandrian version, followed by the West Syrians is attributed to St Athanasius of Alexandria. Dom B. Capelle has done a comparative study of different versions with Apostolic Constitutions21.] The East Syrians also made an interpolation inspired by 1 Tim. 6:15-16, in the version available to them (“we confess you …”). This interpolation is absent in the Chinese text, suggesting that the Chinese adaptation was made from an older version. Li Tang has translated the Chinese title as follows: “The Mighty of Three Receiving Great Praises” (or ‘The Three powers receive great praises’)22. The hymn consists of 44 lines with seven characters to each line. As the Chinese title is obscure, so the “problem of a literal translation remains”23. The Syriac and Greek versions (including Apostolic Constitutions VII, 47, 1-3) refer to the Hymn of the Angels is Lk. 2:14. Thus in the East it is popularly known under this title. This has been alluded to in the Chinese version (line 2): “The supreme heavens (or many heavens) praise with honour and awe …”). The original East Syriac redaction consists of two parts: (i) Trinitarian, which is composed as an acclamation and (ii) Christological that is a supplication. The two parts are connected with an intermediary verse. The ‘binitarian structure’ is retained in the Chinese version. But the ‘supplication’ of the second part is rendered as an acclamation. Though the Chinese version has retained the original ‘tenor’ as a hymn of the glorification of the Holy Trinity, it represents an adaptation of the original Syriac text to a Chinese metrical system of the zan, a poetic genre characterized by the fixed verse structure of seven characters per line. This adaptation involved some significant departures from the origi-

17 Drake (1935). 18 Foster (1930). Foster had compared it with the Te Deum. 19 See Mateos (1959), pp. 77-78. English translation of Gloria in MacLean (1894), pp. 170-171. In the East Syriac tradition, some of the manuscripts attribute the hymn to Theodore of Mopsuestia. Mateos, p. 77. 20 Apostolic Constitutions VII, 47, 1-3, which may not be the primitive text, but a re-writing. See Metzger, SC 336, 113n. 21 See Capelle (1949). 22 Translation of the Chinese text by Tang (2002), pp. 181-183. See also the description pp. 114-115. 23 Tang, p. 115.

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nal text24. The style of the hymn suggests that Buddhists and Christians of China used the same literary models to transmit their teachings25. Scholars believe that the literary form of the Chinese Christian texts is modelled on that of Daoist and Buddhist scriptures26. 4.2 Sogdian version of the Gloria The Gloria was also translated into Sogdian and the Sogdian text was probably copied in the 8th century. This version was reconstructed by Nicholas Sims-Williams from five fragments of the Turfan collection in the Orientabteilung of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Preussischer Kulturbesitz) coming from the site of Bulayïq27. According to Sims-Williams, the wording of the hymn is practically identical with the East Syriac Version ( as published by P.Bedjan) and others. He adds that the Chinese text (from Dun-huang) is ‘not a strict translation, but a metrical paraphrase whose verbosity may result from the demands of the metre’28. He refers to a study in Chinese by Wu Chi-yu (1980) which includes a phrase-byphrase comparison between the Chinese and Syriac texts. Sims-Williams pointed out the correspondences between the Chinese and Sogdian Versions. Sometimes the Sogdian Translation is remarkably free. 4.3 Praise to the transfiguration of the Great Holy One (Chinese) This is a hymn of acclamation of the Merciful Father, Aluhoe29. The manuscript is a complete document in 18 lines, and is a free composition in classical metre of ‘Qiyan Poem’ with regular rhythm. Both Gloria and ‘Transfiguration’ could be easily chanted. According to Li Tang, this text seems to be a hymn sung by the East Syriac Church on August 6, which is not certain. Generally speaking, the East Syriac hymns are characterized by their Christological orientation. But this is not the case with this hymn, which is rather ‘monotheistic’. Li Tang has pointed out that Chinese scholars Lin Wusu and Reng Xinjiang held that the hymn was copied in the style of Gloria and therefore the manuscript is a forgery30. But from a liturgical point of view, the hymn represents a tradition of using indigenous literary genres and thus assuring people’s active participation. There are passages reminiscent of Buddhist texts: “Bright and clear as the Sun and the moon in thy glittering white visage…”31. The manuscript gives the impression that the hymn was sung before the reading of the Scriptures in the following sequence: the Pauline Epistles, Psalms and the Gospels.

24 See Mateo Nicolini-Zani, “Past and Current Researches on Tang Jing Jiao Documents. A Survey”, in Roman Malek (ed.), Jingji’ao. The Church of the East in China and Central Asia, (Sankt Augustin, 2008), pp. 23-44; here p. 39. 25 Ibid. p. 39. 26 Ibid. p. 40. 27 Sims-Williams (1995). 28 Ibid. p. 258. 29 Trans. Tang (2002), pp. 202-203. 30 Ibid. p. 123. 31 Ibid. p. 202.

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4.4 On the meaning of worship (Chinese) Book of Jesus the Messiah, a summary of Christian doctrine, provides examples of inculturation in theology, using Chinese Buddhist vocabulary. Thus following the Buddhist notion of God, the text says: “The most holy one of great wisdom is equal to emptiness. He cannot be grasped” [8:2C]32. Even the meaning of worship is understood in terms of Buddhism. Unlike Greek and Syriac patristic traditions, life after death is understood in terms of Nirvana or bliss33: “You can only worship in this world, not in the next world. If someone left this world and is gone, he had already sown in this world what he would be richly rewarded. It is difficult to sow in the next world and be richly rewarded. In the next world, only happiness is seen not any one”34. However, during our earthly existence, worship is the means to experience the presence of “God”: “Those who worship the Lord of the Universe are with the father of Mishihe. Heaven will be their eternal dwelling place, as well as a place for longevity and happiness”35. According to Gloria in Excelsis, those who worship receive the “holy light” and by worship, the devils are destroyed. It is in worship man is seeking “His infinite truth”: “His infinite truth eternal, where can be sought?36 As God is invisible and formless, one can contemplate only his ‘Pure Virtue’ and His ‘unequal Power”: “Since the beginning none has seen Him Revealed in all, yet His image cannot be formed. On His pure Virtue alone, one should contemplate, His power alone, no equal found”37. According to the Book of Jesus the Messiah, the Ascension of the Mishihe took place thirty days after His resurrection and Pentecost (“reception of the Pure Wind”) on the fortieth day38.

