The Harp (Volumes 8 & 9) 9781463232986

Citation preview

T h e H a r p (Volumes 8 & 9)

The Harp

8&9

The Harp is an annual review of Syriac Christianity.

The Harp (Volumes 8 & 9)

Edited by V. C. Samuel Geevarghese Panicker Jakob Thekeparampil

1 gorgias press 2012

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2012 by Gorgias Press LLC Originally published in 1995-1996 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. 2012

1

ISBN 978-1-61143-644-0 Reprinted from the 1995-1996 Kottayam edition.

Printed in the United States of America

THE HARP Vol. VIII, IX.

July 1995 -

1996

Page Editorial

7

A Biblical Celebration of the Divine Dispensation, of God's Economy of Salvation ... ... ...

9

Francis

Achanja

The Syriac sources relating to the persecution of the Christians of Najran in South Arabia ... ... Françoise

41

Briquel

Syriac Liturgical Poetry - A Resource for Today

...

53

...

87

...

95

...

105

S. P. Brock Some Comments on the Prayer of Consecration of Icons in the Syriac Tradition ... ... Christine

Chalilot

Fire Mingled with Spirit: St. Ephrem's Views on Angels and the Angelic Life of Christians P. J. Botha

(Pretoria)

Das Indienbild in der Syrischen Thomasliteratur The three poems of Jacob of Sarug about the Apostel Thomas in India ... ... ... Dr. Dr. Bertram

Schimitz

The Purpose of Jacob of Iidessa's Version of Samuel Alison

Salvesen

117

4

THE

HARP

Enslavement in Syriac L i t e r a t u r e - C o m p a r a t i v e Chronology with Bar H e b r a e u s ... ... Alexander

Jacob

127

IPS

The Prophetical Testimonies about Christ: An unedited typological exegesis in Syriac Alain

...

...

133

...

139

...

151

Desreumaux

The Last Things; Shubhalmaran and his Times I). J. Lane The Book of Treasures

...

Rev. Dr. G.

...

Panicker

Experience of Pneumatological Eschatology in E p h r e m George

Karukaparampil

The Apology of T i m o t h y , t h e P a t r i a r c h , before Caliph Mahdi the Christian-Muslim Dialogue yesterday and today ... ... ... ... Dr. Karl-IIeinz

Rev. Dr. Jacob

167

Kuhlmann

Cross and Crucifix in the Syrian Tradition

...

177

Kollaparambil

The Dimensions of Love According t o J a c o b of Sarug P. V.

161

185

Philip

The Pneumatological vision of Mar Narsai Dr. Isaac Arickappallil Addai Shir 1 8 6 7 - 1 9 1 5

...

Assad Sauma

195

...

209

...

221

CMI ...

...

Assad

P e t e r of Callinicus and Damian of Alexandria Lionel R.

...

Wickham

CONTENTS

Mysticism in Syrian Tradition

...

Dr. James Aerthayil

CMI,

... MA,

229

...

251

Tamcke

Timothy and his Dialogue with Muslims Harald

...

ThD

Luther Pera's Contribution to the Restoration of the Church of the East in Urmia ... Martin

5

...

...

263

Suermann

Introduction to the Life of Mar Bishoi (siglum MB) Rev. Dr. J.

277

Sanders

Narsai's Christology According to His Homily On the Word Became Flesh ... ...

...

289

...

...

305

The Syriac andthe Heritage the Life of the Language Churches of Syrian in Christians of St. Thomas ... ... ...

...

329

...

...

339

...

•••

345

Dr. Judith

Frishman

The Historicity of Apostle Thomas Evangelization in Kerala

...

Dr. Joseph

Kolangadan

Karen

Hermes

World Syriac Conference Archbishop

... Joseph

Powathil

Christ and Christians: An Ecclessiological Theme in Ephrem

...

Koonammakkal

... Thoma

Kathanar

Mar Oudhisho Metropolitan of Suwa (Died in 1318) and his Literary Works ... ... ... ••• P. K.

Varghese

355

6

THE

HARP

Indian Christian in Greek Orthodox Hymnography Wassilios Klein,

Bonn

Crosses with Epigraphs in Mediaeval Central and East Asian Christianity Wolfgang

Hage

R i t e for the Dedication of the Church in the West Syrian Tradition George Mathew,

Kottayam

Les Chretiens De St. Thomas E t L e Pretre Jean après quelques travaux recents I. H. Dalmais

OP

Der Apostel Thomas in China, Die Herkunft einer Tradition Jürgen

Tubach

Gondopharnes K. Documentation Book Reviews SEERI-Chronicle

Luke

Editorial

Volume VIII, IX of HARP is larger than any other. Its contents comprise mostly of the scholarly papers presented at the last WORLD SYRIAC CONFERENCE held here at SEERI in 1994. A few of these are in languages other than English. Apart from the papers presented at the World Syriac Conference, a few other articles of topical interest are also included. Due to lack of facilities in our press, references in Greek had to be rendered in Roman script or altogether omitted. It is hoped that this deficiency does not too adversely affect those papers in which Greek terms were employed.

THE

HARP

Vol. VI [I., I X . , July 1995 - 1996, p p . 9-4Ü Francis Acharya*

Ä Biblical

Celebration of

the

Divine

Dispensation,

of God's Economy of Salvation For A New Syro- Malankara Lectionary

I t is a c o m m o n o b s e r v a t i o n t o say t h a t f o l l o w i n g t h e Second V a t i c a n Council g r e a t c h a n g e s h a v e t a k e n p l a c e in t h e Catholic C h u r c h . A t first s i g h t t h e r e n e w a l was p r o m p t e d b y a c o n c e r n f o r r e m a i n i n g p r e s e n t t o t h e w o r l d , ' t o d i s c e r n t h e signs of t h e t i m e s ' , as J e s u s h a d w a r n e d t h e religious l e a d e r s of his time. H o w e v e r it has also been p u r s u e d w i t h a s o l i c i t o u s r e g a r d for a u t h e n t i c i t y , w h i c h led h e r t o d r a w n e a r e r t o h e r o w n sources of life, t h e B i b l e a n d t h e L i t u r g y , t h r o u g h a new r e a d ing of t h e W o r d of God a n d a r e n e w a l of t h e P r a y e r of t h e Church. I n t h i s l i g h t t h e L i t u r g y r e v e a l e d itself as a n i n e x h a u s t i b l e source of life, t h e f o u n t a i n p o u r i n g life d i v i n e i n t h e h e a r t s of the p a r t i c i p a n t s . 1.

Liturgical and Biblical Renewal

Indeed a n e w v i s i o n has d a w n e d w i t h i n t h e C h u r c h . B e h i n d it lies t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e C h u r c h as a r e a l i t y i m b u e d w i t h t h e presence of God. T h i s Divine P r e s e n c e is a c t i v e in t h e whole c r e a t i o n a n d e m b r a c e s t h e whole h u m a n f a m i l y . B u t t h e C h u r c h is t h e privileged p l a c e w h e r e C h r i s t ' s w o r k of s a l v a t i o n is a c t u a t e d a n d c o m m u n i c a t e d . T h e C h u r c h serves as a l e a v e n f o r h u m a n Founder and present superior of the Kurisumala Ashram at Vagamon, India. Has translated into English from the original Syriac, numerous liturgical books used by the Malankara Church, in India.

10

THE HARP

society. She not only communicates divine life, but sheds the reflected light of that life on the entire earth. At the same time, as she goes her pilgrim way, she is summoned by Christ to a continual conversion and reformation of which, as a human institution, she always has need. With all this, when the brotherly assemblies come together for worship, it is no more simply to fulfil a weekly obligation. In the worship of the Church, it is Christ the Head, with His body, the assembly of believers, who celebrates, offering to His Father, through the Holy Spirit, His work of salvation, the paschal mystery, while recalling in all the Scriptures the things concerning the Divine Dispensation. While the Church gives thanks to God, to the praise of His glory, through the power of the Holy Spirit for His gift beyond human comprehension, in Christ Jesus, the fruits of the Lord's passion, death and resurrection are shared by the assembly: Rightly the liturgy must be understood as an actualization of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy, the sanctification of people Beck. Cf. E. Beck, Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Fide, translation p. 10 n. 4. 10. Cf. Against Heresies 10:10.

98

THE

HARP

3.

The Polarity Angels Versus Mankind

Despite the fact t h a t both groups (angels and humans) are creatures, there is also a very real distinction between angels and mankind, since angels are created as purely spiritual beings., while man is also corporeal. 1 1 When Elijah was taken up to heaven, the angels saw a body for the first time in their abode (Hymns On Paradise 6:23). Angels are far superior to man. Man is, for example, not able to understand the heavenly nature of angels - the shape of Michael or the form of Gabriel, how fire is able to see or spirit to smell, whether they are short or long, what colour they have or how they are able to touch ( H y m n s On Faith 55:5). The knowledge of humans is, in comparison to the knowledge of angels, like dim twilight (against broad daylight). 12 On the other hand, the knowledge of angels is also like dim twilight in comparison to the knowledge of the Spirit. 1 3 According to him, angels are beings of fire and spirit, while man was created f r o m the dust. 1 4 The nature of man and angels therefore differ from one another. 1 5 When contexts like these are considered in isolation, it would seem t r u e to say t h a t the association between Christ and angels is much closer t h a n t h a t between angels and mankind. 1 6 Christ himself is also often called by the same designation used to describe angels, namely 'ira or 'watcher' 1 7 Angels are therefore often called 'heavenly' in contrast with what is 'earthly' 1 8 In his Hymns Against the Heresies,19 three classes of beings seem to be distinguished: the above-earthly, the earthly and those f r o m the 'deep'. It would seem t h a t angels,

11. Hymns Against the Heresies 19:4; Hymns On the Church 20:10, Hymns On Paradise 24:1- Hymns On Faith 46:9. 12. Hymns on Faith 5:2. 13. Idem. 14. Hymns On Paradise 6:24; cf. also Hymns on the Epiphany 6:7 and Hymns On Faith 55:5. 15. Hymns on Faith 46:7-9. 16. In the Hymns On Faith 4:6, the angels are described as 'standing close to the door' of God. 17. Cf. Carmina Nisibina 66:5; Hymns On Nativity 4:199; 6:23; HymnsOn Faith 55:4. 18. E.g. Hymns On the Church 8:6; 20:10. 19. Against the Heresies 19:8.

F I R E MINGLED W I T H

mankind and designations. 20

demons

are

SPIRIT:

. . . L I F E OF CHRISTIANS

respectively

meant

by

99

these

A number of characteristics thus sets angels apart from man. They are spiritual in nature and superior to mankind. In contradistinction with man, they serve God without complaint and thus set a great example for humans ( H y m n s On Virginity 34:9). The major difference between mankind and angels is, however, to be found in the fact that angels were created sexless, lacking in sexual desire 2 1 . Angels and virginity are associated to the same extent that demons and lust are associated ( H y m n s On Virginity 1:8). Ephrem is therefore at pains to emphasize that angels are chaste, 22 that they do not sin 23 and that their will is holy and pure since they are endowed with a good nature. 24 As their number is full, there is no need for procreation. 25 This conviction leads St. Ephrem to the interesting stance that expression 'sons of God' in Genesis 6:2 cannot refer to angels. 26 He would rather accept that it is a reference to certain humans, in particular the descendants of Seth. 27 According to him, it is impossible that angels could have a sexual desire, since God would have been guilty of leading them into temptation had He created them with the ability to procreate without the opportunity to do so ( H y m n s Against Heresies 7:1, 19:10). Furthermore, if spiritual beings could procreate in human form, the birth of Christ from a human would not have been unique, and demons would have made misuse of this faculty to harass 20. Compare the contrast between angels and man as heavenly versus earthly and spiritual versus corporeal in Ephrem's hymns Hymns On the Church 20:10. 21. Cf. the hymns Against Heresies 7:1-7, 19:6. 22. Against Heresies 7:4. 23. Against Heresies 19:8. 24. Against Heresies 19:8, 10. 25. Against Heresies 19:10. 26. Hymns on Faith 46:8, cf. Hymns on the Church 27:6, 27. Cf. T Kronholm, Motifs from Genesis 1-U in the genuine hymns of Ephrem the Syrian, with particular reference to the influence of Jewish exegetical tradition, 1978, Lund: CWK Gleerup, p. 166. Ephrem regards Gen. 6:1-4 as a testimony of the gradual debasement of mankind through degrading sexual relations between the Sethites as bearers of the holy seed in mankind and the Cainite women as representatives of the evil inclination of their father Cain. Cf. Kronholm ibid, p. 168.

100

THE

HARP

women ( H y m n s Against Heresies 19:1-7). Angels would t h e n also have fallen for the licentious wives of Solomon or the beautiful wife of Uriah ( H y m n s Against Heresies 19:9). Had they sinned once in this way, they would have kept on doing so. Angels thus do not share in the bodily functions typical of earthly life. The instance of angels partaking of human food, during the visit to Abraham (Gen. 18), is explained by E p h r e m as a desire for this particular food due to its symbolic value, being a type of the Eucharist (Hymns On the Unleavened Bread 9:10). The expression in Psalm 82:6, where the 'assembly of gods' are called 'sons of the Most High' is similarly taken by Ephrem t o refer to humans and not to angels. 28 This designation of mankind was given out of grace, according to him. Angels, on the other hand, were never called by this title. If t h e y were, he asserts, they could have been mistaken for divine beings. Paradoxical as it may sound, the polarity angels versus man in Ephrem is thus in fact the result of his s t r o n g sentiments regarding the polarity between God and creation. 2 9 In r e f u t i n g the Arian denial of the Trinity, E p h r e m emphasizes the uniqueness of Christ's being born in human form. The uniqueness of this event in t u r n presupposes the difference between angels and mankind which would render any sexual connection between them impossible. 4.

The Polarity Spirituality Versus Corporeality

Angels are thus spiritual in nature, while man is corporeal, created f r o m the dust. The difference in nature between the soul and an angel seems to have been a problem for Ephrem himself. The soul, for instance has no perception without a body, while angels can perceive without eyes and ears (cf. Hymns Against Heresies 48:17). On the other hand, it is explained by Ephrem in Hymns Against Heresies 54:5 t h a t the nature of angels and t h a t of the soul is different and distinct.

28. Hymns On Faith 29:1,7. 29, This is also suggested by the attention paid to the difference between man and angels in predominantly polemic contexts such as the Hymns Against Heresies {e.g. 7, 9.19, 48, 54).

PIRE MINGLED WITH SPIRIT: . . . LIFE OF CHRISTIANS

lOi

Despite the difference in nature, man is also capable of becoming a Spiritual being. Salvation in fact entails spiritualization of man. God is continually 'pulling our heart up to the angels', but being created from dust, we tend to return t o earthly things. 30 What is needed then, is a recreation of man. This process is referred to by Brock as the 'divinization' of man. 31 This does not mean that man becomes God or even equal to God in. any way, 32 but that Christ became man to make us companions of the angels through his heavenly gifts. 33 In the Hymns on Nativity (6:24) this process is called a recreation: Christ, it is said, creates the peoples into ansels on earth. In the light of the asserted fact that angels are essentially celibate, this means that the innermost virginity, chastity of the soul and betrothal to the Heavenly Bridegroom, becomes a possibility for mankind. 34 This spiritualization principally takes place at baptism. Thus it is stated that baptism gives birth to the heavenly from the earthly, 35 and that the baptized are equal to the angels. 36 The biblical context this idea was derived from is Luke 20:35-6, 37 which gave rise to the idea of the baptismal life as the marriageless life of angels. When it is stated that Christians are made companions of the angels, the focus is primarily on the life of virginity to which some Christians pledged themselves' in the Syrian tradition. 3 8 While virginity is difficult to attain for Christians, angels keep this gift easily, it is said. 39

30. Hymns on the Church 1:1. 31. S. P. Brock, The luminous eye: the spiritual world vision of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Cistercian Publications: Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1992, p. 14832. Ibid., p. 153. 33. Hymns On the Church 49:2; Hymns On the Unleavened Bread 1:2, 34. Cf. also S. P. Brock, Spirituality in the Syriac tradition, Kottayam SEERI, 1989, p. 89. 35. Hymns on Epiphany 6:7-8. 36. Sogiyata 6:2. 37. Cf. Brock, The luminous eye, p. 139. The idea that Christians can share in the resurrection life already in this world is more readily derived from the Old Syriac translation. Cf. S. P. Brock, Spirituality in the Syriac tradition, 1989, p. 57. 38. Cf. also Sebastian Brock, The "Syriac fathers on prayer and the spiritual life, Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1987, p. xxiv. 39. Hymns on Virginity 15:4.

102

THE

HARP

Although believers remain corporeal beings, they thus can become also spiritual beings through baptism: 'Like angels are you, my beloved, risen from the river Jordan 4 0 (clad) with the armour of the Holy Spirit' 41 (Carmina Sogyata 6:2). 'The angels were delighted about the beings born out of spirit and water. The beings from fire and spirit were glad that the corporeal became spiritual' 42 This divinization can also take place at the eucharistic service. 43 Ephrem compares the ritual of the angel with the fiery coal (Is 6:7) touching the lips of Isaiah with the Eucharist. While Isaiah was only touched upon the lips, Christians are privileged to hold and to eat the fire (the eucharistic bread) (Hymns on Faith 10:10). Although we are corporeal, the Lord feeds and fills us with fire and Spirit (10:11). The bread seems to be understood as fire, since he states: 'your fire, 0 Lord, we ate in your offering' (Hymns On Faith 10:13). The wine then should be understood as a symbol of the Spirit, since Ephrem says that the Lord 'had mixed fire and Spirit against nature, 4 4 and poured it into the hands of his disciples' Hymns On Faith 10:14). But it is probably best to understand the whole phrase» 'fire and spirit' as a reference to divine action, namely that of consecration. 45 In the Old Testament the descent of fire on a 40. With reference to the baptism of Christ, the river Jordan is an appellation for the water of baptism of each Christian baptism. Cf. S. P. Brock Spirituality in the Syriac tradition, Kottayam: SEERI, 1989, p. 62. 41. The anointing or rushma which took place at baptism is sometimes described as 'armour' in the battle against Satan. Cf. S. P. Brock, Spirituality in the Syriac tradition, p. 70. 42. Hymns on Epiphany 6:6. 43. In the original Syriac tradition, the baptismal service was concluded with communion given to the newly baptized. Cf. S. P. Brock, Spirituality in the Syriac tradition, p. 77. The Eucharist also was the continual representation of that event that made baptismal rebirth possible. Cf. S. P. Brock, Studies in Syriac spirituality, Poona: Anita Printers, 1988, (The Syrian Churches Series), p. 4. 44. In its being denied by a maxim in Proverbs 30:4 which implies that wind cannot be caught in one's hand, neither water be wrapped up in a piece of cloth. 45. Cf. S. P. Brock, Spirituality in the Syriac tradition (Moran' Etho 2), Kottayam: SEERI, 1989, p. 42-44.

F I R E MINGLED W I T H SPIRIT: . . .

L I F E OF CHRISTIANS

103

sacrifice was seen as the sign of its acceptance, which at the same time consecrated it. 46 Fire and Spirit were mingled in the womb of Mary, in the river of baptism, and in the baptism of Christians, but also in the Eucharist, 'in bread and in chalice fire and Holy Ghost' (Hymns On Faith 10:17). 'Fire and spirit' thus refers to the consecrating activity of God the Holy Ghost. When applied to angels as beings of 'fire and spirit', however, it should be taken as a reference to their spiritual nature and divine service. The transformation to an angelic state can also be attained or promoted 'through the fast: by hating that which the earthly crave for, one can gain the approval of the heavenly (Hymns On Fast 9:5). Elisha, it is said, became a companion of the angels through his pure, chaste conduct (Hymns on Epiphany 8:18). But what is really needed, is the transforming power of the incarnated Christ: 'When the Lord came down to earth to the mortal ones, he created them into a new creation, like angels, for fire and spirit he mingled in them, so that they became fire and spirit in an invisible way.' 47 Due to the prominence given to the designation 'ira in contrast to mal'aka for angels, it may be inferred that the practice of keeping vigils was also seen as one of the meeting points between the Christian life and the angelic existence. 48 The polarity spiritual versus corporeal should thus not be understood as being mutually exclusive. The (corporeal) human mode of existence in body and soul correspond to the angelic (spiritual) mode of existence in fire and spirit. Gaining spirituality did not imply forfeiting corporeality, for it was attained through complete devotion to God of body and sou^ the two aspects being inseparable. The most influential and enduring aspect of early Syrian Christianity was the concept of the essential 'oneness' of the believer's body and soul. 49 46. Cf. S. P. Brock, The Holy Spirit in the Syrian baptismal tradition (The Syrian Churches Series, edited by J. Vellian, vol. 9), Poona: Anita Printers, P. 11. 47. Hymns on Faith 10:9. Cf. also Hymns On the Nativity 6:24. 48. Cf. Sebastian Brock, The Syriac Fathers on. prayer and the spiritual life, introduced and translated by S. Brock, Kalamazoo: Cistercian, p. xxv. 49. Cf. S. A. Harvey, Asceticism and society in crisis John of Ephesus and the 'Lives of the Eastern saints'. Berkeley: Universtiy of California Press,

104

THE HARP

As was illustrated above, spirituality was precisely promoted by bodily participation in all the sacraments and practices of the church. 5.

Conclusion

St. Ephrem's view of angels is influenced in a profound way by his theological vision. His awareness of the unbridgeable gap between God and creation, that is, from the human point of view, was sharpened through the Arian controversy. The polarity formed between God and man determined the way in which he would think about God, angels and mankind. This polarity would necessitate that between God and angels, pushing the angels down, as it were, to the human level. At the same time, however, the contrast between God and man also served to differentiate sharply and clearly between angels and mankind. It was precisely because of God's holiness and the impenetrable character of his nature that Ephrem had to emphasize the nonsexual character of angels, since it was the only way to preserve the uniqueness of the incarnation and to counter the Arian heresy. This brings us to the third polarity, that between the angelic, or spiritual, mode of existence as compared to human corporeality. This distinction might seem to contradict the importance attached in this paper to Ephrem's perception of the incomparability between God and man, Is this conception of Ephrem, and thus of early Syrian Christianity, of the divinization of man, not an infringement upon the uniqueness of God? I should like to answer in the negative. The distinction between the dual modes of existence of a Christian is also the result of the importance attached to the unique position of God, since there is a delicate balance between the incarnation and the 'divinzation' of man. 50 God's uniqueness made the unique occurrence of incarnation possible. This event is counterbalanced by the unique occurrence of man's 'divinization'unique in the sense that it can only be performed by God. 'Fire' and 'spirit' should, through the close association of these terms at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, be understood as a symbol of the divine activity of consecration. That man should become like angels is thus the singular gift of the grace of God, and not something to be achieved by man. Only in this way is the delicate balance in creation and in Ephrem's theology, preserved. 1990, p. 8. Cf. also Ephrem, Hymns on Faith 14:5 and Against Heresies 19:4. 50. Cf. also S. P. Brock, Studies in Syriac spirituality, (The Syrian Churches Series, edited by J. Vellian, vol. 13), Poona: Anita Printers, p. 32.

THE

HARP

Vol, VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996 pp. 105-116 Dr. Dr. Bertram

Schimltz*

Das I n d i e n b i I d in der Syrischen T h o m a s l i t e r a t u r — The three poems of Jacob o f S a r u g a b o u t the

Apostel

Thomas in

India

I'm very thankful to be invited to give you a paper on the - in German so called - "Indienbild" in the Syriac literature about St. Thomas, especially in the "three hymns about the apostel Thomas in India", composed by Jacob of Sarug, And so I have also to touch the "Acts on St. Thomas". As I'm no specialist on Syriac my aim is not to give a proper analysis of the Syriac or Greek texts themselves. My subject of research is comparative religion. So I want to take this view point to look at the Acts and Hymns. Introduction

In a German ecumenical journal I found an article on the every-day myth called 'journey', its 'desire' is: south pacific islands, its 'dream' is: paradise 1 . For the English word 'dream' you can take your Malayalam word 'svapna' and you may have all the associations which I mean. The Germans want to see the paradise once a year - but often the journey and also the whole holidays are hard and sometimes awful. They don't get their comfortable life in the foreign countries and they may *

1.

A young expert in oriental languages. Works in the Marburg University in Germany. Has contributed scholarly articles to several international publications. religio, Das Ökumenische Magazin über Religion., etc. September 1989, p. 21-26.

106

THE

HARP

have stress all the time and often the weather is not as warm as they expected it to be. And when they come back, you can ask them: forgotten are all the bad things, in their mind every catastrophy is changed, and they tell you, t h a t they really have seen the paradise on earth - and if you don't believe, they will show you their wonderful photos. So what I want to say is t h a t these people have dreams in their heads, - and also many, especially young persons, are dreaming of India, the land of the religion and of the real t r u t h , of the oldest culture and t h e old wisdom. In many times it is not i m p o r t a n t what you can read in scientific books about India, - or what they read in this book will be transformed into a miracle. It's absolutely not the same to mention the word 'China 5 or ' J a p a n ' as to say 'India'. India is the obscure fascinating land 2 . I should not continue to speak to you about the dreams which people in our continent have about India today, b u t I should speak to you about Jacob of Sarug and his view or image on India', as we say intranslatable in German: his 'Indienbild'. This is my theme. Before I tell you about this topic, I want to clarify t h e position of ' I n d i a ' in the hymns of Jacob. Jacob often mentions 'India', b u t nowhere this name gets a real sound. 'India' is not a land, it is a 'topos', it is the idea of the wonderful but dangerous dark and diabolic land which will become the bright paradise after the conversion of the faithless Indians to f a i t h f u l Christians. So, the aim of Jacob is t o show the miracles of God, the wonderful deed of t h e Lord Jesus Christ to send the unwilling Thomas to India like God sent Jona to Babylon, it is the purpose of the hymns t o show the glory of God - For this purpose Jacob does not write a historical account, b u t a poetic sermon. Nothing more, nothing less.

2.

One reference to the topic, which I have to explain in the following, is shown in: P. Montaine, Eros, Sex und Liebesspiel, Nurnberg 1967. There is a chapter: "India: dream and truth", in which Montaine says - "A dreamland of many people, .is India. You have heard of the stone sculptures of love-szenes. .and of the Kamasutra". But Montaine shows the great difference between the picture which is given by examples like this and the real history (p. 90-94).

DAS I N D I E N B I L D

...

THE APOSTEL THOMAS IN INDIA

107

And as t h e German scholar S t r o t m a n n says, the poems follow in most p a r t s t h e acts of St. Thomas, b u t for example, the poem in the middle p a r t of Jacob's work begins with a dream of the king of India. This p a r t for example is a construction of Jacob himself, following Pharao's dream in the Old Testament. So when Jacob corrects the acts he follows, - I quote S t r o t m a n n - : his own purpose in his belief and constructed this episode free 3 . But before I can give an interpretation on the topic of the 'Indienbild', I have to give you a short introduction in this work of Jacob, the three hymns on the Apostle Thomas in India. W h a t does he say about India? The content of Jacob's hymns very briefly is the following: F i r s t Part: The Apostles want to evangelize the whole world and they let decide the lot: for whom is which direction? As Peter shall go to Rome, so Thomas shall go to India. B u t Thomas starts a quarrel about this decision, he would prefer to go anywhere b u t not into this dark and ugly land (1164). Only the Lord Jesus Christ can convince him - with a little force - to go. As a carpenter like t h e lord himself he will be sold to the king of India to build him a palace (: in heaven). Second P a r t : Thomas is sold and on the journey to India he visits a wedding cermony and gives an impression of his mission and divine power. - But this ceremony does obviously not take place in India and so this p a r t seems to be not relevent for our purpose 4 , b u t we have t o mention it once 3.

W. Strothmann, Jakob von Sarug - Drei Gedichte uber den Apostel Thomas in Indien, Wiesbaden 1976, p. 19f. A short comparision of the Acts and Hymns is found in: W. Strothmann, Die Thomasgedichte des Jakob von Sarug: XVII. Deutscher Orientalistentag (Wurzburg 1968), 1969 (ZDMG Suppl. 1.2), p. 363-367.

4.

In the Acts Thomas arrived in India after the account of the wedding (cp. 17). That means, that the before deseribed wedding did not take place in India. The same you find in the Hymns: II. 385, they reached Mahuza EH. 125: Thomas and the merchant went and came to India. But in the hymns there is a small mistake: Jesus stayed in Mahuza and there the bridegroom told: "That Hebrew, who came hence (i) to India.." ( i n 87). So the question arises, if it was important for Jacob, whether this story happened in India, nevertheless?

108

THE

HARP

more in the following, when we have to talk about the question where the wedding should have taken place. Last p a r t : When Thomas and the merchant arrive in India, the king is full of joy to meet Thomas, gives him money to build the palace and let him work. At the very time when the palace should have been finished, t h e king comes to the working-area, b u t nothing has been done there. Thomas explains t h a t the palace is not on earth, b u t in heaven, because he had given all the money of the king to help the poor. The king doesn't believe him (of course!) and gets angry. He wants to kill this 'diabolic' carpenter. Meanwhile the kings brother Gad dies and comes into heaven where he sees t h e palace; he receives his life once again and tells the king, t h a t he had seen the palace in the paradise : what the Apostel said is absolutely true. They believe St. Thomas and become Christians. This is the story. T h e 'Indlenbild 5

What does Thomas think about India, what is the reason t h a t he didn't want to go to India a n d - t h e last q u e s t i o n - i s he really talking about Indidl In the Hymns Thomas said : India is the land of the black colour and it is ugly. For 'black' Jacob takes the syriac word 'shr' (I 164)5 which means : ' t o become black, sooty, foul' (PS 572)6. This word has not a good sound b u t even worse is the other word : 'sn' with the meaning 'to hate; hateful, detestable, odious, foul, bad, ugly' (PS 382). The next word used for 'black' (e. g.: I 337) is derived f r o m the root : 'km' (PS 5), 'black, s u n b u r n t ' and 'obscure'. This is the right meaning for Thomas : India is obscure, it is dark in all t h e meanings of this word. B u t - I want to remark this little difference here-Jacob says : India is ugly and dark; does he mean the Indians are so? Does he refer only to the country or to the people? So India is a 'defaced land of confused words' (I 168) not as the well learnt Rome - it's full of 'greediness and excesses' 5. The references in brackets indicate the part - and verse-number of the Hymns. 6. The abbreviation 'PS' it here used for : J. Payne Smith ed., A compendious Syriac Dictionary, Oxford 1979.

DAS INDIENBILD

...

THE APOSTEL THOMAS IN INDIA

109

(I 170), 'her heart is blind' (I 229, 330f), the people are like 'dogs' which cannot accept the doctrine' (I 230), they are 'children of the darkness' (I 250), 'full of darkness' (340f), 'they are stiff-necked' (I 401) and so on. Thomas would prefer any other place to go for t h e mission. I said 'any other place', what does it mean? It is not only Ephesos (I 169), come (I 168), no he also prefers to go to the Land of Sodom, or to go down into t h e inferno - because dead persons are better t h a n offenders (I 330). Thomas said : 'it is easy for me to go to Basilisks and snakes, b u t not to a folk, which hates the truth, and the doctrine' (I 348). He explains t h a t it is better to t h r o w him into the sea, like Jona, so t h a t he could teach the Leviathan. He would like to be the neighbour of the fishes and dolphins (I 365), rather t h a n to go to the Indians. And the king of India 'is worse bitterer t h a n the death' (I. 362). The other apostles want t o explain to him, t h a t he was the right man for this mission, because the 'ill land full of pain needs t h e doctor' (ca. I 290), it needs a warrior. It needs exactly t h a t man, who a t first doubted, to bring the solid belief. And Jesus himself said to Thomas : 'Go like a lion to the cave of the fox and roar there' (I 469), 'this mouth which had said " I only believe, when I touch", this shall announce in India ' I saw him and touched his side'. And so Thomas realized, t h a t it was decided, where he had to go. These dynamic dialogues about Thomas' refusal fill the third part of Jacob's work and count around 800 Verses. For the same part you find in his source, the Acts, only some short sentences in the first and second chapter ( o u t of 168 chapters) : In the Acts Thomas didn't want to go to India, because he is a Hebrew, Jesus should send him to another place. But in the very moment when Thomas said his refusal, there came a merchant f r o m India and he was sold as a carpenter. T h a t difference between: the dialogues of the Hymns and t h e Acts may show the great poetical power of Jacob. Nevertheless, in t h e Acts of Thomas as well as in Jacob's poems the geographical backround in the beginning is J u d a and India is spoken about only in terms of images. But is this India? And let me ask, what is India?

110

THE

HARP

First : When the merchant and his bought architect Thomas started their way to India, they visited a town, in which the mentioned wedding took place. The name of the town in the Acts is "Andrapolis" (Ch. 3), in the hymns it's Mahüzä (II 385). In the Atlas of Church history I found only a town named "Andrapolis" on the western side of the Nile and a town 'Mahoze d'Arewan' in the east of the river Tigre. 7 Both cities are registered in maps of the same time in which Jakob lived (ca. 450-520/21) 8 , but they are not on the direct way to India. So it seems that these are not the towns of the story. The first is called 'Andrapolis', not 'Andropolis' 9 , and the second 'Mahuza' is a syriac word which only means "a .little fortified town" (PS 263), so it is perhaps an unspecified word, which is translated by Strotmann like a cityname. There was a theory, that Andrapolis means 'town of the Andhra', the South-Indian dynasty) is discussed by R. Schröter in 187110; The scholar H. J. W. Drijvers explains, that the name 'Andrapolis' points at the 'town of men', greek : 'andrapolis' in the biblical Book of Revelation (19,6ff) H or the so called the 'heavenly Jerusalem' (Rev. 21.9-14). 12 If the interpretation of Drijvers is correct 13 , Andrapolis is a mythical town. The mystical dimension of this place and the 'heavenly

7. H. Jedin a. o., ed., Atlas Zur Kirchengeschichte, Freiburg, etc. 1987; both maps p. 10. 8. W. Hage, Jakob von Sarug, in : TRE 16, Berlin/New York 1987, p. 470. 9. This idea, also of J. N. Fraqhar (Bull. J. Ryl. Libr. 10 (1926), p. 97 is rejected by A. Diehle, Neues zur Thomastradition, JbAC, 6, 1963, p. 59, because it shows the wrong direction. That's right, but also the ideas of Diehle himself cannot clear the problem. He wants to change the town-name into 'sandaruk', which was corrupted to 'andra', and so he argues the 'sand ' could be 'sindhu' (p. 59f), but 1 cannot find a profound reason for this change in Diehles essay. 10. R. Schroter, Gedicht des Jakob von Sarug über den Palast, den der Apostel Thomas in Indien baute, in : ZDMG, 1871, p. 326f. There are also other early discussions on this topic. 11. H. J. W. Drijvers, Thomasakten, in : W. Schneemelcher ed., Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in deutscher Ubersetzung, II. vol. Tubingen, 1989, p. 289. 12. op. cit. 296. 13. There is another explanation for this town name given by Diehle, that 'Andra' is the corrupted form of the name 'sandaruk'. But if Diehle's argument is right, Drijvers 'interpretation' of 'Andrapolis' as 'town of men' cannot be right, or it is a second interpretation of the later obscure name 'sandaruk' - 'sind - (a) rud' (as 'Sindhu-river', Diehle, op. cit. 59f).

DAS INDIENBILD

...

THE APOSTEL THOMAS IN INDIA

111

wedding' is shown in detail by the theologian G. Bornkamm. 14 But if it is a mythical and mystical town, what does that fact mean for the historical interpretation of the journey to India? Second : If I would read a book about a mission in India, I would expect some specific Indian details, which could be for example : an Indian custom, a word of any Indian language, a remark on the social system, the Brahmans, the elephants, the Gods or something like this. Or it could be also an astonishment about some strange things; or the difficulties with the language. You could say, that they got the knowledge of every language at Pentecost 15 , but is it not more probable, that Jacob - and also the 'author' of the Acts - have not seen these problems at all. 16 It seems that Jacob doesn't intend a real encounter of confrontation with the historical and real India. What do both works tell us about India and1 what is special enough to be only in India, to characterize India? The name of the land? This is in syriac : 'heridu' is "India, the river Indus" (PS 104), but the word 'hendaya (?) means 'Ethiopian, Cushite, Nubian, a Hindoo', as an adjective : "Indian", And the black people, in Syriac the 'aucame' are: 'A negro, Moor, Nubian; 5 the blacks are the 'Hamites' (the white: Japhetites, the olive-coloured: the Semites, PS 5) the dictionary doesn't mention the black Indians here. If the Acts and Hymns mean the North-Indians, as the name 'Indus' suggests, they are brighter than the Ethiopians and not much darker than the Semites 14. G. Bornkamm, Mythos und Legende in den apokryphen Thomas - Akten, Gottingen 1933, p. 68-81. 15. In this way argues P. V. Mathew, Acta indica, Ernakulam 1986, p. 31. 16. M. Bussagli found in the Acts a "good knowledge of the Indian world, relating to the fauna and the habits, and above all the episode of the meeting of St. Thomas with the dancing girl of Jewish birth", but I cannot follow him, and I,m not sure, that the Acts and Hymns intend to let the wedding happen in India. Bussagli does not mention any concrete flower or habit, etc. to which he might refer to. So I cannot find in Bussagli's article much more arguments than the names of the Indian kings. He finds the name of the king's brother . Gad as 'Guda or Gudana' on coins, but Drijvers points out, that this syriac name 'Gad' means 'lot', which makes much sence in this context! (M. Bussagli, The Apostle St. Thomas and India, in : East and West, Rome 1952, p. 88-94).

112

THE

HARP

themselves. - And, concerning the Acts, if all these Indians are so black, why was the Indian daughter of the war-minister so afraid when she saw a black man and ran away (Ch. 64); she also would be black herselfl If Syriac and also Greek texts speak about 'India' they often mean Nubia or Ethiopia, and the so called 'king of India' is a king in north-west Africa. 17 Sometimes they differ between the India minor and India major but in most times the context must show the meaning; or all this is India, f r o m Nubia to the Bharat 1 8 , and sometimes to Thailand, too. I don't want to say t h a t t h e Syrians in general could not distinguish between India and Ethiopia. 1 9 The question is, if Jacob did. Also there is a cobra-snake mentioned in the Hymns, the 'asfs'. This word is the syriac form of greek 'aspis', the snake, b u t the syriac dictionary says, it is an 'Egyptian cobra'. These were the lexical aspects which need not point at India, b u t I have to confess t h a t I'm not a specialist in Syriac so I should be careful to argue with this subject. In the thematical area I have to discuss the following moments: There are two longer episodes on the hell, one episode in the Acts, and one in the Hymns. In the Acts, chapter 55, a young man killed his beautiful wife because she wants to have sexual joy with another man, because her husband wants to live the sexless life - like a brahmacarin. The sexless life is the most holy life in the Acts as well as in the Hymns, and in both works St. Thomas fights for this lifestyle. 2 0 But the fact, t h a t this 17. See many examples in: N. Pigulewskaja, Byzanz auf den Wegen nach Indien, Berlin 1969, p. 134, the Ethiopians as Indians', p. 216f, 'The king of the Acsumites' is called 'the king of the Indians' and esp. p. 325: " . . on the empire of India and how they became christians after a war"; here it is written about South Arabia. 18. So it's possible to find in an Atlas of imaginary places that 'India' was a kingdom from 'Africa to Sibiria and to India; it is immeasurable large, and has 72 christian and pagan lands. The king was John-following the anonymous book 'Epistola Johannis regis Indiae', dated, ca 1175, in: A. Manguel / G. Guadalupi, Von Atlantis bis Utopia, Munchen 1981, p. 149f 19. see: Diehle, p. 54-70. 20. The sexual sin is in the "Acts the sin kat' exochen", how Bornkamm. points out, op. cit. p. 48.

DAS INDIENBILD

...

T H E APOSTEL

THOMAS. I N I N D I A

113

young man killed his wife for her wishes was - of course - a sin, nevertheless, and he confesses his bloody deed as his arms dries up before he can take the eucharist. So Thomas lets give back the life to the woman and she tells about her way in the hell. She is guided through the hell. Like Vergil takes the hand of Dante Alighieri in the divine comedy, an ugly black man took the young lady's hand and showed her all the chambers of the hell and she saw the incredible cruel punishments. Some souls are only a shorter time in the purgatorio and some have to stay longer. And the next point is also the same as in Dante's work: the kind of the punishment corresponds exactly to the kind of sin, for example: a person who lied in this world is punished on his tongue, and who stole the possessings of the poor is t o r t u r e d on his arms, and so on. In the Hymns the brother of the Indian king is in the hell (III 506ff), and there he sees a sea of fire and wheels which are used as instruments for the murder of the souls. - In the Acts the young lady sees the same wheels as the king's brother. - His soul found the palace in the fire, which was built by St. Thomas and when he comes back to life he tells his brother that the palace really exists. Now, it's right, t h a t you can find descriptions of hell also in hinduistic and buddhistic literature, also very clear images with a systematic concept: they tell you how long you have to stay in this hell for this sin and which t o r t u r e you'll get. With the buddhistic t r a d i t i o n this hell-literature also came to China. There sometimes you can also find this logical system, t h a t the sin is reflected by the t o r t u r e like a mirror reflects the things, which are in its front. For example: In the Amarakosa-text you find the punishment for the liars who cut the honour of other people get cut their tongues 2 1 , and in Vamanapurana the people who speak badly about the faithful loose their tongue 2 2 , he, who falls in love with wives of other men has to embrace a hot tree full of diamand needles 23 and 21. W. Kirfel, Die Kosmographie der Inder, Bonn / Leipzig, 1920, p. 165. This book gives long and detailed Informations about the Indian hell. 22- op. cit. 170. 23. op. cit. 171.