5. Adaptations of liturgical practices: fasting rules In the East, fasting is an integral part of the liturgical tradition. Thus, the Eucharistic celebration is preceded by fasting. Monks as well as lay people are obliged to observe the canonical fasts, especially the Great Lent. Dietary rules on canonical fasting include abstaining from meat, fish, egg, milk products as well as oils. As the main staple food of the nomads of Central Asia consisted of milk products and meat, this caused a practical problem. Should they abstain from these items? Bar Hebraeus quotes from the correspondence between Abdisho, Metropolitan of Merv and the East Syrian Patriarch John (in the year AD 1009). Abdisho reported the conversion 32 Line 30-40; Tang, p. 158. 33 Nirvana in Sanskrit literally means “blowing out”. Nirbana (Pali) is the state of enlightenment, release from the cycle of rebirth. 34 8:2 D, Line 8-85; Tang, p. 165. This could be an adaptation of the ideas expressed in Mt. 22:30 & Ps. 88:10-11. 35 Line 130-135; Tang, p. 177. 36 Tang, pp. 181-182. 37 Gloria, line 10-15; Tang, p. 182. 38 See line 105-115; 120-125; Tang, pp. 176-177.

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of the King of the Keraites with his people. After having received baptism, the king inquired regarding fasting regulations. We shall quote Bar Hebraeus (who has recorded the words of Abdisho): He also made enquiries from me concerning fasting, and said to me, ‘Apart from meat and milk, we have no other food; how could we then fast’; he also told me that the number of those who were converted with him reached two hundred thousand. The Catholicos wrote then to the Metropolitan, and told him to send two persons, a priest and a deacon, with all the requisites of an altar, to go and baptize all those who were converted, and to teach them Christian habits. As to the fast of Lent, they should abstain in it from meat, but they should be given permission to drink milk, as they say, Lent food is not found in their country39. Bar Hebraeus’ possible source of information is the Kitab al-Mijdal (Book of the Tower) of Mari Ibn Sulaiman, who wrote in Arabic for a Christian public around1145-1150, well before the beginning of the Mongol Empire40. We shall quote his version, which is earlier than that of Bar Hebraeus, and differs in several details. A king from the Turkish kings became Christian with two hundred thousand souls. The cause of this was that he lost his way when he went hunting, and while he was bewildered not knowing what to do, he saw the figure of a man who promised salvation to him. He asked him about his name, and he told him it was Mar Sergius. He intimated to him to become Christian, and said to him, ‘Close your eyes’, and he closed them. When he opened them, he found himself in his camp. He was amazed at this, and made inquiries concerning the Christian religion, prayer, and book of canonlaws. He was taught the Lord’s Prayer, Lâkû Mara, and Qaddîsha Alâha. The Bishop also told (the Patriarch) that he had written to him on the subject of his going to him, and that he was informed that his people were accustomed to eat only meat and milk. The king had set up a pavilion to take the place of an altar, in which was a cross and a Gospel, and named it after Mar Sergius, and he tethered a mare there, and he takes her milk and lays it on the Gospel and the cross, and recites over it prayers which he has learned, and make the sign of the Cross over it, and he and his people after him take a draught from it. The Metropolitan inquired from (the Patriarch) what as to be done with them as they had no wheat, and the latter answered him to endeavour to find them wheat and wine for Easter; as to abstinence, they should abstain during Lent from meat, and be satisfied with milk. If their habit was to take sour milk, they should take sweet milk as a change to their habit41.

39 Mingana (1925), p. 15; Bar Hebraeus, Chronicle. (ed. Lamy), III, p. 280. Wilmshurst, p. 398. (We have quoted Mingana’s translation, which is better). 40 Atwood (2014), p. 517. I am grateful to Prof. Pier Giorgio Borbone (Pisa) for bringing my attention to this article and sending me a copy of it. 41 Book of the Tower, in the life of John V., H. Gismondi (tr), Maris Amri et Salibae de patriarchis nestorianorumcommentaria, (Vol.I, Roma, 1899), p. 100. cfr. Assemani, BO, IV, p. 484. Trans. by Mingana, pp. 16-17. On a discussion on the versions given by Barhebraeus and Ibn Sulaiman, Atwood (2014), pp. 516-517.

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Here sour milk means fermented and thus lightly alcoholic mare’s milk or koumis (Turkish qumïz, or called airag, esüg or chigee in Mongolian), which was a popular drink. It must have been hard to abstain from it during Lent42. Both versions give the impression that the newly founded Churches sought the guidance of the Patriarch of Baghdad in some liturgical practices. In certain cases, dispensations were granted. Thus, they were directed to abstain from meat and sour milk. But in the case of the Eucharistic celebration, they were instructed to use wheat bread and wine. A Syriac document attributed to Philoxenus of Mabbugh also speaks of the dietary habits of the Turkic people43. According to it, the Lenten diet of the Turkic people included dry meat as well: In the days of the holy Lent they do not eat fresh and new meat, but meat that is dry like wood; and they fast from evening till evening and they make the wafers of the Holy and Divine Sacrament from bread of pure wheat. They bring from other countries, with great care and diligence, pure flour from pure wheat, and they store it up for the purpose; so also they fetch from remote regions the raisins from which they make the wine used for the Holy Communion44. This attests that the inculturation was not permitted in the case of the Eucharistic celebration. The author adds that bread was not their staple food: “No bread at all is found in their country, no cornfield, no vineyard, no wine, and no raisins; and all their food consists of meat and milk of sheep; and they have a great quantity of flocks”45. In addition to the Eucharist, they remained faithful to the East Syriac liturgical tradition in several respects. Thus, the Syriac document attributed to Philoxenus says: “They do not practice circumcision like pagans, but are baptized like us with holy baptism and the holy chrism”46. William of Rubruck says that the “Patriarch had sent them from Baghdad a quadrangular skin for an antimensium, and it had been anointed with chrism”47.

6. Para-liturgical rites 6.1 Blessing of Koumis Koumis (the fermented milk from a mare) was an alcoholic drink served in banquets of the Mongols and it was considered as a sacred beverage48. William Rubruck records the ceremonial drinking that he had witnessed in the camp of Batu: 42 See Atwood (2014), pp. 517-518; Halbertsma (2008), p. 31, also Mingana (1925), p. 17. On the preparation of Koumis, Rubruck, pp. 66-67. On the Mongol food customs, ibid. pp. 62-70. 43 Trans. by Mingana (1925), pp. 58-73; see also the description: 49-58. The author claims that the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch also had some share in the conversion of the Turks and because of the political turmoil, the relationship was interrupted and they came under the ‘Nestorian Patriarchate of Seleucia-Ctesiphon’. Mingana (1925), pp.66-67. 44 Mingana, p. 69. 45 Ibid. p. 72. 46 Ibid. p. 72. 47 Rubruck, p. 215; Mingana, pp. 21-22.

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And when they have come together to drink they first sprinkle with liquor the image which is over the master’s head, and then the other images in order49. Then an attendant goes out to the dwelling with a cup and liquor, and sprinkles three times to the south, each time bending the knee, and that to do reverence to the fire; then to the east, and that to do reverence to the water; to the north they sprinkle for the dead. When the master takes the cup in hand and is about to drink, he first pours a portion on the ground. If he were to drink seated on a horse, he first before he drinks pours little on the neck or the mane of the horse. Then when the attendants are ready with two cups and platters to carry drink to the master and the wife seated near him upon the couch […] A bench with a skin of milk or some other drink, and with cups, stands in the entry50. The Christian people from abroad (Russian, Greeks and Alans) abstained from this pagan sacred beverage and considered its drink as apostasy from the Christian faith51. For the natives it was difficult to abstain from their preferred beverage for the sake of a new religion. Rubruck records an incident: On the day of Pentecost (7th June 1253) a certain Saracen (Muslim) came to us, and while in conversation with us, we began expounding the faith […] he said he wished to be baptized; but while we were making ready to baptize him he suddenly jumped on his horse saying he had to go home to consult with his wife. And the next day talking with us he said he could not possible venture to receive baptism, for then he could not drink cosmos (koumis). For the Christians of these parts say that no true Christian should drink, but that without this drink it were impossible to live in these deserts. From this opinion I could not possibly turn him52. As the drinking water was scarce, people might have depended on beverages like koumis for survival. This seems to be context in which the East Syrians adapted the ceremonial drinking of koumis with a blessing, to give a Christian touch. In the Shamanistic world of the Mongols, the rulers asked the East Syrian clergy to give a blessing to their favourite drink. Thus, Rubruck writes that he was asked by the Mongol commander Sartak to give a blessing: “he caused us to sit down and drink of his milk, and after a while he besought us to say a blessing for him, which we did”53. 6.1.1 Ceremonial Drinking On important feast days, blessing of koumis took place in the Mongol court. On the feast of Epiphany (January 6) the priests went to the Mongol court in a procession with cross, censer and the Gospel: 48 49 50 51

On the beverages of the Mongols. Rubruck, p. 62, see notes. On the arrangement of the felt images in a Mongol tent. Rubruck, pp. 58-59. Rubruck, pp. 60-61. For a summary of the accounts by Rubruck, see Dauvillier (1957). Rubruck, p. 87. A synod of the Russian Church held in 1274, discussed the question of the food. Cfr. Atwood (2014), p. 519. 52 Rubruck, pp. 90-91. 53 Rubruck, p. 102.

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Now on that day the Mongu Khan had had a feast, and it is his custom on such days as his divinisers tell him are holy, or the Nestorian priests say for some reason are sacred, for him to hold court, and on such days first come the Christian priests with their apparel, and they pray for him and bless his cup. When they had left, the Saracen priests came do likewise. After them came the priests of the idols, doing the same thing54. But the Turco-Mongol believers of the East Syriac Church willingly participated in its drinking with its ritual character. We are told that at the beginning of the 11th century, the first Christian prince of the Keraites kept a special mare among his horses, and its milk was placed in front of the cross and the Holy Scriptures; special prayers were said over it and placed and the prince and his companions drank it together (quoted above)55. According to Rubruck, koumis was served in the churches as well. He records one such episode: “(Mongke Khan) entered the church… And they brought him a gilded couch, on which he sat beside his (Christian) lady; facing the altar…”. Then when the Khan had left, the lady distributed gifts to all those who were present and there was a solemn blessing of the koumis followed by the usual feast: Then the drink was brought, rice mead and red wine […] and cosmos (koumis). Then the lady, holding a full cup in her hands, knelt and asked a blessing, and the priests all sang with a loud voice, and she drank it all. Likewise, I and my companion had to sing when she wanted to drink another time. When they were all nearly drunk, food was brought consisting of mutton, which was at once devoured, and after that large fish which are called carp, but without salt or bread, of these I ate. And so they passed the day till evening. And when the lady was already tipsy, she got on her cart, the priests singing and howling, and she went away. The next Sunday, when we read “Nuptie facte sunt in Chana” [John 2] there came the daughter of the Chan, whose mother was a Christian, and she did likewise, though with not so much ceremony, for she made no presents but only gave the priests to drink till they were drunk, and also parched millet to eat56. On feast days, koumis was drunk with the accompaniment of music and dance57. Apparently, the priests sung some Syriac hymns (‘the priests singing and howling’). In one occasion, it is said that in the blessing of the koumis, the Khan himself put the incense: “The Nestorian priests carried incense to him (the Khan) and he put it in the censer and they incensed him. They then chanted, blessing his drink; and after them the monk said his benison, and finally we had to say ours”58. As we have seen above, at the ceremonial drinking, koumis was sprinkled on the felt idols in the tents. According to Rubruck, the East Syrian priests also did it. Thus on the 54 Rubruck, p. 182. 55 Gismondi (1899), p. 113/100. Quoted by Hage (1988), p. 36. Also Mingana (1925), pp. 16-17; Atwood (2014), p. 517. 56 Rubruck, p. 186. Cfr. Hage, p. 36. 57 Ibid. pp. 62-64. 58 Rubruck, p. 188.