114

THE

HARP

in AmarakoSa it is also told that the persons who had illegal sexual contact were thrown into the hell. 24 But if once the idea of this reflecting system has been born (or adopted from somewhere) then in all the hells you can find similar tortures for similar deeds. It seems that the hell-ideas - like many other cosmologic ideas as the seven heavens and seven infernos, the astrology and so on - came from the other direction, they came from Mesopotamia and Persia. 25 And the heavenly palace in the middle of the hell is obviously an interpretation of Mt. 6,19f: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven!" This is, I think one of the main points, one of the cerygmatic sentences, in the whole work of Jacob. Thomas finds a Middle-Asian hell in India, and also the Satan has done Middle-Asian deeds (Acts, ch. 30-38). It is possible to explain all these thoughts from a Middle Asian background, as Drijvers says, all these religious elements in the acts can be found in the 'Oratio and Graecos' of Tatian' 26 or in the christian and pre-manicheic intellectual world. In all these subjects Jacob does not have to leave his own horizon; and I think - it was not his point to write historically about India or to give facts in a modern sense. He is a preacher. And also when you hear the hymn of the pearl - which is only written in the Acts - about the young person who forgot, that he was the son of a king and send out to find the lost pearl, you may think of the most well known and loved story about a forgotten and remembered person, the Abhijnana of Shakuntala, but you would have to transform this concrete story in a story about man and soul, like Krishna and his Gopis as an image for the dancing god with the souls.

24. op. cit. 165. But on the other side you 1must have a son or you came into hell, too. So the sanscrit word 'putra' (engl. 'son') gets the etymology, that 'put-ra' is protection against [the hell] 'put'. Only in buddhistic texts you needn't have a son, of course. 25. G. Bornkamm explains these hell-descriptions as pre-manicheic, p. 49f and he gives parallels to other apocryphic literature, p. 45-60, but without mentioning any other so detailed hinduistic parallels. 26. Drijvers, 300; the same position can be found also in other modern literature.

DAS INDIENBILD

...

THE

APOSTEL

THOMAS IN I N D I A

115

B u t I t h i n k , all these i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s are going too far. W i t h this kind of associations B o r n k a m m w a n t s t o find t h e parallel and source story of t h e eagle, who stole the t w o p a r t r i d g e s f r o m t h e king's t a b l e in t h e M a h a b h a r a t a - e p i s o d e of t h e divine eagle Garuda, who was sent b y his m o t h e r t o steal t h e Soma of the Gods. And so as the king t h r e w his a r r o w against t h e eagle, t h e God I n d r a t h r e w his t h u n d e r s t o n e against Garuda 2 7 . B u t if you only w a n t t o find t h e topos of t h e stealing eagle you may look at one of t h e oldest epics of t h e world, t h e Sumerian L u g a l b a n d a - e p o s , in which the bird Anzu steals t h e plates of t h e f a t e f r o m t h e gods. 2 8 No, t h e only m o m e n t s in this t e x t , which give t h e association of India t o me, a r e (1) t h e q u o t e d word of t h e 'confused t h o u g h t s ' , t h a t could be an indication for t h e well elaborated upanishad philosohpy, (2) t h e name of t h e king G u n d a p h o r , and (3) perhaps t h e word ' h i n d u ' and t h e t r a d i t i o n of St. Thomas. When Jacob lets Thomas say, India is full of 'greediness and excesses' (I 170, see above), has he heard a b o u t t h e K a m a s u t r a or some special branches of T a n t r a ? Or is this possible t o explain with t h e a r g u m e n t t h a t Thomas p r o j e c t s poetically and didactically every bad deed on his screen ' I n d i a ' , mixed with some unclear associations, which he has. I c a n n o t find any more specific Indian elements in these works. And more, I cannot find any concretion. All w h a t is said is too unspecific. B u t - as I have already said - t h e H y m n s are a sermon, not a historical r e p o r t (without any meaning for t h e salvation-history!).

27. Bornkamm, p. 60ff. 28. See: W. V. Soden, Einfuhrung in die Altorientalistik, Darmstadt 1985, p. 203. I discuss this problem so detailed, because this is the only part in the Thomas-Acts, in which Bornkamm finds an Indian source (p. 60-68). He explains all the myths and legends from another backround, but suddenly this story should be derived from the Mahabharata (62)? Is the parallel so near? But only three lines after he has mentioned the Indian source (p. 62), Bornkamm shows the evidence of the egyptian-syriac-greek helios (sun)-eagle relations in prechristian and christian literature and art and he explains the christian symbols of this story and doesn't say any word about the Indian reference up to page 67, where he is sure, that the author of the Acts borrowed an Indian legend (probably in the South Indian version!). For Diehle this is reason enough to write (op, cit. p. 57, with reference to Bornkamm), that the Acts content ' . . gnostic mythology and Indian narrative' (!).

116

THE

HARP

So in the Drijvers's long introduction to the edition of the Acts the name 'India' is not often mentioned. Both works, the Acts and the Hymns are full of Bible-quotations and they have a theology of the so-called Middle East. 29 In these works you find a mythological India, a strange, awful and ugly India, which was healed by the gospel 30 . She was taught in the correct lifestyle. She should believe in Jesus Christ and live the life of the 'brahmacharin', i. e. chastity or purity, and she should help the poor. The Hymns show, that we have to win the palace in heaven, not on earth. This land of the black Indians you can find in the east of the Indus-river, this is your land 'Bharat'. And you can find the other Indians in the west, because that is the other meaning of the syriac word 'hinduya', the Cushites and Ethiopians. This was in the past. And nowadays? You can also find two kinds of Indians. The land of the East-Indians is the same, but the land of the West Indians is now called 'America', following the name of Americo Vespucci. You may say, that they have changed the name of West-India into America, as they understood, that this was not the right India, the classical land of the spices. You are right. But the name of the first inhabitants has not yet been changed, they are very seldom called 'old-Americans' or 'first Americans', normally they are called 'Indians'. 'Indians' that word must have such a fascinating sound that the people of the middle east and the Europeans wanted to have two of them. 'India' is the name of a concrete land, — and of a fiction, too.

29. Drijvers, pp. 300-303. 30. When Dieble writes he wants to show Thomas's 'Indienbild', he is only talking about the historical evidence for the names Gundaphor and Andrapolis (p. 57-61), but I think the name of one or two subjects doesn't create an image of a land or should decide on the historical evidence of a whole story.

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 117-126 Alison Salvesen

Alison Salvesen: The Purpose of Jacob of Edessa's Version of Samuel The Syrian Orthodox scholar Jacob of Edessa was born c. 633 A. D. in the province of Antioch. He studied Greek and Scriptures under Severus Sebokt in Qenneshre ("Eagles' Nest"), and spent some time in Alexandria in Egypt. He returned to Syria as Bishop of Edessa in 684, but resigned in 688 following a dispute over canon law (to which he adhered strictly) and went to Kaisum. Invited to Eusebona, he remained there for eleven years, teaching the Greek Scriptures. He was then forced to leave, and resided in the monastery of Tell 'Adda for nine years. He was briefly bishop of Edessa again until his death in 708. Jacob's revision of the Old Testament occupied the years 696-705. The basis was the Syriac Peshitta text, with additions and supplements from a Greek Septuagint text closest to the from known as the Antiochene (or Lucianic) revision. This kind of Greek text would have been especially familiar to Jacob, since he spent most of his life in the region around Antioch. A few manuscripts of Jacob's Syriac version survive, covering the Pentateuch, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Susannah, fragments of Wisdom, and of course 1-2 Samuel, including the beginning of 1 Kings, a division of the books found in the Greek text tradition of Antioch. The Samuel manuscript's date is 719 A. D. and is kept in the British Library (B. M. Add 14,429). Professor of Syriac at the University of Oxford, U. K. Scholar in exegesis of Syriac biblical texts. Author of many scholarly articles, as well as books.

118

THE IIARP

What does Jacob's revisional activity reveal about his attitude to the Biblical text? He was rare in that he not only knew both Syriac and Greek well, he was known to favour Greek learning heavily. So he was extremely familiar with the Greek biblical text or texts in use in the Greek-speaking monophysite churches, and he must have noted early on the differences between the Greek Old Testament and the Syriac Peshitta, differences that were sometimes considerable. Yet each was the official Bible used by Greek-and Syriac-speaking Christians respectively. Others before him had noticed the discrepancy between the two texts: in our time, the tendency would be to return to the Hebrew text and decide if possible which was the more accurate translation of the Hebrew original. But although Jacob and a few other Syriac writers were reputed to have known Hebrew (though I have not yet found any real sign that he did), they did not take this route. Instead they used the Greek biblical text that like the Peshitta, had been translated from the Hebrew centuries previously, in order to produce what they believed to be a "better" bible. "Better" might imply a number of possibilities: a text that was easier to understand, or more illuminating for study purposes, or more useful in doctrinal controversies, or simply more "Greek", since the Syrian Orthodox Church sometimes suffered from a feeling of cultural and political inferiority as regards their Greek-speaking brethren. These are the kinds of influences behind the Harklean version, a very literal translation of the revised Greek Old Testament text of Origen. Both date from 615-7, and both dispensed with the Peshitta text, though the purpose of the revisions was for study rather than liturgy. 1 Jacob's solution to the problem of the differing biblical versions was a different one. It probably represents an attempt to preserve the best of the Peshitta while supplementing it and occasionally correcting it from the Greek text. In Samuel, the result is a marriage or at least an amalgamation of the two versions into one Syriac version. So the foundation of Jacob's version is the Peshitta. Changes and additions from the Greek are expressed in reasonably 1. See Sebastian Brock The Bible in the Syriac Tradition SEERI Correspondence Course on Syrian Christian Heritage 1, pp. 14, 21-24.

ALISON SALVESEN . . .

EDESSA'S VERSIONS OF SAMUEL

119

n a t u r a l Syriac, n o t the clumsy literal style of the Syrohexapla. Jacob's own changes consist mainly of the addition of personal pronouns, t h e v e r b " t o b e " , and personal and place names, in order to clarify t h e narrative. B u t occasionally he adds a few words which are not found elsewhere and which have a greater impact, on t h e t e x t . Here are a few examples: Plain t y p e : = P e s h i t t a wording Italics: Bold:

W o r d i n g follows Greek t e x t (usually Antiochene-type t e x t ) unique rendering, sometimes J a c o b ' own addition

1 Samuel 1.4-6 Jacob: W h e n t h e day came for Helqana to make sacrifice, he gave p o r t i o n s t o P e n a n a his wife and t o all her sons and daughters, while to H e n a n a he gave only one portion to her face, because she had no child. But because Helqana loved Henana more than Penana, t h o u g h the Lord had shut up her womb, her rival used t o provoke her greatly, because she despised her, since the Lord had s h u t u p her womb and had not given her a child in her oppression and the anguish of her spirit. Peshitta: W h e n t h e day came for H e l q a n a to make sacrifice, he gave (some) to P e n a n a his wife, and he gave p o r t i o n s to all her sons and daughters, while to H a n a he gave double, because he loved H a n a , t h o u g h t h e Lord had shut her womb. Her rival used to provoke her greatly in order t o grieve her, because t h e Lord had shut up her womb. Greek (Antiochene text): When the day came for Elkana to make sacrifice, he used to give portions to Phennana his wife and to all her sons and her daughters, but to Hanna he would give a single portion to her face, because she had no child, except that Helkana loved Hanna more than Phennana, and the Lord had closed up her womb. Her rival used to provoke her even with provocation since she despised her. And the Lord did not give her a child according to her affliction and the despondency of her soul, and she was disheartened for this reason, that the Lord had closed up her womb so as not to give her a child. Neither t h e P e s h i t t a nor t h e Greek explains a d e q u a t e l y t h e reasons for t h e tensions in Elkanah's family. By combining

120

THE

HARP

different suggestions found in the Syriac and Greek, Jacob portrays a believable situation where Elkanah acts fairly at a superficial level by not favouring H a n n a h over Peninah in the m a t t e r of sacrifical portions, b u t his actual preference for H a n n a h despite her barrenness makes Peninah provoke her rival over her lack of a child. Jacob does not have the lengthier version of verse 6 t h a t is found in the Antiochene text, either because he did not have this in his particular Greek manuscript, or because he felt t h a t it was unnecessary. 1 Samuel 6.19 Jacob: And the sons of Jeconiah who were with the men of Beth Shemesh were not jilad when thei/ saw the Ark of the Lord, and the Lord smote them, five thousand and seventy men of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they did not rejoice over the ark of the Lord. Peshitta: The Lord smote the men of Beth Shemesh because they did not fear the Ark of the Lord. And the Lord smote five thousand and seventy men. Greek (Antiochene text): The sons of Jechonias among the men of Baithsamus were not glad because they saw the Ark of the Lord, and He smote seventy men among them and fifty thousand men from the people. The Peshitta is laconic. Jacob prefers the Greek, where there are two groups of people punished by God, and where their sin is not lack of reverence towards the Ark b u t lack of rejoicing when it arrives. However, he adopts the lower figure of the Peshitta, five thousand, for the number of men killed, perhaps because fifty thousand seemed an excessive number of people t o be in such a minor city as Beth Shemesh. 1 Samuel 9. 25-26 Jacob: They came down from Bim to the city, and they made a bed for Saul on the roof and he slept. Samuel spoke with him on the roof. Rising early when dawn broke, Samuel summoned Saul on the roof and said to him, "Arise, I will send you off." Saul arose and the two of them went outside, he and Samuel.

ALISON SAL.VESEN

EDESSA'S VERSION O F SAMUEL

l2l

Peshitta: He went down from B i m to the town, and he spoke with Saul on the roof. He rose early as the dawn broke, and Samuel called Saul to the roof. He said, " A r i s e , I will send you off." Saul, arose and the two of them went outside, he and Samuel. Greek: He went down from Bama to for Saul on the roof, and he dawn rose, Samuel called Saul I will send you off'Saul arose,

the city, and they laid out a bed slept. It happened that when the on the roof, saying, "Arise, and and he and Samuel went outside.

J a c o b combines the Peshitta and the Greek here: he adds that Saul sleeps on the roof from the Greek, but he preserves the n i g h t - t i m e conversation between Samuel and Saul there from the Peshitta, which he may well have considered was a significant part in the process of Saul becoming king. J a c o b also makes it clear that it is Samuel who is the subject of the action by adding his name to the t e x t . 1 Samuel 13. 19-21 Jacob: There was no ironworker in the entire land of Israel, because the Philistines said, " S o t h a t the Hebrews do not make sword and lance". All Israel used to go down to the land of the Philistines, each man to quench his sickle, his ploughshare, his axe and his goad. They would make a file for the edge of the sickle, the ploughshare, the scraper, the. axe and the post of the goad. The fee for these tools was three shekels. Peshitta: No smith was to be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines said, " S o t h a t the Hebrews do not make swords and spears." All Israel went down from the Philistines for each to sharpen his sickle, his stake, his axe and his goad. There was a file for the edge of the sickle, the ploughshare, the pole, the axe and the post of the goad. Greek (Antiochene text): No ironworker was found in the whole land of Israel because the foreigners said, "In case the Hebrews make sword and spear." All Israel used to go down to the land of the foreigners, each of them to forge his sickle and his implement, and each man his axe and his scythe. The crop was ready for harvesting. But for tools it was three shekels for the prong, and for an axe and a scythe and to straighten an ox goad it was the same situation.

122

THE- HARP

The P e s h i t t a seems t o be saying t h a t t h e Israelites were otA-j to to?Ai, fvliftg tb/i edges. Mvd, prongs, r a t h e r t h a n reforging t h e m , as in t h e Greek, for a certain price. J a c o b takes a more technical i n t e r e s t in t h e process: he i n t r o d u c e s t h e t e r m saba', literally " t o dip", b u t h e r e r e f e r r i n g t o t h e plunging of h a m m e r e d and heated metal into w a t e r in order t o cool and h a r d e n it. The filing seems to jbe a s u p p l e m e n t a r y or a l t e r n a t i v e m e t h o d of sharpening implements, t a k e n f r o m the P e s h i t t a of course. J a c o b also clarifies the c r y p t i c r e m a r k in t h e Greek a b o u t t h r e e shekels explicitly r e f e r r i n g to it as a fee. 1 Samuel 21.2-7 Jacob: David came to Nobach, to Achimelek t h e priest. Achimelek was alarmed to meet David, and said to him, " W h y have you come on y o u r own, and no one else is w i t h you?', David said to Achimelek t h e priest, " T h e king charged me with a matter today, and said to me 'No one m u s t know w h a t I am sending you about.'2 As for t h e y o u n g m e n who are with me, I have called them to witness in a certain concealed and secret place that is called the Faith of God. And now, if t h e r e are five loaves u n d e r y o u r h a n d , give t h e m into my h a n d s , or whatever t h e r e is." The priest answered and said t o David, " T h e r e is no o r d i n a r y bread under m y h a n d , b u t t h e r e are t h e consecrated loaves. If they are young men who have abstained from contact with a woman, they too may eat " David answered and said to the priest, "We have refrained from women for some days. And since I set o u t on the journey they have been holy and pure, even though the journey is profane. In addition today the young men are consecrated, because of my vessels3 that they carry along with me." The priest gave him t h e holy loaves f r o m those of the Presentation, because t h e r e was no bread t h e r e except the loaves of t h e Presence, which they used to lay out f r o m before t h e L o r d , In order to set out hot loaves on t h e same day t h a t they were received.4

2. The phrase "and (about which) I have instructed you", present in both G and P, is absent from J, perhaps by homoioteleuton. 3. The Syriac word means "armour";, "clothing", "equipment", "vessels", with a similar range of meaning to the concrete sense of English "things". 4. Verb often used in connection with reception of the elements.

ALISON SALVESEN

. . . EDESSA'S VERSION OF SAMUEL

123

Peshitta: David came to Nekach to Achimelek the priest, and Achimelek v^as alarmed to meet David. He said to him' "Why is it that you have come alone and no one is with you?" David said to Achimelek the priest, "The king commanded me a matter and said to me, 'No one must know what I am sending you about and commanding you.' As for the youths, I have shown them an area that is concealed and secret. Now what is there under your hand? Give into my hands five loaves of bread or whatever there is." The priest answered David and said to him, "There is no ordinary bread under my hand, but there is the bread of holiness if the youths have abstained from the offering." David answered and said to the priest, "The offering is permitted to us for some days past when I set out. The young men's vessels are holy and the mission is profane, and also today they are sanctified by the vessels." The priest gave him the consecration because there was no bread there except for the bread of the Presence that they remove from before the Lord to set out warm bread on the day that it is taken. Greek (Antiochene text): David went to Nomba to Achimelech the priest. Achimelech was alarmed at meeting David and said, "Why are you alone and no one is with you?" David said to the priest Achimelek, "The king commanded a matter to me today and said to me, 'Let no one know anything about the matter on which I have sent you out and about which I have commanded you.' And the youths I have called to witness in a place called the Faith of God. Now if there are five loaves under your hand, give into my hand whatever you find." The priest answered David and said, "There are no ordinary loaves under my hand, except the holy bread. If the young men have kept themselves from women they too may eat." David replied to the priest and said to him, "In fad we have abstained from women for some days. For when I set out on the journey the young men became sanctified, and even if this journey is not hallowed, today it is sanctified through my vessels[weapons. Achimelech the priest gave him the bread of the Presence, because there was no other bread there except the loaves of the Presence which had been removed from the Lord's presence to set out warm loaves on the day on which he took them.

124

THE

HARP

Iii the P e s h i t t a , the argument as t o why the young men m a y eat t h e consecrated bread is rather unclear, since the Syriac t e x t speaks of abstaining f r o m the offering, qurbana, the word l a t e r used for t h e E u c h a r i s t in order to be able to partake of t h e holy bread, which t h e n does not fit with David's following remark. T h e Greek t e x t is more s t r a i g h t forward in this respect, as it speaks of r i t u a l sexual p u r i t y instead, and this is the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h a t J a c o b adopts. J a c o b ' s version also hints t h a t he sees this incident a t t h e s a n c t u a r y as a foreshadowing of the E u c h a r i s t : bread is in t h e plural (as in t h e Greek), t h e young men are c a r r y i n g vessels, t h e loaves are laid out from before t h e Lord's presence, and are received or taken. T h e passage is generally in a c c o r d a n c e with canon law on t h e freshness of eucharistic bread, and on physical p u r i t y before t h e a l t a r . 5 This is perhaps n o t surprising given J a c o b ' s championing of canon law in the course of his ecclesiastical career. 1 Samuel 21. 13-14 Jacob: David t o o k these words t o h e a r t and was very afraid of Ankush king of Gath. He changed his expression and altered his behaviour, and deceived the eyes of the Philistines that day. He hammered on the gates of the city, and staggered about on his feet, and fell upon the doorposts of the gates. He stretched out his hands and made his s p i t t l e run down his beard. P e s h i t t a : David t o o k these words to heart and was very afraid of Akish king of Gath. l i e changed his behaviour in front of him and disfigured himself in t h e i r eyes. H e sat on the threshold of t h e gate and spat upon his beard. Greek

(Antiochene text): very afraid in front expression in front on the gates of the against the gales of his beard.

David took these words to heart and he was of Akchous king of Gelh. He changed his of them and feigned that day. He hammered city and made his hands shake, and fell the city, and his spittle flowed down onto

H e r e J a c o b ' s changes are made for d r a m a t i c effect: the P e s h i t t a does not give a v e r y convincing p i c t u r e of David's 5. See Bar Hebraeus, Nomocanon ch. 4: bread (Addai, John of Telia): purity (Severus of Antioch, Timothy, Jacob of Edessa).

ALISON S A L V E S E N

...

EDESSA'S VERSION

OF SAMUEL

125

attempts at feigning madness and the Greek is more interesting, so Jacob combines the two accounts. He also rewrites the rather odd expression in the Greek that I have rendered loosely as "he made his hands shake", as "he staggered about, or tottered around, on his feet." Jacob must have believed that he had the authority to interfere with the biblical text in this way, and perhaps he did not regard his activity as interference since some of the interpretations he incorporated derived from respected commentators. In the Samuel manuscript there are lectionary markings in the margins which though later then the text itself, imply that someone thought that it carried sufficient authority to be used in church. B u t the fact that Jacob's version died out with the early eighth century group of manuscripts that we have, suggests that the idea of combining the Peshitta and the Septuagint did not catch on. This could be due to prejudice against Greek on the part of some Syrian Orthodox, to a preference for the revered Peshitta, and to the rise of Islam* which meant that the influence of Greek began to wane while the importance of Arabic increased. Jacob's approach to the biblical text is very foreign to modern Western ways of approaching the Bible, where the aim is to recover the meaning of the Hebrew text, often using other versions such as the Greek only as a last resort. Jacob's attitude seems to have been that uniting different but not necessarily conflicting versions increased the chances of understanding the bible, rather than diminishing the concept of biblical truth. To some extent this attitude was already anticipated in Origen's six-fold Greek Bible, the Hexapla, where the many different versions included were regarded not as contradictory but as shedding even more light on the divine message. Jacob may have been aware of these precedents, but he was also heir to an older tradition of using the Greek Bible as an aid in the translation of the Peshitta books from the Hebrew. As for his own attitude to the Hebrew, though, he is reputed to have known the language, there is little sign of this knowledge having influenced his version of Samuel. It is possible

126

THE

HARP

t h a t since he was a w a r e t h a t b o t h t h e P e s h i t t a and t h e Greek S e p t u a g i n t were t r a n s l a t i o n s of t h e H e b r e w Scriptures, he may have felt t h a t by combining t h e t w o he was somehow presenting a t e x t t h a t reflected t h e Hebrew b e t t e r t h a n either of t h e t w o alone. B u t we cannot be certain t h a t this formed p a r t of t h e philosophy behind his Old T e s t a m e n t version. It m a y be t h a t he merely wished t o m a r r y the versions of t h e t w o Christian linguistic communities with which he was familiar.

St. Ephrem's hymn on John 14-16 ' T h e Spirit will come with his tongues and t h e P a r a c l e t e with his revelations. A new speech will dwell in you; t h e wings of the Spirit will be folded u p o n y o u , t h e y will fly [down] f r o m on high and t h e y will dwell u p o n y o u r mouths; Upon your lips shall dwell t h e fire and in y o u r m o u t h s t h e flame. The m o u t h is closed y e t swallows fire; t h e tongue is silent, y e t it conceives. The bodily t o n g u e is not consumed by t h e t o n g u e of flame, J u s t as t h e bush in t h e desert was n o t consumed by t h e b u r n i n g flame. T h e disciples received a tongue of fire, a new speech n o t native t o t h e m . T h r o u g h t h e t o n g u e of the ' W a t c h e r ' Mary received a new conception, strange to her. The tongues of t h e Spirit came down u p o n t h e tongues of bodily flesh, and t h e r e came t h e divine conception t o t h e fleshly w o m b of t h e d a u g h t e r of man. ("Symbols ... Pages 81}

THE

HARP

Vol. Vili., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 127-132 Alexander Jacob IPS"

Enslavement in Syriac Literature Comparative Chronology with Bar Hebraeus Christianity in the first three centuries of Anno-Domini, is the Anti-Slavery movement against the Roman Empire. Enslavement and fight against slavery have a gradual development in the Bible. Abraham the patriarch left the Babylonian town of Ur, with father, brothers and nephew, to Haran (Gen 11:26-32). At the age of 75, on his father's death, Abraham moved on to Palesteine (Canan) near Bethel, to Mamre near Hebron and to Beerslieba. His nephew was taken into slavery by a group of kings (Gen 14). But Abraham, leading a coalition, rescued him. It was a short incident. His Great Grandson Joseph, was sold by his brothers into slavery to the Midianites (Gn 37:38). Later the Midianites sold Joseph to the Egyption priest Potipher (Gn 37:36 and Gn 39:1). Joseph in prison interpreted Pharoah's dreams and escaped slavery and became Vizier, under the Hyskos Semitic Pharoahs, who ruled Egypt from B C. 1710-1540. For about 150 years, the Jews belonged to 1.he Bureaucracy of Egypt, Pharaoh invited Joseph's family to settle in Egypt (Gn 45:1721, 46:5), he sent wagons and told them to leave all, for they have sufficiency in Egypt. Sinuhe, a fugitive Egyption in Syria in 1900 B. C. was also told to leave all by the Pharoah. who recalled him to Egypt. Different customs again explain an allusion in Gn 46:34, by this is meant that Joseph's f&mily coiild be settled in secluded security in Goshen. Joseph's economic «

A Senior Police Officer (IPS) in India. Maintains « keen interest i s Syriae studies and research in. relevant documents of Syriac literature.

128

THE

HARP

policy in Gn 47:16-19, made Egypt, Pharaoh's property and its inhabitants. B. C. 1490-1437, reign of Thutmoses-III restored Egyption native supremacy, which also commenced, Jewish slavery. Moses (B. C. 1350-1230) led the first independence movement against Egyption slavery (B. C. 1540-1390) which lasted 150 years. Moses' career covered probably two Pharaohs Sethos-I (B.C. 1304-1290) and Rameses-II (B.C. 1290-1224). The pentateuch, was probably the result of mose's freedom struggle as its main coverage. The South African Apartheid regime asked Archbishop Tutu, why he instigated the Africans to fight them, holding the Bible in one hand, whether his Bible sanctioned such a fight. Archbishop Tutu's answer was "which Bible are you talking about? The Bible I have in my hand starts with the freedom struggle of Moses, where God proved that one race or people shall not enslave another race. If it happens so, God shall fight for the enslaved to free them from oppressors". The Bible starts with the philosophy of God, against oppression. From Moses to David, three hundred years passed. Israel came under foreign rule many times. They came under the Philistine rule, from which judges freed them many times. The Philistines came on the coastal plain (1200 B.C.) and pressed against Israel's hill country. Samson's exploits gave temporary relief (Judges 3:31) but a combination of Philistine and Amorite pressure (Jugde 1:34) forced Samson's tribe to migrate. Samson faced the open philistine aggression (1070 B. C.), and subdued it. Within 30 years, Jephtah dealt with the Ammonite menace (Judge 10:7) and subdued it. But Israel faced double defeat at Aphek in Isa. (4:1-11) and was freed from slavery only at the time of David. During Ahab's time the 7th king of Israel, son and successor of Omri (B. C. 874-852) 1 Ki 16:28, Israel came under foreign rule. Ahab married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbar, king of Sidon, priest of Astharath. It was Elijah's heroic resistance that protected and rescued Israel. Israel was constantly under threat of subjugation during 600 years. B. C. 732, Damascus and Syria fell to Babylonian King Tiglath-Pile&ar-III. In 722, complete Samaria was subjugated by the Babylonians Palesteine sandwiched between Egypt and Babylon was drawn into the vortex of trouble. During PharaoJj Neco's reign (610-595 B. C.) he marched into Syria to assist

E N S L A V E M E N T IN SYRIAC . . . W I T H BAR H E B R A E U S

129

Assur-Uballit II, last king of Assyria, against Babylon. But Josiah of Judah forced to battle with Neco at meggido; this delay of Egyption help for the Assyrians sealed their fate at the cost of Josiah's own life (2 Ki 23:29, 2 Ch 35:20-24). On his return Necho deposed and deported Josiah's son Jehoahz and appointed instead Jehoiakim, a vassal king in Jesusalem, and obliged him to pay tribute to Egypt (2 Ki 23:11-35. 2 Ch 36:1-4) Egypt claimed Palasteine as her share of the Assyrian empire, but in the Battle of Carchemish in May-June 605 B. C. Nebuchadnesser stormed the Egyption outpost and Egyption forces scurried back to Egypt through Syria. Judah thus exchanged an Egyption master and accepted Babylon as master (2 Ki 24:1-7). Daniel and his friends are taken to Babylon. On 15 March 597, Nebuchednesser captured Jerusalem, and exiled all. Jews including Jehoiachih and Ezekiel. In 587, Jerusalem M l and Israel became babylonian slaves. In 539 B. C. Babylon fell to Persians under Cyrus the Great. Thus the Babylonian captivity, 722 B. C. to 597 B. C. lasted 125 years. The Persians gave the Jews some autonomy by giving permission to rebuild Jerusalem Temple in 537 B. C. Nehemiah was appointed Governor of Jerusalem from 445-433 B. C. The Macedonian repulse to persian challenge resulted in Alexander the Great. B. C. 331-323, saw Alexander overrunning Persia, Babylon, Palesteine and Egypt. After Alexander Palesteine fell under Syrian Seleucus Nicator, 312-281. But a conscious effort to stamp out the Jews came up under Antiochus - IV Epiphanus, B. C. 175-163. Palasteine was the power struggle arena of Seleucid and Ptolemiac heirs of Alexander's empire. AntiochusIV Epiphanus was a mad, bad and dangerous ruler who sold the high priesthood to the highest bidder, one Menalaus, and in 168, he was ejected. He sent his soldiers, and sacked Jerusalem. He instituted a religious persecution of unprecedented bitternes. Sabbath was stopped, circumcision was given death penalty and pagan rituals and prostitution established in Jerusalem Temple, Many succumbed but heroic resistance started macc1:6012:29 (2 macc 6:18) Mattathias and his five sons John, Simon, Judas, Eleazer, and Jonathan started the Macabeen revolt. After . mattathias, Judas won his brilliant victories against Syrian superior forces. As Antiochus was engaged with parthians, his general Lysias was forced to conclude peace

130

THE

HARP

with Judas, who marched to Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple in 165 B. C. (I macc 14). It commenced the festival of Hanukkah or the dedication (Jn. 10:22). The Hasmonean dynasty was secured and though Judas died in 161. B. C at the Battle of Elas, the Hasmoneans had an inde- pendent country. At the time of the dealh of John I-Iyrcanus, 104 B. C. the Jewish realm was at its greatest extent since Solomon's time. But in B. C. 63, Pompei, captured Jerusalem, and made Palesteine a Roman protectorate. Herod the Great, in whose reign Jesus was horn, was an appointee of the Roman senate. B. C 4 Herod died and Herod Antipas was t e t r a r c h of Galilee. Jesus was crucified at the time of Pontius pilate (A. D 26-36) Roman procurator. In A. D. 70 Jerusalem revolted. Rome sent Titus Tiberius who sacked and destroyed Jerusalem. The Jews were scattered throughout the world. Christianity fought the Jewish persecution first and then for 300 years fought the Roman empire. Egypt, Palestina, Syria and the Balkans saw the slaves of the Roman empire Hocking to Christianity. Though Spartacus League and other anti-slavery agitations failed, Christianity succeeded in overthrowing the Roman slavery system. The Edict of Milan of 318 by Constantine, the great, solved this for Christianity. Thus we have a long stretch of slavery covered in the Bible. The idea of slavery is long standing in the Bible and its philosophy is also enshrined. The period of History as per syriac records given by BAR H E B R A E U S . has a lot of chronological errors in the book as compared with general political history. As his intention was to foster studies in Syriac literature, he made a tall claim in Book I itself. When he describes the tower of Babel he says t h a t 70 languages originated after the tower collapsed. But he says "Saint Basil and Mar Ephrem have decided t h a t the first and oldest language which existed before the division of languages was SYRIAC, even as the word "Bhulbal" itself testifieth". Then he discounts the argument in favour of Hebrew as the oldest language. The first slavery period comes at the time of Abraham. Bar Habraeus calculates it as year 3300 f r o m Adam. But other calculations, d a t e Adam B. C. 4004 and Abraham a t B. C. 1800?

ENSLAVEMENT IN SYRIAC . . . W I T H BAR H E B R A E U S

131

giving a gap of 2200 years. It is but conjucture only. He gives Pharoah Panos in Egypt as contemporary to Abraham and is accusing him of snatching from Abraham his wife Sarai. This Pharoah is not listed in the dynastic cycles of Egypt. He converts a King Karis as !he first King of Cretans, who built the city of crete. The general history of minoan Crete differs from this and gives a date of B. C. 3000. The Egyptian Pharoah, 1 Sokos is named as 12th king indicating the arrival of Hyskos in Egypt dated generally at B. C. 1710 as given as contemporary to Abraham. This tallies with other Biblical experts. The Pharoah who appointed Joseph as vizier was "Apapos" the fourth shepherd King. Shepherd Kings were called so because the Hyskos were shepherd people migrating to Egypt. BAR HEBRAEUS derives that word from the fact that Joseph is a Shepherd. From Joseph to moses,. the generations given by Bar Hebraeus are only 4 generations which is erroneous as the total period of enslavement is reduced to 100 years. But in calculation of years it is given as 350th year after Gods' promise to Abraham. The oppressor of Hebrews in Egypt is given as Pharoah Amonpathis or Amenophis, the immediate succession of Thutmoses. The woman who rescued moses is named Tremothisa, who is wife of Kanpara, the King of Egypt. The Pharoah with whom moses fought is named as "PSONOS", when general description is given as Rameses II. The year of redemption is given as 430th year after promise that is roughly B. C. 1280. This again agrees totally with general picture. The 40 years of Judge Gideon is correctly placed. The periods of Abimelech, Samson and Jephtah tally with general history. The Priest Eli, Samual, Saul and David are listed correctly. But BAR HEBRAEUS makes Solomon the contemporary of Empidocles, Pythagoros, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Here an error of roughly 400 years has crept in as Solomon is dated at 950 B. C. and Empidocles etc. B. C. 500. The Babylonian captivity after Nebu Chadnezzer is given by BAR HEBRAEUS as.70 years but in actuality it is about 125 years. The chronology of Persian Kings is comparatively correct . He doubts the story of Esther as Ezra is silent about it. But Ahasaurus or X'erxes and Haman's attempt to destroy Israel are pictured correctly, though Hainan is made an Amalekite and not a Persian. He dates the destruction of Carthage by Scipio

132

THE

HARP

Africanus in the 50th year of Darius. He also derives the word " A f r i c a " from Africans, when in real t r u t h it is the reverse derivation which is true. The campaign of Alexander the great and the division of the Kingdom and their succession later are correctly pictured in BAR HEBRAEUS. F r o m Adam to Seleucus the period is described differently by six scholars f r o m Eusebius to Aniaras as 4889 year to 5180. The average error if B. C, 4004 is taken is 1000 years or more. The Roman period f r o m Pompei onwards, the period of Jesus Christ and later up to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Tiberius is chronologically correct in BAR HEBRAEUS. Thus the history of Jewish enslavement and christian Persecution under the Romans is clearly, pictured in BAR HEBRAEUS. The Syriac Text with translation and introduction by Ernest. A wallis Budge is a valuable book for historians.

St. Ephrem - on the bishops of Nisibis

There is no envy or jealousy among t h e members of a body, for in love they obey it [the head] and with affection they are cared for by it. The head is watchman for the limbs, who keeps watch from all sides. It is high, yet humble in mercy; it abases itself even to the heels, t o remove from them all harm. Blessed be he [God] who has mingled t h y love in u s ! ("Symbols

... Page

92)

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., J u l y 1995 - 1996, pp. 133-138 Alain Desreumaux*

The Prophetical Testimonies about Christ: An unedited typological exegesis in Syriac

As a member of the team in charge of publishing a critical edition of the so-called "Apocalypse of Paid"1, I studied the Syriac manuscripts of this famous monument of the apocryphal literature of which only two have been published, by Ricciotti in 1933. However, it must be noticed t h a t J. Perkins, a member of the American Oriental Society had already published in 1866 an English translation of " T h e Revelation of the Blessed Apostle P a u l " contained in a manuscript f r o m the library of the Urmia mission iu West Iran. Before the t e x t of the Apocalypse of Paul" comes a short introduction named "Foreword to the Apocalypse of Paul '. This is an apology the aim of which is to sustain the genuineness of the Apocalypse of Paul. The Revelation is suspected by its adversaries to be a forgery not because it lies outside the canonical Scriptures, b u t because it describes punishments preceding the Last Judgement. It seems t h a t the adversaries maintain t h a t it is impossible to forsee the fate of souls before the ultimate resurrection. Answering these criticisms, the Apology argues t h a t it is quite possible to foresee realities i i symbols. The proof is to be found in the prophecies of the Member - CNRS - France; a renowned Syriac Scholar - author of numerous Publications. Leader of a research group from France which recently Worked on Syriac manuscripts and inscriptions in Kerala, INDIA.

1. One of the teams set by the AELAC (Association pour l'étude de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne). I thank Andrew Palmer who accepted to help me in correcting the English text of this conference.

134

THE IIAtiP

prophets. They saw events, things or persons who did exist but whose real meaning was to be discovered in Christian reality. The prophets' visions were raze, t h a t - i s - t o - s a y symbols announcing the coming reality. I wanted to recall t h a t discussion and to point out that it is an element of a whole theology where the mdaberanutha, the Economy of Christ gives the sense of everything. This is specially important for understanding the place of apocryphal literature in East Syriac churches. As a matter of fact, the Revelation of Paul has been transmitted in more than one case with its apologetical foreword, since I found it in five manuscripts, one of which is in the library of the Catholic Chaldean Metropolitan in Tehran where the text is entire. The defender establishes a list of ancient prophecies and gives their meaning one by one. For example: "When Israel warred with the Philistines and with every foreign people, Moses represented the lovely type of the cross in the sight of all Israel by the position of his hands; where was the cross at that time?" Or "When the priest Melkisedeq offered a loaf of bread and a cup of wine and when Abraham, the father of the nations asked him what was this symbol, the priest Melkisedeq answered him: Christ will come down from heaven and will put on a body from the Virgin and will give up his body in the bread arid the wine to his disciples. Where was the symbol of the sacrament of Our Lord's body and blood at that time?" The Apology is in places rather puzzling. Some difficult sentences seem to have been cut or shortened; this short text gives the impression t h a t the series of prophecies was extracted from a longer text. In trying to find more manuscripts of the Apocalypse of Paul and its Apology, I had the good luck to discover the source from which the author of the Apology had taken most of his prophetic examples. It is a treatise called "Exordium upon the Economy of Christ our Lord, upon the Revelation and upon the visions which have been seen by the just men of the old and the t r u e prophets". This longer text is found in a British Library manuscript containing. - The Cave of Treasures, attributed to Ephrem - The Question of Mar Simon

Kephas

THE PROPHETICAL TESTIMONIES . . .