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feast of the Lord’s Ascension he witnessed it in the court of Mongke Khan: “and I noticed that when he (the Khan) was about to drink, they sprinkled cosmos on his left idols. Then I said to the monk: ‘what is there in common between Christ and Belial? What share has our cross with these idols?59” 6.2 Spring festival On the Spring festival, there was a blessing of the herds, which had a liturgical character: On the ninth day of the month of May, they get together all the white horses of the herds, and consecrated them. And the Christian priests are obliged to come to this with their censer. Then they sprinkle new cosmos on the ground and hold a great feast on that day, for they consider that they then first drink new cosmos just as in some places among us is done with new wine60. 6.3 Holy Week and the blessing of bread In the Holy Week, blessed bread was presented to the Khan to honour him: The priests had brought two little loaves of blessed bread and fruit in a platter, which they presented to him, after saying a grace. And a butler took it to him where he was seated on a right high and raised place; and he forthwith began to eat one of the loaves, and the other he sent to his son and to one of his younger brothers61. In the Mongol world, such a gift was of great significance. First, wheat bread was not their usual staple food and was made from flour coming from elsewhere. There was certainly a solemn celebration of the Eucharist on Easter in which the Khan’s Christian wife and other Christian members of the imperial court receive Holy Communion. The East Syriac clergy certainly knew that without presenting the “blessed bread” to the Khan, celebration of the Eucharist could incite his displeasure. 6.4 Prayers for blessing The East Syriac liturgical manuscripts have preserved patterns of the prayers used on such occasions. Thus in a manuscript of the Cambridge University Library we find two such prayers62. Prayer on wine: Celestial drink, drawn from the blessed grape! Bless, O Lord, this wine and infuse it with the favour of Your Grace, so it may bring joy to the hearts of those who drink it and bring light to the intelligence, so that by savouring the wine drawn from the grape they might bless you for the grace you lavished on them, now and [forever]. Amen.

59 60 61 62

Rubruck, p. 222. Ibid. pp. 241-242. Ibid. p. 212. MS Cambridge University Library, Add.1988, f. 156r-v, cited in Pelliot Vol. I (1973), p. 155. I am grateful to Prof. Pier Giorgio Borbone from bringing these prayers to my attention and sending me a copy.

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Another [prayer on wine]: O Bridegroom, who was invited to your servants’ wedding banquet, and who by a mysterious sign of your benevolence have turned water into fine, scented wine, a beverage that caused wonder and admiration in those who tasted it, may your blessing persist on this wine, so that all those drink of it may obtain joy from it, to take part in the joy and glorify your great and holy name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, forever [and ever]. Amen. It is not at all evident that these prayers were used by the East Syrian clergy in Mongolia. However we can assume that the blessing said by the clergy at the Mongol court must have been similar to them as the East Syrians usually had a preference for liturgical uniformity. In any case, we have an example of the East Syriac Church adapting itself to the culture of the nomadic world so that the Turco-Mongol believers could continue to retain their ageold customs. In their world, koumis was drunk in a semi-ritualistic way63. The East Syrians willingly participated in its drinking with its ritual character. The willingness to adapt to their culture might be the reason for the relative success of the East Syriac mission in that part of the world. 6.5 A healing ritual Apparently, the East Syriac Church adapted some sacramental or liturgical rites in the Turco-Mongol context. Rubruck narrates the healing ritual performed for Lady Cota, wife of Mongke Khan, who was sick “even unto death” and the “sorcerers of the idolaters could do nothing to drive it out”. Mongke sent to an East Syrian monk who rushed to the tent of the lady. The monk asked William and other priests to “keep vigil with him that night in the oratory”64. The monk had a certain root called rhubarb, obviously a medicinal plant used among the Mongols. He chopped it up until it was nearly powder and put it in water, with a cross, which he had, on which was a raised image of the Saviour (a crucifix?). The monk claimed that he could find out whether the person will recover or not. If the mixture stuck on the sick person’s breast, as if glued there, it indicates that he will recover; if not, it will not stick. Rubruck writes that it was the monk’s custom to give this bitter drink to all sick persons, which stirred their bowels and the people regarded it as something miraculous. They went to the tent of the lady with a cross. Rubruck continues: “When we went in, she got up from her couch, worshiped the cross, put it reverently beside her on a silk cloth, drank some holy water and rhubarb and washed her breast”65. William was asked “to read the Gospel over her” and he read the passion of the Lord according to St John. Finally she revived and felt better66. Unlike the usual Christian tradition of anointing the sick with blessed olive oil, an indigenous ritual of healing was followed by the East Syriac priests of the Mongol court. It consisted of giving a mixture of a local medicinal plant and water to drink, applying it on the breast, and the Gospel text was read over the patient. Probably the priests were not familiar with the East Syriac liturgy of the anointing of the sick.

63 64 65 66

Rubruck. pp. 62-63. Ibid. p. 192. Ibid. p. 193. Ibid. p. 193-194.

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7. The Cross in the world of religious pluralism and Shamanism Christianity was less popular among the Chinese people obviously because of the presence of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, all having well established spiritual and philosophical traditions. But it found converts among the Turco-Mongol population, where religious life was deeply rooted in Shamanism. In the world of Shamanism, all human life and actions were dominated by the fear of the powerful demons and evil spirits in daily life67. There all the religious interest was directed towards one problem: to cope with all the concerns of this life on earth, without any clear picture of the world where man enters after death68. In the Shamanist world, people could speak about the ‘eternal world’, but without having any precise idea. Sometimes, ‘eternal heaven’ was seen as a personal deity and in different tribes, different names were used, for this deity remained in immense remoteness. People did not produce pictures of this deity, although they had felt images or idols of various minor deities69. This might have left its traces on their liturgical life: they had a theology of an ‘unspecified’ or ‘unknown’ deity, with no icons or pictures, and prayers giving emphasis on the well-being in earthly life. The popularity of the lotus-cross symbol should be understood in this context. Apparently, lotus-cross symbolism had its origin among the Turco-Mongol tribes who were formerly Buddhists and then converted to Christianity. Use of a cross tattoo on the forehead or other parts of body also suggests a Shamanist background. The baptism of Mongol princes as infants by their mothers also might have been aimed at giving protection from evil spirits. The Turco-Mongol people did not have much difficulty to embrace new religions coming from Persia or India70. This explains the reason for the tolerance of all religions by the Mongol rulers71. In a personal interview, Mongke Khan confided to Rubruck on his own faith: We … believe there is only one God … but as God gives us the different fingers of the hand, so he gives to men diverse ways … God gave you the Scriptures, and you do not keep them; he gives us diviners [shamans]; we do what they tell us, and we live in peace72. Thus as Hage has noted, “Christian faith and Shamanism were combined into a new unity, into a useful co-existence”73. The Lotus-Cross is the symbol of this co-existence. The Cross was used as an amulet as well as a distinctive sign of Christian tombs. The use of the cross as an amulet is attested as early as early 6th century. The history of Theophylact Simocata (c. 630) relates that, following the advice of the Christians, Central Asian

67 68 69 70 71 72 73

Hage, p. 29. Ibid. p. 29. Ibid., see Gilman-Klimkeit (1999), pp. 216-17. Hage (1988), p. 30. Moffett (1998), pp. 409-414. Rubruck, p. 235f. (1998), p. 34.

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Turks tattooed the foreheads of their children with a cross in order to avoid plague. In 591, when the Romans captured these Turks, they found them with this cross74. The details of the cross symbol are not the same everywhere, suggesting various influences75. However, generally speaking the plain (“aniconic”) cross is attested in China and Central Asia. The plain crosses ‘are the only images of Christ in China of the Mongolian Yuan dynasty’76. Iconic depictions of angels do not occur among the Öngut East Syriac Christians. In fact, no human features are found on the depictions in Inner Mongolia and the only live creatures are limited to a single pair of birds77. The depictions of birds, flowers and vines have a striking resemblance with Islamic art. 7.1 In China proper: the Cross on tombstones The East Syriac gravestones discovered in Quanzhou (China) can be divided into steles, probably erected vertically at the grave and elongated stones in the shape of sarcophagi, which were placed horizontally over the grave. In both types, a cross is often depicted as rising from lotus flowers and sometimes shielded by a parasol. The steles frequently depict apsaras, or winged angels, and stylized clouds and waves78. Decorations on the sarcophagishaped stones include floral and vine motifs and abstract patterns, also attested in Mesopotamia and Tur Abdin. The organization and shape strongly remind one of stones used for Muslim graves79. It is not unlikely that they were modelled on patterns of Syriac/Mesopotamian origin. The inscriptions on the East Syriac gravestones are most diverse, featuring Chinese, Syriac, Turkish and Phags pa script80. According to Ken Perry, “much of the iconography of the Quanzhou tombstones appears to be Buddhist in inspiration, but Chinese in orientation”81. The Lotus is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. Thanks to Buddhist influence, the lotus is of unique importance in Chinese folklore and symbolism. It is the symbol of purity, inwardly empty, yet outwardly upright and fragrant. The words for lotus in Chinese have the same meanings as to: bind, connect (in marriage) one after the other, uninterrupted, to love and modesty. The Parasol is a symbol of high rank and royalty. It is also one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. Thus in Buddhist art a parasol is often depicted over the head of Buddha or Bodhisattvas. Clouds are symbols of celestial mobility, because many gods and immortals used clouds as vehicles on which they travel. On the other hand, the imagery of cloud has biblical foundation82. On Ancient Chinese coins or charms, ‘cloud’ is the symbol of rainwater in the sky

74 M. Whitby (tr.), The History of Theophylact Simocatta, (Oxford, 1986), pp. 146-147. Quoted by Gilman-Klimkeit (1999), p. 217. See also Mingana, pp. 11-12. 75 See Dauvillier (1983). 76 Malek (2002a), The Chinese face of Christ, pp. 36-37. 77 Halbertsma (2008), p. 233. 78 Ibid. pp. 59-60. 79 Ibid. pp. 58-59. 80 Phags pa script was invented by a Tibetan Monk for Kublai Khan. 81 Emagi (2000). Parry (2006), p. 332. 82 Ps. 104:3 etc.

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and thus one of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire and earth). Clouds also symbolize good fortune and happiness, especially when they have more than one colour. Thus, Buddhist lotus flowers and swastikas or Daoist and Buddhist clouds found a place in cross depictions in China, as they were the most popular religious symbols. According to Klimkeit, these represent an “early spontaneous attempt to indigenize Christianity in China”83. Egami and Parry also regarded the use of lotus as the result of a Buddhist influence84. 7.2 Inner Mongolia The majority of the East Syriac Christians in Inner Mongolia were of Öngut or Uyghur, i.e. Turkic descent, rather than of Mongol or Han-Chinese origin. Halbertsma points out four “dimensions of Nestorian culture” in Inner Mongolia: (i) These people practiced a religion with very distinct characteristics. These characteristics were expressed in, among many other ways, language and script, funerary customs and the use of and depiction of religious symbols such as the cross in a variety of forms85. (ii) Geographical position: the Öngut territory was situated between China and the nomadic steppe. Isolation from Baghdad exposed the East Syrians of this region to foreign influences86. (iii) Their ethnicity: They were Öngut and Uyghur, which is of Turkic origin, rather than Mongol or Chinese origin. Though acquainted with the Syriac, Mongol and Chinese languages, they used mainly Turkic dialects87. (iv) Political realities: The East Syrians who participated in the Yuan administration were exposed to the bureaucracy with Mongol and strong Chinese characteristics. The inscriptions, dating systems and the depictions on East Syriac gravestones can be understood as expressions of these four dimensions. The majority of the tomb inscriptions are in Uyghur, often written in Syriac characters. Their religious identity found its expression in Syriac script and the use of the cross. In Inner Mongolia, the Cross, the sign of the glorified Christ, was regarded at a later stage as an amulet and magical symbol88. Most of the cross depictions are found on grave material, with striking differences in style. The vast majority of the cross depictions are of the ‘Maltese’ or the Greek type, inscribed on stone. A brick with a cross also has been discovered. As in China, the crosses found in Inner Mongolia, especially in Olon Sume (the Öngut Capital) are depicted above a lotus flower89. The depiction of a cross rising from a lotus, shielded by a parasol-shaped object, is found on a gravestones from Mukhor Soborghan90.Similar depictions of the parasol shielding the cross are also found in Quanzhou91.