IN SYR I AG

135

- The Question of Ezra the Scribc when he was in the desert his disciple Carpas, concerning the kingdom of the Ismaelites

with

- The Testament -

of

Adam

Exordium

- Á Treatise by a f t e r Babel

Andronicus

about

- An e x t r a c t f r o m a d i s c o u r s e f a s t of Daniel

by

- The Book of the Bee by Solomon

the

names

of t h e

J o h n Chrysostom

nations

about

the

of Bassora.

- The Chronicle by Simon S h a n q u e l a w i f o r the use of his disciple J o h n b a r Zo'bi -

The history

of

- The martyrium

Shalita of

Mamas

- The Story of Alexander

the Great

I t is a w e l l - k n o w n m a n u s c r i p t , of 362 leaves, d a t e d 1709, f r o m t h e t i m e of Elias f r o m Nisibis, p a t r i a r c h catholicos of t h e E a s t . A similar copy is f o u n d in t h e V a t i c a n L i b r a r y ; it c o n t a i n s the same first five pieces, copied f o r t h e same f a m i l y a n d is dated f r o m 1702, u n d e r t h e same catholicos. This one is certainly t h e N e s t o r i a n Catholicos Elias M a r r o g h i n (1700-1722). T h e Exordium the source of t h e difficult sentences in the f o r m e r ; the longer a n d clearer

on I he E c o n o m y of Christ is w i t h o u t d o u b t s h o r t Apology of t h e Apocalypse of Paul: t h e c o n t a i n e d in t h e l a t t e r are u n d e r s t a n d a b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s of the p r o p h e t i c e x a m p l e s a r e in t h e f o r m e r .

L e t us look a t t h e c o i t e n t of t h e Exordium a n d see which w r i t i n g s its a u t h o r has chosen t o f o r m his sample of testimonies a b o u t t h e E c o n o m y of Christ. T h e Exordium keeps w h a t is p e r h a p s one of t h e g r e a t e s t collections of Testimonia k n o w n in Syriac. T h e V a t i c a n m a n u s c r i p t was q u o t e d by Assemani as belonging t o t h e l i b r a r y of Abdisho of Nisibis and t h e B r i t i s h m a n u s c r i p t is included in t h e Catalogue by W r i g h t . B u t t h e W o r k is n o t q u o t e d b y a n y scholar a n d remains u n e d i t e d , due, p e r h a p s , t o its poor l i t e r a r y q u a l i t y . I t is n o t well c o n s t r u c t e d a n d indulges in " c l i c h é s " and r e p e t i t i o n s . H o w e v e r , i t is an a t t e m p t to collect every possible

136

T H E HARP

ancient biblical testimony capable of representing and fortelling Christian reality. The biblical figures are quoted f r o m the Pentateuch: Abraham, Rebecca, Isaac, Esaii and Jacob from Genesis, Moses from Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers, Elijah f r o m 2 Kings, David and Samuel from 1 Samuel, Zorobabel from the Book of Ezra. The figures themselves are types for Christ and the quotations are not w o r d - f o r - w o r d . Sayings which announce Christ and the Christian life are quoted f r o m the prophets according to well-known traditions. These quoted mostly Isaiah (1, 9.; 7, 14.; 9, 5.; 42 lb-3; 53, 7-8), but also Daniel, Joel 3, Zachariah 9 and Jonas. The quotations from the Psalms of David, King and prophet are numerous (Ps 7, 8, 16, 19, 22, 45, 47, 48, 102, 103, 106, 110, 143). All the quotations f r o m the Old Testament except the Psalms are approximate and modified in direction of the Christian position. For example: " T h e earth will open and Jesus will go out; the sky will give the J u s t and the sun of righteousness will rise. Your doors will open, new Jerusalem, church of the nations". Whereas the quotations f r o m the Psalms are always accurate. The author was evidently used to hearing, reading or singing the Psalms frequently during the Holy services. Beside the figures of the Pentateuch and the sayings of the prophets, the Exordium uses a third category of documents outside the Bible, namely apocryphal literature. The Cave of Treasures is t h e mine f r o m which the author obtains most of his material. There he found marvellous details about the origin and life of Melkisedeq, the most prominent figure of the Exordium so t h a t Abraham himself becomes a secondary character who, as a kind of " f a i r e - v a l o i r " , is quoted only to show off Melkisedeq. The mysterious priest is charged by God with performing t h e service near the body of Adam in the center of the earth, at Jerusalem, where Christ will be crucified; there are kept the offerings t h a t the twelve (sic) Persian Kings will bring t o the child Jesus. Melkisedeq is naturally the priest without origin nor end who consecrates t h e holy sacrifice for Abraham. The story of Melkisedeq as told in the Cave of Treasures is an adequate symbol for Christ.

short

The second apocryphal t e x t quoted by the Exordium is a narrative telling a prophetic action and a prophecy by

THE

PROPHETICAL TESTIMONIES . . .

IN SYtUAC

137

Jeremiah. I have found: nowhere the source of this narrativeGod commands to the prophet to stay motionless on a rock, without eating or drinking. At the question asked by the Jews, the answer is: "This rock is the new Jerusalem, the church which will never be moved by the tempest of the heretics." The third apocryphal work used by the Exordium is the socalled Legend of Alexander. In it, the author has found the mission that God committed to the prestigious conqueror: to shut up Gog and Magog till the end of the times and to come back from the east with the crown of Darius. This crown becomes t h a t of t h e keepers of the holy Gross, t h e roman emperors because they are in charge of accomplishing the kingdom of God on earth So the search of immortality ihat motivated Alexander and t h a t was not satisfied by the naked people at the extremity of the world becomes a symbol. Now, at the end of the time, the byzantine kings are in charge of their holy f u n c t i o n of preparing God's Kingdom. The Exordium is organised then, around three simple ideas: firstly, the coming and the sacrifice of Christ as prefigured by the priest Melkisedeq. Secondly, the Jews have understood nothing and were not even capable of understanding t h a t Christ our Lord was the Messiah so t h a t the Christian church is the new Jerusalem. Thirdly, the Kingdom of God at the end of the times is prepared by the Roman Byzanatine empire, keeper of the t r u e crown and of the holy Cross. All the testimonies quoted in the Exordium contribute to this theology. Since the aim of the apology to the Apocalypse of Paul is to justify the possibility of foreseeing, the Exordium's aim is completely different although it uses the same method; it wants to justify the Christian legitimacy of the Byzantine empire. One can see t h a t this is its real aim when one considers t h a t in the whole text there is only one discussion and t h a t focuses on about the following statement: " T h e kingdom of the Romans is invincible and eternal till he surrenders the crown and the holy Cross to God the father at the end of the times". And there, the Exordium gives us a small surprise. It answers: "If someone argues with you, saying t h a t nothing proves the assertion and that the thing is far f r o m the t r u t h , let him look in the book by Mar Thaddeus of P e t r a , visionary and researcher, and in the

138

T H E HARP

epistles b y P a u l , a n d in the book by a n d in t h e revelation by t h e S i b y l l a . . . "

Eusebius

of

Cesarea,

T h e so-called T h a d d e u s of P e t r a is in f a c t a m i s r e a d i n g of P s e u d o - M e t h o d i o s of P a t a r a who w r o t e a world chronical c o n t a i n i n g a p o c a l y p t i c visions. 2 I d a r e n o t give you a conclusion. I h a v e t r i e d to present t o y o u a n u n k n o w n t r e a t i s e a b o u t Ihe E c o n o m y of Christ. In spite of its poor l i t e r a r y value, I suggest t h a t it could be a c o n t r i b u t i o n for u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e theology of h i s t o r y among syriac churches, explaining why syriac l i t e r a t u r e c o n t a i n s so m a n y books of c h r o n o g r a p h y . I notice t h a t it uses t h e w e l l - k n o w n typological m e t h o d , not only w o r k i n g w i t h Old T e s t a m e n t figures and sayings, b u t also w i t h a p o c r y p h a l l i t e r a t u r e . As it does not give t h e names of ils sources, those are included among the canonical ones; t h e a u t h o r p r o d u c e s the illusion t h a t all t h e figures and t h e sayings are s i t u a t e d on t h e same level and have t h e same biblical s t a t u s . As a m a t t e r of f a c t , t h e y do have t h e same theological value. I n t h e Apology of t h e Apocalypse of Paul as in t h e Exordium, all t h e canonical and a p o c r y p h a l figures a n d sayings of t h e old are raze f o r t e l l i n g t h e m y s t e r i e s , " S y m b o l s of Christ and K i n g d o m " . B o t h t e x t s use biblical figures, p r o p h e t i c sayings, psalms q u o t a t i o n s a n d a p o c r y p h a l n a r r a t i v e s . B u t their aims are different. T h e Apology of t h e Apocalypse of Paul w a n t s t o assert t h e genuineness of the Apocalypse. T h e Exordium w a n t s t o give t h e m e a n i n g of w o r l d h i s t o r y f r o m t h e begining of t h e Creation t o t h e p r e s e n t s t a t e . I t answers t h e question: " W h o is in charge of realizing t h e K i n g d o m of God?" I c a n n o t resist to q u o t e t h e passage where one of t h e c h a p t e r of world h i s t o r y is examined: " U n t i l t h e Babel t o w e r which N e m r o d w a n t e d to erect for fighting God t h e m a k e r of all, t h e r e was no m o r e t h a n one language on t h e e a r t h , t h e language t h a t God spoke w i t h A d a m , which was Syriac. Syriac is t h e m o t h e r of all t h e languages, as t h e m o s t excellent a d o r a t i o n among the o t h e r s religions. I t is t h e language of t h e first religion on t h e w o r l d . Because all t h e g e n e r a t i o n s adore t o w a r d s t h e east. T h e s u n shines o n t h e w o r l d f r o m t h e east where is t h e door of t h e P a r a d i s e of E d e n , since t h e t h r o n e of God is o n t h e w e s t . " 2. T h e identification of t h e a n c i e n t a u t h o r m i s q u o t e d b y Voobus, has been secured by S. P Brook; see À D E S R E U M A U X , Répertoire des bibliothèques et des catalogues de manuscrits syriaques ( D o c u m e n t s , é t u d e s et r é p e r t o i r e s publies p a r l ' I n s t i t u t de r e c h e r c h e e t d ' h i s t o i r e des t e x t e s paris). E d i t i o n s du CNRS, 1991, p. 73, n° 208. A s t u d y of t h e A p o c a l y p t i c h i s t o r y of Methodios of P a t a r a has been m a d e b y H . S u e r m a n n .

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 139-149 D. J. Lane

The Last Things; Shubhalmaran and his Times Introduction

Chosroes I Anoshirwan, the great Sassanian king, caused three seats to be placed below the royal throne in his capital of Ctesiphon on the Euphrates: one for the Emperor of China, one for the Khaghan, or ruler of the central Asian nomads, and one for the Emperor of Rome. So it is suitable to begin a paper on the final folios of Shubhalmaran's work collected in British Library Oriental Manuscript 6714 with a reminder of the traditional Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times". For Shubhalmaran lived in the "interesting times" of the later part of the century between 530 and 630. At the beginning of this period the Sassanian rulers of Persia had ambitions of being the great middle empire, placed between the central Asian steppes, the Byzantine empire and that of China; once more they might be a power such as they had been in the times of Cyrus, Xerxes and Darius the Great. By the end of the period this ambition had come to nothing, and the Persian empire fell easily to the Arab invaders. At first sight, the concluding folios, 60v-73v, of this collection of Shubhalmaran's works are dull and obscure. They are a web of quotations and allusions from the apocalyptic discourse of our Lord and from his parables of judgement at the wedding feast, and from St Paul's epistles to the Tessalonians. They seem to do little more than show how steeped Shubhalmaran was in scripture, finding in its words the natural expression of his own mind. They seem to have no connection with anything outside themselves. Yet a little research into the events and personalities of the period, together with some thinking on the kind of

140

THE

HARP

material presented in these folios, show the value of this section on the Last Things. They are expressive, not descriptive; they provide an assessment of the period from the perspective of a God whose creation was being deliberately marred, but who was determined to draw all to him in love. Shubhalmaran's intention, then, was to provide a firm ground, indeed a confirmation, for Christian hope and faith in these "interesting times". They were evidence of the faithfulness of God, in t h a t he allowed time for the real n a t u r e and source of evil to be plain, and allowed time for repentance to be embraced. In these folios., too, he gives a clear expression of the nature and role of Jesus t h e Messiah as fulfilment of the divine purpose. Hence what follows in this paper falls into three sections: first, a summary of the century in which Shubhalmaran lived; second, a summary of the argument in the folios under discussions; third, a comment on the way in which Shubhalmaran uses scripture to evaluate the events of his time, as evidence of the divine mercy and judgement, The times of Shubhalmaran

As mentioned above, the near hundred years f r o m the accession of Chosroes 1 "of the immortal soul" to the murder in 628 of his grandson Chosroes II Aparwaz, " t h e Conqueror", showed the flowering and decay of Sassanian ambition and westward expansion. It saw, too, the end of the ancient world and beginning of the medieval. The reigns of these two rulers, the former b r u t a l and the second brittle, had consequences for the f a t e of the. Christian community, which had been in effect a ''millet", or subsidiary unit of the kingdom, since 410 in the reign of Yazdkart I. An understanding of this period is vital for an appreciation of these last folios of Shubhalmaran, which share something of the mind of the author of the Apocalypse of Ps Macarius. Three elements can be distinguished as active in this nearcentury, each of which had effects on the Church in Persia. The first is the expansion of Persia to the West, together with a turning away f r o m the Iranian plateau to Mesopotamia as its heart-land, and its consequent embroilment in military, ecclesiastical and political interests of Byzantium. Persepolis was replaced by Ctesiphon on t h e Euphrates, the financiers of Mesopotamia displaced the nobles of Iran. In 540 Chosroes I

THE

L A S T TIIINCxS; S I I U B H A L M A R A N

AND

HIS

TIMES

141

broke the truce with Justinian, the Roman Emperor, and sacked Antioch: a prelude to three periods of war t h a t followed, 540561, 572-591, and 602-620. In effect this was the consequence of the proximity of two great powers, now confronting each other. Byzantium's concerns were with the Eastern frontiers and provinces; Persia's the recovery of Asia Minor, Syria, Osrhoene, and Egypt. It is hardly surprising t h a t Shnbhalmaran, active in the first quarter of the seventh century, refers to there being a natural state of wars fought with no hope of victory. Maurice invaded the area round Tagrit, b u t Persians had to yield territory in the region of Lake Van. Maurice supported the ousted Chosroes II at the beginning of his reign; Chosroes ostensibly avenged the murder of his protector. The second element is the nature of the Persian church as from 410, a subsidiary community within the sassanian empire. Proselytism was forbidden, yet Christianity usually tolerated in exchange for loyalty and reliable payment of taxes. The accredited church ruler, Catholicos, was responsible to the King of Kings for the orderliness of his community and acted as the intermediary between ruler and Christians. But there were alternative channels of communication: Christians also had recourse t o influential persons at court for favour and interest. Under normal circumstances this worked well, as when the agei Sabrishu I was approved by Chosroes II as Catholicos. However Persian conquests in Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor, together with Byzantine invasions of Persia under Maurice and his successor Heraclius, brought about the co-existence in the Persian empire of n o n Chalcedonian Christians, Persiau and non-Persian by others termed Nestorian and Monophysite. Both groups laid claim to be the real Christian community of Persia, meriting royal' protection. Factionalism and play for favour followed inevitably. In one episode Gregory of Nisibis was nominated to be candidate for the position of Catholicos, yet lobbying ensured t h a t the wrong Gregory, of Maisan, was intruded, and the exchange could only be accepted. After the death of this Gregory the Catholicate was suspended, in the outcome for t w e n t y years. Probably Chosroes was unwilling to appoint a candidate nominated by the influence of Gabriel of Siugar, and therefore appointed no candidate. In another episode, a synod meeting in 611 or 614 presented a statement of orthodox belief for royal approvalThis was rejected, it being afterwards alleged t h a t the pagans

142

THE

HARP

did not understand it, and the c o u r t - f a v o u r i t e monophysite p a r t y would not understand it. Chosroes I F s first wife Maria the daughter of the emperor Maurice, was a Christian; later he married his f a v o u r i t e concubine Shirin, a Jacobite c o n v e r t , who together w i t h her physician Gabriel of Singar, took Monophysitism under their particular protection. The result, i n e v i t a b l y , was combination of f a v o u r and antipathy. No wonder t h a t Shubhalmaran spoke b i t t e r l y of factions, heresies and heretics. The third element was the double necessity under which the Sassanian king found himself. He had to subdue, or to placate, the Zoroastrian clergy; he had to seek advantage in the changing circumstances of hostility to or friendship with, B y z a n t i u m . The westward movement was not simply a m a t t e r of confrontation w i t h B y z a n t i u m . Chosroes I's defeat of the W h i t e Huns had made a westward prospect feasible, b u t more to the point was the routing of the Mazdakites, and the t u r n i n g a w a y f r o m the traditional Zoroastrian and noble supporters of the Persian empire. Iran and Central Asia were abandoned, and Mesopotamia became the centre of authority and source of wealth. Here there was a m i x t u r e of nationalities from east and west, and of religions and philosophies. G o v e r n m e n t now was through c o u r t cliques and groups. L i k e the B y z a n t i u m of Justinian, the Persia of Chosroes II was a b u r e a u c r a c y of financiers. Hence Christians felt the force of f a v o u r and disfavour as internal and external events forced the Persian monarchs to form and reform alliances. Most notably this happened at the t i m e of Chosroes I F s initial o v e r t h r o w , and return to power through the help of Maurice, and again at the time of the invasions of Persia b y Heraclius, In t h e first instance, persecution of Christians played its part in the second instance the playing off Christian and other factions against each other served well. Mesopotamia was the centre of Jewish a c t i v i t y , and the period sees the consolidation of rabbinic traditions in the Babylonian Talmud. L i t t l e wonder t h a t Shubhalmaran makes bitter remarks about Jews, the;, congregation who crucified the messiah, our L o r d . L i t t l e w o n d e r , too, t h a t he stressed the humanity of Jesus aganist the hypostatisation of human capacities which was one mark of Zoroastrianism, and a proper asceticism as against t h a t of t h e Manichees. Henee these times, marked b y P e r s i a n - B y z a n t i n e conflict and reconciliation, by necessitated R o y a l whim directed

T I I E LAST THINGS",

SHUBHALMARAN; A N D

HIS TIMES

143

at the Christian community, and by inner-Christian, ChristianJewish and Christian-pagan rivalries could hardly fail to be "interesting" for the Church. It is not surprising t h a t Shubhalmaran dug deep wells into scripture as proof t h a t something better, the banquet at the end of the age, lay behind t h e crosses of the present; and t h a t present evil was the working o u t of primary rebellion and hatred against God and liis faithful servants which had first been seen in the time of Adam. Nor is it surprising that his theology and asceticism are conservative, rooted in t h e relation between Father and Son and between Messiah and believers rather t h a n in the two natures of Christ. The last folios

W h a t to us may seem disappointing is t h a t Shubhalmaran makes no straight indentifications between his contemporaries and such figures as "he who is to perish", and certainly to no connection between the Persians of his time and those of the prophetic literature such as was made by Aphrahat in Demonstration V. Such identification of evil and wickedness would not help his case or serve his cause: in any case the evil of his time was diffused through all groups. B u t a summary of his argument demonstrates his method. It is broken up into sections, usually identifiable as most begin Concerning and all end "Praise to you". As is usual with Shubhalmaran's work, the argument is cumulative, each successive section building on a conclusion reached or a question raised in the preceding one. The first section, on the first revelation of our Lord and the consequent responsibilities of those who believe in him (fols 60v-61v), marks out the direction of all t h a t follows. The first responsibilities in bodily life are to fast and to watch, and its first acts are an austere life and humility. The first f r u i t s of the spirit are love and peace. The purpose is the swift running to meet the Lord, the bridegroom, and enter his house. Our Lord's first coming was in humility, for love accommodates itself to the nature and capacity of the receiver: yet the Church, the Bride, saw the Lord's humility, became doubtful, and thought little of him. The scriptural imagery is t h a t of Jesus' meeting with John t h e Baptist, which was immediately followed by his meeting with Satan the hater of virtue. The physical imagery is that of the

144

THE HARP

sun, whose rays cannot be directly endured. Jesus and his splendour and his love must be tempered for the capacity of human nature. In the same way, too, Jesus mediates the splendor of the godhead to those who are called to enjoy it. The section ends with Jesus' invitation to the wedding banquet, and a blessing on those found worthy of it. The second section, fols 61v-62v, briefly builds on the first, especially the f u t u r e n a t u r e of the promised rest. It contains the dark sayings of our Lord and St. Paul of the latter days, " I n t r u e glory I will be revealed to you", b u t for the moment there is the period of confusion where neither Jesus nor the source of all wickedness, the murderer who is from the firsl, are recognised for what they are. This section, leaning heavily on Matthew 24, Mk 13, and 2 Thess 2, acknowledges the difficulty of seeing the origin, the t r u e nature, and the outcome of the physical and spiritual difficulties and disaster which mark the contemporary age. The agent of restraint in Thessalonians is understood as the divine mercy, and the agent of evil i n Mk 13 is portrayed as an inverted image of Jesus, also raised from a woman, and raised from among Jews. The third section, fols 62v-63r-, builds on what has gone before and fastens on those episodes where the results of the work of evil are seen and have already been seen: the figure of abomination in the Temple is understood as the agent of evil in the Church as he had been in the assembly of those who crucified Jesus; for there was at t h a t time the revival of those sins which had been put to death in Christ. The chief human failure is not wholly to care for the mysteries of our salvation alone; evil commands t h a t we enjoy all things, claims divine honour, and promises the destiny of heaven. The f o u r t h section, fols 63r-64v, sets out the barbarity and harshness inflicted on the true and faithful, and which overwhelm the Church. Few there have the acumen to perceive their source, t h a t is the wickedness of the one doomed to destruction. Most are unable to recognise deceitfulness for what it really is, or to recognise the -truth and to ponder it. Natural disasters of earthquakes and plagues are rife, the saints are oppressed and storm tossed, t o r t u r e s of suspension by the finger and t o r m e n t

TIIE LAST THINGS; S H U B H A L M A R A N

AND

HIS TIMES

145

of the whole body have the intention of enlarging the party of the wicked. The divine blessing comes to those who endure and are faithful. The fifth section, M s 6lv-65v answers the question "What does the one destined for destruction actually want?" From the outset he played the part of God to Adam and Eve, from a desire is to be called "God" and to have open authority over the world. He therefore wishes to destory the creator and1 those who love him, so that he and the children of his wickedness alone remain. He has neither pity nor shame, proving irresistibly attractive with a mere twitch of his lips or fluttering of his eye» The sixth section, fols 65v-68r recounts Elijah's confrontation with him coming from the great garden of Eden in the East and showing up his wickedness for what it is, that of a murderer and a thief from the beginning. He shows up, too, our Lord for what he is. a human being in whom the godhead resides, the Messiah in whom we have resurrection, and whose coming will not be delayed, though, as the parable of the virgins shows, its time is not known in advance, He shows, too, the mystery of the godhead, and the relationship of the Son and Father and the Spirit in Trinity. The scriptural imagery is that of Elijah and John the Baptist, whose message of the one to come is identical, and whose confrontation with the one to perish is met with impudence and bitter rage. The seventh section, fols 68r-69v, is a meditation 011 the last trumpet, and the assembly in the land of Palestine of the virtuous who love the godhead, and the coming of the Lord in triumph with angels, and the destruction of the one marked for destruction, whose guilt was announced by Elijah and whose destruction was encompassed by the saviour. All the inclination of our nature is summed up in this one figure, who has made mankind share his passionate desire to obtain the godhead, trampling all the commandments under foot. But those who put confidence in Jesus in purity of soul and heart, and in uprightness of faith and care in labour, are summoned as the blessed of the father.

it

The eighth seetion, fols 69v-73v, does three things. First, stresses the need for compunction, and contrasts the

146

THE

HARP

blessedness of those invited to the wedding with the woe of those who look on the Jesus whom they have crucified. Much is said of the source and embodiment of evil: he who is the head of Gehenna, the demon who fell and deceived Adam, whose work is further instanced in the wickedness of Babylon and Sodom. He is the source of the evil servant of the assembly which crucified Jesus, marred the beauty of the church, incited kings and judges to devise instruments of torture to punish those who put their t r u s t in God, and incited heretics and heresies in the church, so t h a t the children bit the breasts of their own mother. Secondly it speaks of the love of God, for he made us perfect while we are still ungrateful and apostate. Since we are by nature not capable of receiving his love from the outset, the first fruits of mankind were taken from us, a man made perfect, whose beauty is the best of our nature, the sweet fruit of our race. Separated by his foreknowledge before the foundation of the world, he was honoured and beloved as his own self, one with him in everything in love and in will without confusion, a temple for the flesh he was created with, and who achieved death, the marvellous and perfect goal of his godhead. Thirdly, it speaks more of this goal of his the Messiah's work, a love for enemies and friends, which completes and perfects all things, doing good and receiving evil. Within mankind there is both the kingdom and heaven and the kingdom of Gehenna, Gehenna is that fire which is neither fanned nor quenched, with neither brightness nor flash, but darkness. But the end will come, as a thiefrin the night, though delay is given to allow repentance. And the final prayer is that those who have the confidence of God's love may be mingled with the holy ones. The end of the matter

A few matters can now be raised concerning Shubhalmaran's methods, drawing conclusions from his work in these last folios in the London manuscript. He weaves together observations on contemporary circumstances and scriptural quotation and comment. Here it is useful to recall t h a t he was one of the clerics involved in governing t h e church during the interregnum in the Catholicate and in asking representations to the King of[ kings for its restoration, incurring exile for his pains, and that his see of Bet Seloq was on the route of Heraclius' invasion of

T H E LAST THINGS; S H U B H A L M A R A N A N D HIS TIMES

147

Persia. His point of reference is always that Jesus, our Lord and Messiah, is the focal figure in God's dealings with his world. First, his pattern of thinking about Jesus. There are two passages which are virtual statements of belief. That in the sixth section has been discussed in the writer's article in OCA 236, and compared with the cradle statements of the Synods of the East. The other passage, in the eighth section follows t h e same pattern. The term "Son" is the only one which describes the relation of God to Jesus, one in everything, in love and in will, without confusion, conjunction or intermingling, the true bread from heaven who gave himself for the world. The emphasis here is on his participation in mankind and in its sufferings and perils and death, and on the efficacy of his death, for all, for there is none, friend to him or foe, who is not saved by this. This handing over and death is a sign of the greatness of the Father's love, not of the weakness of his power. Here, then, we see the traditional approach of the Cappadocians, but given an emphasis which comes from the circumstances of the first quarter of the seventh century. Second his use of scripture. In some instances several passages are woven together. For example, the first section begins by recalling the joy of the bridegroom's household, for two parties are become one, and goes on to say that through the church the wisdom of God is known to principalities and powers in the heavenly places; and that this knowledge of the Godhead is the knowledge which only the Son has of the Father, the Father of the Son, and those to whom this is revealed. This is a conflation of Mk 1 (baptism by John), Jn 3:29 (rejoicing at the bridegrooms voice), Eph 2:15 (making two parties one) 3:10 (the church making known to principalities); Rom 11:33 (wisdom, and knowledge of God), and Mt 11:27 (knowing the father). The main change is that "knowledge of God' becomes "knowledge of the Godhead", for Shubhalmaran knows that it is God as Trinity with whom we have to do. There are numerous brief allusions, such as where the "one who is to perish" is portrayed as gnashing his teeth and beside himself with impotent rage, linking hostility to God and the gnashing of teeth of those in the parables of those excluded, sueh as Lb 13:23. In the fifth seetion there is an allusion to

M8

THE HARP

" a thousand shall fall beside thee, and t e n thousand at thy right h a n d " , Ps 91:7, in reference to the demonic and human supporters who join the party and caravan of the one who is to perish. B u t there are some lengthy quotations, usually with some slight b u t significant changes to make them more apt. In the seventh section the passage Is 55:23 is expanded to include angels and men, righteous and sinner, and demons in their dwellings make a cry of praise and thanksgiving, bowing the knee to t h e Lord of praise and peace; and the Pauline quotation of this in Rom 14:11 and Phil 2:100 is cited and expanded: " i n heaven and under the earth ... who are the buried who rise", and "every tongue t h a t Jesus Messiah is Lord to the glory of God his father". W h a t is lacking in these folios is the f r e q u e n t happy t u r n of phrase which can be expected in Shubhalmaran. There are glimpses, and some have been indicated His overall purpose is not narrative invention of the clash between Satan and Jesus, or the stages of the Christian life. As he says, he has " f r o m much produced little". The background of the time, to the earlier description of which can be added the notable and lengthy outbreak of bubonic plague from 540 until at least 570, and earthquakes of t h a t period as well, is most naturally described in the scriptural language of apocalyptic discourse. Little imaginative language is n e e d e d beyond, and t h a t is found in such phrases of the adversary's contemporary activity as summoning up "contradictory heresies", " c o n s t r u c t i n g a peace agreeable to deceitful nations", "commanding sensual pleasures with promises of resurrection", b u t making no demands for shekel or poll-tax". Hence little more can be said, otiier t h a n of the certainty of the final overthrow of " t h e one marked for perdition", for the fulfilment of the promise that " t h e good have life by his death, and are made perfect by his resurrection", for we are " m a d e in his goodness and parfected while still in our ungratefulness". For it is the union of Jesus with humanity, and his s o n s h i p . t o the F a t h e r t h a t guarantees our welcome. To quote his final words: "There is a good hope for those who repent, 0 lover of sinners. Mingle me with your holy ones in the day of your power and strength, and I will see your mercy: 0 Lord praise to you".

THE LAST THINGS; SHUBHALMARAN AND HIS TIMES

Î49

Bibliography

Shubhalmaran's Book of Gifts: Lane, David J., "Mar Subhalmaran's Book of Gifts: an example of a Syriac Literary genre", OCA 229, P P 411-417. A Nestorian Creed: the creed of Subhalmaran," OCA 236, pp 155-162. "The work of Subhalmaran", The H a r p vol V, 1992, pp. 175-183. General:

Asmussen, J.P., "Christians in Iran", in The Cambridge History of Iran III. 2, ed E. Yarshater, Brown, Peter, The World of Late Antiquity, London 1971. Christensen, A., L ' I r a n 1936.

sous les Sassanides,

Fiey, J - M , Jalons pour Louvain 1970.

une

Histories

Coopenhagen-Paris

de l'Eglise

en Iraq,

Frye, P>. N., The Heritage of Persia, London 1963. Labourt, J., Le Christianisme dans dynastie Sassanide Paris. 1904.

l'empire

Palmer, A., ed The Seventh Century Chronicles, Liverpool 1993.

in

Perse the

sous la

West-Syrian

Sykes, P, A History of Persia, 3rd Ed London 1969/ Tisserant, E., "L'Eglise Nestorienne," Theologie Catholique. Young, William G., Patriarch, 1974.

Shah and

in

Dictionnaire

Caliph,

de

Rawalpindi

THE HARP

St. Ephrem's hymn to Christ, the great

Physiciari

Kindest Lord, who weariest thyself with the world to make it all one healthy body, in thy pity, Lord, do not spurn [this] one miserable member ! May it be made fast, Lord, in the body of the saints and fixed among them for ever: Thou who in thy kindness didst fix again the ear that was cut off, cut me not off from thee, though I have angered thee! ("Symbols

St. Ephrem's hymn Against

... Page

93)

the Heresies

As the idle vineyard did not receive the Lord of the vineyard, the bearer of blessings, who will not be amazed, that the Lord of the vineyard has again given fruit to the accursed vineyard? Not only did it fail to give fruits to the Heir; with the fruits that it did bring, it angered him. He uprooted it, to graft it among the Gentiles, into the sweet plant of the Gentle One, ("Symbols

... Page

100)

St. Ephrem's Hymn On the Nativity

The vinedressers came and rendered praise to the shoot that sprang out of the root and stock of Jesse, the virgin cluster on the dry plant. May we be vessels for thy new wine that makes all things new ! ("Symbols

... Page

102)

THE

HARP

Vol. VII[., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 151-159 Rev. Dr. G. Panlcker*

The

Book

of

Treasures

by

Mar Job of Edessa Most of t h e studies on Syriac language a n d l i t e r a t u r e is restricted t o t h e Biblical, P a t r i s t i c , and: theological which includes Syriac p o e t r y works. B u t in Syriac considerable l i t e r a t u r e exists, in t h e field of P h i l o s o p h y , Medicine a n d Science, m o s t l y as Syriac t r a n s l a t i o n s of Greek P h i l o s o p h e r s especially of A r i s t o t l e , and t h e works of H i p p o c r a t e s , and Galen in t h e field of medicine. Knowledge of Greek P h i l o s o p h y reached t h e medieval west by way of Arabic. B u t Greek P h i l o s o p h y , m e d i c i n e a n d Science reached t h e A r a b world b y way of Syriac. " S y r i a c t r a n s l a t i o n s of t h e works of A r i s l o t l e and o t h e r s go back t o t h e f i f t h c e n t u r y , but it was t h r o u g h the work of Syriac Christians w o r k i n g a t Baghdad, t h e A b b a s e d c a p i t a l , in the 9tli c e n t u r y t h a t t h i s process of t r a n s m i s s i o n a c t u a l l y took place "(Sebastian Brock, An i n t r o d u c t i o n t o Syriac s t u d i e s " in J o h n E a t o n ' s Horizon in Semitic Studies). J o b of E d e s s a is one of t h e s e Syriac w r i t e r s who belonged t o t h e c o m p a n y of Syriac Christians t e a c h i n g a t Baghdad. H e was called Ayyub ar-Ruhawi by Arab writers. He was b o r n in Edessa, possibly a b o u t 760 A. D. Bar H e b r a e u s speaks of J o b in t h e following t e r m s : " A n d in t h e t i m e (of T i m o t h y I) lived J o b of Edessa, a Philosopher who followed t h e d o c t r i n e of t h e N e s t o r i u s " (Chris, Eccl. II, 181)... We h a v e no precise i n f o r m a t i o n as t o t h e d a t e a u t h o r ' s d e a t h , b u t we m a y p r e s u m e t h a t h e did n o t

of our survive

* Dr. G. Panicker was formerly the Principal of Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrutn and later Rector of the Pontifical Seminary at Alwaye. He is now the dean of studies of SEERI, Kottayam.

152

THE HA.RP

long the Caliph Ma'mum and t h a t he died about A. D. 835. A. Mingana infers f r o m the above sentence of Bar Hebraeus, t h a t the author belonged by birth either to the Melchite or to the West Syrian or Jacobite Community, which he left in order to join the East Syrian or Nestorian Church. Job seems to have been a prolific writer, both in Arabic & Syriac. None of his Arabic works has come down to posterity. He himself enumerates some of his Syriac works thus: " A f t e r having completed our book On the Cause of Fevers, and our other book On the Soul, which is divided into twenty chapters, and after having composed the book On the Causes of the Coining into Existence of the Universe from the Elements, we wrote our other book On Urine, and you request us now, 0 brother, to write to you a treatise On Canine Hydrophobia". Four of these five works- (a) On the Soul, (b) On the Causes of Fevers, (c) On Canine Hydrophobia, and (d) On Urine, are also mentioned in the present work. Another work of the author was entitled Book on Faith. From the terms which he uses to describe it, we are entitled to believe t h a t it dealt with the Trinity a n d the Incarnation, and included other points of Christian dogma, such as the Holy Communion and the worship towards the east. A seventh book by our author is mentioned in the same chapter, with the title Book of Ten Syllogisms, in which, among other things, be demonstrated t h a t Christ was both God and man. An eighth book by him, entitled On the Five Senses, and a ninth entitled On Essences, are referred to in other passages. Of all his books only two, t h a t on Canine hydrophobia and the Book of Treasures, have com;: down to us. The Book of Treasures

Mingana is of opinion t h a t J o b writes this sometime in A. D. 817. The question of the sources of the author can be easily determined. He refers several times to Aristotle, twice to Galen, and once to Hippocrates. He refers also to early Indian and Persian Sages, b u t without mentioning proper names.

THE BOOK OF TREASURES

153

So far as the Indian Philosophers or Physicians are concerned, they must have been Charaka Samhita and Susruta Samhita, so often quoted by Ibn Rabbaw a contemporary of the author, who survived him by more t h a n t w e n t y years. The author's statements concerning the " f u n c t i o n a l origin" of the different organs of the animal body are largely dependent on Galen, while his borrowing from Aristotle are very extensive. One might almost say t h a t he was saturated with Aristotle. Almost all the scientific works of Aristotle are pressed into service, especially his Meteorologica, Physica, De Mundo, De Anima, De Juventute el Seneclute, De Sensa, De Somno et Vigilia, De Coelo, De Generatione el Corruplione, and Metaphysica. He often adds, fresh data to Aristotle's investigations, and often expressly contradicts him, as on the subject matter, the existence of a fifth element in the heavenly bodies, the divinity of stars, the eternity of the movement of the first elements the nature of ether and the doctrine of the " d r y evaporation found in the earth". The author lays special stress on the fact t h a t the main thesis of his work, the emanation of the genera and species from the elements, is original. This originality applies in a particular way to the formation of the various animal organs: head, hands, feet, toes, inner organs, organs of the five senses, hair, nails, etc. He emphatically asserts in Chapter VIII of the second discourse that he had not found this subject discussed in anybook w r i t t e n by the Indian, Persian, Greek or Syrian Scholars who had preceded him, and on P. 27 he asserts t h a t in this book " h e has not troubled anybody with the labours of others". The Book of Treasures is written in the form of an encyclopedia, embracing almost all the natural and Philosophical sciences as known and taught in Baghdad about A. D. 817. (The t e x t is published by Woodbrooke Scientific Publications, under the t i t l e Encyclopedia of philosophical & Natural Sciences as taught in Baghdad about A. D. 817, or Book of Treasures, by Job of Edessa. Although dealing with the branches of Science the foundations of which had been laid

154

THE H A R P

c e n t u r i e s earlier by Aristotle, the a u t h o r displays much i n g e n u i t y in discussing t h e " c a u s e " or t h e elemental origin of biological, psycological, chemical, physical and a s t r o n o m i c f a c t s k n o w n t o him. T h e book consists of six discourses: The first d i s c o u r s e : consists of t h i r t y t h r e e c h a p t e r s . I n t h e s e c h a p t e r s a v a r i e t y of t o p i c s are discussed, such as t h e origin of simple & c o m p o u n d elements, m a t t e r , existence of God, t h e f u n c t i o n a l cause of t h e f o u r h u m o u r s . In t h i s discourse t h e r e are m a n y c h a p t e r s on t h e physiology of h u m a n beings. F o r i n s t a n c e c h a p t e r 29 is, On t h e r e a s o n why nails came a t t h e end of t h e fingers a n d toes, a n d on their nature. T h e second discourse c o n s i s t s of 23 c h a p t e r s . This second discourse deals w i t h t h e existence of i m m a t e r i a l soul, on sexual difference in h u m a n s and animals. Some c h a p t e r s h a v e v e r y a m u s i n g t i t l e , f o r instance c h a p t e r VI on t h e beard t h a t g r o w s in m e n , c h a p t e r V I I I on t h e r e a s o n w h y hair does not g r o w on t h e forehead or on t h e p a l m of t h e h a n d s , or on t h e soles of t h e feet. T h i r d discourse consists of 23 c h a p t e r s and deals m a i n l y w i t h t h e genera of t a s t e s a n d t h e sensation of t h e five senses, w i t h sound a n d colour etc. T h e t i t l e s and c e r t a i n c h a p t e r s m a y seem a l i t t l e queer. F o r example Chapter I X . On t h e reason w h y eunuchs have no beard, or hair on their body, and their voice is t h i n and u n b r o k e n while t h e voice of men is deep and broken. C h a p t e r X on t h e reason why women have a womb, b u t n o t m e n . C h a p t e r X V I I I . on t h e r e a s o n w h y all quadrupeds and b i r d s h a v e a tail, while m a n has n o t . T h e f o u r t h discourse consists of 18 c h a p t e r s dealing w i t h such t o p i c s as metals, m o u n t a i n s , seas, e a r t h q u a k e s , seasons, wind etc. The fifth discourse consists of 26 c h a p t e r s dealing w i t h such topics as clouds a n d r a i n , snow a n d hail, t h u n d e r and l i g h t n i n g , h u r r i c a n e a n d w h i r l w i n d s , galaxies, s t a r s , Sun & Moon, etc. T h e sixth discourse consists of eleven c h a p t e r s dealing w i t h angels, R e s u r r e c t i o n of t h e b o d y , heavenly K i n g d o m , etc. The contents o! the Book O u t s t a n d i n g p o i n t s discussed in t h e Book are: (a) (b)

Metaphysics Theology

THE BOOK OF TREASURES

(c)

(a)

155

Psychology

(d) (e) (f)

B i o l o g y , A n a t o m y and Medicine Chemistry & Physics

(g)

Music

(h) (i)

Mathematics Astronomy

Physiology

Metaphysics

T h e a u t h o r f o l l o w s A r i s t o t l e in d i v i d i n g e v e r y t h i n g t h a t exists into s u b s t a n c e s a n d a c c i d e n t s . T h e l i m i t a t i o n of t h e primordial essences of t h e s i m p l e e l e m e n t s l e a d s t o the d e m o n s t r a t i o n of t h e e x i s t e n c e o f G o d . T h e r e a l f a c t of c r e a t i o n is t o be c o n c e i v e d in t h e n o t i o n t h a t G o d c r e a t e d the s i m p l e e l e m e n t s and f o l l o w e d t h e m to c a r r y o u t the c o m p l i c a t e d w o r k of b u i l d i n g up t h e c r e a t i o n i n t o its i n n u m e r a b l e g e n e r a and s p e c i e s . (b)

Theology

T h e Book of Treasures, not being strictly theological, discusses o n l y t h o s e t h e o l o g i c a l q u e s t i o n s w h i c h h a v e a d i r e c t b e a r i n g u p o n science. T h e p o i n t s t h a t are s o m e w h a t e x t e n s i v e l y t o u c h e d u p o n b y t h e a u t h o r are e x i s t e n c e of G o d , a n g e l o l o g y and e s c h a t o l o g y . T h e e x i s t e n c e of angels is p r o v e d b y m e t a p h y s i c a l reasoning. M a n is c o m p o s e d of t w o p r i n c i p l e s : t h e c o r p o r e a l and the i n c o r p o r e a l . S i n c e t h e C o r p o r e a l p r i n c i p l e is r e p r e s e n t e d in a c o m p l e t e f o r m i n t h e l o w e r o r d e r s of t h e c r e a t i o n , a n d t h e i n c o r p o r e a l p r i n c i p l e i n an i m p e r f e c t w a y in m a n , t h e r e m u s t be a n o t h e r o r d e r of b e i n g s w h o w o u l d r e p r e s e n t t h e i n c o r p o r e a l in a c o m p l e t e w a y . T h e angels fill up t h i s g a p in t h e c r e a t i o n , a n d c o n s t i t u t e t h e p e r f e c t t y p e of t h e i n c o r p o r e a l or s p i r i t u a l p r i n c i p l e so i m p e r f e c t l y r e p r e s e n t e d in m a n . H e a r g u e s t h a t t h e p r e s e n t w o r l d w i l l h a v e a n end, o n w a y to

the

weakness

elements.