83 84 85 86 87 88

Klimkeit (1993), p. 478. Parry (2006), p. 332. See Halbertsma (2008), pp. 219-245. Ibid. p. 219. Ibid. p. 220. Halbertsma, p. 235; see pp. 235-240. On the East Syriac remains, gravesites and grave material from Inner Mongolia see pp. 135-158; 159-217. Also see the photos given by Halbertsma 89 For lotus descriptions in Quanzhou, see the table: Bizhen (2006). 90 See the Rubbing in Halbertsma, Appendix 5-5. 91 See Parry (2006), fig. 11-12.

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Use of Daoist and other Buddhist or Chinese symbols in cross depictions such as the image of the hare and rooster in the moon and sun on the trilingual stele and the depiction of highly stylized clouds is also attested92. Gradual development led to a plain cross depicted in an ogival frame, which according to Egami, can be characterized as the late eastern Yuan dynasty version93.Similar outlines are frequently found in Islamic graves. Enoki has suggested an Islamic influence on this style. However, Enoki points out those such frames were used in Chinese Buddhist art before the advent of Islam in Dunhuang94. Halbertsma also suggests Islamic influence in the ogival and lantern window frames on the East Syriac grave material95. Thus, we can note both Chinese and Islamic influences. All major East Syriac graves, with a few exceptions in Inner Mongolia, feature horizontal gravestones. Crosses on the stones are diverse in style and frequently depicted above a lotus flower. In a number of cases, the horizontal stones are placed in the east-west direction, a custom followed in the East96. Chinese elements are incorporated into the East Syriac burial customs. Thus, Chinese-style tomb sculptures with a turtle base were found in Olon Sume (the Öngut Capital). 7.3 Central Asia Since the end of the 19th century, a large number of tomb stones with crosses were found in the area of Semirice, south of Lake Balkash (modern Kazakhstan). In two graveyards, more than 600 tombstones with inscriptions in Syriac and Turkic written with Syriac letters have been found. The third of the tombstones have dates inscribed on them. They are indicated using Sasanian calendar as well as Turkish/Chinese cycle of 12 years. The oldest date found on the tombstone is 825 AD, and the latest is AD 1367/68. Sepulchral art also comes under this category. The first example of Sogdian Christian sepulchral art belongs to the beginning of the 14th century. Thus the gravestone of one ‘Nestorian’ Exegete dated 1301/1302, has a cross on a lotus flower, flanked by two angels, in long flowing Chinese appearance. The flower is based on an altar, reminiscent of a Zoroastrian altar97. The largest gravestone found hitherto is dated AD 1367/68, which commemorates “the death of a blessed lady Constantina”98. The very well executed inscription is surrounded by an ornamental border and crowned by a ‘Nestorian’ Cross99. 7.4 Amulet Cross Several amulets combining the symbol of the cross with Buddhist and Shamanist emblems such as lotus and swastikas etc. were found in Ordos area100. Such amulets must have been 92 Halbertsma (2008), p. 238. 93 Emagi (2006), p. 75. 94 See Kazuao (1964), p. 50. n. 23. 95 Halbertsma, pp. 239-40. 96 Ibid. p. 200. 97 See plate 31, in (1999); cfr. Klein (1994). 98 See plate 32, in Gilman-Klimkeit. 99 Ibid. p. 231. 100 See the pattern given by Gilman-Klimkeit, plate 33. Also p. 230f. Also see Klimkeit (1979), pp. 99116; also A.C. Moule, “The Use of the Cross in Central Asia and China“, in Toung Pao 28 (1931),

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used by people of various Turkic and Mongol tribes, even if they had not been converted to Christianity. The magical powers ascribed to the cross would have enabled the incorporation of this sign into the religious symbolism employed to ward off worldly dangers and enhance the positive powers in a life constantly endangered by incalculable outward events101. As we have seen above, Rubruck speaks of the use of the cross tattooed on the hand among the Uyghurs102. Likewise, we have also noticed that that, following the advice of the Christians, Central Asian Turks tattooed the foreheads of their children with a cross in order to avoid plague. In 591, when Romans captured these Turks, they found them with this cross103. Shamanist practices were popular among the nomadic people. It is unlikely they disappeared completely with the conversion to East Syriac Christianity104. Some of the Christian symbols and practices might have been understood in terms of the Shamanist practices105. The cross was the most popular Christian symbol among the Christians of Central Asia and China. William Rubruck had witnessed the veneration of the cross by the baptized members of the Mongol court. Accompanied by a priest, he called on the Khan’s son: [A]s soon as he saw us coming he got up from the couch on which e was seated, and prostrated himself to the ground striking the ground with his forehead, and worshipping the cross. Then getting up he had it placed on the high in the most honoured place beside him.106 Rubruck visited the Khan’s second wife who was very ill. She also prostrated on the ground, “though she was so feeble she could scarcely stand on her feet, to prostrate herself three times, worshipping the cross facing the east in Christian fashion”.107 When Rubruck visited other ladies of the court, they also worshipped the cross in the same manner.

8. Tent Chapels Clergy with tent chapels accompanied the Mongol camps. Dokuz, the East Syriac queen of Hulegu, usually travelled with a portable tent chapel on an accompanying wagon108. This was certainly an adaptation of the nomadic portable shrine, which was little more than a tattered felt tent mounted on a cart and pulled by an ox or camel from one Mongol camp to another and from one site to another. Weatherhead has observed that the importance of a nomadic shrine to the people of the steppe far exceeds its humble and worn appearance109.

101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109

pp. 78-86 (non vidi). Ibid. p. 230. Dawson (1955), p. 137. M. Whitby, (tr.), The History of Theophylact Simocatta, (Oxford, 1986), pp.146-147; GilmanKlimkeit, p. 217. Gilman-Klimkeit, p. 217. (1956) gives a useful survey of the liturgical practices. Rubruck, p. 189. Ibid. p. 190. Moffett, I (1998), p. 422. Weatherhead (2010), p. 197.

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Images of various deities and spirits were arranged according to their ranks and importance in specific places. Among the Christians, the images were apparently replaced with the cross.