In

suffer

from

longer

able

that

the this to

w i l l a f f e c t t h e a c t i v i t y of t h e p r i m o r d e a l

process

of

eventual generate,

time everything in the world

weakness will

will

of t h e e l e m e n t s , w h i c h , no

d e g e n e r a t e . T h i s d e g e n e r a t i o n is

c a l l e d t h e end of t h e w o r l d . T h e a u t h o r does n o t b e l i e v e in t h e r e s u r r e c t i o n of m a t e r i a l bodies.

He

thinks

that

" t h e resurrection

of the

body" found

156

T H E HARP

in the creed is to be explained by the "spiritual b o d y " spoken of by S t . Paul. This spiritual body consists of the individual p a r t s of the first or simple elements, by the antagonistic action of which a particular body was composed while on earth. The soul, by its long union with such a body, will distinguish, in the next world the parts of the elements of which it was composed b u t which now will possess a harmonious action. The

happiness

of

the Soul world naturally consist in its

possession of its essential constituents, and its unhappiness in its deprivation

of them.

" A s to the torments of hell it consists in a complete deprivation of the knowledge of God and of the created beings, a thing contrary to the light of the kingdom of heaven, and this is the outer darkness which stands before the knowledge of the Soul and impedes it from rejoicing in the glorious and ineffable light of the H o l y Trinity, and God. The sins and evil deeds which the wicked have committed will stand before the eye of the soul, and will blind it, and it will in consequence be affected w i t h " , t h a t is to say dimness of vision, which is an incurable and hopeless disease which acts like the thick matter of walls that impedes light from penetrating and from illuminating those who are imprisoned in a house. This is the outer and extreme darkness. c)

Psychology

The author believes that the soul is totally different from the " a n i m a l s p i r i t " found in the material organs of the brain. This it is able to do by reason of the subtle affinity which it possesses with the " t h i n p a r t s " of the animal spirit. T h e function of the animal spirit is confined to the nutrition, growth and welfare of the body, while the soul consists in the higher work of thinking and reasoning in the domain of religion, science and art. T h e soul is not the immediate source of the emotions of the body, such as love, fear, greed, generosity, courage, pusillanimity etc. Since animals also possess them, their origin must be traced to a physical principle, based on the different combinations of the first elements. The soul is endowed with free will while the animal spirit is not.

THE BOOK OF TREASURES

157

The existence of the soul is proved by metaphysical arguments, of which the following two seem to be the most important: first, the ability of man to plan and visualise objects before they are produced and second, his power to check the strong desires connected with the law of self-presevation. The upright stature of man is explained as being due to the actions of the soul mixing up with his animal spirit, and drawing him upwards through its extreme expansiveness, which combining with the expansiveness of the light and hot elements, tends to increase the strength of their movement upwards towards the cranium, where the soul has its seat. d)

Biology, Anatomy and Physiology

Many biological points find their way into the author's discussion. The distinction of the genera and species of animals and plants are clearly defined and as usual traced back to the elements. The author points out that the lower forms of life, as represented by fleas, lice, tape-worm and such like, are derived from the action of the elements working in corrupted bodies, and'that such lower forms of life do not procreate. Many interesting details are discussed by the author, including the reason why birds are oviparous and the terrestrial animals viviparous, and why some animals are carnivorous and others herbivorous. His general knowledge in connection with the three classes of animals,'"the terrestrial, the aerial and the acquatic" and his insight into the method of growth and fruition of trees and plants are often remarkable. Weeping is Physiologically explained as due to the superfluity of hot and humid matter which man possesses more than the other animals owing to the diversity of his food. Contrary to the opinion of ancient medical authorities, to the effect that the young emanate exclusively from the semen of the male, our author seems to imply that both the male and the female combine to produce the embryo, which thus takes its qualities from both of them. In this respect -he is far removed

158

THE HARP

from the notion that the mother is only, as Aeschylus makes Apollo say, "the nurse of the embryo," a notion which had such a far reaching influence on the social position of women. e)

Medicine

The author is considered as one of the greatest physicians of his day. According to the author good health is acquired through the equlibrium that should exist between the elements in and around our bodies. Illness is caused by an undue predominance of one element over the others, and may be remedied by administering drugs which would re-establish the former harmony by creating opposite effects. f)

Chemistry and physics

The nature of minerals, of different tastes, of sound, etc are discussed by the author. g)

Music

Discussion of musical notes, music are described in the book. h)

melody,

art of

composing

Mathematics

The author often speaks of geometry with its angles, points, sides, triangles and circles. We have it on the authority of Job that early Mathematicians made use of the fingers for counting the numbers up to nine, and that after having reached the ninth finger, which would be the forefinger they began again with the first finger, which would be the little finger of the other hand: but in order to find a link to connect number nine with number one, they formed the cipher by linking the forefinger and the thumb together in circle. This explanation of the origin of the cipher is all the more important because the author is the earliest writer to make mention of the cipher, as it was in his time that this indispensable arithmatical sign reached Baghdad. i)

Astronomy

The stars are considered as bodies composed of the same elements as those which we have in this world, the only difference being that the elements which constitute the stars are

T H E BOOK OF T R E A S U B E S

159

endowed principally with a "circular movement" unlimited in its action, while the earth is animated chiefly by a "straight movement". Since the course of the circular movement has no end, because it has neither increase nor decrease in its essential functioning, the stars will by necessity have no end; but the earth, with its straight movement constantly affected bj' increases and decreases, will by necessity come to an end. Conclusion

In this paper I have not been attempting to dilate on the contents of the Book of Treasures, but trying to draw attention to outstanding points discussed in the book, thereby trying to place Mar Job of Edessa in the proper horizon of syriac studies. The Syriac texts of the Book of Treasures edited and translated with a critical apparatus by A. Mingana and published, by Woodbrooke scientific publication will help the assiduous student of Syriac literature to form his own judgement on the importance of Mar Job of Edessa in the pursuit of Syriac studies.

Cyrillona on John 15/1-6

And now let us see why our Lord compared himself to a vine: / am the Vine of Truth and my Father is the Vinedresser. In the vine of his body was buried the sweetness of the Godhead; into the vine of his body was grafted the vineshoot and slip of our humanity. From the vine of his body sprang for us the drink which quenched our thirst; from the vineshoot of his humanity streams ran for us by his mercy (287-98). C'Symbols

... Page 122)

T H E HARP

Cyrlllona on the Passion

Robbers came right into the Vine (yard), stole the leaves, but approached not the grapes. The Jews, like a thief, fell on the vine (yard) of our Saviour, carried off his tunic and cloak, but left the Cluster and its wine. Foxes made havoc among the vines, and one, only one, was withered; the hedgehog, whose garments are thorns, attacked that vine (yard), took possession of one wild vine, but the [good] grapes he did not assail. Zion, the evil hedgehog, took possession of Iscariot, carried off, for thirty pieces of silver, the sweetness that was promised her (321-36). She [Zion] wished to destroy the vine (yard) but the guards raised their voice; the prophets were crying out openly as the vine (yard) ripened in secret. They had waited for thirty years; the hungry heard and longing they came. Adam rushed from the grave, Eve came from Sheol; the Church came together from the mountains and the nations gathered from all sides. They saw the Cluster hanging high at the head of the Cross; Golgotha became its vine-plant and from it sweetness looked out. With their lips they received its [his] blood, and seized with their hands his truth. The Vine is Christ who came to us, reached out to us the Cluster in love (337-54). ("Symbols

Pages ...

123-

THE

HARP

Vol, V I I I . , I X . , J u l y 1995 - 1996 p p . 161-165 George Karukaparampll*

Experience of Pneumatological Eschatology in Ephrem T h e S y r i a n F a t h e r s give i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e p n e u m a t o l o g i c a l dimensions of e s c h a t o l o g y , w i t h o u t d i m i n i s h i n g i t s c h r i s t o l o g i c a l aspects. T h e y t r i e d t o e x p l a i n e s c h a t o l o g y n o t as a n a p p e n d i x to t h e w h o l e t h e o l o g i c a l d i s c i p l i n e b u t as t h e p a r t of c o n t i n u i n g Christ e v e n t in t h e S p i r i t . I t is n o t s i m p l y s o m e t h i n g t o be experienced in t h e w o r l d t o come, b u t it is t h e sanctified life in t h e ruha d'Qudsa in t h e c h u r c h . St E p h r e m is c l e a r in t h i s notion. M a n i n t h e c h u r c h is like f i r s t A d a m in t h e i n t e r m e d i a r y state of p r i m o r d i a l p a r a d i s e , a n d t h e n e w l i f e in S p i r i t , in t h e Church, is a n a n t i c i p a t o r y e x p e r i e n c e of his f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n of the glory of God in t h e e s c h a t o l o g i c a l p a r a d i s e . T h i s is t h e experience of t h e p a s c h a l m y s t e r y of C h r i s t in a n d t h r o u g h t h e Spirit, t h r o u g h w h i c h m a n is in t h e 'already and not yet' e x p e r i e n c e of the glory of G o d . T h i s p a r a d i s e - o r i e n t e d life, a i m i n g a t t o the r e - e n t r y i n t o t h e g l o r y of G o d , gives i m p o r t a n c e a n d meaning t o t h e d a y t o d a y life of t h e c h r i s t i a n . T h i s h e l p s h i m to c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e S p i r i t f o r his f u l l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , t h e real e s c h a t o l o g i c a l e x p e r i e n c e . Considering t h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e s e t h o u g h t s , I explain a f e w p o i n t s of p n e u m a t o l o g i c a l e s c h a t o l o g y most c e l e b r a t e d S y r i a n f a t h e r , S t E p h r e m of Nisibis.

try to of t h e

The Blessing of the Fall E s c h a t o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n is a n o v e r w h e l m i n g c h a r a c t e r in t h e E p h r e m i a n t h e o l o g y . C r e a t i o n ex nihilo is a n e x p r e s s i o n Rev. Dr. George Karufcaparampil is the Director of Catechetiea of t&e Diocese of Kottayam.

162

TI-IE HARP

of love of God. and its aim is to restore it to the full glory of the Trinity. This is one of the modes of revelations (HVir 19, 1) and man is the crown of it. He was created and clothed in glory (Hnat 11, 12), in the intermediary state of paradise. In his pre-fallen state, man was filled with the "robe of light" (HVir 16, 19), the radiation of the divine glory and beauty (HdP 1, 5). This glory overshadowed the paradise and filled the mind and heart of the first Adam. This was man's free and perfect life in the presence of the glory of God, as the foretaste of the full participation and intimacy with Him in the eschaton (HdP 2, iO). Moreover, the creation of Adam from the virgin "ademiha" and in God's breathing, the Spirit casts down his wings and gives him the ability to reach even up to t h e summit of the eschatological paradise ( H d P 2, 1). When Adam used his heruta for his own sake, he lost existed and promised glory, to be in the shakina of eschatological paradise (HdP 3, 12; Arm 23, 7; Epiph fi, 9). lost his original purity and he had to leave the garden of (gania d'hayya, HdP 4, 6).

his the He life

It seems to be a paradox t h a t this fallen state of Adam became a favourable ground to use his free will in the right way to be crowned in the eschatological glory (CH 11,4). This is a gift to fulfill his promise to make man the full partaker of the glory of the Trinity (2 P t 1, 4). This is the r e - e n t r y of the new creation mediated by the Spirit. So, like the existence in the intermediary state of the primordial paradise in nature, man with his free will, remains in t h e not yet fullfilled state of life in the Church, aiming at the lost robe of glory in eschatological paradise. In order t h a t Adam might r e - e n t e r (HdP 4, 6), with a glory more t h a n t h a t of the pre-fallen state (EC Syr. 21, 25), God protects him in the Spirit of the second Adam, in whose t y p e the first Adam was created. Here, the curse t u r n s to be a blessing. The life in the Church is preparation to enter into the summit and centre of the universe in the sacred time and space, the eschatological paradise, with the glory, t h a t was lost. This is the life in t h e Spirit, in which Christ wants man to experience the paseluil mystery as an> anticipation of the transformation in the Spirit. This is the precious gift given to man, to experience, the air

EXPERIENCE

OF

...

ESGHATOLOGY

IN ,EPHREM

163

of paradise here and now. The Spirit, light, in the Church t h a t came out from the cross and empty tomb ("ihi daya riahra", Hiruz 8, 12) continues and allows to be experienced himself by man as the promised glory. This is the continuation of the redemptive act of Christ by the Spirit, the re-creation of man to lead him again to the eschatological paradise. The Spirit, The Rahona D'hayya

In the Church, the Spirit is the agent of sanctification and he continues his redemptive role and presents himself as the (rahona d'hayya) pledge of life. He edifices the collapsed arid does the work of an architect to design the christian life (EC Syr, 1,25). He presents himself as t r u e pledge of life ((rahona sari ra, EC 21, 33) and guarantees the promise of eternal life. This is not an inert material pledge, b u t it is Ihe operation of the Spirit himself. He invites and embraces the christian to be in his glory. The Spirit imparts the glory of God to the one who is cooperating with him in the church. He convinces the faithful the eschatological state of life in his warmth and helps him to be in the redeemed state. He leads them nearer to t h e glory for which he is created, so t h a t they may have a fuller realization of it in the eschatological paradise. Experience in the Mysteries

The holy mysteries are the joint actions of the Spirit and Christ. The Spirit makes Christ personally present and sanctifies the recipient to experience the paschal mystery of Christ here and now. Each sacrament is a theophany, a joined action of Spirit and Christ, in which the Spirit continues his re-creative activity as in the incarnation (EC Syr. 1, 25). The sacrament of baptism, (mammodlsa), is the r e enactment of the baptism of Christ in Jordan. The Spirit overshadows and makes t h e f o n t a small J o r d a n and the spring of life ( E p i p h 12, 15). He adorns the new born with the robe of the spirit (Hnat 22, 39), and leads him to the intermediary state, t h e church. Every new born attains the pre-fallen state of glory. The Spirit, who indwells in him, disposes himself to be experienced as in the full transformation (Hvir 17, 7) for which he is re-created. This is the anticipated experience of the t r u e pledge of life in the eschatological paradise now

164

THE HARP

realized in the church. It is again sacramentallv experienced the Eucharistic communion.

in

The Spirit is the author of the new creation (Hvir 37, 29; HdF 4, 70, 24). He celebrates the Eucharist on the altar and distributes himself with the glorified Christ in communion. In effect, the communion is a personal pentecost and an anticipated experience of the full communion with t h e glory of God in the eschatological paradise (Azgm 17, 2). The glorified body on the altar is the pledge of life (EC Syr 21, 25) which is to come. The Spirit uses this medicine of life (sam hayye) to cure the iniquities of Adam (Hvir 21, 3) and to share the real experience of the treasure of life in the church itself. Eucharist is the continuation of the sanctifying sacrifice and in it the Spirit reclothes the communicant in his life itself ( H d P 7, 5). The Spirit restores the recipient to the new life. In t h e church the renewed Adam is a new creation (Cnis 4, 16-17), who uses his free will to recognize his source of origin and his destination. This is a favour given to the baptized, who received the lost robe of life in mimmodisa, to eat the prohibited f r u i t of the tree of life in the eucharistic communion, as the foretaste and anticipatory experience of the eschatological banquet in the glorious paradise. Conclusion

J u s t as Adam in the intermediary state of paradise, every christian is waiting in the new intermediary state of life in the church aiming at the participation in the glory of the Trinity. In the primordial paradise, Adam had to use his free will to enter into the Shakina, and in the Church, the christian, who is recreated and lives in the Spirit, has to cooperate with him to re-enter into the eschatological paradise. While the first Adam had to wait, using properly the tree of knowledge to climb on the t o p of paradise, in the church every christian is already in the anticipatory experience of the final glory. In the primordial paradise Adam was prohibited to eat the f r u i t of the tree of life without toil and enter into life, whereas in the church, the mysteries which are the fruits of the new tree of life, the cross, are already given. The lost glory is distributed and man has already entered into the glorious life. The fall in the primordial paradise is changed into an ascent in the church, and instead

EXPERIENCE OF ... ESCHATOLOGY IN EfHREM 165 of t h e robe of glory, t h e second Adam gives his m o s t p r e c i o u s gift, t h e Spirit. He, in t u r n r e c r e a t e s and r e s t o r e s t h e c h r i s t i a n to a new c r e a t u r e , keeps his s p i r i t u a l adolesence and helps h i m to lead a life w i t h an eschatological o r i e n t a t i o n . T h e c h r i s t i a n life is d y n a m i c in his p e r m a n e n t soul, t h e Spirit of Holiness. T h e C h r i s t i a n is b o r n , sustained a n d he finds his e t e r n a l r e s t in t h e Spirit. H e is t h e c r e a t o r , and r e - c r e a t o r in man's j o u r n e y t o w a r d s t h e glorious paradise. The c h r i s t i a n who is r e b o r n in the S p i r i t e n t e r s again in t h e p r o m i s e of t h e first p a r e n t s which leads t o a new c o v e n a n t - r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e F a t h e r t h r o u g h t h e Son in t h e Spirit. T h e S p i r i t renews this c o v e n a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p t h r o u g h t h e mysteries. The robe of t h e Spirit is to help t h e r e c i p i e n t t o experience t h e glorified Christ t h r o u g h t h e paschal m y s t e r y realized in t h e mysteries. The life of a c h r i s t i a n in t h e Spirit is a c o n t i n u e d sanctification t o lead him to t h e eschatological glory. This is a n a n t i c i p a t o r y experience of t h e e s c h a t o n , t h e definitive p e n t e c o s t , t h e descent of t h e Spirit w i t h f u l l glory and power. I t is t h e g r e a t e s t miracle of d i v i n i z a t i o n , t h e f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e glory of God which was o n c e lost. This is t h e p e r f e c t a t t a i n m e n t of t h e divine Sonship (Bar d'alaha) for which m a n is c r e a t e d . Hvir

H y m n s on Virginity

HdF

H y m n s on F a i t h

Hnat

H y m n s on N a t i v i t y

Arm

Armanian

Hymns

Epiph

Epiphany

Hymns

CH

H y m n s a g a i n s t Heresies

EC

D i a t e s s a r o n C o m m e n t a r y (CBM 8)

Hcruz, Azym P a s c h a l H y m n s Cnis

Nisibian

Hymns

T H E HARP

St. Ephrern on t h e Church's Union with Christ

Rest firm on the T r u t h and fear not, my brothers, for our Lord is no weakling to fail us in trial; he is t h e power on which hangs the world and its dwellers. On him hangs the hope of his Church. Who could ever cut off its heavenly roots? Blessed be he whose power came down and was made one with his churchcs ! Get yourselves, by brothers, the treasure of consolation f r o m the word of our Lord which he spoke on t h e Church: 'The bars of Sheol cannot conquer her.' If then she is stronger t h a n Sheol, who among mortals is able to frighten her? Blessed be he who has magnified her, and t u r n i n g has tested her, to make her yet greater! Then stretch out your hands towards the Branch of T r u t h ! Warriors'arms it has wearied, they could not bend it; it bent down its summit, came down to the contest. It tested the true who hung on it; who hung b u t for profit dropped off and fell. Blessed be he who made it come down, t o ascend in triumph ! ("Symbols

St. E p h r e m : On

...

Pages

106-107)

Virginity

The p r u d e n t olive has no fear of the cold which terrifies all. Under the scourges of freezing winter its leaves stand fast, as though faithful. They are an image of t h e faithful who persevere in Christ the Olive. In persecution the faithless have fallen like leaves which do not abide on their trees; b u t Christians, hanging on Christ, are like olive-leaves in winter, all of them planted wholly in him. ("Symbols

... Page

112)

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 167-176 Dr. Karl-Heinz, Kuhlmann*

The Apologg of Timothg, the Patriarch, before Caliph Mahdi The Christian-Muslim Dialogue yesterday and today I.

Introduction

The polemic anri apologetic c o n f r o n t a t i o n between Christianity and Islam has a long tradition. Prejudices, misunderstandings and arguments have burdened the relationship between both religions since the origin of Islam in the 7th century. Tlie refusal of Christians to side with the message of Muhammad led to conflicts already during his lifetime. Actually Muhammad had spoken very friendly about Christians for a long period b u t finally ordered to subjugate lliem in order to bring Islam to absolute rule. This political development had already been announced in the following positions which were held by Muhammad: 1)

in his firm a t t i t u d e Jesus not being the Son of God

2)

in his claim to be the "Seal of. the P r o p h e t " (33,40), will say t h a t he was the end and the peak of the history of all prophets.

3)

in his characterization of J slam as being the religion (3,19).

Pastor Dr. Karl-Heiiiz Kuhlmann is visiting Professer of Theological Faculty in Louvain.

only t r u e

the Protestant

168

THB BAR?

Christianity in the East and in the West reacted ia a startled manner to the sudden invasion of Islam into Christian regions. Muhammad for them was the false prophet who claimed to renew and to fulfil the religion of Abraham but was the victim of Jewish and Christian heresies. In apocalyptic visions people talked about the coming of the Antichrist. Horror came upon Europe when in 1453 Constantinople was taken by the Muslims. The inferiority of the Christians had been shown before that date during the crusades to reconquer the Holy Land and which failed. And when during the time of Reformation the Christians in Europe fought each other the Ottoman sultan raised his arm against Europe: in 1529 he stood before Vienna; Hungary was occupied in 1541. Only in 1683 the turn came. The Turks were driven back from Europe and during the period of colonialism the Islamic regions came under the rule of European powers. It should be clear that against the background of this historical burden a dialogue cannot be easy and has to be aroused slowly if at all. The wounds are deep which history has caused; they have not been healed until today and a new Islam fundamantalism may even destroy the change of climate which has come up in recent years. II.

Time and circumstances of Patriarch Timothy I

After the fall of the Umnyyad caliphs in 750 the Abbasids ruled Islam in Asia for the next half millenium to 1258 as the most celebrated and longest-lived dynasty. They claimed to be more strictly orthodox than their predecessors and proved to be more aggressively Muslim in the treatment of religious minorities than the practical-minded Umayyads. The first caliph of the dynasty called himself " t h e bloodshedder" (al-Saffah). B u t in fact it was not until the time of the third caliph, Mahdi (775-785), after the dynasty had been firmly established in its new capital, that the restrictions of the so-called "Covenant of Omar", began to tighten and not until after 800 that the covenant received its final legal editing and made the nineth century a period of increasing social and religious discrimination.

THE APOLOGY OF TIMOTHY,

. . . YESTERDAY A N D

TODAY

169

Islamic The Abbasids came to p o w e r on a t i d e of orthodoxy and t h e y gave religion a r e e o g ' r z e d p r i o r i t y . B u t t h e emphasis on t r u e religion did n o t a t first w o r s e n t h e t r e a t m e n t of Christians in t h e empire.. Mahdi opened his r u l e w i t h a d e t e r mined effort t o appease t h e I r a n i a n Shi'ite o p p o n e n t s of B a g h d a d orthodoxy, a n d in an u n u s u a l l y irenic g e s t u r e t o w a r d Christians staged t h e f a m o u s d e b a t e t h a t b r o u g h t h i m f a c e t o face w i t h the N e s t o r i a n p a t r i a r c h T i m o t h y I (779-823). T i m o t h y I came f r o m Acliabene, t h e a n c i e n t seat of t h e earliest P e r s i a n C h r i s t i a n s a n d was Ihe g r e a t e s t of all t h e p a t r i a r c h s who served u n d e r t h e c a l i p h a t e . T h e y e a r of t h e debate, p r o b a b l y 781, was also t h e y e a r t h a t saw the e r e c t i o n of t h e N e s t o r i a n m o n u m e n t in China and so m a y well m a r k not only a peak in i n t e r c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n Islam and Christianity, b u t also t h e height of N e s t o r i a n influence in t h e second half of t h e first. Christian m i l l e n i u m in Asia's t w o greatest empires, Abbasid A r a b i a a n d ' P a n g China. T i m o t h y was as skilful as d i p l o m a t in his dealing with ambitious b i s h o p s as with a b s o l u t e monarciis. T h e r e is a s t o r y about his e l e c t i o n t o t h e p a t r i a r c h a t e i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e c o m b i n a tion of w o r l d i y i n g e n u i t y and Christian i n t e g r i t y t h a t was a characteristic of his a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . As t h e electors ( T i m o t h y was elected b y a c o n v o c a t i o n of only f o u r of the eight electoral m e t r o p o l i t a n s - D a m a s c u s - H o l w a n - B e t h Seluk and Merv. E v e n the prime m e t r o p o l i t a n of B e i t L a p a t was n o t p r e s e n t . The election was d i s p u t e d a n d T i m o t h y a c c e p t e d r e c o n s e c r a t i o n by the m e t r o p o l i t a n of Beit L a p a t ) g a t h e r e d for the v o t e he allowed them sight of some h e a v y sacks, which, c o r r u p t e d b y t h e society of the time, t h e y p r e s u m e d to be m o n e y available for d i s t r i b u tion if he were elected. A f t e r the election the sacks t u r n e d o u t to be filled w i t h n o t h i n g b u t stones, and the unruffled new patriarch chided t h e m : " T h e p r i e s t h o o d is n o t t o be sold for money." T i m o t h y presided as p a t r i a r c h f o r m o r e t h a n 40 y e a r s , serving also u n d e r Mahdi's t h r e e successors. As a theologian within the c h u r c h he s t r o n g l y d e f e n d e d N e s t o r i a n o r t h o d o x y . Twice in general synods he a r g u e d against deviations, first in 790 and again in 804, i n s i s t i n g p u r i t y of f a i t h a n d k n o w l e d g e of t h e S c r i p t u r e s . He was also a s t r o n g l y m i s s i o n a r y - m i n d e d p a t r i a r c h , n o t content simply t o t e a c h and defend t h e f a i t h b u t eager t o expand

170

THE

HARP

it. H e appointed a bishop for Yemen at it's old capital. San'a. despite earlier Muslim precedents of s t r i n g e n t prohibition of Christianity among Arabs. As we will see he prayed openly before a Muslim caliph t h a t Christians might share t h e pearl of t h e gospel with Muslims, adding with evangelistic directness, " G o d has placed t h e pearl of His face before all of us like t h e shining rays of t h e sun, and every one who wishes can enjoy t h e light of t h e s u n . " Nor was his zeal limited to t h e empire, f o r his position gave him a u t h o r i t y over t h e Nestorians in T ' a n g - d y n a s t y China and t h e Thomas Christians of India. I t was T i m o t h y who wisely granted t o t h e churches of s o u t h e r n India independence f r o m t h e Persian m e t r o p o l i n a t e of F a r s (Rewardashir), appointing w h a t appears to have been t h e first k n o w n m e t r o p o l i t a n in India. Mingana (Bar Hebraeus). According to Mingana r e p o r t i n g a n assertion of Mari, t h e t w e l t h - c e n t u r y N e s t o r i a n historian, t h a t T i m o t h y converted to the Christian f a i t h t h e K h a g a n of t h e T u r k s and i n s t r u c t e d m a n y in Christian doctrine. III.

The Text

The t e x t of the apology has come down to us in two different versions, one in Syriac and t h e other in Arabic. The Syriac t e x t we find a t t h e end of t h e collection of t h e 56 letters of T i m o t h y , published in 1928 by A. Mingana (Woodbrooke Studies); t h e Arabic t e x t by H. P u t m a n in 1975 (L'Eglise et l ' l s l a m sous Timothee). In this paper I do not go inlo detail a b o u t the s t r u c t u r e and a l i t e r a r y analysis b u t stress u p o n t h e c o n t e n t s of the dialogue. Let me j u s t say t h a t according to P u t m a n t h e Syriac t e x t is t h e older one of which t h e Arab writer has made a t r a n s l a t i o n b u t only of t h e first day. The writer of the apology is T i m o t h y himself and we can believe t h a t it was delivered in this way in 781 or 782. The corresp o n d e n t of t h e P a t r i a r c h was possibly either Sergius, priest, monk and teacher of the m o n a s t e r y of Mar A b r a h a m or Sergius, Metropolitan of Elam. The t e x t is in the f o r m of a p r i v a t e theological discussion and p e r h a p s n o t every word w r i t t e n down was spoken v e r b a t i m . We also do n o t know w h a t time had elapsed between t h e two days of t h e discussion and t h e day it first was w r i t t e n down in

THfc APOLOGY OF TIMOTHY,

. . . YESTERDAY A N D TODAY

its present form. A. Mingana believes in 783 lowest limit ("before these days"). IV.

1.71

constituting t h e

The Course of Events

According to the patriarch, he had scarcely finished the customary complimentary address when the caliph "did something to me which he had never done before; he said to me, ' 0 Catholicos, (how can) a man like you who possesses all this knowledge and u t t e r s such sublime words concerning God, (say that God) married a woman f r o m whom He begot a Son'." Thus the arguments began on the subject of Christology. Timothy cooly agreed t h a t the statement was a blasphemy, "Who could say such a thing?" Nevertheless, he continued, "Christ is the Son of God - not, however, ' in the carnal w a y " (p. 152f.). The arguments ranged f r o m how God. could have a son and how he could die, to the mathematical contradiction involved in the doctrine of Trinity; and f r o m Muslim claims of Muhammad's supreme prophethood to their charges t h a t Christians had corrupted their own Scriptures. Considering the audience, the of metaphors. Of the birth of Jesus Jesus was born from a virgin as Muslims accepted f r o m the Koran), "as light is born of the sun and (as) (p. 153 f t ) .

patriarch made skillful use as God's Son, he said t h a t man (a statement t h a t all b u t from God he was born word (is born) of the soul"

So also with the difficult m a t t e r of Trinity in unity. "If He is three, He is not one," said the caliph. No, it is not quite like that, Timothy replied, it is more like a three-denarii gold coin, " o n e in its gold, t h a t is to say in its nature, and three in its persons, t h a t is to say in the number of denarii." When the caliph began to challenge the metaphors, the patriarch disarmingly admitted the limitations of parallels between the physical and the spiritual, " I n every comparison there is a. time at which, one must stop, because it does not resemble reality in everything" (p. 198ff. 205,215). So he is careful not to base his defense on metaphor alone, b u t again

172

THE

HARP

and again appeals Prophets, Gospels, common authority pp. 153, 156, 159,

to the testimony of " t h e Book" (the Tora, and Epistles), knowing t h a t " t h e Book" is for Muslims and Christians alike (p. 171f.; 208 and passim).

When the caliph murmured about Christians corrupting their scriptures to suit their purpose, he replied reasonably enough, " E v e n if we were able to corrupt the Books of the Tora and the Gospels t h a t we have with us, how could we have tampered with those t h a t are with the .Jews" (p 193). On the second day the caliph asked, "Did you bring a Gospel with you, as I asked?" Yes, said the patriarch. "Who gave it to you?" said the caliph and Timothy answered, "The Word of God gave us the Gospel, 0 God-loving King We Christians believe t h a t although the Gospel was given to us by the Apostels, it was not given as f r o m them b u t as from God, His Word, and His Spirit. Then suddenly the caliph asked the most sensitive question of all. " W h a t do you say about Muhammad?" One can almost sense the tense silence in the room as all wondered how the Christian from the dhimmi would answer his Muslim king. The answer is worth quoting at some length because how Timothy managed t o combine polite dialogue with Christian integrity. The patriarch said: "Muhammad is worthy of all praise, by all reasonable people. 0 my Sovereign. He walked in the path of the prophets and trod in the track of the lovers of God. All the prophets taught the doctrine of one God, and since Muhammad taught the doctrine of the unity of God, he walked, therefore, in the path of the prophets. F u r t h e r , all the prophets drove men away from bad works, and brought t h e m nearer to good works, and since Muhammad drove his people away f r o m bad works and brought them nearer to the good ones, he walked, therefore, in the path of the prophets. Again, all the prophets separated men from idolat r y and polytheism, and attached them to God and to his cult, and since Muhammad separated his people f r o m idolatry and polytheism, and attached them to the cult and the knowledge of one God, beside whom there is no other God, it is obvious that he walked in the path of the prophets, Finally Muhammad taught

Tin-; APOLOGY

OF

TIMOTHY,

YESTERDAY

AND

TODAY

173

about God, His Word and His Spirit, and since all tlie prophets had prophesied about God, His Word and His Spirit, Muhammad walked, therefore, in the path of all the prophets (p. 197). We may here well note t h a t Timothy does not describe Muhammad as a prophet, b u t as "walking in the path of t h e prophets." And he had already told the caliph that " t h e r e is only one prophet who would come to the world after,..Jesus Christ," and that is Elijah, quoting Malachi 4:4-0 (p. 190). And the caliph said, " Y o u should, therefore, accept the word; of the prophet." "Which words?" asked the patriarch"That God is one and there is no other," said the caliph. Timothy agreed. "This belief in one God, I have learned from the Tora, from the Prophets and from the Gospel," he said. " I stand by it and I shall die by it...I believe in one God in three, and three in one, but not in three d i f f e r e n t G o d - h e a d s , however, but in the persons of God's Word and His Spirit (p. 197f.). There was no declared winner of the debate. In a sense both won, for the affair ended in what could be described as the high point in Muslim and Christian relationships in the whole history of the Muslim conquest. The caliph said, "If you (only) accepted Muhammad as a prophet, your words would be beautiful and your meanings fine." And the patriarch, equally courteous, compared the Gospel to a precious pearl and closed with this prayer for the caliph, "May God grant to us t h a t we may... share it (the precious pearl of the faith) with you...We pray God who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to preserve the crown of the kingdom and the throne of the Commander of the Faithful for multitudinous days and numerous years (p. 224-226). V. The Dialogue yesterday and today

In the "Apology of T i m o t h y " we have a rather unique example in history. Both sides avoid radical and in their sense theological orthodox statements for it was clear t h a t a retreat to dogmatism would have finished up in a blind alley. And we must not forget t h a t in spite of all generosity of the caliph Timothy belonged to the " d h i m m i " with restricted rights. Any aggressive apology could have cost his life or at least some severe measures. It was no "mission meeting."

174

THE

HARP

Let me mention in this context J o h n of Damascus (675749). The " F o u n t of Knowledge," his major work, is a massive synthesis of all Greek theology and learning np to his own time and has been called " t h e last work of any theological importance to appear in the East (McGiffert 1932:310-29). Chapter 101 of P a r t II ("On Heresies") contains his judgment against Islam. It is not a dialogue, it is a polemic. It begins with the unequivocal statement: "There is also the superstition of the Ishmaelites which to this day prevails and keeps people in error, being a forerunner of the Antichrist" (John, 153). But the argument continues, though John does not soften his language, he does at least credit Muhammad with leading his people from idolatry to monotheism, t o the "One God, creator of all, who has (not) been b e g o t t e n . . . " Then the argument quickly resumes. John was no gentle compromiser. He was severely careful (and was usually successful) neither to distort Muslim teaching nor to paint it any more Christian t h a n it actually was, and he finished the sentence with the complete Islamic formula, "who was neither been begotten nor has b e g o t t e n " (Koran 112): thereby the very beginning clearly relating all his criticisms to the basic theological difference between Islam and Christianity, namely Christologv. He " t r a n s m i t s to the Christians a most accurate account of the Muslim point of view with regard especially, to the most delicate topic in a Muslim-Christian dialogue" (Sahas 1972:79). His subsequent arguments are subsidiary: the lack of reference to Muhammad's prophethood in the Bible: the impossibility of separating God from his Word and his Spirit (John, 155.fi); the defense of Christian veneration of the cross as no more an idolatry t h a n the Muslim veneration of the black stone in the Kaaba; and criticisms of Muslim polygamyAll these are lesser differences. To John, the crucial difference is this: the God of the Muslims is not the Christian God. Allah has no son. J o h n ' s God is the Father of Jesus Christ. In the following let me only name some of the great names involved in Christian-Muslim relationship: Petrus Venerabilis (1094-1156), St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), Raimon Lull (1232-1315), and Nicholas of Cues (1401-1464). Especially t h e last tried a very good natured, understanding and benevolent interpretation, of the Koran (pia i n t e r p r e t a t i o n This is shown by the t e r m "manuductio". i. e. he wants to take the Muslims

T H E APOI.OGY OF T I M O T H Y ,

...

YESTERDAY

AND

TODAY

175

by the hand to show them the Christian faith. Unique are the attempts of bridging the gap between both religions with his "manudutiones ad t r i n i t a t e m " On Indian soil it is the Basel (Switzerland) Missionary Karl Gottlieb Pfander (1803-1865) who with his book "Mizan al-haqq" (Balance of t r u t h ) tries a new approach. " I t became the most outstanding book explaining Christianity to Muslims" (P. D. Rajaiah 1969: 100). And somebody knowing the Indian situation puts it this way: " I can remember no conversion of a thoughtful Moslem in which this book has not played some part. Recently, we hear, it is being eagerly read in Palestine..." (H. U. Weitbrecht Stanton 1922:115-121). Pfander recognized contrary to his predecessors in the past centuries t h a t the most effective persuasive power of his book was in his use of those sources which were recognized by Muslims. F r o m the beginning he used the Koran as reference for his main argument, namely the unadulteredness of the Old and New Testament. In his book " E n c o u n t e r s & Clashes" Jean-Marie Gaudeul is complaining about Timothy's purely intellectual presentation. "One of the reasons why the over-all impression this dialogue gives is one of uselessness or ' f u t i l i t y ' may be the fact t h a t only notions are given, or abstract reasons...Timothy analyzes and explains, b u t he neither invites nor expects a response. The Mystery never becomes Life. It remains an enigma" (p. 36) Apart from the fact t h a t the situation of Timothy was a rather delicate one and indeed no mission meeting and Pfander was setting out with a special mission drive the latter too has always stressed upon the role of human intellect concerning the right religion. Again and again Pfander tries to convince his Muslim readers with arguments of reason. " T h u s Pfander's debate about Islam t u r n s out to be a conflict before the f o r u m of reason" (A. von Waldenburger p. 108). And now today? I cannot go into initiatives of the Vatican (Vatican II) and Churches. Many new approaches have been get away from pure confrontation. But achieve? Is dialogue really the right word

detail about the the World Council of launched in order to what do we want to for the Central issue?

"Dialogue" seems to be the battle cry for everybody who wants to be progressive in religious matters. On the other hand the growing Islamic fundamentalism has dampened the mostly Christian euphoria. It is my conviction t h a t the procedures of the Ecumenical movement have been transmitted rather uncritically to the Christian-Muslim dialogue. In this situation I can only follow the President of the Vatican Office for the Non-Christians who in November 1984 at t h e Islamic-Christian

176

THE HARP

consultation in Windsor Castle named those fields in which a dialogue o n be realized. He is talking in a quite pragmatic way about the dialogue in daily life, on the job, in social services, in defending human rights, in supporting religious life and in recognizing God; he also is calling for more willingness for reconciliation. It is only in the end t h a t he names what probably by mistake has been regarded solely as dialogue, - the talk about faith and its meaning, the ritual and the religious laws (Islamochristiana 11 (1985), p. 219-20). I think that in India as a multi-religious country this too will be the right approach. There is probably not more to achieve t h a n religious peace among the relig ons. It is the crisis which requires "dialogue" lo solve practical problems of living together. And then we and you may proceed in t h a t manner Timothy I, patriarch of the Nestorians has so brilliantly performed. For the Christian faith cannot surrender the conviction t h a t God, in seeing from Christ, into our midst, has taken a definitive and theological course of action. Bibliography

Mingana, A. ed. and trans. The Apology of Timothy the Patriarch before the Caliph Mahdi. No 3, Woodbrooke Studies, Bulletin of the John Rvlands Library (Manchester, 1928): 137-298. Busse, Heribert. Die theologischen Beziehungen des Islams zu J u d e n t u m und Christontum Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1988. Gaudeul, Jean. Marie. Encounters & Clashes Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi et Islamici Rome 1990. John of Damascus. Writings. Vol. 37 of The Fathers of the Church New York 1958. McGiffert, A. C. A History of the Christian Thought. Vol. 1. New York: Scribner, 1932. Moffett, S. H. A History of Christianity in Asia Vol. I, Harper, San Francisco 1992. Paul, R. D. Lights in the World Lucknow 1969. P u t m a n , Hans. L'Eglise & I'Islam Dar El-Machreq Editeurs Beyrouth 1975. Sahas, David. J. John of Damascus on Islam Leiden: Brill, 1972 Schirrmacher, Christine. Mit den Waifen des Geners Klaus Schwarz Verlag. Berlin 1992. Yusuf Ali, A. The Holy Qur'an The Islamic Foundation Leicester 1975. Weitbrecht Stanton, H. U. Christ and Controversy, in MW 12/1922, 115ff.

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., J u l y 1995 - 1996, pp. 177-183 Rev. D r . Jacob Kollaparambil*

Cross and Crucifix

in the

Syrian

Tradition1

According t o archaeological findings, d u r i n g the first t h r e e Christian centuries, only r a r e l y did t h e Christians exhibit publicly t h e sign of t h e Cross. The few instances w e r e m a i n l y on tomb stones, e p i t a p h s and other o b j e c t s of p r i v a t e d e v o t i o n . Several reasons are usually adduced for such r e l u c t a n c e of t h e Christians. T h e r e was, first of all, t h e danger of this symbol of salvation being p r o f a n a t e d by n o n - b e l i e v e r s . One such e x a m p l e is the second c e n t u r y b l a s p h e m o u s c a r i c a t u r e on a R o m a n Palatine wall p i c t u r i n g a crucified m a n w i t h t h e head of an ass together with a graffito s u b s c r i p t reading, " A l e x a m e n o s worships his God". T h e d a n g e r of t h e one exhibiting t h e symbol being betrayed as Christian to t h e p e r s e c u t o r s also is not to be discounted. Because of the o p p r o b r i u m associated w i t h c r u c i fixion, t h e pagans and J e w s saw in Christ's crucifixion a n irreconcilable c o n t r a d i c t i o n of a crucified m a n being God. Nevertheless, t h e sign of t h e Cross was n o t t o t a l l y w a n t i n g on Christian m o n u m e n t s in t h e early centuries. In t h e Island of Kharg of t h e P e r s i a n Gulf m a n y crosses are f o u n d on t h e t o m b stones of a t h i r d c e n t u r y colony of Bnai Kiame (Sons of

Dr. Jacob is a visiting Professor of the Pont. Oriental Institute in Rome. He is the Vicar General of the Diocese of Kottayam,

1. Some of t h e general works c o n s u l t e d f o r t h i s paper- a r e : H . L E C L E R C Q , " C r o i x et Crucifix." DACL, I I I , 2 ( P a r i s 1914) cols. 3045-3131, ' K r e u z I - I X , " Theologicshe Realenzyclopadie X I X ( B e r l i n - N e w Y o r k 1990) 712-77,9. "Cross." New Catholic Encyclopedia IV (1967) 473-182; " C r u c i f i x i o n , " Ibid, 485-498.

178

THE

HARP

Covenant"!.2 There are similar monuments of the early in Rome and in Asia Minor. 3

centuries

After freedom was granted to the Church in the Roman Empire by Constantine, the Cross began to be exhibited publicly as the t r o p h y of the victorious Christ of Easter, and as His sign in the sky at His second coming in glory. Accordingly, triumphal crosses began to be made with precious metals studded with jewels. In the early centuries, however, Crosses were presented without the figure of the crucified Lord on them. In doing so, may be, the early Christians were influenced by the O. T . prohibition on graven images. The earliest known carvings of the crucifixion scene are of the fifth century namely on an ivory casket kept in British Museum, and on a wooden panel of a door of St Sabina Church in Rome. 4 On both these works the figure of Christ is almost naked covered only with a narrow loin cloth (subligaculum). The first datable picture of the crucifixion is found in a manuscript of the Syriac Gospels copied by a Syrian monk named Rabbula at t h e monastery of St John of Zagba in A.D. 586 and now kept at the Medicaeo-Laurentine Library of Florence, Italy. 5 Therein Christ is painted as wearing a sleeveless tunic (colobiurn) and crucified between two thieves. This new trend of presenting the Cross with the figure of Christ, scholars say, was a consequence of the intense Christological controversies of the 5th century. The Monophysites with their doctrine t h a t eclipses the humanity of Christ were reluctant to produce the image of a crucified God. On the other hand, their opponents t o the middle or to the opposite extreme position of the Christological spectrum used the realistic 2. Cf. E. E. I I E R Z F E L D , Archaeological History of Iran (London 1935) 103-106 and plates X V I I I and X I X . R. GHIRSHMAN, lie de Kharg (Teheran 1960). J. BOWMAN* "The Sassanian Church in the Kharg Island," Acta Iranica 1 (1974) 217-220. 3. See H. LECLERCQ. "Croix et Crucifix," DACL, III. 2, cols, 3053-3060. 4. Ibid, cols, 3068-3070. 5. See C. CECCHELLI, G. F U R L A N I , M. SALMI, eds. The Rabbula Gospels: Facsimile Edition of the Miniatures (OftenLausanne 1959) 69-71, 73-74, and facsimile of f. 13a.

CROSS A N D CRUCIFIX IN THE SYRIAN TRADITION

presentation of t h e crucifixion h u m a n i t y of Christ.

as

a means t o emphasize

179

the

The p i c t u r e of t h e crucifixion in t h e R a b b u l a Gospels is certainly of E a s t Syrian origin. On t h a t p i c t u r e P r o f . G. R o u w h o r s t is scheduled t o present a paper in this conference. This p i c t u r e was probably a p r o t o t y p e for a series of r e p r o d u c tions on reliquaries, ampullae (cruets), pectoral Crosses etc. which were made in Syria or Palestine in t h e 6th c e n t u r y or in t h e early 7th century. Some of the examples are: (1) The crucifixion scene on a reliquary box f r o m t h e S a n c t a S a n t o r u m (Jerusalem?), now k e p t in t h e Vatican Museum. This work of t h e 6th c e n t u r y is very similar to the p i c t u r e of crucifixion in R a b b u l a Gospels. 7 (2) On some ampullae of t h e 6th c e n t u r y now kept in t h e Basilica of Monza, in Robbio, in D u m b a r t o n Oaks, W a s h i n g t o n etc. These are originally f r o m t h e H o l y Land. 8 (3) On a 6th century reliquary Cross f r o m Palestine now preserved in Rhode Island School of Designs. 9 The same a r t - f o r m of p i c t u r i n g t h e crucified Lord with a sleeveless t u n i c (colobium) is u n d e r s t o o d t o have been p r o p a gated f r o m t h e E a s t Syrian Church also to Europe. T h a t is evidenced b y a fresco p a i n t i n g of t h e 8th c e n t u r y a t t h e Sancta Maria A n t i q u a Church in Rome. 1 0 In N a r b o n n e of F r a n c e , where a colony of t h e Syrian m e r c h a n t s had settled, on demand f r o m the people the bishop of t h e place gave orders to cover up with a t u n i c the n u d i t y of a crucifix at t h e Church of St. Genes, as is testified t o by St Gregory of T o u r s in gloria martyrum> chapter 22. 11 6. Cf. " C r o s s , " New Catholic Encyclopedia IV (1967) 473. 7. see CECCHELLI et al, The Rabbula Gospels, p. 34, or "Crucifixion, New Catholic Encyclopedia IV (1967) 488, fig. 4. 8. Ibid, p. 487. 9. Ibid, p. 488, fig. 6. 10. Ibid, p. 488, fig. 5 or C E C C H E L L I el al, The Rabbula Gospels, plate »5, fig. 1. 11. Cf. H . LECLERCQ, "Croix et Crucifix," DACL, I I I , 2 (1914) eols. 3079-3080.

180

THE

HARP

I n all t h e s e models Christ is p r e s e n t e d on t h e Cross n o t as dead, b u t as living in h i e r a t i c s o l e m n i t y a n d s u p e r h u m a n m a j e s t y . T h i n they do stress tin- paschal significance of t h e crucifixion, as the v i c t o r y of Christ over sin a n d death. T h e y were o b j e c t s of public devotion and l i t u r g i c a l v e n e r a t i o n . When Monk R a b b u l a painted the scene of crucifixion (AD 586), the E a s t Syrian Church had a c u s t o m of placing a Cross on t h e a l t a r , as is evidenced f r o m an i n c i d e n t n a r r a t e d in t h e h i s t o r y of R a b b a n B a r - I d t n . On a S u n d a y when R a b b a n B a r - I d t a and other monks were in vigil and general p r a y e r " t h e Cross which was on I he steps of t h e a l t a r fell on t h e g r o u n d and was b r o k e n " . This h a p p e n e d e x a c t l y on t h e m o m e n t when a m o n k called B e r i k h - l s h o died in his cell.' 2 T h e r e is question w h e t h e r it was a simple Cross or a crucifix t h a t was o n the a l t a r . T h e Syriac t e r m sliba could mean e i t h e r . One t h i n g , h o w e v e r , is sure: it was m a d e of a b r e a k a b l e m a t e r i a l . Quite r e m a r k a b l e is l h a t t h e E a s t Syrian Church had a c u s t o m of p l a c i n g a Cross on the alLar a l r e a d y in t h e 6th c e n t u r y , while t h e R o m a n Church did not develop such a c u s t o m u n t i l a f t e r t h e 12th c e n t u r y . More or less in t h e same period, some Christians of t h e Sassanian E m p i r e had t h e c u s t o m of m a k i n g t h e i r seals with a Cross a n d i n s c r i p t i o n in Syriac or Pahlavi. E x a m p l e s of such seals a r e preserved in v a r i o u s m u s e u m s a r o u n d t h e world. 1 3 Observing closely their impressions one m a y be induced to s p e c u l a t e w h e t h e r t h e so-called St. T h o m a s Cross a t Mylapore m i g h t well be a lilhic copy of a Bishop's seal! I am, of course, n o t v e n t u r i n g any such hypothesis; I am only suggesting a food f o r t h o u g h t t o i n t e r e s t e d scholars. 12. Cf. E. A. W. B U D G E , ed. & t r , The Histories of Rabban Hormizd the Persian and Rabban Bar-ldta, I I , 1 ( L o n d o n 1902) p. 217. A. B A U M S T A R K , " A l U r k n e u z e in n e s t o r i a n i s c h e n K l ö s t e r n des VI. J a h r h u n d e r t s , " Römische Quartalschrift für christliche Alterthumskunde und fiir Kirchenqeschichte 14 (Rom 1900) 70-71. 1.3. Cf. J . A. L E R N E R , Christian Seals of the Sassanian Period ( I s t a n b u l 1977). P h . G1GNOUX, " S c e a u x Chrétiens d'époque S a s s a n i d e , " lranica Antiqua 15 (1980) 299-314. One of t h e s e seals belonged t o a Catholicos who h a d j u r i s d i c t i o n over H o l v a n and Balasagan (see p. 305).

CROSS A N D C R U C I F I X

IN

fine

SYRIAN.

ftt.vDiTidN

181

As s h o w n a b o v e , t h e a r t - f o r m of a t r i u m p h a n t crucified Christ m i g h t h a v e o r i g i n a t e d i n t h e E a s t S y r i a n C h u r c h a n d has b e e n p r o p a g a t e d f r o m t h e r e f a r a n d w i d e i n t o E u r o p e . B u t the s a m e a r t - f o r m seems t o h a v e b e e n of s h o r t d u r a t i o n in t h e Church of i t s origin. B e c a u s e , w h e n t h e I c o n o c l a s t s a i m e d t h e i r a t t a c k w i t h p a r t i c u l a r v e h e m e n c e a g a i n s t t h e c r u c i f i x , t h e East. Syrians r e v e r t e d t o t h e i r e a r l y p r a c t i c e of v e n e r a t i n g t h e simple or t r i u m p h a l Cross. 1 4 S u c h a r e c e r t a i n l y t h e leaved Crosses of t h e E a s t S y r i a n s f o u n d in I n d i a a n d C e n t r a l Asia. 1 5 In t h e f o l l o w i n g c e n t u r i e s , h o w e v e r , t h e E a s t S y r i a n s developed so g r e a t a v e n e r a t i o n f o r the. Cross, t h a t they considered t h e sign of t h e Cross as o n e of t h e S a c r a m e n t s of the C h u r c h . 1 6 I n d i c a t i v e of such a n i n t e n s e v e n e r a t i o n is M o n k Barlaam's advice t o Prince loasaph, "faithfully worship a n d salute t h e e m b l e m of t h e l i f e - g i v i n g a n d v e n e r a b l e Cross, f o r the sake of I l i m t h a t h u n g t h e r e o n i n t h e flesh f o r t h e s a l v a t i o n of o u r r a c e — C h r i s t t h e G o d a n d S a v i o u r of t h e w o r l d , w h o gave i t t o us as t h e sign of v i c t o r y over t h e d e v i l . . . " 1 7 A h y m n i n t h e S y r o - M a l a b a r R a z a also testifies t o s u c h a v e n e r a tion: The c r o s s t h a i w a s f o r us I he s o u r c e by w h i c h o u r m o r t a l r a t e w a s s a v e d ,

14. See " C r u c i f i x i o n , New Catholic

Encyclopedia

of blessings, A n d L e t t h e same b e

IV (1967) p. 487.

15. Cf. D. T . R I C E , " T h e L e a v e d Cross," Byzaritinoslavica 11 ( 1 9 5 0 ) ' 7 2 - 8 1 . J . D A U V I L L I E R , " L e s Croix t r i o m p h a l c s d a n s l ' a n c i e n n e Eglise c h a l d é e n n e , " Eleona ( O c t o b e r 1956) 11-17. P . Y . S A E K I , Che Nestorian Documents and Relics in China A. C. M O U L E , Christians in China (Tokyo 1937), passim. ( L o n d o n 1930) passim. J . K O L L A P A R A M B I L , " T h e P e r s i a n Crosses in I n d i a a r e C h r i s t i a n , n o t M a n i c h a e a n , " Christian Orient 15 (1994) 21-35. G. G R O P P . " D i e P a h l a v i - I n s c h r i f t auf d e m T h o m a s k r e u z in M a d r a s , " Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran, NF.. 3 (1970) 267-271 e t c . 16. See E B E D I E S U SOBAE, Liber Margaritae, T r a c t IV, eh. 1 a n d T r a c t V, ch. 2: A . M A I , ed. t r . SVNC, X p a r t I f , 355, 361-362. 17. G. R . W O O D W A R D & H . M A T T I N G L Y , e d s . t r s . , St John Damascene: Barlaam and loasaph ( L o n d o n - H a r v a r d 1962) p . 281.

i82

THE kARP f o r us, 0 L o r d , a p o w e r f u l f o r t r e s s , And we win t h e devil and all his snares. 1 8

t h r o u g h it m a y

T h e W e s t e r n Church, on t h e o t h e r h a n d , had a different t y p e of d e v e l o p m e n t in t h e middle ages. The passion and d e a t h of t h e L o r d was t o be piously m e d i t a t e d by t h e f a i t h f u l a n d was to be realistically exhibited on t h e crucifix w i t h t h e figure of Christ s h o w n almost naked w i t h only a loin cloth on. I n t h e 20Lh c e n t u r y a t last t h e r e has been in some q u a r t e r s a r e t u r n t o t h e p r e s e n t i n g of t h e crucified L o r d as vested in royal or p r i e s t l y g a r m e n t s . 1 9 I n t o Ihe m o d e r n age t h e Syrians c o n t i n u e d t h e i r p r e f e r e n c e f o r t h e simple Cross, t h o u g h t h e crucifix was n o t excludedB o t h t h e E a s t Syria ns and the W e s t Syrians, Catholics as well as n o n - C a t h o l i c s , now make use of crucifixes also in t h e i r l i t u r g i c a l worship. F o r example, t h e a n c i e n t m o n a s t e r y of Mar Mathai in N o r t h e r n I r a q , now in the possession of t h e J a c o b i t e s , has in its s a n c t u a r y a Bible t h a i is richly d e c o r a t e d w i t h a golden crucifix o n its cover. Likewise t h e a l t a r cross of the same m o n a s t e r y c h u r c h has a crucifix a t its centre. B o t h these crucifixes h a v e t h e figure of Christ a l m o s t naked w i t h only t h e loin cloth on, j u s t like t h e medieval L a t i n models of t h e crucifix. A n o t h e r d e c o r a t e d Bible of t h e same t y p e is f o u n d in t h e s a n c t u a r y of t h e St. T h o m a s J a c o b i t e Church in Mossul. I n t h e case of t h e Chaldean or Syrian Catholics of I r a q , h o w e v e r , t h e use of crucifixcs in t h e L a t i n p a t t e r n is m u c h m o r e widespread. 2 0 N o w t o sum u p t h i s survey, it can be safely said t h a t t h e Syrian Christians v e n e r a t e d t h e H o l y Cross f r o m v e r y early

18. Sliba dahwa lan. Similar v e n e r a t i o n of the Cross according t o t h e M a r o n i t e liturgical t r a d i t i o n is elaborately dealt w i t h b y M a k r a m Kozah in his a r t i c l e " L e m y s t e r e pascal de la croix selon la liturgie M a r o n i t e , " published as a n n e x t o t o Y, S A D E R , Croix et Symboles dans I'art Maronite antique ( B e y r o u t h 1989) pp. 297-326, 19. See "Crucifix, New Catholic Encyclopedia,, IV (1967) 485. 20. T h e m a t t e r s s t a t e d in t h i s p a r a g r a p h are p e r s o n a l l y observed a n d p h o t o g r a p h e d b y me d u r i n g a s t u d y t o u r in I r a q in J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 1990.

CIIOSS AKD C R U C I F I X I N T H E S Y R I A N T R A D I I I O N

IS3

times. In the beginning it was a simple Cross t h a t they venerated as the t r o p h y of the Risen L o r d , and as t h e sign in t h e sky a t His second coming. I n t h e period b e t w e e n t h e Christological and Iconoclastic controversies, t h e E a s t Syrians, holding t h e dyophysite d o c t r i n e against the monophysites, in order to emphasize t h e h u m a n i t y of Christ, p i c t u r e d the crucified Lord on t h e Cross with a regal or sacerdotal solemn a t t i r e of t h e colobium. This a r t - f o r m received into t h e L a t i n Church was later developed t o form t h e now common crucifix. Coming o u t of t h e Iconoclastic c o n t r o v e r s y , t h e E a s t Syrians settled f o r the decorated, leaved, t r i u m p h a l Crosses w i t h o u t t h e h u m a n figure of Christ on them. However, in t h e m o d e r n age b o t h the East Syrians and t h e West Syrians, Catholics as well as n o n Catholics have a d o p t e d also t h e crucifix in t h e i r liturgical usage. Their preference for t h e simple Cross is not exclusive of the crucifix.

St. Ephrem - The Bishop as Farmer and Shepherd

0 Virgin who hast become a bridegroom, stir u p a little t h y mind t o jealousy, t o w a r d s t h e wife of t h e y y o u t h ! May she break off t h e connexions which she had with m a n y in her childhood. R e p r o v e and recollect her mind t h a t she may know who and whose she is! I n thee m a y she renew her love F o r Christ, her t r u e Bridegroom. Blessed be he who b e t r o t h e d her t o his O n l y - b e g o t t e n ! Behold, t h e Bride of t h y Lord is with thee; keep her f r o m all h a r m , and f r o m men who seduce and call churches by t h e i r own names. The name of her Bridegroom is set on her; let her not go whoring w i t h a n o t h e r name!

THE

II. VHP

F o r she was n o t baptized in the name, of a [mere] man. L e t her confess 1he names of her b a p t i s m , of the F a t h e r a n d t h e Son and t h e H o l y Ghost. Blessed be he by whose name she is called! The Apostle, her b e t r o t h e r , was jealous f o r her t h a t she should not be .seduced by names; n o t merely by false names, b u t n o t even b y t r u e ones; neither b y t h e name of K e p h a , nor even by bis own. F o r t h e B e t r o t h e r s were t r u e ; t h e y gave her t h e name of her Bridegroom. B u i the deceivers, like a d u l t e r e r s , gave their own names t o the flock. Praise t o thy name, our Creator! No one, my b r e t h r e n , d e s l r o y s openly t h e brand on animals, and no one adds or makes an a l t e r a t i o n t o t h e n a m e on a deed t h a t is sealed. H e who d e s t r o y s a b r a n d is a thief, and he who a l t e r s a n a m e is a deceiver. B u t t h e n a m e of Christ has b now himself angry and tired out, returned to Syria and his monastery, having first written the work Against Damian which is the subject of our edition. The last pages of the book announce t h a t communion is at an end between the two, and t h a t all who love the t r u t h had better flee Damian like the plague. A schism between Antioch and Alexandria now ensued, which was ended after about 30 years. The two hierarchs, Athanasius of Antioch and Anastasius of Alexandria (Damian's immediate successor), issued a declaration of agreement, after t h e r e had been prolonged discussion of the issues by their theological experts. Pope and patriarch themselves wisely kept a low profile, leaving the c u t - a n d - t h r u s t of debate, o f t e n so undignified, to subordinates. What emerged f r o m the debate was

PETER OF GALLINICUS A N D DAMIAN OF ALEXANDRIA

225

that Peter's main point was conceded, though the joint declaration issued at the end carefully says that the question of rights and wrongs in the original argument between Damian and Peter was not adjudicated upon. The thing had, it was agreed, become a mere battle of words, with tempers becoming heated over trifles. It was time to leave aside the settling of old scores. The Doctrinal Issues

'Peter's main point was conceded', I said. Let me turn now to the issues at stake, and I start from that main point. Damian asserted, and Peter denied, that the characteristic properties of the hypostases or prosopa were themselves the hypostases or prosopa. Let me explain that difficult and highly technical point. The hypostases or prosopa (the 'persons' Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) are distinguished from one another, according to the tradition deriving from the great Cappadocian fathers, by their characteristic properties: the Father is unbegotten (ingenerate), the Son is begotten and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father. 'Being ingenerate', 'being begotten' and 'proceeding' (procession') each phrase characterises or separates the one from the other two. There must be such a feature unique to each of the hypostases, otherwise there would be nothing to discriminate them. For each of the hypostases in God in the full sense and in the same sense; each is eternal, unchanging, incomprehensible and all the rest of the attributes applied to God. In this world we can have two identical things e. g. two copies of the same book, but they are two because they have material properties which distinguish them: we can take one copy of the book and put it on a table, leaving the other behind on the shelf. Beyond this world, where there is nothing material, that kind of difference does not apply. There must be a non-material property, a mode of relationship stamping or characterizing the being as unique. The common or inclusive feature of the three hypostases is their substance or usia; the distinctive,, characteristic feature of each hypostasis is the mode of being or relationship. Now, according to the tradition established and inherited, by Damian and Peter we may not speak of three substances but only of one substance, Godhead, God or nature (the terms amount to the same thing):

226

THE

HARP

t h e s u b s t a n c e is real or a c t u a l . W e m u s t speak of t h r e e h y p o s t ases, each of t h e m God. T h e u n i t y of God, t h e divine 'one s u b s t a n c e ' is not simply in m y m i n d . And the t h r e e - n e s s is not j u s t i n my mind either. B u t (and here we get t o t h e difficult bit!), w h a t a b o u t these relationships - ' b e i n g u n b e g o t t e n ' , 'being b e g o t t e n ' and 'proceeding'? Are t h e y real, a c t u a l or s u b s t a n t i a l , t h e n h a v e we n o t f o u n d ourselves with t h r e e s u b s t a n c e s - which is w h a t t h e so-called ' t r i t h e i s t s ' had said? If t h e y are n o t real, t h e n t h e names ' F a t h e r ' , 'Son a n d ' H o l y G h o s t ' do n o t a p p l y in t h e p r o p e r sense: t h e y will j u s t be n a m e s - l i k e somebody a p p e a r i n g on t h e stage w i t h a different dress each time, being a new ' c h a r a c t e r ' . L e t us p u t ourselves in D a m i a n ' s shoes. H e is asked to r e f u t e t h e ' t r i t h e i s t s ' . T h e y p r o b a b l y p u t t o him t h e same sort of difficulties I h a v e j u s t been t a l k i n g a b o u t , a n d in same vocab u l a r y . E i t h e r n o t t h r e e real persons or beings; or, t h r e e real persons who are d i s t i n c t substances. Well it was a n a s t y dilemma. Damian t h o u g h t it could be overcome. T h e g r e a t Cappadocians, a n d others too, h a d spoken of the t h r e e h y p o s t a s e s as t h r e e ' p r o p e r t i e s ' (in Greek, idiotetes). Bssides t h a t , t h e y had, of course, t a l k e d of ' c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r o p e r t i e s ' as well. Are t h e y n o t really t h e same t h i n g ? The h y p o s t a s i s or p r o p e r l y shares in t h e c o m m o n s u b s t a n c e or Godhead. ' T h r e e p e r f e c t p r o p e r t i e s one God': t h a t is a p h r a s e , or its e q u i v a l e n t , which comes fairly f r e q u e n t l y a n d c e r t a i n l y v e r y s t r i k i n g l y , in a n u m b e r of celebrated passages f r o m Gregory Nazianzen, t h e 'Theologian' as he was called because of his b r i l l i a n t expositions of t h e d o c t r i n e of God in T r i n i t y . So t h e ' c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r o p e r t i e s ' ('being u n b e g o t t e n ' , 'being b e g o t t e n ' a n d 'proceeding') will be j u s t a n o t h e r way of n a m i n g F a t h e r , Son a n d H o l y Ghost. If we can t a l k like t h a t , t h e n t h e r e is no p r o b l e m a b o u t t h e names n o t naming a n y t h i n g a c t u a l : t h e y are t h e n a m e s of 'being u n b e g o t t e n ' , being b e g o t t e n ' and 'procession'. T h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r o p e r t i e s will be s u b s t a n c e (in t h e sense of all t h r e e t o g e t h e r ) . This is how Damian's mind worked. H e was saying s o m e t h i n g like w h a t medieval scholastic theologians were saying when t h e y spoke of ' s u b s i s t e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s ' . I t m a y n o t be a r i g h t answer. Indeed it p r o b a b l y c a n n o t be. B u t it was n o t a silly answer. H o w e v e r , i t depends u p o n one p o i n t which was certainly u n t r u e a n d : P e t e r . p o i n t e d i t o u t . ' C h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r o p e r t y ' ami

PETER OF CALLINICUS AND DAMIAN OF ALEXANDRIA

227

property = hypostasis' do not amount to the same thing. Over and over again Peter asserts with a battery of texts and arguments that the tradition distinguished the expressions. There is no place, he claims, where any father of the Church calls a characteristic property 'hypostasis': that is a novelty; and moreover it is wrong, because a relationship cannot exist without things which are related to one another. And that brings us back to the dilemma we started from. Peter thinks that the relationships are real,, that they do not- constitute the divine substance and that they are not constitutive of the persons either. He thinks that this is the teaching of the tradition. He was surely right. But, of course, that does not solve the difficulty. Peter proved Damian wrong, but he did not make much progress in setting the tradition right, if it was unclear. Peter is better at negative critique than at systematic theology. Damian was, of course, not slow to complain of the fact. I think that this was how the people who looked into the question again at the negotiations about re-union felt, too. I have much sympathy with them. The negative critique was easier to establish and Peter succeeds there very well. And I do not want to give the impression that it is all negative critique. There is careful exposition of the many texts he quotes, exposition which shows the consistency of the tradition the two men followed. I have sometimes seen it suggested in modern handbooks of doctrine that the Cappadocians thought a hypostasis, or person, a collection of properties: As if, Lionel Wickham were simply all the true things that could be said about him - balding, shortsighted, living in Cambridge, and the rest. Stuff and nonsence! Peter says (and I am sure he is right) that the Cappadocians always say that these 'properties' apply to a subject. Of course, Peter was not interested in seeing development of ideas: he thinks of all Christian doctrine as a seamless robe; and so Christian doctrine always is, for him, utterly consistent. But that is quite refreshing when so much modern research looks for novelty and originality, and when continuity is given less than its due. Aftermath

You w>ll want to know what effect the book had on the Syriac-speaking Church. The Syriac is, of course, a translation

228

SHE HARP

f r o m the Greek, b u t it may well have come into existence not long after the controversy itself, if it was not indeed made during the controversy. It is a most carefully executed translation, very close to the original. We can tell t h a t from the places where the translator has simply transferred an idiom from one language to the other and by places where he transliterates a Greek word which needs to be left in place if the meaning is not to be confused. What people found valuable in the book was its armoury, of patristic texts. Florilegia of these quotations were compiled and are found in a number of manuscipts in the British Library. As for our own edition of Peter, 1 hope it will make a learned controversy f r o m past days better understood. It is a demanding, sometimes very tiresome book. But it has things in it of, I believe, considerable interest to the historian of Christian literature, as also to the s t u d e n t of doctrine. Certainly it opens a window on to the nature of debate on theology in this period, and I would recommend it to anybody who wants to know just how technical discussions, and indeed theological education as a whole, was practiced in the Byzantine world. You can overhear the experts comparing text with text in minute detail. This is how people debated. This is how they learned their theology. I do not know of any other book, which makes this so clear. And if for t h a t reason alone, I am glad to have spent time with Peter and Damian. Note:

The edition referred to is in process of appearing in the Belgian Corpus. The first volume is published under the title: Petri Callinicensis Patriarchae Antiocheni Tractatus Contra Damianum I Quae supersunt libri secundi (= Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca 29) ed. R i f a a t Y. Ebied, Albert Van Roey, Lionel R. Wickham, Leuven University Press, 1994. The Syriac t e x t is accompanied by English translation. References t o all the points raised in the above essay will be found in the Introduction to the volume.

THE

HARP

Vol. V I I I . , IX., J u l y 1995 - 1996, p p . 229-250 Dr. James Aerthayil CMI, M.A., Th.D.*

Mysticism in Syrian Tradition 1.

Introduction

As E. G. Browne, t h e great Orientalist, testifies, mysticism, represents a spiritual t e n d e n c y which, is universal, a t e n d e n c y of t h e h u m a n soul which is eternal. " T h e r e is h a r d l y a n y soil, be it ever so barren, where mysticism will not strike root! h a r d l y any creed, however forma], r o u n d which it will not twine itself. It is, indeed, t h e eternal cry of t h e h u m a n soul for rest; t h e insatiable longing of a being wherein infinite ideals are f e t t e r e d and cramped by miserable actuality; and so long as man is less t h a n an angel and more than a beast, t h i s cry will not for a m o m e n t fail to make itself heard. W o n d e r f u l l y u n i f o r m , too, whether it came f r o m the B r a h m i n sage, the persian poet, or t h e Christian quielist, it is in essence an enunciation more or less clear, m o r e or less eloquent, of t h e aspiration of the soul to cease altogether f r o m self and to be a t one with God". 1 Since it is a universal phenomenon, mysticism is u n d e r stood and discussed in endless v a r i e t y of ways, some wide enough to embrace in t h e i r scope the vague poetical emotions of a W o r d s w o r t h or a L a m a r t i n e , others restricting it to t h e systematic theological terminology of Thomas Aquinas and J o h n of the Cross. Y e t t h e words ' m y s t i c ' and 'mystical' are the t w o most misused words in t h e English language, observes K. Walker. 2 According to William James, t h e words 'mysticism' * Professor of Dharmaram College; Vicar General of the C.M.I, Religious Congregation. 1. E. G. Browne, A Year among the Persians, London, 1950, p.. 136. 2. Walker Kenneth, The Conscious Mind- a Commentary on the Mvstics London, 1962.

230

THE HARP

and m y s t i c a l are o f t e n used as t e r m s of mere reproach, to t h r o w a t any opinion which we regard as vague and v a s t and s e n t i m e n t a l , and w i t h o u t basis in either f a c t s or logic. Evelyn Underhill adds t h a t , 'mysticism' is one of t h e most abused words in t h e English language- it has been used in different and o f t e n m u t u a l l y exclusive senses by religion, p o e t r y and philosophy. 3 A n d W. R. Inge regrets t h a t mysticism has been identified with excited or hysterical emotionalism, sublimated eroticism, and on t h e philosophical side with irrationalism. 4 B u t philosophers and sages have hailed it as the inspirer of m a n , what is best in man, as direct apprehension of t r u t h , as t h e experience of the inner self, of t h e spirit, of sat, cit, a n a n d a etc. We shall t r y t o understand it in the following pas-es, as it is u n d e r s t o o d and experienced by t h e oriental christian theologians and mystics. 2.

Meaning of Mysticism

Etymologically t h e word 'mysticism' comes f r o m t h e Greek word 'Mysterion', which means mystery. Historically it is connected with t h e m y s t e r y - c u l t of t h e Greeks. Pagan m y s t e r y - c u l t s were commonly known as 'Hysteria'. A pagan m y s t e r i o n was a secret worship to which only certain initiated and privileged people were a d m i t t e d . The great mysteries were u n d e r s t a t e p r o t e c t i o n and supervision, e. g., Eleusinian m y s t e r y , Orphic mystery, Phrygian m y s t e r y , Mithraic m y s t e r y etc. The object of such worship was to place a person in a special, close, privileged relation with t h e divinity honoured in t h a t mystery. Gradually this close relation with t h e divinity became a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n into one or more of t h e divine, a t t r i b u t e s . I t is f r o m this c o n t e x t t h a t we have t h e idea of '•mystic' and 'mysticism'. The 'mystic' was one who had been initiated into t h e secret knowledge of t h e divine things and who was u n d e r obligation t o keep silence concerning t h e knowledge i m p a r t e d to him. The t e r m ' m y s t i c a l ' came to be applied to any esoteric d o c t r i n e which was revealed only to t h e initiated. H e n c e ' m y s t i c i s m ' is originally t h e knowledge and experience of t h e divinity by t h e initiated. Since 5th c e n t u r y A. D., it m e a n t t h e highest spiritual experience possible f o r m a n in this life. This experience is derived f r o m t h e i n t u i t i v e awareness of 3. Evenyn Underhill, Mysticism, a study in the Nature and Man's Spiritual Consciousness, N . Y . 1926. 4. W. R . Inge, Mystical in Religion, Chicago, 1948.

Divelopment

of

MYSTICISM

IN SYRIAN

-raxmfioN

231

God and of the soul's union with him. According to Dionvsiiis the Aerophagite of the 5th century A. D., mystic is t h e man who is united with God in the divine contemplation. Hence the conclusion of a long line of historians of Christianity including, Harnack, who considered mysticism as an invasion of Christianity by Hellenistic religiosity, seems to be wrong. 5 But in history, mysticism lias wider meaning: (i) I t represents a spiritual tendency which is universal, found in all religious faith. It is not to be regarded as a religion in itself but rather as the most vital element in all .true religions, as an innate tendency of the human soul to transcend reason and t o attain a direct experience of the Divine, (ii) It represents a religious consciousness based on a realisation of the Beyond, Unity, Beauty, God. It is the immediate feeling of the unity of self with God; it is the religious life at its very heart and centre, wherein God ceases to be an object and becomes an experience, and wherein the self and the world are alike forgotten, the subject knows itself to be in full possession of the highest and fullest t r u t h , (iii) It is described as a religious experience in which the feeling of God is at its maximum of intensity. Experience bespeaks an awareness caused by a presence, a contact with things inner or outer. Experience implies a passivity with a vital response. It is a received awareness of a presence, or the i n living of an object. Only God can originate this experience of God and no one else. And only through the effects he produces, caa we describe it. Some of the effects are: an awareness of divine presence; an infused desire and yearning no one else. And only through the effects, he produces, can we describe it. Some of the effects are: an awareness of divine presence; an infused desire and yearning for God; inpoured love from and for God; an experience of being engulfed in God, surrounded by Him, immersed in him; an experience of union and embrace of inner burning, of power, strength and freedom; an experience of radiant joy in God, of the beauty and freedom of God. So to mysticism God seems to be at once nothing and all things. Nothing because he transcends every form of reality, and 5. The 'Mystikos' comes: from the verb "myei" which means 'to close', 'to close the eyes', and derivatively to keep a secret. "Ta mystika" are the eeremonies of the mysteries and "oi mystikoi" are the initiated ones who are supposed to keep ritual secrets.

232

THE HARP

all things because nothing can be apart from him. (iv) Mysticism therefore involves an intense and continuous awareness of the all-pervading presence of God. This awareness leads to a union with God and almost a merger in the consciousness of God. This union is the supernatural union of likeness, begotten of love, which is the union of human will with the divine. It seeks to realize the natural presence of God in creation by entering into a personal relationship with the concealed presence and by a penetration of the divine within the soul. The mystic therefore claims that it is possible to have a direct experience of and contact with God, an immediate apprehension of the Divine. 6 3.

Characteristics of

Mysticism

There is no perfect consensus among the authors regarding the characteristics of mysticism. To draw up norms for discerning real mysticism, therefore, has been really difficult. I shall point out below certain general characteristics enumerated by different authors, which would give us an idea as to what the general marks of mysticism are. a) According to William James characterize genuine mysticism;

there

are

4 marks

that

1.

Ineffability: it defies expression that no adequate report of its content can be given in words, it follows t h a t its quality must be directly experienced; it cannot be imparted or transferred to others.

2.

Poetic-quality; mystical states seem to those who experience them as states of knowledge. They are states of insights into discursive intellect. They are illuminations, revelations on everyday life.

3.

Transiency - mystical states cannot be sustained for long.

4.

Passivity - The mystic is passive. He feels that he is gripped by a superior power. One cannot initiate and continue it. It is fully given. 7

6. Cf. "Nature and Meaning of Mysticism" by M. Smith in Understanding Mysticism, ed. by Richard Woods, London, 1980, p. 20. 7. William James: The Varieties of Religious Experience, London, 1926.

MYSTICISM IN SYRIAN TRADltlOJS

233

b) D. T. Suzuki points out 8 qualities: Incommunicability, intuitive insight, authoritativeness, affirmation, sense of the beyond, impersonal tone, feeling of exultation and momentariness. 8 And Frederick von Hugal enumerates the following: A t r u s t in and1 love of the God's beautiful world, a strong insistence upon the soul to transcend all particular lights, insistence to transcend the concrete, historical and contingent, and tendency to concentrate on God alone. c) The following seems to be the other marks of mystic experience: 1.

The mystic seems lifted beyond the time-space continuum into a new realm of existence. Particularities recede in favour of unity.

2.

There is a depth-sensation or feeling of interiority. In mysticism a person seems to be drawn towards the centre of his person. He meets God in his interiority.

3.

The mystic experience brings about a unification, an integration of the person. We gather ourselves together» a t t a i n a simplicity and harmony.

4.

The subject-object dualism recedes and almost disappears. The testimonies of many mystics like Abulafia, a Jewish mystic, Henry Suso and Meister Ekhart, Suzuki on satori experience, Plotinus, Theresa of Avila etc., are unanimous on this point. The mahavakyas of Upanishads like ' T a t t v a m asi Thou a r t t h a t ; 'Aham atma brahma' = Atman is Brahman; 'Aham Brahmasmi' = I am Brahman; P r a j n a m Brahman' = consciousness is Brahman etc., are nothing but expressions of this experience.

d) Besides, there are the following specific marks in mysticism: 1.

christian

The knowing element in christian mysticism is n o n sensual, simple and spiritual. There are no images, no concepts, no bodily forms in the progressively deepening knowledge of God.

8. D. T. Suzuki: Mysticism Christian and Buddhist, N. Y. 1957.

234 THE HARi'

4.

2.

The experience is given poured in, and not produced by human effort and tecliiniques. The Father, Son and the Spirit work on the soul.

3.

The divine invasion in mystics is a gradual, progressive suspension of man's cognitive and affective powers. God gives Himself more and more deeply so that man becomes more receptive and less active.

4.

In more profound experiences, God can produce an indelibility and a certitude of the divine presence.

5.

Christian mysticism is an interpersonal communion, not an impersonal awareness of a neuter reality.

6.

This communion is a progressive immersion in love, an intimate but non-pantheistic union with God.

7.

This contemplation in its fully developed a continual experience.

8.