9. Conclusion As Wolfgang Hage has observed, the ‘accommodation’ or ‘inculturation’ in Central Asia (and China) was not the result of an intended missionary method, that is planned, experimented and executed. In fact such conscious efforts of an accommodation were tried by the Jesuits missionaries in China in the early 17th century. We do not know any particular individual or group (such as a synod or a church organization) which made any prior discussions. Most of the practices seem to have been brought into the Church by the converts from the Turco-Mongol people. Lack of continuous links with the Mother Church in Baghdad, largely left the Christians of Central Asia to continue to follow the ‘Shamanist’ practices to which their ancestors as well as neighbours were used to.

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IX. Conclusion Syriac Christianity has an experience of nearly nineteen centuries living in a pluralistic, multi-lingual, multicultural and multi-religious context. For the Syriac Christians, their geographic situation involved them in the politico-religious and cultural history of the Byzantines, Persians, Arabs and several populations of central Asia. This has left traces of influence on its religious life, notably on the liturgical and theological traditions. Each liturgical tradition is the result of an inculturation, encounter between the Gospel and the culture in which the message of salvation was preached. Liturgy is the creation of an ecclesial community that theologizes using the language, thought patterns and vocabulary of the society in which it lives. It represents an ‘assimilation’ or ‘inculturation’. In fact, it was the successful inculturation, which assured the advance of Christianity across west Asia and the Mediterranean world. The early Syriac Christianity in the countryside of Mesopotamia was closer to the life of the people, the poor farmers, daily labourers, oppressed and the exploited. The monks, especially the solitaries lived among them, living as poor, and thus demonstrating the dignity of life. Throughout its development, Syriac liturgy was open to monastic influence. In the Syriac East, people lived in the proximity of monasteries and often participated in their liturgical life. Monasteries provided them shelter during wars or expedition of robbers. The monks often shared their meagre food reserves with the people, during famine or natural calamities. Children received their elementary education and schooling in the monasteries. Even they served as ‘banks’, where their money and valuable things were entrusted for safe custody. Syriac liturgy, both East Syrian and West Syrian, was shaped by three major cultural streams: 1. Hellenistic Christian culture of Antioch, Syria and parts of Mesopotamia (centres like Edessa and Nisibis)1; 2. Judeo-Christian culture of Mesopotamia and non-Christian/pre-Christian and Mesopotamian cultures; 3. Arab-Islamic culture. Literary genres and styles from these three streams were adapted in a process of encounter and inculturation. Hellenism provided ideas, thought patterns, and intellectual challenges (e.g. Bardaisan, Gnosticism, Manichaeism etc.). Mesopotamian culture(s) provided poetry, music and kinetic arts (movements and processions) and Judaism provided thought patterns, models for biblical exegesis and liturgical prayers and hymns. As in Judaism, pictorial art played a lesser role in early Syriac tradition. In early Syriac Christianity, vocal art dominated, probably inspired by Judaism (Odes of Solomon and the hymns of St Ephrem are the examples). However, Syriac Christianity incarnated itself in Mesopotamia by explaining itself as a religion different from Judaism and paganism to which the people of Mesopotamia were fa1

As Fr. Ignace Dick says: ‘The Church in Syria achieved a balanced symbiosis of the Semitic and Hellenistic spirits in its theological reflection, liturgical life as well as in its remarkable architecture’. I. Dick, “Le Syrie de Byzance à l’islam. Retombées de la conquête arabe sur la chrétienté de Syrie”, POC 40 (1990), 235-244, here p. 236

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miliar with. ‘Adaptability’ was the reason for its successful spread in the fourth century and later. Some of the Christian feasts were adapted to the culture of the people. Christian feasts in general are not agrarian. Although Jewish feasts have an agrarian origin, they all have been conditioned by the events of salvation. In Syriac Church, some agrarian feasts have been given a Christian flavour by associating with the Mother of God. ňĦ ł ł Į ƈƕ) or on Thus on January 15th we have the feast of the “God bearer for the seeds” (ťƕǓ ňò ň ł th May 15 , the feast of the God bearer “for the ears of corn” (ƨũƣ ƈƕ ). Using the essentials of the Greek techniques, the Syrian architects developed their own style, usually sober in character. The churches were decorated with agrarian motifs such as vine clusters and vine tendrils and harvest baskets. The Cross was sometimes represented as the “Tree of Life”. These are echoes of liturgical tradition closer to the life of the people of the region. The Christians of Antioch and Syria were proud of the Hellenistic heritage. With the Arab conquest, the relations between Syria and the Greek and Latin cultures were interrupted. The Syriac Orthodox could maintain the Hellenistic cultural heritage, thanks to its centres of learning such as Qenneshre on the Euphrates or Eusebona. The Melkites faced serious challenges and had to adopt Arabic and to inculturate itself. Greek, which was not deeply rooted among the population gradually, disappeared. Syriac as the language of the people resisted the overall influence of Arabic for several centuries. The Melkites were the first to ‘arabize’ the Christian culture. Thus they were the first to translate the Bible, liturgy and the writings of the fathers into Arabic. They developed an ‘Arabic theology’, attempting to present Christian faith to the Muslims. In the Syriac culture, the liturgical dimension occupied the central place, and probably determined the ethical principle. Syriac liturgy is shaped by the culture of a people who loved to demonstrate their religious devotions by singing, processions and feasts. The community’s literary tradition, art, architecture and music have found expressions in its liturgy. The way in which the people related to one to another and to God has left its traces of influence in the religious life, especially in their liturgy. In fact, the liturgical processions have their origin in the context of the demonstrative piety of Antioch. The lavish use of incense in the liturgical processions of Antioch in the fourth century was probably an adaptation of a pagan religious custom2. It is a general liturgical rule in the East that the liturgy is celebrated in local language, adopting elements from the local culture. Wherever they reached, the first concern of the missionaries was to translate the Bible into the language of the country, beginning with the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. Then the liturgical texts were translated. In most of the cases, the translations were done by either the missionaries or the first Christians. Early versions of the Bible or the liturgical texts as they have come down to us belong to the period between the second and the fourth centuries. In the following centuries, the translations were revised in the light of the new manuscript discoveries or simply in order to improve the existing ones. In some cases, the translation was preceded by the com-

2

On the use of incense in processions on the road, see St John Chrysostom, “A Homily on Pelagius, Virgin and Martyr” 3 (PG 50: 579-584). Eng tr. by Wendy Meyer, in Let us Die that We may Love, ed.& tr. By Johan Leemans, Wendy Meyer et. al. (Routledge, London, 2003), pp. 148-161.