Mystical experiences produce moral goodness-love, detachment strength in suffering, humility, faith, peace etc.

form becomes

Mysticism In Eastern Christianity

What do we mean by Oriental or Eastern Christianity or Church? Many people are ignorant about it and for few others this terminology is a surprise. East or Orient can be understood in a geographical, cultural and ccclesial sense. But when we speak about East in relation to Christianity we take all these three senses together. As a geographical expression it means territories east of an imaginary line down from the Gulf of Sidra (Libya-North Africa), passing northwards through the Mediteranian, Yugoslavia, border of Hungary, reaching up to Rumania. Such a line was first drawn by Emperor Diocletian (A. D. 283-305) when he divided his empire into different prefectures. This was made more precise when Emperor Theodosius I (A. D. 379-95) divided his empire into Gaul, Illyricum and the East. From then on, the eastern territories of Roman empire was geographically and politically known as East and gradually also associated with the church in those areas. Secondly, from a cultural point of view, East means the cultural differences and heritages that affected and influenced the Christians living in

MYSTICISM

IN SYRIAN Ï R A Û I Ï I Ô N

235

those areas. The good majority fell under the paramount and extensive influence , of Byzantine civilization. But in the middle East and Asia Minor, the church developed under local, and Semitic influences. Hence the Eastern churches means the churches that developed in the cultural context of the East. A third sense of the East would be that of the churches of apostolic origin, other than Rome. For the whole West, Rome is the only apostolic see, whereas the East has many such sees E. G., Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Seleucia-Ctesiphone or Babylone. The churches under these sees were called Eastern Churches. 9 But later, oriental churches became numerous by way of filiation, that is new churches branching off from the mother church or by way of division. Thus today we have numerous Eastern churches both Catholic and non-Catholic. All these churches have their own special patrimony handed down by forefathers, such as sacred liturgy, theological system, mystical tradition, ecclesiastical discipline, hierarchical orders and other elements of Christian life that depends on the history, genius and temperament of a people. 10 This special patrimony is what we call a Rite, or particular Church. Each particular Eastern Church has its own specific spiritual patrimony and mystical tradition together with certain glaring common elements which are universally present in the traditions of all eastern churches. We now propose to look into these common elements of the mystical tradition only. The mysticism in the Orient is known by various names such as the mysticism of the Logos, of fire and light, of the experience of the spirit, trinitarian mysticism and mysticism of the mystery of Christ etc. We shall here deal with only the mysticisms of the experience of thé spirit and mysteries of Christ. 5.

Mysticism and Theology

The Eastern tradition never makes such a sharp distinction between mysticism and theology or between the personal experience of the divine mysteries and the dogma affirmed by the 9. Cf. George Every, Understanding Eastern Christianity, Bangalore 1978; Cf. M. Gordillo, Theologia Orientalia cum Latinorum Comparata", O. C. A. 158, Rome 1960 p. 43-91 10. Cfr. Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches; Documents of Vatican H, W. M. Abbot, p. 374.

¿36

TUP IIARP

c h u r c h , as in t h e w e s t . T h e o l o g y iu t h e w e s t , is reflection on f a i t h or b r i n g i n g t h e w o r d of G o d into expression. T h e o l o g y is a definite s y s t e m here, in w h i c h m y s t i c a l t h e o l o g y has a special place. M y s t i c a l t h e o l o g y is d i f f e r e n t f r o m d o g m a t i c t h e o l o g y . W h e r e a s in t h e E a s t , t h e o l o g y and m y s t i c i s m s u p p o r t and comp l e t e each other. One is impossible w i t h o u t t h e other. If m y s t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e is a personal w o r k i n g o u t of t h e c o n t e n t of the c o m m o n f a i t h , t h e o l o g y is a n e x p r e s s i o n of i t , f o r t h e p r o f i t of all, t o b e e x p e r i e n c e d b y others. So t h e r e is 110 christian m y s t i c i s m w i t h o u t t h e o l o g y and there is no t h e o l o g y w i t h o u t m y s t i c i s m either. One m u s t live t h e d o g m a in such a w a y t h a t it makes a p r o f o u n d change, a n inner t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of spirit, e n a b l i n g one t o e x p e r i e n c e it m y s t i c a l l y . M y s t i c i s m is t h e r e f o r e , t h e p e r f e c t i o n a n d c r o w n of all t h e o l o g y f o r t h e o r i e n t a l C h u r c h . 1 1 B o t h theology and mysticism have the common ultimate end, n a m e l y u n i o n w i t h God or as t h e o r i e n t a l F a t h e r s p u t it, t h e theosis or d i v i n i z a t i o n of man. " G o d m a d e himself m a n , t h a t m a n m i g h t b e c o m e G o d " is the t h e o l o g i c a l and s p i r i t u a l p r i n c i p l e e n u n c i a t e d and e l a b o r a t e d b y St. A t h a n a s i u s , St. G r e g o r y of N y s s a a n d St. G r e g o r y Naziansus. A n d e a s t e r n t h e o l o g y w a n t s t o be f a i t h f u l t o t h i s g e n e r a l a p p r o a c h of t h e F a t h e r s , w h o w e r e not o n l y i n t e l l e c t u a l s and pastors, b u t also c o n t e m p l a t i v e s and m y s t i c s . A n y e a s t e r n t h e o l o g i a n , t h e r e f o r e t r u e t o his v o c a t i o n , m u s t also b e a m a s t e r of s p i r i t u a l l i f e , so t h a t t h e o l o g y is n o t s e p a r a t e d f r o m m y s t i c i s m a n d p a s t o r a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , b u t find n e w r e s o u r c e s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t s o u t of t h e s p i r i t u a l and m y s t i c a l c o n t e n t of the actual lived faith. 6.

Mysticism of the Experience of the Spirit

If t h e w e s t has u n d e r s t o o d m a n as a r a t i o n a l a n i m a l , the e a s t c o n c e i v e d h i m as t h e ' i m a g e and likeness of God'. T h e W e s t degraded m a n t o t h e l e v e l of a n i m a l , the E a s t raised him t o t h e level of t h e D i v i n e . T h e inner core of m a n is divine. T h e d i v i n e essence is t h e n u c l e u s of t h e h u m a n essence. B y c r e a t i o n , m a n b e c o m e s a n image of G o d , b y b a p t i s m he b e c o m e s an a d o p t e d son of God and t h e abode of t h e spirit. T h e whole process of divinisation is a progressive conscientisation-

11. Cfr. Vladimir

Lossky,

London, 1973, p, 8f.

The Mystical Theology of

the

Eastern Church,

MYSTICISM

IN SYRIAN

TRADITION

237

programme where one makes himself aware of his being the image of God. Mysticism is this; increased awareness of the presence of the spirit within and the clear vision of the image of God within oneself. All Christians are called to be aware of this fact and all must seek to possess God in a conscious way, otherwise he has no r i g h t to be called spiritual. Oriental mysticism begins here and grows gradually into an abiding awareness of the presence of the Spirit within and culminates in an intense experience of the spirit, which divinizes the personality of the experiencing subject. To show the process and nature of this mysticism, the oriental fathers and mystics have recourse to the Bible and their own personal experience. The people of Israel were convinced t h a t God was with them. This conviction was expressed by Ezekiel and other priestly writers: " I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever more. My dwelling-place shall be with them and I will be their God and they shall be my people." (EZ. 37:26-27) " A n d I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God - who brought them out of the Land of Egypt t h a t I might dwell among them". (Exod. 29:45-46). In order to indicate God's presence among them and His transcendence the authors used the excellent aramaic term 'sekinah', derived f r o m the verb 'sakan' = to inhabit. Following the same line of thought» the New Testament writers too express the idea of the indwelling of the spirit: "And I will pray the Father and he will give you another paraclete to be with you for ever...; You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in y o u . " Jn. 14:16-17 "If a man loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him". (Jn. 14.23) "If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know t h a t we abide in him and be in us, because he has given us his Spirit." (1 Jn. 4:12-13) "Do you not know t h a t you are God's temple and t h a t God's spirit dwells in you". (1 Cor. 3:16) "Do you not know t h a t your body is a temple di the Holy Spirit within you ... you are not your own". (1 Cor 6:10)

238

T H E HARP

From Jesus' own words and from those of St. Paul, it is abundantly clear that the spirit dwells in us. In conformity with scripture, therefore, the fathers and theologians of the eastern church developed the idea of the experience of the indwelling spirit. It is this what St. Seraphim of Sarov made clear when he was asked to define the object of christian lifeHe said: "Prayer, fasting, vigils and all other christian practices, although wholly good in themselves certainly do not in themselves constitute the end of our christian life; they are but the indispensable means for the attainment of that end. For, the true end of christian life is the acquiring of the Holy Spirit." 12 St. Simeon, the New Theologian (+1022), one of the greatest christian mystics of the Orient, also believed that the end and goal of the Incarnation was the communication of the Holy Spirit. 13 For Simeon, the Holy Spirit is the principle of all spiritual life. His mysticism is therefore entirely pneumatological. His title "The New theologian" refers to his contribution of this new experience of God in the Holy Spirit. Simeon wrote his hymns, especially catecheses, to stimulate his brethren to greater perfection by using his own mystical experiences as a model. These hymns remain as one of the greatest masterpieces of christian mystical literature because of its lyrical, ecstatic descriptions of his growth in mystical union with Jesus Christ and his spirit. Prompted and forced by the Holy Spirit to share his rich experiences to others, Simeon published most of his works during his life time. Nicetas, his disciple writes: "While he was still living, he was writing, even in spite of himself, night and day, the mysteries that the divine spirit was confiding to his intelligence. The Spirit that was stirring and leaping within him was not allowing him any repose until he had put into writing His words and interior operations." 14 Simeon teaches that the Christian's first baptism truly confers grace and indwelling. Yet there is still a fuller possession of the spirit that comes through a deeper faith, through repentance for sins, through work of penitence, confession and tears. This 12. Cf. Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology, p. 196. 13. Cf. Catecheses VI, transt. by J. Panatnelle, in Sources Chrétiennes, 104. 45f. 14. Cf. George Maloney, The Mystic of Fire and Light, New Jersey, 1975, p. 53.

MYSTICISM

IN S Y R I A N

TRADITION

239

he calls the Baptism of the Spirit. This second baptism confers a deeper conscious awareness of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, living within the christian. There can be no spiritual life withoiit this consciousness of the spirit within us. Simeon exhorts the christians therefore, to desire eagerly, to ask, to knock for this great gift: "For the moment, learn the teaching, do penance, submit yourself, fast, weep, pray; thus by these practices and other similar ones, run, struggle, pursue, search, knock at the door, ask without ever turning your head away, until you have seized, taken and received, until the door had been opened to you and you enter in, until in the nuptial chamber you contemplate 15 the spouse . In a beautiful prayer Simeon entreats the Holy Spirit to come to him with full warmth and intensity so t h a t he can experience him through this baptism of the spirit: "Come true light, come eternal life, come hidden mystery, come nameless treasure, come endless happiness, come resurrection of the dead; come powerful one who always makes, remakes and transforms everything by your Unique power tome, you whom my wretched soul has desired and still desires. Come only one, to one who is alone; since you can see that I am aloneS come, you who have separated me from everything and who have made me alone in this world; come, you who have yourself become desire in me and have made me long for you - you who are absolutely inaccessible. Come my breath and my life» come consolation of my soul; come my joy, my glory and my endless delight". 1 6 This is a prayer of invocation, at the same time a prayer issuing out of deep experience of the spirit as the one who transformed Simeon into a new being full of joy and endless delight. Through seeking, finding and experiencing the spirit, the soul gradually becomes intensely aware of his presence, which brings it into a further state of apathia or passionlessness. This is a mystical state, which stills all the passions in man and re-integrates his whole being, senses, emotions, intellect and willThe entire person is rooted in the Spirit in a peaceful tranquility that is both dynamic and delightful. St. Isaac, the Syrian, 15. J. Darrouges, ed. Traites Theologiques et Ethiques, 5. 508-519, p. 116 as quoted in G . Malony, op. cit., p. 67. 16. G . Maloney, The Breath of the Mystic (New Jersey: Dimension Books, 1974), pp. 21-22.

240

THE! HARP

describes vividly this state of mystical experience in the following lines; " W h e n the soul undergoes such spiritual activity and subjects itself completely to God and through direct union nears the divinity, and is enlightened in its movements by an interior light f r o m above and the mind experiences a feeling of f u t u r e happiness, then it forgets itself, its temporal ex : stence on this earth and looses any a t t r a c t i o n for things of this earth; there is enkindled in it an ineffable joy, an indescribable sweetness swarms the heart, the whole body feels its repercussions and man forgets not only his plaguing passions, b u t also even life itself and thinks t h a t the Kingdom of Heaven consists of nothing other t h a n this blissful condition. Here in this state he experiences t h a t the love of God is sweeter t h a n life and intelligence is sweeter t h a n honey and the honeycomb." 1 7 In his "Practical and Theological precepts" St. Simeon describes this experience of the spirit and its f u r t h e r development as a state of ceaseless contemplation and enjoyment: " A man who becomes a participant of the Divine Spirit is freed from all passionate lusts (apathia) and having tasted immortal glory and sweetness and being conjoined with it, he is constantly urged to soar on high and be with God, not allowing himself even for a moment to retreat form contemplation and insatiable enjoyment of Him " 1 8 Simeon calls this last stage of union with the spirit as betrothal of the Holy Spirit', which is, according to him, almost inexplicable and incomprehensible: "The betrothal of the Holy Spirit is inexplicable even for those who have been granted it, for it is comprehended incomprehensibly, is constrained unconstrainedly, is seen invisibly; it animates, speaks in and moves him who has acquired it; it flies away f r o m its secret abode, wherein it is sealed, and is unexpectedly found there again. This proves t h a t when it comes, it is not permanently and for ever, and when it departs, it is not never to return. Therefore if a man who has acquired it, does not have it, it is as though he has it, and when he lias it, it is as though he has it not". 1 9 17. J. A. Cuttat, The Encounter of Religions (Paris: Desclee Company, 1960), p. 87. 18. Pierre Adncs, "Hesychasm", Dictionnaire du Spiritualite t. 8, col. 381. 19. Cf. A monk of the Eastern Church, Orthodox Spirituality, an outline of the Orthodox ascetical and mystical tradition (N. Y. The Macmillao Company 1945), pp. 1P-20.

MYSTICISM

IN SYRIAN

TRADITION

241

It is interesting to note here that all the characteristic notes of mysticism enumerated by William James are notably verified in this description of St. Simeon centuries ago, Betrothal of the spirit is inexplicable or ineffable; there is 'seeing' and 'comprehension' or a poetic quality in it; it flies away, and comes again, it is not permanently there or it is transient as James puts it: and finally the mystic cannot acquire it, or retain it by himself, he has it and he has not it, or there is a passivity in it, it is fully given from a superior power. We see a gradual growth in and an experience of the awareness of the spirit within, in what we have described above. In baptism a christian is given the grace of indwelling spirit. But to grow in the way of christian perfection, he must receive a baptism of the spirit, through prayer, repentance and confession. This baptism of the spirit makes him increasingly aware of the presence of the spirit and His workings. The spirit makes him more and more interior, prayerful, virtuous and a worthy dwelling place for the spirit. The spirit now grants him the grace of apathia. or passionlessness; namely he is not tossed to and fro by his passions and desires; He experiences a stability in God; a sobriety of mind and heart; and a blissful hesychia which makes him calm and tranquil in God. He is now entering into the transforming union with the indwelling spirit, who divinises him progressively. This transformation, the Betrothal of the Spirit, which is the last stage, of the spiritual attainment a soul can have in this life. Mysticism of the Mystery of Christ

The Mystery of Christ is a very extensively meaningful, term. It includes the whole work of salvation from creation up to paruvsia. The paschal mystery of Israel's salvation from Egypt and the paschal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection are central events. Hence stress is given to them, yet the whole history of salvation is the paschal mystery of Christ. What God has done objectively in history is to be subjectively appropriated and intentionalized by each christian. This process of interiorization and experience is spirituality and mysticism. Pasch is passage, movement* transition. In the biblical context it is the salvific movement of God. It is the descent of God's love on earth, a historie and transforming descent to give the world a

242

THE

HARP

new meaning and purpose. Creation, call of Abraham, call of Israel, Christ's death and resurrection etc, are the major paschal events or the salvific interventions of God. Mystery on the other hand is 1. God's eternal plan for our salvation. He himself has introduced us into it. Hence we are able to know it and experience it. 2. It is the realization of this plan in Jesus Christ. He himself is that mystery. 3. It is the salvation in Christ made available to us through the ministry of the apostles, through kerigma, koinonia and diakonia. 4. It is the Christ event reenacted and celebrated in the community of worshipers for their appropriation and mystical experience. It is in and through the liturgy therefore, that the Christian interiorizes and experiences the mystery. The mysticism of the mystery of Christ is precisely this understanding appropriation and experience of the mystery of Christ. Liturgy is the reenactment and actualization of the whole mystery of Christ in time through signs and symbols. Christian spiritual life and mystical experience is a participation in the mystery of Christ. But finite as we are it is psychologically impossible for us to understand and appropriate the entire mystery of Christ at a stroke, in one liturgical action or in a day. The church therefore uses a pedagogical method of communicating it little by little, so that we may contemplate the whole of God's plan for our salvation over a year's time, and experience it, according to a wisely devised cycle. The different seasons of this cycle or liturgical year presents to us the various aspects of the mystery of Christ, thus facilitating our understanding and experience of the whole mystery. The liturgical calendar is thus a pedagogical method to help the Christian to experience the mystery mystically. Along with it the pilgrim christian walks with the saving god, contemplating, admiring and experiencing the Mangnalia Dei, and the Mirabilia Caritatis. It takes him to the heart of God and heart of man, to the humble Bethlehem and glorious Tabor, to Galilee and Calvary, to the foot of the cross and the empty cave of the Sepulchre, to the Cenacle and Synagogue. It arouses expectation and confers fulfillment. It is being with him in Bethlehem, walking with him in Galilee, fasting with him in the wilderness and praying with him in Gathsemini and climbing with him the Calvary and cross, and rising with him in glory. It presents and celebrates, the "Mabaranusa Damashihe"- the life and economy of Christ.

MYSTICISM IN SYRIAN TRADITION

243

The period of Annunciation-mysticism of the word, which contains and conveys life, light and divine fullness. Epiphany-Experience of the unfolding-divine. Approach of the divine in human and divine aspects in which the whole cosmos cooperates. Trinity as the fullness of Godhead is announced. Great Fast - mysticism of the abiding compunction heart through prayer, fasting and works of charity. Resurrection-mysticism resulting joy.

of the life in Christ

of

and the

Apostles - experience of the presence of the spirit and the ecclesial Koinonia. Qaitha-Mysticism of the m'ssion. Extériorisation of our spirit tual vision and experience is the effective means of evangelization. Elijah, Cross and Moses - mysticism of the cross and maranantha. This is a cry of the dark night of the soul who is still on its pilgrimage, turned towards the cross. Dedication of the Church-mysticism of the transforming union of the ecclesial community and the Taboric experience on the heavenly Mount. Cosmic transfiguration and convergence of creation on Jesus Christ, who made his historic P a s c h m o v e m e n t - t o unite everything under one head. Means of Mysticism 1.

Trinitarian Prayer

There is an increasing interest today in. the study of spiritual classics and the writings of the Fathers of the Church. These studies take the contemporary Christian to the very roots of Christian belief and spirituality. Hence, today he understands that his conscious recognition and acceptance of the person of Jesus, his message of his Father's love and his gift of the Holy Spirit are truly essential and sustaining elements of his spirituality. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all !" is the choicest blessing of St. Paul to his Christians. The grace of Jesus, the love of the Father and the presence and companionship of the Spirit are the authentic blessings of the redemption, salvation, of our spiritual life.

244

THE

IIAIiP

Hence, our spiritual life is nothing but a life of the T r i n i t y , in the T r i n i t y and with the T r i n i t y . It begins with, is founded on, tends toward and is culminated in the holy T r i n i t y . We are baptized in the name of the F a t h e r , of the Son and of the Spirit, to share the new life in Jesus, to become the children of the Father and to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit, thus to be consecrated to them and to belong to them. This intimate communion of the human person w i t h the holy T r i n i t y is, in f a c t , the possession by grace of all t h a t the T r i n i t y possesses by nature, of all t h a t is included in the intimate life of the three Persons. Hence, the T r i n i t y is not f o r us a reality to be expressed as a doctrine alone; the T r i n i t y is with us. E a c h of the divine Persons communicates himself to man in his own personal peculiarity and diversity. This Trinitarian communication is the ontolog ; cal ground of man's life of grace, spiritual life. It is God's indwelling, understood not only as a communication of divine nature, b u t also and primarily - since it implies a free personal act, and since it occurs from person to person - it is understood as a communication of persons. This v e r y same idea is expressed by St. Paul in his trinitarian blessing. Thus, by means of a personal communication, the triune God himself has brought t o the heart of man his own intimateinner life. Man's spiritualitv is thus modelled after the trinitarian life. In practical life however, many of us are still " m o n o t h e i s t s . " A solid f a i t h in the incarnation should imply t h a t the Trinity is something normal in Christian life and piety., This normalcy is now being restored in the contemporary spirituality. W e are baptized in the name of the Trinity, and thus from the beginning of our Christian life we are the temples of the holy T r i n i t y . T r i n i t y dwells within us. T h a t means, concretely and for all practical purposes, t h a t God the F a t h e r , God the Son and God the H o l y Spirit dwell in us and are w i t h us all the time. God is present in us and to us more than w e are present to ourselves. W e are with God, and God is with us. The main purpose of incarnation is thus fulfilled: God is now with us. He is in every sense " E m m a n u e l " - God with us. He is with us as human and divine, as Son and Father, as Saviour and L o r d , as peace and power. W e are now, so to say, inescapably in the presence of God. This is the real f r u i t of redemption and

MYSTICISM

IN S Y R I A N T R A D I T I O N

215

incarnation - that God is no more a stranger to us; he is with us. He is Emmanuel. In the past, we exaggerated the transcendence of God and placed him up in the heavens so that we could safeguard our doctrines. Thus, he became an accepted idea for us and not an experience. We repeated his name aimlessly without ever being moved by it. Our prayer became dull repetitions of formulas heading toward heaven from our murmuring lips. Though God was inside, we. searched for him outside, in vain We lost the real meaning and art of prayer. Prayer is being in the presence of God. It is a "diving deep" into our own anteriority. It is acknowledging and accepting God within us. It is pilgrimage, to our own heart. It is intimacy and communion with Emmanuel. It can become an all time experience for us and need not be a part time obligation, if we know how and where to search for God and find him. God is not a 'far-away reality." He is an "insider", in whom we live, move and are. He is the Father, the Son and the Spirit whom we accepted into our lives at baptism, and who sustains us guides us and invites us into his presence for a deep intimacy and personal dialogue. In our personal, pre-community and liturgical prayer, we often call upon the name of the Trinity. This can, of course, deepen our awareness of the Trinity within us and transform every prayer into an intimate conversation with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. A Trinitarian spirituality is not an invitation to inaction and meaningless introspection. It is an invitation to a positive search for purpose and meaning in life; a call to be personally present and active in and for god; a solution to the contemporary problems of alienation and psychological disintegration. Besides, this spirituality leads us to the " o t h e r " and helps us to discover his real worth and dignity. The faith which helps me find my God in self also helps me find him in the other, and strengthens me to act for them in all necessities. The other becomes for me a real sacrament in whom I recognize and experience my God. 2.

Hesychast Prayer

Hesychasm is a monastic movement whose origins go back to the Fathers of the desert. It is Eastern Christianity's ancient tradition of contemplative mysticism. Macarius, the Egyptian,

246 THE HASP said: "to become men intoxicated' with God" and to become real listeners of the word of God one has to calm and still one's heart. This internal stillness, tranquility and consequent peace is hesychia, by means of which one attains intimate union with God dwelling in the heart. "Hesychia is that state in which the Christian through grace and his own intense asceticism, re-integrates his whole being into a single EGO that is then placed completely under the direct influence of God dwelling within him.16 Hesychia is thus that state of integrated Ego-hood. Now, as a practical method, Hesychasm consists essentially in making the intelligence descend into the heart, in order to introduce the Name of Jesus therein, by means of repeated invocation, timed to follow the respiratory rhythm, of a formula containing this Name. 17 This description combines both the original Hesychasm and the Jesus Prayer, thus representing the modern trend in the Hesychast movement. Today people understand by Hesychasm a certain method of prayer based on the repeated invocation of the Name of Jesus. Hesychasm is thus, identified with the Jesus Prayers.18 In its historical developments four steps are found in the hesychast method of prayer. 1.

The striving towards a state of total rest or quiet which excludes reading, psalmody, meditation etc.

2.

Practices designed to help the concentration of mind such as physical immobility, control or suspension of breathing, fixation of the eyes on the heart, stomach and the navel in order to "let the mind go back into the heart". This helps total concentration and keeps the Name of Jesus in the heart.

3. The repetition of Jesus Prayer. 4.

The feeling of an inner warmth and physical perception of a divine light or "the light of Tabor".19

The Light of Tabor represents the glorious Jesus who transfigured on Mount Tabor so as t o be seen and experienced. The "Taboric experience" they had, is the goal of the Hesychast also. A total union with the Risen Lord is the end-result of a systematic practice of Hesychasm.

MYSTICISM IN SYRIAN TRADITION

247

The Jesus Prayer The Hesychast m e t h o d of p r a y e r i n t e g r a t e d into itself t h e ancient p r a y e r f o r m u l a k n o w n as t h e Jesus p r a y e r . As a technical expression in the Oriental spirituality, it designates t h e invocation of t h e Name of Jesus either by itself or in a t r a d i t i o n a l formula. The k n o w n f o r m u l a , accredited falsely t o St. J o h n Chrysostom, reads: " L o r d Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, a sinner". The p r a c t i c e of Jesus P r a y e r , according to the teachings of t h e ascetics, has four steps. The first step consists in t h e repeated oral r e c i t a t i o n of t h e words: " L o r d Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner". According t o The Way of the Pilgrim, one has t o say this p r a y e r , first 3000 times, t h e n 6000 times and later 12000 times per day. In course of time, t h e prayer becomes m o r e i n w a r d , and t h e mind repeats it w i t h o u t the movement of t h e lips or tongue. W i t h this increasing i n w a r d ness, t h e P r a y e r gradually acquires a r h y t h m of its own, at times singing within us almost spontaneously, w i t h o u t a n y conscious effort on t h e p a r t of t h e will. 2 0 This is t h e second stage of Jesus Prayer. T h i r d l y , the P r a y e r enters into the heat d o m i n a t i n g the entire personality. Its r h y t h m is identified more and more with the m o v e m e n t of t h e h e a r t , u n t i l at last, it becomes unceasing. W h a t originally required p a i n f u l and s t r e n u o u s effort is now a n inexhaustible source of joy and peace. The Jesus P r a y e r continues within even though we are engaged in other activities. Finally, P r a y e r makes a t o t a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of t h e person because of his i n t e n s e union w i t h God. Now he sees a n d experiences t h e N a m e of Jesus everywhere. The whole n a t u r e becomes for him a divine milieu, which enkindles in him zeal, thankfulness, and love f o r t h e Name of Jesus. 3. Asceticism Asceticism is self abnegation in t h e t r u e sense, an abnegation which gives u p certain positive as well as personal values in this life. It is a conscious self control. F o r t h e christian, it is an. aspect of t h e following of Christ, a systematic a d a p t a t i o n of his whole life to t h e m y s t e r y of Christ. I t is an affirmation 20. Timothy Ware, The Art of Prayer, p. 28.

248

THE HARP

of t h e cross as a way t o resurrection. The Christian asceticism can, therefore be understood only in terms of t h e pascal mystery of Christ. It has meaning for the Christians only in so far as it is consciously related to the pascal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. The early Christianity retained f r o m Judaism the basic ascetical practices of prayer, fasting and works of charity, and fasting became an i m p o r t a n t form of the life of penance for growth in holiness. From the earliest times, the Chaldean and the Malabar churches accepted fasting as the most important form of their life of penance. The main characteristic of their fasting was t h a t it was centered around the liturgy, the reenactment of the pascal mystery. Syrian Theology of Fasting

St. Ephrem, the Syrian Doctor who lived in the 4th century wrote 12 poems on fasting. 2 1 I n t e r p r e t i n g the Old Testament examples on fasting he describes the manner in wh ; ch one should fast, its need and benefits. On the manner of fasting Ephrem says t h a t it should be undertaken voluntarily. Fasting becomes highly acceptable when it is joined with humility of heart and charity towards all men. Those who fast must fast on vegetables and water, avoid delicious food and intoxicating drinks. According to him fasting, assiduous prayer and alms giving are the triple forms of asceticism t h a t can cure the wounds of sin and cleanse the stains of our souls. Mar Ebed Jesu, the metropolitan of Saba and Armenia (1290-1318) also speaks about fasting in his famous 'Liber Margaritae' the t r u t h of the Christian religion. The fifth chapter is on fasting, prayer and almsgiving, the three roots of virtue in the way of divine fear. Fasting sanctifies the senses, purifies the emotions and makes us similiar to the angels. The Chaldean Liturgy contains rich treasures of doctrine on fasting. Its basis is Bible and Fathers. They i n s t r u c t people on the necessity and usefulness of fast. Taking the classical examples of fasting f r o m the Old Testament (Ex. 24:18; 34:28; 21. T. J. Lamy (ed.) Sancti Ephraem Syri, Hymni et Sermones, Machliniae, 1886, T II. Col. 649-718.

MYSTICISM IN SYRIAN TRADITION

249

2 Kings 2:11-12; Joshua 10:13-14; Daniel 7:17f) t h e Divine office describes t h e power of fasting, t h e innumerable benefits acquired t h r o u g h it and asks us to follow these examples 2 2 . The Divine L i t u r g y stresses more Christ's examples of f a s t i n g and states t h a t we received the example of p u r e and holy f a s t f r o m our saviour's teaching. 2 3 It speaks also of t h e happiness and inner peace of those who fast as p r e p a r a t i o n to receive t h e Risen Body of Christ in t h e E u c h a r i s t . Such a one is blessed.2*^ The canonical discipline of t h e E a s t Syrian Church contains 8 different fasts: The great fast; t h e fast of t h e apostles; t h e fast of t h e migration of our Lady; Elias and Cross; Annunciation; t h e Ninivites; t h e Virgins; of Wednesdays and Fridays. F a s t implied b o t h complete fast f r o m all food and drink till t h e end of t h e liturgical services in the evening and abstinence f r o m c e r t a i n kinds of food. The prohibition of m e a t on f a s t days finds f r e q u e n t m e n t i o n in t h e early synods. Milk, m i l k - p r o d u c t s and wine were f o r b i d d e n on fast days. 25 The Penitential life of the St. Thomas

Christians

According to t h e available d o c u m e n t s , t h e following fasts were observed in Malabar. L e n t , A d v e n t , The F i f t y days f a s t of t h e Apostles, t h e f a s t of t h e Assumption, the fast of t h e Ninivites, t h e fast before t h e n a t i v i t y of our L a d y , ...before feast of t h e apostles P e t e r and P a u l , t h e fast on Wednesdays and F r i d a y s , t h e fast of 12 F r i d a y s a f t e r Christmas, of Elias, of t h e Virgins, T r a n s f i g u r a t i o n and vigil fast. About 225 days of f a s t a year. F a s t i n g included t h e double obligation of n a t u r a l fasting and abstinence f r o m certain kinds of food. F a s t i n g lasted till sunset, when t h e only meal of t h e day was taken. The abstinence practiced on f a s t day was severe. They abstained f r o m m e a t , fish, egg, milk and m i l k - p r o d u c t s , wine and betel laves, which indeed was a great penance. Among the Thomas Christians fasting was never considered to be an act of p r i v a t e devotion, nor merely as an obligation 22. 23. 24. 25.

Bedjan II, 56. Supplementum p. 55. Supplementum p. 64. Cf. J. S. Assemani, Bib. Orient 88. 115.

250

THE HARP

imposed by the ecclesiastical law. It was p a r t and parcel of the public worship of God. Hence the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, the chanting of the office by the whole parish community, reception of sacraments etc. were included in the observance of the fast. According to Joseph the Indian the Thomas Christians observed the lent and advent very fervently with fasts and prayers; from Maundy Thursday till Easter they abstain from all food. On Good Friday they held p r o t r a c t e d sermons and prayers.

St. Epluem's Meditation on ths Passover-month

Nisan.

The King's Son, when he saw her wickedness, came and betrothed to himself the Church of the Gentiles, whose love and trueness he had tested. He made her one with himself and himself with her, t h a t there might be no separation. See, she sits in the King's palace, dressed in the ornaments of the King. The month of Nisan serves her, arrayed and adorned with flowers. Glory to thee, Lord of Nisan! ("Symbols

... Page

139)

St. Ephrem - The Church as a Mother bird

t h a t thou mayst give me back my children and bring me back my loved ones, for if a bird, O Lord, rejoices in her young, what [mother] will not rejoice in the companionship of her dear ones? May they recognize the voice of their Mother, by thy grace! May they hasten to me, repent and r e t u r n to me. and may 1 and they, 0 Lord, confess one single t r u t h ! ("Symbols

... Page

150)

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 251-261 Martin Tamcke

Luther Fera's Contribution to the Restoration of the Church of the East in Urmia From the time of the first serious waves of persecution of Christians in the middle of the 19th century the Church of the West in Persia was fighting for s u r v i v a l 1 Whereas the mission of the American Presbyterians had lead to the establishment of a separate church and thus to a f u r t h e r weakening of the Church 2 , the Anglicans stabilized their position 3 and at least kept the Lutherans linked with Germany within the church fellowship. 4 When, in the course of the Russian policy of expansion in the n o r t h - w e s t of Persia, the union with the Russian Orthodox 1. J o h n Joseph, The Nestorians and their Muslim Neighbours: a Study of Western Influences on their Relations, Princeton, NJ 1961, 56-64; Gabriels Yonan, Ein vergessmger Holocaust, Die Vernich lung der christlichen Assyrer in der Türkei, Göttingen und Wien 1989, 29-42. 2. Julius Richter, Mission und Evangelisation im Orient, Allgemeine evangelische Missionsgeschickte Band 2, 2. Aufl. Güterslon 1930, 205-207; Peter Karwerau, Amerika und die orientalischen Kirchen, Ursprung und Anfang der amerikanischen Mission unter den Nationalkrichen westasiens, Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte Band 31, Berlin 1958. 3. John F. Coakley, The Church of the East and Church of England, A History of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Assyrian Mission, Oxford 1992. 4. George Haccius, Hannoversche Missionsgeschichte 3/1, Hermannsburg 1914, 412-422; 3/2, Hermannsburg 1920, 369-385 and 593-595. An historical account of this has yet to appear.

252

T H E HARP

C h u r c h was b r o u g h t a b o u t by Bishop Y o n a n in U r m i a i n 1897, t h i s also affected t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n s of t h e L u t h e r a n s w i t h ties w i t h Germany. 5 I n J u n e 1899 t h e i r c h u r c h e s w e r e confiscated. 6 H o w e v e r , t h e G e r m a n legation in T e h r a n was able t o b r i n g a b o u t t h e r e t u r n of t h e c h u r c h e s even b e f o r e t h e end of t h e y e a r 1900. 7 U p u n t i l t h e n t h e congregations h a d m e t t o g e t h e r in p r i v a t e houses. 8 N o w t h e A m e r i c a n L u t h e r a n s , w o r k i n g f r o m U r m i a u n d e r t h e l e a d e r s h i p of P a s t o r F o s s u m , m a d e a n a t t e m p t t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r all t h e LuLheran g r o u p s a m o n g t h e remaining m e m b e r s of t h e Church of the E a s t . In this t h e y received active support from the directorship of t h e German mission in H e r m a n n s b u r g . 9 Mar Abimalek T i m o t h e u s , who h a d r e c e n t l y arrived t h e r e , successfully challenged t h i s m o v e m e n t on behalf of t h e P a t r i a r c h and thu* took a s t e p c r u c i a l to the r e s t o r a t i o n of t h e church. 1 0 The Bishop of Tergawar, Mar Ditikha, had stayed in the old church - even following his p a r t i c i p a t i o n in a dialogue w i t h t h e R u s s i a n O r t h o d o x delegation in U r m i a . H e also held office as bishop f o r U r m i a - a l b e i t w i t h scant s u c c e s s . " I n O c t o b e r 1908 5. H a c c i u s 3/2, 372-375. 6. A l e t t e r f r o m P e r a J o h a n n e s d a t e d 10-6-1899 (Mission Archives, H e r m a n n s b u r g ) given a f u l l a c c o u n t of this. 7. P e r a J o h a n n e s gives a detailed a c c o u n t of services a n d t h e c e l e b r a t i o n of t h e E u c h a r i s t in p r i v a t e houses in a l e t t e r d a t e d 26th May 1900 (Mission Archives, Hermannsburg). 8. H a c c i u s 3/2, 381, gives b a r e l y a h i n t of t h e b i t t e r c o n t r o v e r s y occasioned by t h e Mission b o a r d a t t i t u d e . T h e Syrian p r i e s t s of t h e H e r m a n n s b u r g Mission, a f t e r initial o p e n m i n d e d ness, categorically r e f u s e d t o w o r k w i t h F o s s u m . These events are t h e s u b j e c t of m a n y l e t t e r s , e.g. f r o m L u t h e r P e r a on 12-11-1905, 17-1-1907 a n d 20-3-1908, or f r o m P e r a J o h a n n e s on 14-5-1906, 11-6-1907 a n d 29-1-1908. T h e y were d i s a p p o i n t e d b y t h e Mission b o a r d ' s a t t i t u d e . A s u m m a r y of e v e n t s f r o m t h e A n g l i c a n p o i n t of view is offered b y Coakley, 283. F o r m o r e details: M a r t i n Tamcke, Die K o n t r o v e r s e u m die Gültigkeit der l u t h e r i s c h e n O r d i n a t i o n a n n s t e l l e der P r i e s t e r w e i h e in der K i r c h e des Ostens, in: Michael K o h l b a c h e r u n d M a r k u s L e s m s k i , H e r i z o n t e der Christenheit, F e s t s c h r i f t f ü r F r i e d r i c h H e y e r zu seinem 85. G e b u r t s t a g , Dikonomia 34, E r l a n g e n 1994, 268-274. 9. Coakley, 283f. A b o u t Mar Abimelek T i m o t h e u s : Mar A p r e m , Mar Abimalek T i m o t h e u s : A B i o g r a p h y , T r i c h u r 1975. 10. Coakley, 226, 238f, 282f, 287, 336f. 11. Coakley, 282f.

LUTHER

PERA'S CONTRIBUTION

...

EAST IN URMIA

253

the Patriarch t h e n consecrated Qasha David as Bishop of Urmia under the name of Mar Ephrem'^. There he was warmly welcomed by the director of the Anglican station, Brown; who at the same time, however, advised him t h a t lie could grant no financial means for the recovery of those converted to Russian Orthodoxy. 1 3 In 1910 B r o w n was sent to Kochanes to the P a t r i a r c h and did not t u r n to Urmia until May 1911, when he had a stay there before being transfered to Amadia. 1 1 With regard to the restoration of his church in Urmia Mar Ephrem now turned his attention to the Lutherans supported by the Hermannsburg Mission. Among these was the young priest Luther Pera, whom the mission board at this time wished t o send' to a Syrian L u t h e r a n community in Armawir in southern Russia 15 or to the Kurdish mission 16 . As the young theologian felt no calling to either, he took the initiative and himself approached the bishop responsible for him, Mar Ephrem. L u t h e r Pera was born on March 11th 1882 in Wazirawa and was the son of Persa Johannes, who was the first of a whole group of priests from the Church of the East to study theology from 1875-1880 in Hermannsburg in N o r t h e r n Germany at the Mission Seminary which had developed out of t h e L u t h e r a n revivalist movement. He went on to become a priest in Wazirawa, staying there until he was driven out during the F i r s t World War. 17 The son's name was also a conscious declaration of 12. 13. 14. 15.

Coakley, 286f. Coakley, 287, 318f. Coakley, 316f. There is no comprehensive account about Luther Pera. To his person: Haccius 3/2, 376, 383f, 593; Coakley, 282; Yonan, 75-77, 202, 203-205, 206, 247. About the plans for service in Armawir: K. Robbelen, Persien 2-11-1911 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). A summary of events: Martin Tamcke, Urmia und Hermannsburg, Die Arbeit Luther Peras im K o n t e x t der nestorianischen Restaurationsbewegung (8. L u d w i g - H a r m s Symposium), in the process of being printed. 16. Annual report of the Hermannsburg Mission 1909, 46; K. Robbelen, An das Komitee ... vom 13-7-1910 (Mission Archives, Hermannsburg). 17. Haccius 3/1, 412-422; 3/2, 369-380, 593; Yonan, 63f, 74f, 202, 206-208; Coakley, 282 About Pera Johannes: Martin Tamcke, Pera Johannes (Orientalia Christiana Analecta, 6. Symposium Syriacum, Cambridge) in the process of being printed.