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position of alphabets by either the missionaries or the first Christians (e.g. Coptic, Ge’ez, Armenian, Sogdian, Slavonic or Turkic languages). But as soon as the liturgy reached a definite shape, language became fossilized. Liturgical language remained rather unchanged resisting natural developments in the spoken and literary languages of the country. This is true in the case of most of the ancient Eastern languages, Syriac, Armenian, Coptic, Ge’ez, Greek, Georgian or Slavonic. To a certain extent it was the language that enabled a Christian (and religious) community to maintain its identity. Paradoxically liturgy underwent reforms, additions or revisions. But the language resisted such reforms. Even liturgical art, architecture and music were subject to significant changes. But this was not the case for the liturgical language, which often remained in its classical form. Syriac provides a convincing example of this phenomenon. Adherence to the ‘classical form’ of liturgical language is common to all the Eastern Churches. The nostalgic attachment to the classical language may be due to various factors. However, the monastic tradition seems to have played an important role in it. Monks were often opposed to the modification of prayers, which includes translation into modern idiom. For them this would certainly imply the use of new vocabulary and expressions that could create confusion or controversies, which can turn the minds of the monks away from their spiritual priorities. For them the classical language with its vocabulary is closer to the spirit of the scriptures and the mind of the fathers. This is certainly the reason for the preference for the hymns composed by the poet theologians like St Ephrem, Jacob of Serugh, Mar Balai in the West Syriac Church or Narsai, Babai and many others in the East Syriac Church. Gradually the attachment to a language became a ‘tradition’, for which a convincing reason cannot be given always. In a predominantly non-Christian culture, the classical form of liturgical language remains as a remnant of a glorious past, as cultural or spiritual relic, which is venerated for its own sake. This is the case in the case of Syriac and Coptic. In some countries, the attachment to the classical language can be explained as a cultural legacy, a spiritual/cultural monument of a glorious past. This may be true in the case of Byzantine Greek, Ge’ez, Armenian, Georgian or Slavonic. This tendency may be found in some European Countries, such as Great Britain or Germany, where some people prefer the King James Version Bible or the Luther’s Bible over translations in modern spoken language. Inculturation/adaptation in Syriac liturgy must have taken place in different phases at different places. Tentatively the important phases may be summarized as follows: 1. Pre-Nicene period; 2. Fourth-century developments (as attested by St Ephrem); 3. Adoption of Antiochene elements (5th/6th cent.); 4. Early Islamic period; 5. Byzantine Occupation of Northern Syria and the Syriac Renaissance (969-1300); 6. Latin influences; 7. Printed texts (very recent as far as liturgical texts are concerned). Inculturation in the East Syriac Liturgy in China and Central Asia has a different history, independent of the liturgical developments in the Persian Church. In our discussion of the Syrian Orthodox liturgy, we have seen examples of adopting elements of Byzantine origin in various periods. Since the Crusades, Latin missionaries were present in the region and their presence had lasting impacts on the liturgical rites that are in

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use in the Churches of Syriac tradition. Space limit does not allow us to address this question. I have not discussed the developments in the Syriac liturgies now followed in India. Though India has the largest Christian communities belonging to the East and West Syriac traditions, their liturgies have a different history. The history of the St Thomas Christians, as they are known, before the arrival of the Portuguese is still obscure. The East Syrian prelates, who reached the Malabar Coast since the last decades of the 15th century, introduced the East Syriac liturgy used at the time of the Synod of Diamper (1599)3. Following the Synod of Diamper, the Portuguese introduced a highly Latinised version of the East Syrian Anaphora of Addai and Mari, which was used in the Syro-Malabar Church (united to Rome) until the eve of the Second Vatican Council (1962-64). The introduction of the Syrian Orthodox liturgy in South India was the result of a long process that lasted for more than two centuries (1665-1875)4. The Syrian Orthodox prelates who visited in 1752 introduced the West Syriac script (serto) in Kerala. However until the last decades of the 19th century, several clergy used the manuscripts of Syrian Orthodox liturgy written in East Syrian Script. [Even today the most commonly used Syriac words in the Malankara Orthodox and Malankara Syrian Orthodox (under the Syrian Orthodox patriarch) Churches follow East Syriac vocalization: e.g. Qurbana, mamodisa, taksa, rasa, sedra to quote a few). In India, the Mosul tradition of the Syrian liturgical rites is followed. However, unlike the Syro-Malabar Church, the Orthodox Church has adopted a conservative attitude in liturgical matters.

3 Varghese (2013a), East Syrian Mission. 4 Ibid.

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Abbreviations BCP: The Book of Common Prayer (Sheḥimo), Awṣār Ṣlawōto 1, SEERI, Kottayam, 2006 BO (Assemani): J.S. Assemani, Bibliotheca orientalis Clementino Vaticana in qua manuscriptos codicos syriacos recensuit, I-III, Rome, 1719-1728 CSCO-SS: Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium-Scriptores Syri (Leuven) GEDSH = Sebastian P. Brock et al. (eds), Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syraiac Heritage, Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2013 Harp: The Harp: a Review of Syriac and Oriental Studies (Kottayam) Hugoye: Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies JTS: Journal of Theological Studies (Oxford) MOC: Malankara Orthodox Church Publications, Kottayam OC: Oriens Christianus (Wiesbaden) OCA: Orientalia Christiana Analecta (Rome) OCP: Orientalia Christiana Periodica (Rome) OLA: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta (Leuven) OS: L’Orient Syrien (Paris, 1956-1967) PdO: Parole de l’Orient (Kaslik, Lebanon) PO: Patrologia Orientalis POC: Proche Orient Chrétien (Jerusalem) Sheḥimo: see BCP SC:Sources chrétiennes (Paris) S: Studia Patristica Syr. World: Daniel King (ed.), The Syriac World, Routledge, London & New York, 2019 ZAC: Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum/Journal of Ancient Christianity

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