254

THE

HARP

faith oil the p a r t of the father. Luther Pera, too, studied theology in Hermannsburg from 1897-1904 and was then assigned to his father. When, in 1909, the mission directorship in Gtrmany sent Pastor Maurer to Persia to inspect the parishes of the Church of the East which were connected with Hermannsburg, he expressed dissatisfaction with L u t h e r Pera. 1 8 He proposed t h a t Luther Pera should do parish work in Tcharbach, a large village near Urmia. This a t t e m p t failed, however. Whilst the mission board planned to send him to Germany to prepare him for service in the Kurdish mission, Pastor Fossum, on the other hand, who had fa led in Urmia, made arrangements for Luther Pera's appointment to Arawir. 1 9 Luther Pera himself, however, urged his bishop to allocate a parish to him in his country. 2 0 In the absence of established churches Qurbana had to be celebrated in the chapel of the Anglican mission station in Urmia. 2 1 On May 5th 1909 Luther Pera wrote to Karl JRobbelen, Director of the mission in Hermannsburg, to tell him t h a t Mar E p h r e m wanted a church in Urmia. However, money was lacking 2 2 In the opinion of the young Lutheran it was for Brown "very painful to see the revival if the old church in Urmia. Nevertheless they (the Anglicans), as friend of the Patriarch, must make an outward show of sympathy for ¡-uch movements". 2 3 Mar Ephrem deliberately put Luther Pera oif until Rev. Wigram's departure for London, " t h a n he would be able to make certain suggestions for Urmia, too". 2 1 The exploitation of denominational and political rivalries determined the tactical manoeuvering of the bishop. Luther Pera thought t h a t he understood this behaviour correctly. " T h e P a t r i a r c h and his bishops are too much in the grip of the English. These people care little for us as Lutherans and even

18. K. Maurer, Bericht Uber die Visitation in Persien (erstattet am 27. J a n u a r 1910), 2. 19. K. Röbbelen, An das Komitee vom 13-7-1910 (Mission Archives, Hermannsburg), 2. 20 Luther Pera, 5-5-1910 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 21. Coakley, 286. 22. L u t h e r Pera, 5-5-1910 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 23. Ibid. 24. Ibid.

LUTHER

PERA'S CONTRIBUTION

...

EAST IN U R M I A

255

less for us as German missionaries". 2 5 The young Syrian's sense of identity as a German missionary reveals the entirely tragic nature of the schizophrenic situation he was in. At any r a t e t h e German Consul in Tabriz, Wilhelm Litten, also felt t h a t t h e "Parishes of the Hermannsburg Society for L u t h e r a n Mission" stood "under German protection" and made particular mention of Luther Pera. 2 6 In Germany there was a negative reaction to Luther Pera's efforts to go to Urmia. Now the idea of a position for him in Armawir was taken up with some determination. " W e could be well pleased with this connection (with the German Russian Lutherans) whereas we must be concerned t h a t close communion with the old Syrian Church in which Pastor Luther Pera would become caught up in Urmia would, in time, involve him in inner and outer ward conflict". 2 7 Röbbelen was afraid " t h a t Luther Pera, through this connection with the bishop, would become dependent on him and obliged to take p a r t in rites and ceremonies which are inappropriate to the Gospels and Evangelical teachings". 2 8 Luther Pera instructed Mar Ephrem of these reservations. Röbbelen passed on the bishop's response to the members of the mission. " F o r how many years has there been no holy oil and no holy leaven in Wazirawa and Gogtapa (the central places of the Lutherans linked with Hermannsburg in the Church of the East)? And what have we ever done to the qashas?". 2 9 On April 30th Röbbelen announced a fait accompli which had existed since the autumn of the previous year and declared " t h a t our brother Luther Pera, following the wishes of 25. Ibid.; Martin Tamcke, Zur Konfessionsfrage bei den lutherischen Nestorianern (Aram), in the process of being printed. 26. Wilhelm Litten, Persische Flitterwochen, Berlin 1925, 89f. 27. K. Röbbelen, Persien 2-11-1911, 3 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 28. K. Robbelen, Dem Komitee ... 30-4-1911, 1 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). About Röbbelen: Martin Tamcke, Karl Röbbelen, Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon Band 8, Herzberg 1944; M. Tamcke, Karl Röbbelen. Zivilcourage für den fernen Nächsten, in: E. A. Lüdemann, Jahrbuch 1994 des Ev.-luth. Missionswelkes in Niedersachsen (ELM). Hermannsburg 1994 93-97. 29. K. Röbbelen, Dem K o m i t e e . . . 30-4-1911, 1 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg).

256

THE

HARP

the Syrian bishop, has begun to gather a congregation together in Urmia". 3 0 In Hermannsburg it was thought possible t h a t the commitment in Urmia was only of a passing nature and therefore a temporary decision was made regarding payment of a salary, and not without clear conditions being attached. " I t was decided t o permit our Syrian brother L u t h e r Pera, who has moved to Urmia, temporarily, until we can allocate other duties to him, and t o continue to pay his salary of 1.200 marks on condition t h a t he continues his activities as a preacher in the parishes of Wazirawa, Gogtapa and Ardishai as before". 3 1 The German directorship's cautiousness also caused problems a t the beginning of the work in Urmia. Bishop Mar Ephrem had bought a church from the Presbyterians. "When, however, the time came for the church to be paid for, it was not possible t o raise the money and the so-called Patriarchal Committee did not want to take over the church b u t decided t h a t it should be resold". 3 2 It seemed t h a t Luther Pera's possible field of activity must come to an end. However, the idea of setting up a church of its own for the Church of the East had already begun to work on the Syrian population. Luther Pera himself felt that the lack of a church building of one's own was a serious problem. " I see the great hardship in which a large number of people here live. The bells ring on Sunday; the Presbyterians go to church, also the Romans and the Russian'-...but the old Syrian Christians are without a service. T h a t is very painful, t h a t is really a matter of great h a r d s h i p in the Church". 3 3 The motivation of the population gave him t h e strength and the will t o resist the wishes of the mission board, who would rather have seen him working in other places. ''A youth said to me: I will sell my farm and I will not drop the church. A woman who was certainly not rich l e n t me 50 t o m a n interest free and promised she would collect for this purpose. Sympathisers advanced 600 toman, interest free, for six months for this purpose. As I saw t h a t the Lord 30. Ibid. 31. K. Robbelen, An das Komitee 27-3-1911 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 32. K. Robbelen, Dem Komitee 30-4-1911, 1 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 33. K. Robbelen, Persien, 2-2-1911, 2 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg).

L U T H E R PERA'S CONTRIBUTION

...

EAST IN URMIA

257

God had made these hearts willing and that he will not let this matter of his Kingdom fall, I made a promise to these eager, loyal people that I will not leave them but will remain bound in solidarity to them". 34 In Hermannsburg the negative attitude to his request was, however, maintained in all consequences. "An old church has been bought from the Presbyterians for 2.400 marks. 1.000 marks have been raised by the Christians there, but the structural renovation of the church is likely to cost as much so that the purchase price is in no way reduced. The sum of money for the purchase has been borrowed and the extortionate rate of interest usual in Persia will have to be paid. In every letter Pastor Luther Pera pleads for help to pay off the church's debt. Yet in our coffers there was no money for that and we have our doubts about supporting this church enterprise in Urmia as* long as the circumstances there are not clearer". 35 Although he was therefore working for his project without the backing of the mission board in Hermannsburg Luther Pera, as Robbelen acknowledges, went about "the restoration of the old church with zeal". 36 Although in other cases, for instance for the building of a school in Gogtapa, one had called a large-scale donation campaign into being in Germany, nobody so much as lifted a finger for the church building project in Urmia. 37 One was fully aware of the fact that this stance was a handicap for the project. " I t was not easy for him (Luther Pera) to gather together the purchase sum of 2.400 marks and financial means for the repairs and the interior improvements to the church. We were unable to help hirn. The state of our finances made this impossible and we also had doubts in principle about using the money entrusted to us for such a purpose as this. It is up to the Syrian Christians to carry the responsibility for their church themselves. These people then did all they could to acheive the goal they were aiming for" 38 .

34. K.. Robbelen, Dem Komitee 30-4-1911, If (Mission archives Hermannsburg). 35. K. Robbelen, Persien 2-11-1911, 3 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 36. K. Robbelen, Persien O. J. (1912), 1 (Mission archives Hermannsburg). 37. Compare, for example, with Haccius 3/2, 371. 38. K. Robbelen, Persien o. J. (1912), 1 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg).

258

THE

HARP

In addition to worries about establishing a parish, Luther Pera was hard pressed by personal concerns following his transfer to Urmia in October 1910. Shortly after the move his wife gave birth to a son and became "very ill for quite a long time". She had " t o be operated upon twice". The domestic suffering of the young Syrian was f u r t h e r aggravated by his son Richard's serious illness which was so grave " t h a t for a time the parents were afraid they would lose him again". In these troubled times, admittedly, the mission board stood by their colleague. In the face of so much "distress" brought about by sickness, the transfer and settling in, Robbelen appealed for help for those affected as the costs which arose "could not be covered by t h a t small salary. So debts had to be incurred, and they are much more burdensome in the orient t h a n here because the rate of interest is very high. Therefore the young married couple has much affliction and many burdens which we must help them to bear". 3 9 In spite of all adversity Luther Pera succeeded in realising his plan to obtain n functional church owned by the parish. In this he received active help from his friend, Dr. Baba Khan. On 5th November 1911 the church in Urmia was consecrated. Bishop Mar Ephrem led the liturgy of consecration assisted by two priests linked with Hermannsburg, Pera Johannes and Qasha Ablachat (Ardishai) as archdeacons, also three other priests and several deacons. In Germany Robbelen gave a comprehensive account of the liturgical ceremony and the following speeches: - of J a u r e Abraham, a priest with Hermannsburg links seeking support for the new parish, of the Sertif Dr. Israel Khan, who emphasized t h a t " f o r the first time in over 150 years on the Urmia plain another new church had been acquired by the Syrians themselves", and of Luther Pera's friend, Dr. Baba Khan Knanishu, who recalled their predecessors' world-wide mission, even to China and India, and called to mind their steadfastness in times of persecution. " H e warned the congregation to follow loyally the example of their forbears". 4 0

39. K. Robbelen, An dasKomitee 2-2-1911, 2 a n d K . Robbelen, Persien 2-11-1911, 2f. (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 40. K. Robbelen, Persien 0 . J. (1912), if (Mission archives, Hermannsburg).

LUTHER PERA'S CONTRIBUTION

...

EAST IN URMIA

259

At the same time the governing body of the mission entrusted Luther Pera with the pastoral care of the German orphanage in Dilbusha (a suburb of Urmia) which, including the Russian soldiers of German descent and Lutheran denomination plus the Germans settled in Urmia, developed into a German Lutheran congregation which was able to enjoy the active interest of the Hermannsburg Mission board. 41 Work in the Syrian parish proved, however, to be difficult. Robbelen put it succintly: "The work that Pastor Luther Pera is doing with the Syrian Christians in Urmia is a task requiring patience". 42 It was no easy task " t o gather the Syrians in Urmia to hear the word of God, since, as a result of long neglect, they had lost the habit of church-going" and "only went to the services in large numbers on feast days". Luther Pera took comfort in individual acts. For instance,: he comforted a woman who was sick with the gout by telling her the story of the man with I he palsy and by praying with her. 43 Luther Pera explained the situation to the mission board using the example of a simple occurrence. "On Sunday ... when I was returning from church I met two young tradesmen who are my parishioners. \ asked them where they were coming from and where they were going. They said they were coming from the bazaar. Surprised at this, I asked them what they had to do in the bazzar on a Sunday. One of them replied that he had wanted to enquire about some goods which he was impatiently expecting to arrive from Choi any day now, for, if his goods did not arrive several weeks before Easter, then he would make a considerable loss. Worries about these wares tormented him day and night. I told him that it would become unbearable for him to drag such a burden around' all the time and on Sundays at least he ought to rest and fortify himself with the Word of God. He asked me: do many people come to church then? I responded by asking him if he, when he wanted to take a meal at midday, first asked if many people were at table and did not eat his until many guests were there". Luther 41. Beside extensive material in the archives, as yet unassessed: Haccius 3/2, 383f. 42. K. Robbelen, Persien 20-11-1912: 1 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg). 43. Ibid., 2.

260

THE

IIARP

Pera used this occurrence to illustrate the state of mind of his people. "Our people attach great importance to a respectable and orderly life and strongly disapprove of drinking, gambling, dancing and other pleasures of the worldly. They are always full of care, for it is not easy to earn a living in these difficult times. However, as for as spiritual life is concerned they are very half-hearted. And this slackness and half heartedness and indifference goes through all the denominations. It is very catching". 4 4 Although Luther Pera had had to fight hard for his field of work in the Church of the East in Urmia, in opposition to the governing body of the mission, he too - together with the majority of the clergy linked to Ilermannsburg - was soon forced to define his position more clearly because of the changes in world politics and the effect these had on the Church of the East in Persia. So, on 7th October 1913, he and his colleagues finally composed a letter calling for seperation from the Church of the East. "We, the undersigned workers of the H e r m a n n s b u r g Mission, under pressure because of the situation of the church in our area, feel ourselves compelled to present the following declaration to t h e Committee for the Mission in Persia. F r o m the beginning of our mission up until the present day we have worked entirely in peace and harmony within the old Syrian church in the Lutheran sense. In recent years, however, the overall situation of the church has changed so drastically t h a t we must consider our f u r t h e r cooperation along the old lines as inhibiting and weakening for our work. If our work is to continue to be successful then changes in the mission work as a whole both here and in Germany are unavoidable. Within the old Syrian Church, which has lost all its strength, inwardly and outwardly, since the infiltration of the Russian Orthodox mission we have also been unexpectedly affected, so much so t h a t we are devoid of all vital means of support and open to attacks from all sides. Therefore, as we cannot hope for any f u r t h e r aid f r o m the Syriac Church, we are prepared to separate f r o m the same and work here as an

44. F r o m a report by Pastor Luther Pera in Urmia in: Nachrichten aus der lutherisch. Mission in Persien 1,2, Hermannsburg 18 Mai 1914, 6.

LUTHER PERA'S CONTRIBUTION

...

EAST IN URMIA

independent mission. However, for this change following preconditions are indispensable:

261

in course the

1. We ask the honourable committee to request t h a t the German government give explicit instructions to her representatives in Persia, especially in Tabriz and best of all—if it is possible - in Urmia itself, to place our German work under their protection. 2. We beg the; committee to make aid available for our work on a much greater scale". 45 The priest Jauure Abraham was sent to the committee in Germany to clarify this step f u r t h e r . In fact, with this step the priests with links with Hermannsburg slipped politically into the side of German policy in Persia and into the maelstrom of events in the subsequent World War, in the course of which Hermannsburg's involvement in Persia temporarily broke down. 46 In any case the governing body of the mission did not comply with the wishes of their colleagues. On August 7th, because of oppression by the Russians, the congregation in Wazirawa made a unilateral declaration in the presence of Pasior Wendt from Lerbeck (Westphalia) and Mr. Neumann Khan, a German businessman from Urmia. They announced t h a t they were leaving the Church of the East and joining the Evangelical L u t h e r a n Church and transferring the proprietary rights to the Hermannsburg Mission Society. 47 After an escape full of dreadful experiences Luther Pera and his family arrived in Hermannsburg on 24th December 1915 and never again returned to Urmia. 4 8 45. Luther Pera/Pera Johannes 7-10-1913 (Mission archives, Hermannsburg) 46. A very short summary: Haccius 3/2, 593. Survey of German political and military dealings in Persia: Ulrich Gehrke, Persien in der deutschen Orientpolitik während des Ersten. Weltkrieges, Darstellungen zur Auswärtigen Politik 1, 2 vols, S t u t t g a r t 1960; Siawusch Sohrab, Die deutsch-persischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen vor dem Ersten Weltrieg, Europäische. Hochschulscdhriften Reihe 5 (Volks - und Betriebswirtschaft), Band 137, F r a n k f u r t / B e r n 1976. 47. Die letzte Nachricht aus Persien, in: Nachrichten aus der luLherische. Mission in. Persien 2,1, Hermannsburg 1. J a n u a r 1915, 2f. About Neumann: Sohrab, 205-210; Litten, 90, 33. 48. Zur Nachrscht, in: Nachrichten aus der lutherisch. Mission in Persien 3, 2, Hermannsburg 1. April 1916, 4.

THE H A R P

"On Paradise"

The river of Eden was divided, as a symbol, towards the four quarters; and the outpouring of oil is divided as a glorious symbol, for the churches. That [river] waters the garden of delights; this one gives light to Holy Church. That [river] makes trees flourish; this one, bodies. For t h a t of Eden has four names, proclaiming rivers; and the oil has three names, t r u m p e t s of baptism. And I reflected: If paradise is so glorious, how glcrious is Adam who is the image of its planter and how fair is the Cross, the vehicle of the Son of its Lord! In the Tree of Knowledge he established the commandment. He rejoiced, b u t they did not respond; he warned, b u t they did not fear. In the Church he set the Word, which causes joy by its promises and fear by its threats. The Assembly of the Saints 5 is a symbol of paradise. The F r u i t of him who gives life to all is picked in her every day. In her, my brethren, are pressed the grapes of him who is the Medicine of Life! ("Symbols

... Pages

128-

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1935 - 1996, pp. 263-275 Harald Suermann*

Timothy and his Dialogue with Muslims The Time of Timothy T h e p a t r i a r c h a t e of T i m o t h y (780-823 AD) o c c u r r e d d u r i n g a m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g period of Islamic religious t h o u g h t , in which a definitive d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e 'ilm a l - k a l ä m took place. T h e theological d e v e l o p m e n t t o o k place parallel t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a new political system in t h e M u s l i m - A r a b i c w o r l d . I n t h e m i d d l e of t h e 8th c e n t u r y t h e d y n a s t y of t h e U m a v y a d s c a m e t o an end and t h e epoch of Abbasids began in t h e y e a r 749, when Abü '1-'Abbäs a s - S a f i a h was declared caliph in K ü f a . His successor Mansür began in M5H/762 AD to build B a g d a d , t h e n e w c a p i t a l of t h e empire. This was a clear sign f o r t h e beginning of a new era. T h e e m p i r e of t h e U m a y y a d s can be described as an arabic k i n g d o m governed by an e t h n i c g r o u p . T h e e m p i r e of t h e Abbasides on t h e o t h e r h a n d was a m u s l i m empire, in which it was n o t so i m p o r t a n t to belong t o a n e t h n i c g r o u p , b u t r a t h e r in which t h e m a i n p e r s o n a l f e a t u r e was d e t e r m i n e d b y being p a r t of Islam. T h e newly c o n v e r t e d n o n Arabs, especially t h e P e r s i a n m i d d l e class, had been claiming for i n t e g r a t i o n . Their p r e s s u r e f o r i n t e g r a t i o n and for p a r t i c i p a t i o n in. power e n d e d in t h e Abbasid r e v o l u t i o n . 1 *

Dr. Harald Suermann is the Director of tbe Project Desk of the Institute of Missiology, MISSIO e. V., Germany. He is a Syriac scholar and a specialist in matters concerning Christian-Muslim relations.

1. J. Wellhausen, Das Arabische Reich und sein B. Lewis, 'Abbäsides, in: EL2, I, 15-24, 17; pansion musulmane, P a r i s 1969, 119.143; C. sur la «Révolution 'abbäside» in: Rev. Hist.

Sturz, Berlin 1902; R. Mantran, L'ExCahen, Points devue 87, 1963, 295-338.

264

THE

HARP

T w o aspects of t h e Abbasid for the Nestorian church:

revolution

were

1.

The m o v e of t h e c a p i t a l t o

2.

T h e religious c h a r a c t e r of t h e r u l e w i t h its of t h e n o n - A r a b i c e l e m e n t s

important

Bagdad integration

D o m i n i q u e S o u r d e l describes t h e m o v e of t h e c a p i t a l t o B a g d a d d u r i n g t h e reign of t h e second A b b a s i d e caliph a l Mansur as t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e v e n t of t h e h i s t o r y of t h e Islamic world. 2 The U m a y y a d s w i t h t h e i r c a p i t a l D a m a s c u s h a d been e n t i r e l y focused o n t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n w o r l d , t h e Abbasids o n t h e c o n t r a r y had an o r i e n t a t i o n t o w a r d s t h e E a s t . The t r a d e in t h e P e r s i a n Gulf a n d t h e I n d i a n Sea developed and t h e e m p i r e e x t e n d e d t o C e n t r a l Asia. A t t h e same t i m e t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h e B y z a n t i n e s lost i t s i m p o i t a n c e . This however does n o t m e a n t h a t t h e Abbasides were less i n t e r e s t e d in t h e life of t h e B y z a n t i n e s . T h e y were still highly f a s c i n a t e d b y t h e B y z a n t i n e h e r i t a g e of t h e Greek philosophy. T h e o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e new Muslim e m p i r e c o r r e s p o n d e d t o t h e geographical s p r e a d of 1he N e s t o r i a n c h u r c h . D u r i n g the Abbasid period t h e c e n t r e of this c h u r c h h a d been a t t h e p e r i p h e r y of t h e empire. In t h e U m a y y a d e c a p i t a l t h e r e h a d h a r d l y lived a m e m b e r of t h i s c h u r c h , b u t t h e new c a p i t a l B a g d a d was s i t u a t e d in t h e v e r y h e a r t of t h e c e n t r a l a r e a of t h e N e s t o r i a n c h u r c h . T h e c h u r c h had had missions in Central Asia a n d in I n d i a since t h e o u t s e t of Islamic t i m e s and even h i e r a r c h i e s in China d u r i n g t h i s t i m e . The c o n g r u e n c e of t h e geographical dimensions of t h e Abbaside e m p i r e a n d t h e N e s t o r i a n c h u r c h gave t h e l a t t e r now also g r e a t e r i m p o r t a n c e in politics and society. T h e Abbaside r e v o l u t i o n i n i t i a t e d also a religious renewal. T h e new g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r s t o o d itself first of all as a religious dominion. T h a t is w h y it was so engaged in religion and in t h e search f o r t h e religious f u n d a m e n t s of g o v e r n m e n t a n d society. T h e caliphs encouraged t h e sys t e m a t i z a t i o n of t h e Islamic l a w b y islamic l a w y e r s like Abu H a n i f a and Ibn ITanba 3 . T h e t r u e 2. D. Sourdel, Bagdad, capital du nouvel empire 'abbasie, in: Arabica I , 1962, 251-265, h e r e 251. 3. J . Schacht, Sari'a, in: E2, IV, 331-336.

TIMOTHY A N D HIS DIALOGUE W I T H MUSLIMS

265

t r a d i t i o n s of t h e p r o p h e t were collected. T h e discussions b e t w e e n t h e s u n n i t e orthodoxy,: t h e Shi'te a n d t h e M u ' t a z i l i t e s came i n t o f u l l swing a n d t h e caliphs p e r m i t t e d f r e e discussion. I t is r e m a r k a b l e t h a t t h e bigger t h e distance t o B y z a n t i u m came to be, t h e g r e a t e r t h e i n t e r e s t in t h e Greek sciences seemed t o develop. A g r e a t n u m b e r of medical m e n w e r e called f r o m t h e school of G u n d a y s ä p u r to t h e c o u r t a n d m a n y of t h e m became t h e personal physicians of t h e Abbaside caliphs. B u t it was n o t o n l y t h e medical science which a t t r a c t e d t h e a t t e n t i o n of t h e A b b a s i d e d y n a s t y in G u n d a \ s ä p ü r . The i n t e r e s t covered t h e whole Greek heritage and in t h e first i n s t a n c e t h e A r i s t o t e l i a n philosophy, which was t r a n s l a t e d either d i r e c t l y f r o m Greek m a n u s c r i p t s into Arabic or i n d i r e c t l y t h r o u g h Syriac t r a n s l a t i o n s . Many of t h e s e t r a n s l a t o r s and even philosophers came f r o m t h e school in G u n d a y s ä p ü r . The caliph al-Ma'mün (198H/813 AD-218H/833 AD) f o u n d e d his f a m o u s i n s t i t u t i o n b a y t a l - h i k m a 4 (house of wisdom) which was t o t a l l y modelled a f t e r t h e school of G u n d a y s ä p ü r . In this b a y t a l - h i k m a t h e b e s t scientists of t h a t t i m e , m a n y of w h o m were e i t h e r c h r i s t i a n s or jews, w e r e employed and t h e i r t a s k consisted in t r a n s l a t i n g t h e Greek m a n u s c r i p t s which o f t e n came d i r e c t l y f r o m B y z a n t i u m . T h e School of G u n d a y s ä p ü r was a t t h e same t i m e one of t h e m a j o r i n t e l l e c t u a l c e n t r e s of t h e N e s t o r i a n church. W h e n in 489 t h e school of E d e s s a had been closed, t h e g r e a t e r p a r t of its academics had come t o G u n d a y s ä p ü r . Some y e a r s l a t e r , in t h e y e a r 529, e m p e r o r J u s t i n i a n closed also the f a m o u s school of A t h e n a , a n d in the wake of this event a n o t h e r g r o u p of philosop h e r s came to G u n d a y s a p ü r . This school c u l t i v a t e d g r e a t l y t h e t r a d i t i o n of t h e A r i s t o t e l i a n philosophy as well as medical sciences. 5 4. V o r l ä u f e r der I n s t i t u t i o n w u r d e n schon von d e m K a l i f e n H ä r ü n a l - R a s I d g e g r ü n d e t . Zur Geschichte v o n B a y t a l H i k m a s. D. Sourdel, Bayt al-Hikma, i n : El2 I, 1141. 2 5. C. Huart, A. Sayili, Gondesapür, in El , I , 1146; H. H. Schoffler, Die Akademie von Gondischapur. Aristoteles auf dem Wege in den Orient = Logoi 5, S t u t t g a r t 2 1980; M. Mayerhoff, Von Alexandrien nach Bagdad. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des philosophischen und medizinischen Unterrichts bei den Arabern, in: Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Phil-Hist. Klasse 23, 1930, 389-429; De Lacy O'Leary, How Greek science passed to the Arabs, L o n d o n 1949, 68-69.

266

THE HARP

I n order t o u n d e r s t a n d correctly Timothy's l e t t e r Nr. 40, in which he gives a s u m m a r y of his discussion with a Muslim, it is i m p o r t a n t to be well informed a b o u t one p a r t i c u l a r Islamic religious m o v e m e n t . It Concerns t h e Mu'tazila f o u n d e d by Wa$il b. ' A t â ' (131H/748 AD). The adherents, t h o u g h they differed greatly ideologically, discussed among other things the n a t u r e and t h e a t t r i b u t e s of God. They distinguished between two kinds of a t t r i b u t e s which God was to possess: sifat al-fi'l, a t t r i b u t e s which are ascribed to God on account of an act, and sifat a l - d â t , a t t r i b u t e s , which are ascribed to God on a c c o u n t of his n a t u r e , sifat a l - d â t included for example such a t t r i b u t e s as knowing ('alim), being powerful (qâdir) and living (hayy). The question which posed itself thus was whether these a t t r i b u t e s themselves did n o t p o s t u l a t e the notion of " e x i s t e n c e " as an inner quality, and f u r t h e r m o r e whether these a t t r i b u t e s are n o t in themselves e t e r n a l , as God is himself eternally existent and possesses these a t t r i b u t e s eternally. I t t h e n follows t h a t to possess knowledge e t e r n a l l y implies t o know eternally. However, a difficulty t h e n arises f o r t h e Mu'tazila, in t h a t such a s s u m p t i o n s lead necessarily to t h e acceptance of p l u r a l i t y within the e t e r n a l , which militates against the principle of God's oneness (tauhid). At this point a Christian apologist would be able to e n t e r i n t o t h e discussion and present a comprehensible explanation by way of t h e Christian dogma of t h e T r i n i t y . T i m o t h y ' s c o n t e m p o r a r y , A b û l - H u d a y l a l 'Allâf (226H/840 AD or 23511/849 AD), who is sometimes regarded as the real f o u n d e r of t h e Mu'tazila 6 concluded on t h e basis of t h e principle t h a t each adjective contains within itself a cause, which corresponds exactly to i t s substantive. God then is knowledgeable through knowledge and p o w e r f u l t h r o u g h power. Abu 1 - H u d a y l al-'Allâf explained God's oneness (tauhid) by affirming t h a t t h e knowledge by which God knows is nothing else b u t himself, t h a t he is powerful t h r o u g h the power which is himself. B u t this explanation did not solve all problems: if t h e reason why God is powerful, knowing and living is nothing else t h a n his very essence, how then is to be explained t h a t this unique u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d essence gives rise to differences in qualities? T i m o t h y used this inner-islamic discussion to show t h e veracity of the t r i n i t a r i a n dogma.

6. R. Caspar Traité de Théologie musulmane reliaieuse musulmane, R o m e 1987, 149.

1. Histoire de la

pensée

TIMÖTHY A N D HIS DIALOGUE W I T H MUSLIMS

267

Timothy7 T i m o t h y was b o r n in Hazzä, n e a r Arbelas, e i t h e r in 727 AD or 728 AD. His p a t e r n a l uncle was George, t h e bishop of Beit Bagas, who took u p o n himself to care for the y o u n g T i m o t h y and t h u s asked t h e f a m o u s m o n k A b r a h a m b a r D a s a n d ä d , t h e lame, t o give h i m t h e necessary e d u c a t i o n . This m o n k led1 a school in Basôs, in the D i s t r i c t of S a p h s a p h â . 8 H e himself had been a p u p i l of Babaï of G e b i l t â , t h e r e n e w e r of t h e sacred music of Adiabene. A b r a h a m t a u g h t his pupils s c r i p t u r e , l i t u r g y a n d t h e philosophy of Aristotle. 9 H e r e q u i r e d t h e m to r e a d t h e Greek f a t h e r s in the original language and he t r u s t e d his best p u p i l s w i t h t r a n s l a t i n g t h e f a t h e r s . In t h i s w a y several m a n u s c r i p t s of A b r a h a m came into the h a n d s of T i m o t h y . Among his s c h o o l m a t e s were: I s o ' b a r n ü n , who was l a t e r on o r d a i n e d dt acon b y T i m o t h y ; became his a d v e r s a r y a n d finally all t h e same his successor, Abu Nüh of A n b ä r , t h e l a t e r g o v e r n o r of Mossul; Abu Musä ibn Mus'ab and Sargïs, t h e m e t r o p o l i t a n . A large collection of l e t t e r s w i t h t h e l a t t e r has been preserved. In t h i s school t h e n T i m o t h y became a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e philosophy of A r i s t o t l e and t h e Greek language. H e never lost his passion for either. 7. Bibliographi es* Hnana P. J. CheîKho? Dialectique du langacfe sur Dieu. Lettre de Timothée 1 (728-823) û Serge, Etude, Traduction et édition critique, R o m e 1988, 1-25; Anton Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur; R. Bidawid Les Lettres de patriarche nesiorien Timothée I = Studie e Testi 187, Vatican 1956, 1-87; I. De Urbina, Patrologia syriaca, R o m e 1965, 201, G. Graf, Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur II = Studi e Testi 133, V a t i c a n 1949, 114-118; H. Labourt, De Timotheo I nestorianorum patriarcha (728-823) et christianorum condicione sub chaliphis abbasidis, Paris 1904,. 1 -14; A. Mingana, The Apology of Timothy the Patriarch before the Caliph Mahdi, in: Woodbrooke Studies 11, 1928,1-15; H. Putman, L ' Eglise et l'Islam sous T i m o t h e e I (780-823) = Recherches Nouvelle Série B. Orient Chretien I I I , B e y r o u t h 1977, 13-23; E. Tisserant, Timothée I, in: Dictionnaire de Théolagie Catholique 15, P a r i s 1946, 1121-1139. 8. J. M. Ficy. Assyrie Chrétienne. Contribution â l'étude de l'histoire et de la géographie ecclésiastiques et monatiques du Nord de l'Irag I = Recherches 22, B e y r o u t h 1,965, 257-260. 9. S. t h e l e t t e r of T i m o t h y : Timothei palriarchae 1 epistulae (ed 0. Braun) = CSCO 74, Syript. Syri 30, P a r i s 1914, 110; Timothei patriarchae I epistulae ( t r a d ' O. Braun) = CSCO 75, Script. Suri 31, P a r i s 1915, 73.

268

THE

HARP

A f t e r T i m o t h y ' s f o r m a t i o n his uncle w a n t e d him t o t a k e over t h e Diocese of Beit Bagas a n d finally w i t h t h e help of Aba Nuh, a schoolmate of T i m o t h y , who used his influence w i t h t h e local g o v e r n m e n t , the plan was successfully executed. Due t o his excellent r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e civil a u t h o r i t i e s T i m o t h y ' s diocese was f r e e d f r o m t a x e s in 769 AD. T e n y e a r s l a t e r , in 779 AD, t h e Catholicos H e n a n i s 5 I I died and T i m o t h y was among t h e c a n d i d a t e s to succeed him. 1 0 B y convincing one c a n d i d a t e t o r e n o u n c e his claim a n d by p r o m i s i n g m o n e y for t h e i r school t o Deacon Bayr&wi and his p u p i l s , he succeeded in b e c o m i n g t h e n e x t catholicos a n d was o r d a i n e d on t h e 7 t h of May, 780 AD. 11 One y e a r l a t e r t h e synod deposed T i m o t h y , because he h a d n o t k e p t his promises. I n t u r n T i m o t h y convoked a c o u n t e r - s y n o d . F i n a l l y , due to t h e i n t e r c e s s i o n of b o t h 'Isa Abu Qurais, t h e physician of t h e caliph, a n d Abu Nuh, a c o m p r o m i s e was reached a n d T i m o t h y was allowed to r e m a i n as catholicos. His c a t h o l i c a t e lasted 43 years, and T i m o t h y died in 823 AD a t t h e high age of 95. 12 H e was b u r i e d in t h e m o n a s t e r y Klilisu', which he h a d r e s t o r e d a n d used as his residence. 1 3 His c a t h o l i c a t e was one of t h e longest and one of t h e m o s t successful. H e had s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e c h u r c h in t h e F a r E a s t a n d h a d i n t r o d u c e d i m p o r t a n t canonical reforms. T h e f o r m a t i o n of t h e clergy had a l w a y s been a p o i n t of special i n t e r e s t to him, as he j u d g e d a p r o p e r f o r m a t i o n indispensable f o r t h e s u r v i v a l of t h e c h u r c h in Muslim s u r r o u n 10. Historia Monastica I The Book of Governors of Thomas, Bishop of Marga, ed. Chiild. E t t r a d . Wallis Budge L o n d o n 1893, IV, 4 197/383; Maris Amri et Slibae, De iialroarchis Nestorianorum commentaria (ed. R. Gismondi), pars a l t e r a , R o m e 1896, 64/37 (= 'Amr); 0. Braun, De Kathotikos Timotheos I und seine Briefe, in: Oriens Chrislianus I, 1901, 138-152, here 139. 11. Braun Katholikos 140 a n d B. Spuler, Morgenlandische Kirchen, L e i d e n 1964, 209 give t h e d a t e 1st of May 780; Labourt, Timotheo 9; Tisserant, Timothee 1122, Bidawi, Leltres 3 give the d a t e 7 t h of May. 12. A c c o r d i n g t o ' A m r 66/38, Maris, Amri et Slibae, De uatroarchis Nestorianorum commentaria (ed. R. Gismond), p a r s p r i m a , R o m e 1899, 74/65 ( - Mari) and Gregorius Bar Hebraeus Chronicon Ecclesiasticum (ed. ct t r a d . J. B. Abbeloos, T. J. Lamy) L o u v a i n 1872-1877, II, 190 T i m o t h y died in t h e y e a r 204/5H, t h a t is 819/820 AD. The reasons w h y t o d a y n o r m a l l y t h e year 823 is given are u n k n o w n t o me. 13. 'Amr 66/38; Mari 74/65; 'Ali b. Muhammad Sabusti,, Kitdb alDayarat (ed. Gurgis 'Auward), B a g d a d 222-223.

TIMOTHY AND HIS DIALOGUE W I T H MUSLIMS

269

dings. In several l e t t e r s he expressed his c o n c e r n f o r a good e d u c a t i o n of f u t u r e priests a n d bishops.. In his view t h e f o r m a t i o n m u s t c e n t r e on two m a j o r concerns: v i r t u e a n d science. O f t e n he gave s u b s t a n t i a l financial assistance to s u p p o r t schools. T h r o u g h o u t his life T i m o t h y showed a keen i n t e r e s t in philosophy a n d theology and w r o t e himself a n u m b e r of works, which are p a r t i a l l y h a n d e d on t o us:

14. 15. 16. 17.

1.

A t r a c t on a s t r o n o m y , of which we h o w e v e r possess longer a copy. 1 4

no

2.

A collection of homelies a n d h y m n s for every Sunday of t h e liturgical year. 1 5 A theological t r e a t i s e , which h a s become k n o w n u n d e r t h r e e d i f f e r e n t titles. I t is likely a r e p o r t of a discussion w i t h t h e J a c o b i t e P a t r i a r c h Georgios (758-789/90). 1 6

3.

A n o t h e r theological t r e a t i s e e n t i t l e d I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e Theologian, which could either be a t r a n s l a t i o n of Gregory of Nazianze or a t r a c t on Gregory of Nazianze. B o t h l a t t e r works however are lost.

4.

H i s concern f o r canon law was v e r y g r e a t , q u e n t l y no less t h a n 98 c a n o n s h a v e b e e n his name. 1 7

5.

T i m o t h y ' s t h i n k i n g covered a large v a r i e t y of s u b j e c t s as is clear f r o m his l e t t e r s . R e g r e t f u l l y only a small p a r t h a v e been l e f t t o us, a n d t h e y are only p a r t l y edited. 1 8

a n d conseascribed t o

Man 74/65; Bar Hebraeus, C E. II, 180. Bar Hebraeus C.E. II, 180. Bar Hebraeus, C.E. II, 181-182; R. Duval, Literature Sgriaque 309. Labourt, Timotheo 50-86; E. Sachau, Syrische Rechtsbücher Berlin 1907-1908, 2, 53-117. 190-196. 18. Timothei Patriarchae I Epistulae (ed. Oscar Braun), in: CSCO 74 Script. Syri 30, L o u v a i n 1953 Timothei Patriarchae I Epistulae ( t r a d . Oscar Braun), in: CSCO 75 Script. Syri 31, L o u v a i n 1953; Braun, Brief, 299-313, (Brief 47); vgl. Oscar Braun, Briefe des Katholikos Timotheos I, in: Oriens Christianus 2, 1902, 1 - 3 2 (Briefe 9, 10, 12, 13, 43); Oscar Braun, Zwei Synoden des Katholikos Timotheos I, in: Oriens Christianus 2, 1902, 283-311 (Brief 50 u n d 51?); Oscar Braun, Briefe des Katholikos Timotheos I, in: Oriens Christianus 3, 1903, 1-15 (Briefe 15, 16, 17, 18); Bidawld, Letters.

270

THE

HARP

Of these then letters Nr. 40 and Nr. 59 are most important for our purpose. The first letter reports a discussion with a Mu'tazilite, and the second a discussion with the caliph al-Mahdi. Timothy and Islam. The dogma of the Trinity

Letter No. 59, addressed to Sargis, his schoolmate and later metropolitan of Elam, has been handed down both in Arabic 19 and Syriac. 20 The Syriac text is likely the original one. This report on a discussion with al-Mahdi is quite well known and a few remarks on my part will therefore suffice. The discussion touches on a great number of points, which were very important for the christians-muslim dialogue of that time. The following sections can be discerned: * *

Christ, word of God, incarnated for our salvation. The holy Trinity.

*

Christ our lord and guide

*

Why is the testimony of the scriptures not over that of Muhammad?

*

What do you say about Muhammad?

*

The death of Christ on the cross

*

Reasons why we do not believe in Muhammad as a prophet

*

The Thora, the Prophets and the Gospel have not been falsified.

acknowledged

Timothy seems to have compiled a kind of manual for the christian-muslim dialogue in t h a t he numbers all the questions addressed by Muslims to the Christians and by providing an adequate answer to these questions. I will restrict myself to the section on the Trinity. 19. H. Putman, Eglise R. Caspar, Les versions arabes du entre le catholicos Timothee I et le calife Al-Mahdi, crisliana 3, 1977, 107-175. 20. A. Mingana, The Apology of Timothy Caliphe Mahdi, in: Woodbroke Studies

diafoqgue Islamo-

the Patriarch before I I , 1928, 1-162.

the

TIMOTHY AND HIS DIALOGUE WITH. MUSLIMS

271

I t is r e m a r k a b l e t h a t t h e section on t h e T r i n i t y is in b e t w e e n t w o sections which concern themselves w i t h Christology. This shows t h a t t h e question on t h e T r i n i t y is t r e a t e d w i t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k of questions concerning the d i v i n i i y of Christ and n o t as a problem which has t o do w i t h God's oneness ( t a u h i d ) as w o u l d be if it were t o precede. T h e section on t h e T r i n i t y is r a t h e r s h o r t . I t consists solely of t h e q u e s t i o n , w h e t h e r a Christian, believes in three gods,namely F a t h e r , Son a n d H o l y Spirit, and the negative answer b y T i m o t h y . The proof is deduced in t w o p a r t s : 1. a proof of n a t u r e , 2. a proof of Sacred S c r i p t u r e . T h e proof of n a t u r e consists in a n analogy which refers t o a r u l e r and his word a n d his s p i r i t , as well as in an analogy to t h e sun w i t h its r a y s a n d its heat. I n like m a n n e r as t h e r a y s and t h e h e a t are not t h e s u n , b u t a t t h e same t i m e c a n n o t exist w i t h o u t or s e p a r a t e d f r o m t h e sun, so t h e F a t h e r , Son a n d H o l y Spirit are in all t h i n g s one, b u t equally so t h e Son a n d t h e Holy Spirit are different of t h e F a t h e r , a n d t h e y c a n n o t be s e p a r a t e d f r o m him either. T ' m o t h y r e m a r k s that God c a n n o t speak a n d not live w i t h o u t t h e W o r d a n d w i t h o u t t h e Spirit. 2 1 In the. Syriac t e x t he m o r e o v e r s t a t e s t h a t t h e affirmation t h a t God was once w i t h o u t Spirit and w i t h o u t W o r d can be e q u a t e d w i t h s t a t i n g t h a t God was once w i t h o u t reason a n d life. 2 2 In these analogies T i m o t h y uses r a t h e r an a r g u m e n t u m ad hominem t h a n a theological or philosophical a r g u m e n t . These analogies are well k n o w n , e v e n f r o m t h e t i m e b e f o r e Islam. I n his discussion w i t h Muslims J o h n of D a m a s c u s had used these v e r y a r g u m e n t s in his L i b e r de H a e r e s i b u s . H e asked t h e Muslims, w h e t h e r t h e S p i r i t a n d t h e W o r d of God are c r e a t e d or u n c r e a t e d . If t h e answer is u n c r e a t e d , t h e n t h e Christian c a n affirm t h a t t h e y are also God. If t h e answer is c r e a t e d , t h e n t h e Christian can ask w h e t h e r God has once been w i t h o u t spirit and reason. 2 3 T h e o d o r e Abu Q u r r a , t h e s p i r i t u a l 21. Putman, Eglise Caspar, Timothee 129-130. 22. Mingana, Apology 17. 23. D. J. Sahas, John of Damascus on Islam, the 'Heresy of the Ishmaelites', Leiden 1972, 51-95; A. Th. Xhoury, Les théologiens byzantins et l'Islam. Textes et auteurs (VlIIe-XIIie S.), L o u v a i n , P a r i s 1969, 47-65, B. Kotter, Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskus IV, Liber de haeresibus. Opera polemica = Patristische Texte und Studien 22, Berlin, New Y o r k 1981, 1-67.

272

T H E HARP

follower of J o h n of Damascus a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y of T i m o t h y , argues in a similar w a y in his o p u s c u l e Nr. 36. 24 I n t h e dialogue b e t w e e n A b r a h a m of Tiberias a n d 'Abd a l - R a h m â n al-Hâ§im, which took place in 820 in J e r u s a l e m , t h e same a r g u m e n t s were used. 2 5 No g r e a t originality c a n t h e n be a t t r i b u t e d to T i m o t h y in t h i s section. A second l e t t e r , Nr. 40, is addressed to Sargîs, a n d relates a n i s l a m o - c h r i s t i a n dialogue, which o c c u r r e d t h i s t i m e b e t w e e n t h e Catholicos and a n A r i s t o t e l i a n . 2 6 T h e discussion t o o k place a t the royal c o u r t . I t s c o n t e n t is as follows The l e t t e r concerns itself only w i t h t h e discussion. I t has an I n t r o d u c t i o n 2 7 and a conclusion. 2 8 The first p a r t 2 9 of t h e discussion relates t o t h e different languages o n God, t h e second p a r t 3 0 relates the a t t r i b u t e s of God. I will r e t u r n to t h e s e p a r t s t o give m o r e details. T h e t h i r d p a r t 3 1 of t h e discussion t o u c h e s on t h e o p e r a t i o n s ad i n t r a , t h a t is g e n e r a t i o n a n d s p i r a t i o n , which imply t h a t t h e r e is no m u l t i p l i c i t y in God. God remains one as to his n a t u r e , t h r e e as to his p r o p e r t i e s . Again T i m o t h y t r i e s make t h e T r i n i t y u n d e r s t a n d a b l e t o t h e Muslims by using examples of n a t u r e : like the sun exists of h e a t a n d light, so God exists in t h r e e persons, a n d so on. H e t r i e s to prove t h e d o g m a of t h e T r i n i t y f r o m S c r i p t u r e and t h e K o r a n . T h e f o u r t h p a r t 3 2 deals w i t h t h e i n c a r n a t i o n , T i m o t h y explains t h a t t h e W o r d of God is i n c a r n a t e d w i t h o u t changing God's n a t u r e and

24. P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus. Series graeca 97, P a r i s 1857-1866, col. 1588-1592; Khoury, Théologiens 80-81. 25. P. Rossano, Le Dialogue d'Abraham, de Tibêriade avec 'Abd alRahmân al-Hâsimï à Jérusalem vers 820 = Textes et études sur l'Orient chrétien 3, Rome 1986, 346-372. 26. The r e f e r e n c e s are given in a c c o r d a n c e t o t h e sections of t h e t r a n s l a t i o n m a d e bei Cheikho: Cheikho § 12. 27. Cheikho § 2-18. 28. Cheikho § 310-314. 29. Cheikho § 19-67. 30. Cheikho § 68-130. 31. Cheikho § 131-251. 32. Cheikho § 252-309.

TIMOTHY

AND HIS DIALOGUE W I T H MUSLIMS

273

without being limited by the flesh. Christians adore the Lord's humanity in like manner as the Muslims adore God at the Kaaba. Timothy was forced to interrupt the discussion, but he expresses the hope to have another occasion to meet his dialogue partner. Sargis he promises to provide the substance of the discussion with caliph al-Mahdi in another letter. Allow me now to return to the first and second part of this discussion and report some more details. As was remarked earlier, Timothy's discussion was with an Aristotelian, which means a Mu'tazilite. The discussion follows that type of a dialoguepattern, whereby Timothy is leading the discussion and his partner can but agree or contradict. The whole discussion is based on Aristotelian philosophy. The first question concerns itself with the problem how one can possibly speak about God. Timothy presents the different kind of notions and questions which of them are applicable to God. He shows that only general notions are applicable to God. If a notion is general, then it is also categorical. If the notion God is general, then that same notion is also categorical and therefore the ten categories of Aristotle are applicable to God. However, that conclusion must be rejecled, for in that case it is no longer possible to maintain God is one and unlimited. The next point at issue is then the divine being or the substance of God and the problem of applying a particular notion to God. That however also leads to a logical impossibility. Finally then the conclusion forces itself that it is only possible to speak about God by analogy. It follows the second part, the discussion of the attributes of God. For centrally stands the fact that God is one, unlimited and uncomposed. Our perception of God derives from our perception of the existing reality and we describe God more likely in terms of what he is not rather than in terms of what he is. Logically we exclude in Him all deficiency. God's names are revealed. They include the Creator, the Almighty, the Seer, etc. These names are to be divided into two groups. The first group include those names which are attributed to God because of an act He performed. Thus God is Creator because He has created the world. He is not Creator from eternity, but only from the moment He created the world. The second group comprise names like the Seer, the Hearer, the Alknowing or the

274

THE HARP

A l m i g h t y . Such a p p e l l a t i o n s refer t o qualities: God sees, hears, k n o w s , a n d is almighty. These n a m e s are n o t given on a c c o u n t of a divine act. God sees, hears, knows, and is a l m i g h t y f r o m e t e r n i t y . F r o m this p o i n t of t h e discussion t h e a r g u m e n t a t i o n is r e s t r i c t e d t o t h r e e notions: hearing, seeing and knowing. If God hears, sees and knows f r o m e t e r n i t y , t h e n H e m u s t h e a r , see or k n o w s o m e t h i n g which is e x t e r n a l t o H i m . T h a t however does i m p l y t h a t t h e r e are m o r e t h a n one eternal. On t h e o t h e r h a n d , if it has t o be a s s u m e d t h a t God hears, sees a n d k n o w s s o m e t h i n g which is i n t e r n a l t h e n t h e conclusion follows, t h a t t h e r e are boundaries a n d p a r t s in God a n d t h a t H e is composite. Such a conclusion h o w e v e r c o n t r a d i c t s God's oneness. To reason a b o u t God seems necessarily t o lead to a logical impossibility. To look for an e x p e d i e n t in h o l d i n g t h a t God is p o t e n t i a l l y hearing, seeing and knowing f r o m e t e r n i t y , like he is p o t e n t i a l l y Creator f r o m e t e r n i t y , is n o t a c c e p t a b l e , because i t would s t r e n g t h e n t h e p r e s u p p o s i t i o n t h a t God was a t one or a n o t h e r t i m e n o t - k n o w i n g , n o t - h e a r i n g and n o t - s e e i n g , in t h e same w a y as he was once n o t - C r e a t o r . T h e conclusion t h e n is t h a t God sees f r o m e t e r n i t y , h e a r s f r o m e t e r n i t y and knows f r o m e t e r n i t y . W h a t is seen, h e a r d or k n o w n belongs t o God's n a t u r e a n d t o His existence. Christians r e f e r to this " t o h e a r " , this " t o see" and this to " k n o w " as t o F a t h e r , Son a n d Spirit. This conclusion is the i n t r o d u c t i o n of t h e t h i r d p a r t of t h e discussion. C e n t r a l t o T i m o t h y ' s p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e t r i n i t a r i a n d o g m a t o t h e Muslims is t h e p r o b l e m of God's a t t r i b u t e s which r e l a t e t o his n a t u r e or essence. I n c o n t e m p o r a r y or slightly l a t e r c h r i s t i a n t e x t s w r i t t e n in Arabic, we d e t e c t a similar a r g u m e n t a t i o n w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e p r o b l e m of gifat a l - d a t , t h e a t t r i b u t e s of Gods's essence, in reference to which t h e T r i n i t y is explained. Abu R a ' i t a 3 3 , f o r example, uses t h e same a r g u m e n t a t i o n in t h a t 33. Georg Graf, Die Schriften des Jacobiten Habib ibn Hidma Abu Raiata=CSCO 130, Script. Arab. 14, L o u v a i n 1951, 4-13; Georg Graf, Die Schriften des Jacobiten Habib ibn Hidma Abu Raita=CSCO 131, Script. Arab. 15, L o u v a i n 1951, 3-11; H. Suermann, Der Begriff s if ah bei Abu Raitah, in Sainlr Khalil Samir, Jergen S. Nielsen (eds.), Christian Arabic Apologetics during the Abbasid Period (750-1258), Leiden, N e w York, Koln 1993, 157-171.

TIMOTHY A N D HIS DIALOGUE W I T H MUSLIMS

275

he too s t a r t s f r o m t h e problem of God's oneness and presents the different conceptions of " o n e " . T h e n he shifts over to t h e names of God by which t h e l a t t e r is r e l a t i o n a l l y defined, in like manner as knowing relates to knowledge. H e explicitâtes finally on the s i f â t a l - d â t and' concludes t h a t u n d e r s t a n d i n g s i f â t a l d a t is analogue to u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e T r i n i t y . T i m o t h y ' s m a n n e r of. presenting t h e T r i n i t y to Muslims in focusing u p o n t h e notion of s i f a â t allah or Names of God is t h e n nothing exceptionalI t was common practice with nearly all Christian apologetics a t t h a t time. The main reason, was, t h a t a t this very m o m e n t t h e Muslims themselves were highly involved in a discussion on the çifât allah. The Christians were merely t r y i n g t o respond t o t h e theological challenge posed by t h e Muslim concept of God. The agenda of t h e dialogue was set by t h e Muslim theologians. The way T i m o t h y argues, follows closely t h e way t h e problem of sifât allah is being discussed in Muslim texts. The very f a c t t h a t T i m o t h y was f o r m e d in A r i s t o t e l i a n philosophy, t h a t he never lost i n t e r e s t t h e r e i n and remained in c o n t a c t with t h e Nestorian philosophers and theologians who t r a n s m i t t e d Greek philosophy to the Muslims on t h e one h a n d , and t h a t his p a t r i a r c h a l residence was close to t h e caliph's residence so t h a t he became a select c o n t a c t person for t h e r u l e r in all m a t t e r s which concerned t h e Christians on t h e other hand, made him b o t h a privileged, person in t h a t he witnessed t h e development of Muslims theology and a n ideal p a r t n e r in the Muslim Christian dialogue.

They have t w i s t e d to their will the word of. t h e T r u e One, who gave a u t h o r i t y to his disciples once f o r all t o absolve by water the sins of mankind, and g r a n t e d t h e m , f u r t h e r , to bind and to loose, t h a t he who is hound might beseech t h e Forgiver of all, f o r t h e Absolver of all absolves us t h r o u g h our suffering. (St Ephrem's

hymns

against the heretics)

276

THE

HARP

St. Ephrem- " F u s i o n " of the Virgin and Magdalen

He drew Mary Magdalen to come and see his resurrection. And why was it first to a woman that he showed his resurrection, and not to men ? Here he showed us a mystery concerning his Church and his mother. At the beginning of his coming to earth a virgin was first to receive him, and at his raising-up from the grave to a woman he showed his resurrection. In his beginining and in his fulfillment the name of his mother cries out and is present. Mary received him by conception and saw an angel before her; and Mary received him in life and saw angels at his grave. Again, Mary is like the Church, the Virgin, who has borne the first-fruits by the Gospel. In the place of the Church, Mary saw him. Blessed be he who gladdened the Church and Maryl L e t us call the Church itself 'Mary', for it befits her to have two names. F o r to Simon, the Foundation, Mary was first to run, and like the Church, brought him the good news and told him what she had seen that our Lord had risen and was raised up. F i t t i n g l y did she come to Simon and bring him the good news that the Son was risen, F o r he was the R o c k and Foundation of the Church of the Gentiles, the elect. ("Symbols

... Page

147)

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 277-288 Rev. Dr. J. Sanders*

Introduction to the Life of Mar Bishoi (siglum MB) In memory of father E. R. Hambye s. j.

The geography of asceticism in the near East is not only concentrated in the (Egyptian) desert, a city. 1 The roaids to Jerusalem and to Mount Sinai were crowded with monks, because visiting the holy places was like a sacrament, full of hardship and prayer but crowned with the joy to reach the threshold of heaven. So we find Abraham of Kashkar in Southern Mesopotamia, some 600 miles to the North, on Mount Izala, which is now in the centre of South-East Turkey, Isaias of Skete in Northern Egypt on the road to Gaza in Palestine, Peter the Iberian from Georgia in the Caucasus wandering to Gaza, Moses the Ethiopian in Skete but also in Nabek, a little town in Syria between Damascus and Homs. MB entered monastic life under the guidance of John of the Kemol monastery, situated in South-East Turkey. 2 But 80 percent of his life is dedicated to his deeds and \yords in the Egyptian monasteries. Some traditions of the Kemol monastery mention. Egypt in the time of Mar Awgen, the more or less historical founder *

Rev. Dr. J. Sanders, is a retired professor of oriental subjects in the University of Amsterdam. He is an authority on Middle Eastern topography and on the biographies of early Syrian monks and writers.

1. D. J. The desert, a city; London 1966. 2. Refugees from Hassana testify to having visited its on the road from Cizre to Shirnak.

ruins

278

THE HARP

of many monasteries in Tur Abdin, Izala. 3 Such long travels have been made by many others. Julian Saba, which means the elder, travelled f r o m Nisibis on the Southern limit of Tur Abdin to Mount Sinai. 4 Sometimes travelling had been a special vocation for these monks, who were called in Greek: perihodeutai, travellers for the sake of God. 5 If some of them were not so happy to fulfil such enterprises, their bones at least were transported to many monasteries, where they entered into the b e t h qaddishe, - the house of the holy beings. So it is said t h a t (the p a r t s of) the skull of St. J o h n the Baptist were distributed Over at least three sanctuaries in the near East, of which Damascus is the most important. So we are now no longer surprised t h a t the study of MB's life brings us to different parts of Hakkari (East Turkey, close to the Iranian border), and of the monastic deserts in Egypt. Although he has never been a real wanderer, he settled there where he found work as a spiritual guide or for his own progress. Biography oî Mar Bishoi The Manuscripts

There are mss. in Paris and two in London. One in Cambridge. 6 Very important for our study is a recently discovered manuscript, conserved in Archbishop Aprem's library at Trichur (Kerala-India). 7 The life of M. B. ff. 1-65 followed by six sermons (mimre) and one hymn (madrasha) fol. 65-244 Its measures are 24.2x15.5cm. 3. J. S. Assemani, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Romae 1719-1728 torn III pars 2 p. 866 and 873. 4

' T a J î ' L a m y > S - Ephrem Syri, Hymni et Sermones, Mechliniae: 1889 torn. I l l col. 858 ad 12. 5. A. Guillaumont, le dépaysement come forme d'ascèse, dans: Le monachisme ancien, dans: Aux origines du monachisme ancien, Abbaye de Bellefontaine, 1979, p. 89-115. 6. A. Baumstark, Geschichte der Syrischen Literatur, Bonn 1922 p. 283 n. 10. 7. I am very grateful to his Grace Mar Aprem, and to Rev. Dr. J. Thekeparampil, who sent me a copy. S D van der PIoe e S riac u J - P " Christians, § P- : t hPublications y manuscripts off LSt.r , ;Thomas Dharmaram Bangalore India, 1983 p. 136 n. 7.

INTRODUCTION

TO THE LIFE OF MAR BISHOI

279

We also consulted the folios 119a-125b and the final folios 145a-153b f r o m an extant, unpublished Arabic manuscript: Paris Bib. Nat. fonds arabe nr. 4796b ff. 119-153. The editions

a) P. Bedjan, Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum, 7 vol. Paris 1890-1897, of torn. 3 p. 572-620. Sometimes incomplete and unclear b u t elaborated by the famous Rubens Duval. b) This book was translated into Soureth (modern E a s t Syriac) and edited by Joseph de Kelaita, whose family comes from the Mar Bisho-village in East Turkey; Chicago 1984 with two very unclear pictures of the Mar Bisho-Church, p. 4 Mar Bishoi's name

There are many different ways of spelling M. B.'s name. It depends on the sources, Coptic, Greek, Aramaic, Latin or other European languages. It is obvious t h a t not each name corresponds with another person. In the Trichur-manusoript we find the spellings: BehjeshG, with a final ajjin (e), which seems closer to the Aramaic language than the other spelling BishQi. The Aramaic spelling occurs 10 times in the introduction, where the Aramaic (East-Chaldean) monk John of Kemol is also mentioned, and f u r t h e r in the folia 19 and 46 of the corpus. In the corpus the spelling Bishoi occurs 71 times and this spelling seems less Aramaic in. origin. The Arabic manuscript, though incomplete, gives a division parallel to the Trichur text, viz. an introduction followed by the corpus. We find Bishai, once, in the introduction, and in all the other places we find Bishih, which seems to correspond with the non-Aramaic Bishoi. So we may conclude t h a t our holy man had two different names, one related to his Aramaic origin and the other related to his memory in a Coptic, but already Arabic-speaking environment. This seems to be confirmed by what is in the

280

THE

HARP

title of the Syriac manuscript; MB's complete name : 'Our father the holy Abba Mar Bishoi'. Abba is parallel to the authentic Syriac title of holy men, monks and bishops. So one and the same person with two names. There are some persons with the name Berikhisho', for instance a Berikhisho' of Kammoul (= Ktmol). Writing about Berikhisho', Beulay hesitates about the reference to Assemani's citation of the Catalogue of Abdisho' of Nisibis (d. 1318) : "Béhishô' (sic) de Kammoul, écrivit un livre sur la vie monastique" Bi. Or. I l l 1, p. 275. Beulay's study concerns Berkhisho's life as found by A. Rucker in a private manuscript, which is possibly a copy of codex 211 of Urmia. 8 American College, not mentioned by A. Baumstark o. c. S. 283. In A. Riicker's supposition Berikhisho' is an author of the V l t h - V I I I t h century. Payne Smith's dictionary i. v. Beh-Jeshu', col. 456, in reference to Beh-Jeshu' col: 611 supposes, it seems, the same, referring to Assemani .Bi. Or. I l l p. 275: "Behjesus seu Brichjesus ejusdem Camulensis monasterii coenobita inter Syros scriptores a Sobensi (= Abdisho' of Nisibis) recensetur". Berkhisho' as such is not to be found in our Trichur manuscript. Brikhiso' was a fairly common name 9 b u t know nothing about his origin and date. 1 0

sometimes we

One Tradition in the Two Manuscripts

The two manuscripts, one in Syriac, and one though incomplete at the end, in Arabic u , have so many features in common, and the differences are so slight, t h a t here we may suppose that both vitae have one and t h e same original manuscript as their basis. We shall give here some arguments which lead us to this conclusion.

8. R. Beulay, La Lumière sans Forme, Chevetogne, s. d. p. 223, 9. J. Fiey, Nisibe, CSCO vol. 388, subsidia torn. -54 Louvain 1977, p. 280 col. 2. 10. J. Fiey o. c., about the first Berikhiso' of his list in the index p. 171. 11. see supra, the manuscripts.

INTRODUCTION

TO T H E L I F E OF MAR BISHOI

281

At the same distance of the beginning of MB's story the Syriac t e x t has Mar John of Kemol, the Arabic t e x t has B&moeih, or B&mogit as the spiritual guide of MB and John. As the shapes of the b and the k are nearly the same, the copyist, unfamiliar with Ihe word Kemol, has changed it into B&moeih, more in correspondence with his personal knowledge of famous spiritual directors. He even adds the celebration of B&moeih's feast, the 8lh of the month Aviv, where we find to our surprise the holy Mar Bishjoi in the Coptic calendar of 1993.12 The biographer of MB, known in history as John the Short, appears in the Syrian manuscript as John the useless (in Greek: kolobos - the mutilated). Where MB rccrives the schema, the typical monlc's habit from John of Kemol, the Arabic t e x t gives only: he received a word. In the Syrian life MB's food is bread, b u t mouldy, with salt, but granular. The Arabic t e x t presents bread and salt without any qualifications. Many geographical names in the present in its Arabic counterpart.

Syrian

text

are

not

Such differences do not need two biographies independent of each other. Both of them keep the same order and a Syrian, n o n - E g y p t i a n reader needs more geographical information about Egypt, which is kindly provided by the Syrian monk-copyist in Egypt.. In this connection it is also interesting to see the Hellenistic background in both manuscripts; the Arabic gives to J o h n the S h o r t the f u n c t i o n of hegoumenos-director, the Syrian has the word katastaseis-institutions, constitutions. These Greek words seem to stem f r o m the third and fourth century in Egypt, when the Christians used Greek words and expressions, although Coptic was their spoken language. This fourth century-evidence 12. The Coptic Encyclopedia identifies Bamogih with master Panbo, who is Saint J o h n C'dobos (John the Short in our Arabic manuscript and author of MB's life, as in the Syrian manuscript). More manuscript-evidence, is necessary to clarify this confusion. See A. S. Atiya, the Coptic Encyclopedia, New York, Macmillan 1991 part 6 col, 2029 i. v. Saint Pshoi.

282

THE HARP

for the date of MB's life, seems to be confirmed by the same date of MB's cell in the Wadi Natroun. 1 3 Finally it is important t h a t at the same place after the introduction, both manuscripts have a sudden transition where the life of MB's parents begins. The Syrian t e x t has: 'seven male children'. J u s t before the word seven the Syrian t e x t has a lacuna of one folio, which seems to explain the sudden transition in the two texts. So we may conclude t h a t only one mutual origin of both texts is rather acceplabie, because they have the same irregularity in the same place. Characteristics of MB's life

The world of the desert fathers was one of angels and demons, with visions of the Lord, where problems about the weakness of the poor monks were solved, not by rigid laws or logic, but with leniency based on the praiitis -generosity, leniency of the law-maker Moses14 and of our Lord Jesus Himself. 15 Many visitors to MB's cell were treated by him in this way, so t h a t sins became an occasion on the way to virtue, and an edifying example. 16 Our biographer gives us many of such examples; here we give only some of the most specific, the most attractive ones. * The Emperor Constantine appears after his death (337), revealing t h a t he would have become a monk if only he had known about the monks is Egypt. He recognizes t h a t "he would have left heaven" in t h a t case. * One of the pupils of a disciple of MB was in the snares of Satan when he died. His spiritual father, sad as he was, consulted 13. D. Russel Medieval Cairo and the monasteries of the Wadi Natroun, London, no date, p. 335. 14. Numbers, 12,3: the meekest man upon the face of the earth. 15. Mt. 11, 29. 16. We thank Father Chnstophoor Wagenaars (o. c. r.), the Dutch authority on the Apophtegmata and on Egyptian monasticism; the stories we give here, were unknown to him. He encouraged this publication.

INTRODUCTION TO T H E L I F E OF MAR BISHOI

283

MB after he had heard the voice of the Lord: " S t a y in hell till my coming in the clouds!" T h a t happened after he had fasted twice, for f o r t y days. MB prayed in an inner place of the desert: " 0 Lord, help your creature, save your servant f r o m hell's fire and let already come the clouds of your light!" Then the boy's soul came to him f r o m hell, and confessed: "My sins are so many, I neglected the commandments!!". Then an angel took his soul to a place of rest. This story, as we see, was made in a time before the general acceptance of the eternity of hell and it corresponds with Origen's (d. 251/5) theory on the apokatastasis, a r e t u r n to the primitive union, even of the souls of the demons, with divinity. MB explains t h a t God's generosity should not permit to be overcome by man's generosity of fasting. The idea of a purgatory, was already accepted. * Another story is the declaration of Satan himself t h a t there is no Holy Spirit, conceived1 as the third person of the Trinity. Only the Father and the Son are God. This t e x t is important for the date of this story. It was composed after the Council of Nicea, 325 AD, stating the divine person of the Son of God, and probably before the Council of Constantinople of 380 AD, stating the divine person of the Holy Ghost, as the third' person of the holy Trinity. The question of the T r i n i t y plays an i m p o r t a n t role, as our author explains our faith with the words about the Incarnation and the T r i n i t y as proclaimed by the Council of Chalcedon 451 AD. Even the handwork of the monks, their baskets, testify to the holy Trinity with their three handles at the round opening, of the basket; round, the shape of God's perfection and eternity. * Many pages of our ms. are dedicated to the story of the prostitute, without such a story the biography of a Coptic monk could not be complete. What happened? A monk had gone to the city of F u s t a t to sell the work of his hands. He came into a house of a Jewish prostitute who was deaf. Her brother was converted to Christianity. As a new Samson our monk slept on her knees and at the same time the prostitute tried to find with a toothpick some pieces of " t h e body of our Redeemer, the

S84

THE

HARP

Messias" between his molars, as the brother told the monk afterwards. She had made him take off his schema-his monk's habit-, he became a Jew. But as is normal, MB had a vision; the whole story ends with a lesson to the other brothers of the desert, with the r e t u r n of the brother who sinned and with the conversion of the Jew who collaborated in such a fall. Ephrem's visit to Mar Bishoi testifies to their common interest in the combat against Arianism and in the ascetic life. We may regard Ephrem's visit as a parallel to Basil's visit to the monks in Egypt and in other countries. As we have seen already, travelling for a monk is a sign of leaving this world which is transitory. So Ephrem's visit is to be considered an honour to Mar Bishoi in so far as such a visit was made by the holiest men of the 4th century. B u t this parallelism makes the historicity of the fact rather doubtful. Such stories are free fabrications and where in an older biography of MB an anonymous anchorite from Syria was mentioned, we find later on that, this monk was Ephrem the Syrian, who came to visit him. 17 In hagiographic literature the heroes proper to the Cappadocian Church and to the Syrian Church appear as in a competition of holiness; there is the calming of the tempest, by Ephrem travelling to Egypt, his return oversea to Caesarea for a visit to St. Basil, their mutual understanding of Greek and Syriac; all such things are a decoration to the virtuous life of these saints. In the meantime St. Basil ordains Ephrem as a deacon, and his interpreter becomes a priest. Whether St. Ephrem has really spoken Greek is not clear in the story, b u t the reader is more interested in matters of spiritual life 18 in the battle against those who do not accept the divine person of the Holy Spirit, in exorcisms, and so on.

17. A, Voobus, History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, in CSCO vol. 197, subsidia tomus 17, Louvain 1960, pp. 88 and 89. In the Trichur manuscript Ephrem's name figures only in the margin. 18. Dom 0 . Rousseau in l'Or. Syr., Paris 1957 fasc. 3p. 273-284.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE OF MAR BISHOI

285

Saint Macarlus T h i s Maearius, ff. 8, 33 a n d 34, p r o b a b l y is t h e E g y p t i a n and n o t h [oea can mean "became" or "came into being"; for the Creator can't come into being, nor can He be delimited by time. This is demonstrated by the following: 1) Something which comes into being differs from t h a t which it was, but God's nature is eternal and cannot, therefore be transformed. 2) Coming into being, moreover, precedes nature and God's nature is eternal 9. Cf. Frishman, J., The Ways and Means of ihe Divine Economy (unpublished doctoral dissertation), Leiden 1992, P a r t 2. Translation, Homily IV, 1.280 and the note there. See f u r t h e r Mingana I, op. cit., pp. 321-2, 353 and II, pp. 11, 132 and 172.

N A K S A I ' S CHRISTOLOGY

...

WORD BECAME FLESH

295

and nothing is prior to it. 3) If the Word confined Himself in the womb then He is not a Self Existent Being I). 4) If He was wholly fashioned then He is no longer unlimited and this is t r u e even if a p a r t of Him was fashioned. This would equally apply to God the F a t h e r who is of the same nature as the Son. 5) If the Word can divide His Being (©i^vj) and be above and below at the same time, then His will determines His nature and limits it. It follows t h a t the will can transform Him at all times so t h a t one may ask what remains of the Divine Essence whose nature is eternal. III) Having extensively refuted those who think t h a t the Word came to be, Narsai asks whose flesh it was t h a t Fie took. Surely it must be that of a human being, for only a human being, is capable of removing the death sentence which was placed upon Adam in Paradise. A t t r i b u t i n g suffering to the Divine Being and confining Him to a womb means lowering Ilim with regard to the Father and destroying the distinction of th-i two natures which have become one. r

IV) The proper way to understand [ i s * is in the light of J.aa.ita because indwelling does not necessitate a limitation of nature. RaLher " H e dwelled" means He took a man and honored our n a t u r e through His own greatness. It was an indwelling of Good Pleasure without separation

(ItO

(ll? i i a i ^ - a j j U s ^ a i i ) .

in a union It

was thus the

Word's Will - b u t noL His n a t u r e - which was confined. In this way the promises to Abraham and David were fulfilled. The purpose oE the indwelling is manifold. Firstly, God is invisible b u t through a rational image, rational ones could worship the Hidden One in the manifest one. Secondly, all of God's household is subjugated to the image of his (Christ's) glory and he is called Lord, Lastly, our fashioning, corrupted in Paradise, was renewed through him so t h a t we now become the t r u e image of God. The peace which originally reigned at the time of creation is restored. V) The fifth section which deals with the prosoponic union, is not directly linked to a biblical verse but does, of course,

296

THE HARP

logically follow upon the discussion of the indwelling. For if the Word dwelled in a man and the two remained distinct in nature, in what way may they be considered one? Narsai compares the union of flesh and Word to t h a t of body and soul. He states, firstly, that while soul and body are two natures, the one of vitality and the other of mortality, we speak of them as one, i. e. they are designated by one prosopon (

S

o

too the Word's nature is t h a t of the

Divine

Essence while the body's nature is human yet they are one union ( i t a . j

in

Thus two distinct things may be called one.

Secondly, while the soul's activities are everywhere, the body remains in one place at a time. So too the Word is omnipresent while humanity is confined. Narsai explains t h a t not only may two be called one; these two are wholly different in n a t u r e and yet one! Thirdly, Narsai asks how we may a t t r i b u t e passions to the Word if the soul doesn't sulfer. We may predicate suffering of the soul and the Word metaphorically for it is in l o v e - i n name only - t h a t the soul and the Word may be said to suffer. Lastly, the one nature serves to make the other, invisible nature, visible. For the eye can see neither the soul nor God b u t the body and the flesh make visible the invisible, to a certain degree. This is in fact the purpose of the indwelling as explained in section IV. It is the visible image of God's glory whom we worship an 1 to whom all beings, rational and irrational, have been subjugated. This may be understood as a renewal of the fashioning, a restoration of t h e universe to its state at creation and beyond this, the true realization in Christ of man's having been created "in the image of God." The entire homily is summarized in the confession in the closing section of the homily: The Word clothed Himself ) in flesh and in good pleasure dwelled in our nature; b u t this temple of flesh did not limit His nature. He remained in His Divine Essence, took humiliations upon Himself in name I - suppose t h a t this is Narsai's understanding of the communicatio to participate

idiomatum - and caused the flesh, or our nature, in glorious things.

K A R S A I S CHRISTOLOGY

. . . WORD BECAME FLESH

297

Homily 81 in Relation to Other Homilies by Narsai Earlier in this paper the claim was made that the ideas and terminology found in homily 81 were typical of Narsai and this claim must of course be substantiated. Those familiar with Narsai's works will have made a link between the description of the F a t h e r in. the homily under discussion and that in the homilies on Creation edited, by Gignoux. There God is said to His to be without beginning ( f..» $Q.&) 5 10 as opposed creatures who came into being at a specific time, as indicated by the use of J^JLJ*^.^. God is without composition unlimited1

(

J J Î ) , invisible

(JJ| 11).«*)

and without change

l]}). 1 1 In His nature are three hypostases ( J . ï S û . 1 . 0 ) which are equal - F a t h e r ,

Son and Holy Spirit - and

between

whom there is no time. These three are not three s e l f - e x i s t e n t ones

but three hypostases

(l-Seal-D)

Divine Essence ( t l ô ik.» i ) . Demonstrations are one are the sun together with its light and the soul together with its word and its in homily 81, were also said to be analogous the word with the man.

equal in

the

of three which and its warmth 1 2 vitality 1 3 which, to the union of

As an act of love - just as the indwelling was an act of love - God created His creation. B u t because He is invisible, and knowing that creatures would tire themselves with questions concerning His unfathomable nature, God created man as His image. As an image Adam united rational and irrational beings in his nature and served as the bond of the universe. B y transgressing the commandment, the image was tarnished and the bond broken. The peace which had existed was dispelled and the. creatures refused to serve man. Throughout the ages, guides and guarantees so t h a t

God provided humankind with men would not lose hope. These

10. Gignoux, op. cit., Homélie I I , " S u r (le M o t ) ' A u Commencement, et sur L'Essence de Dieu", II. 15-18. 11. Ibid., II. 15—18f; 75f. 12. Ibid., II.. 120f. 13. Ibid., I I . 153f.

298

THE

HARP

served as types of the f u t u r e events, the second catastase or When the image would be renewed and the world restored. The beginning of the second age was marked by the incarnation. Here by a man f r o m the race of Adam, perfect in body and soul was formed in Mary's womb. He is like Adam in all things according to n a t u r e b u t he is Adam's Lord, greater t h a n he in rank and honor. He is the son of a daughter of man and also Son he was made worthy to be

of the

Divine Essence because

so by the power of his Assumer.

It might seem from the above t h a t Narsai professes two sons but this he categorically denies. There are two natures, he protests, 1 4 b u t not two prosopa. The natures are distinct because of the passions and the glory; one is passible, the other is impassible, body and Word together. The Hidden One can't come into being or be limited by a womb; He took pleasure in and honoured a creature with His own honour. The union was neither a mixture ( ^ ^ J - S S ^ - B ) n o r a rningling ( « - . ^ » . - » ¿ O S ) 0 f natures, for the two remain distinct. If this is not so, how could Jesus say " i n t o your hand I place iny soul" or " I am going to my Father and my God", for the Divinity has no soul (His vitality is not contained) nor does God have a God. Moreover, if there are not two distinct natures, how could it be said t h a t Jesus grew according to his nature " i n wisdom and grace" or "grew weak" and "suffered" and was "helped by an angel"? The indwelling took place at conception, prior to any action on the p a r t of the man, and continued throughout the suffering on the cross although t h e Word never suffered passions. B u t it was absolutely necessary t h a t a man was taken so t h a t men would be renewed in body and soul. This man was mortal in name and rank b u t he was heir and Lord by grace. Thus on account of his body he is called man, and on account of his rank he is called God. 15 Narsai calls him Christ and Son because the spirit anointed him and because he became Son with the Word in love. We should note here that the union is never called 14. McLeod, Narsai's Metrical Homilies, Homily I, "On Our Lord's Birth f r o m the Holy Virgin", II. 43If. 15. McLeod, op. cit., Homily II, "On the Epiphany of Our Lord", II. 421-468.

NARSAI'S CHRISTOLOGY . . . WORD BECAME FLESH

299

Word by Narsai, rather Christ and Lord are the titles approp r i a t e t o t h e u n i o n . So i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e r e is o n l y o n e S o n , for t h e son of m a n is n o t Son. body

T h e t w o n a t u r e s a r e u n i t e d in o n e p r o s o p o n , as a n d soul of m a n . N a r s a i does n o t e x p l a i n w h a t

are the k i n d of

u n i o n t h e y f o r m a n d he m a k e s no use of t h e t e r m l-^®®-1-®, be i t o n e or t w o . 1 6 I t is in f a c t i n t h e v e r y s a m e a p p e a r a n c e , u n a l t e r e d , in b o d y a n d s o u l t h a t C h r i s t will c o m e a t t h e end of t i m e . 1 7 H e is t h e o n e w h o e n t e r e d t h e H o l y of Holies 1 8 - a reference to the dwelling place above, Christ's high priesthood a n d t h e e x p i a t i o n w h i c h w o u l d t a k e p l a c e t h r o u g h H i m , as well as t o t h e r e d e m p t i o n of h u m a n i t y b y t h e e r a s u r e of i t s d e b t s and s t a i n s . T h r o u g h C h r i s t m e n will see a n d w o r s h i p t h e invisible one a n d h a r m o n y will be r e s t o r e d . T h u s we n o t e t h a t N a r s a i ' s C h r i s t o l o g y is v e r y m u c h d e t e r m i n e d b y his s o t e r i o l o g y , w h e r e b y Ihe h u m a n n a t u r e in C h r i s t is of u t m o s t i m p o r t a n c e f o r t h e s a l v a t i o n of t h e w o r l d . Our a u t h o r ' s g r e a t e s t c o n c e r n is t o r e b u t t h e v i e w s of t h o s e who w o u l d d e n y t h e h u m a n i t y , c o u s . d e r i n g t h e flesh t o be of d i v i n e origin, w h o l l y or p a r t l y . T h i s is b e s t reflected in his d e s c r i p t i o n of M a r y w h o m h e d o e s n o t call " m o t h e r of G o d " b u t t h e " m o t h e r of t h e i m a g e i n w h o m t h e i m a g e of t h e H i d d e n One is m a d e m a n i f e s t " . 1 9 T h i s , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , h a s led M c L e o d , e d i t o r of Narsai's homilies, t o consider our a u t h o r ' s Christology more f u n c t i o n a l t h a n essential. 2 Q The Origins of Narsai's Christology to 16. 17. 18.

19. 20.

Scholars have observed t h a t t h e t e r m s Narsai d e s c r i b e t h e u n i o n of W o r d a n d m a n a r e d e r i v e d

uses from

lkSPaJ-O j s u s e ( i t o m e a n t h e p e r s o n h i m s e l f , his v e r y s u b s t a n c e , or, i n t h e T r i n i t y , I n p o s t a s i s . cf. I b r a h i m , op. cit., p p . 322-827. McLeod, op. cit., H o m i l y V, " F o r t h e F e a s t D a y of t h e A s c e n s i o n " , II. 127f. Cf. F r i s h m a n , op. cit., H o m i l y V, " O n t h e F a s h i o n i n g of t h e Temporal Tabernacle" and/or London, British Library, O r i e n t a l 5463, fol. 2 0 7 b - 2 1 1 a f o r r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e H o l y of H o l i e s as r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e s e c o n d c a t a s t a s e , t h e s p i r i t u a l v e r s u s t h e b o d i l y , a n d C h r i s t as t h e h i g h p r i e s t . M c L e o d , op. cit. H o m i l y I, II. 477-8. M c L e o d , op. cit., p. 28 a n d p . 25, n. 102 ( i n t r o d u c t i o n ) .

300

THE

HARP

Theodore of Mopsuestia. 2 1 A study of those texts whose influence on Narsai's homily "On the Word Became Flesh" are marked, namely Theodore's Commentary on John22 and On the Incarnation,23 is necessary in order to verify this observation. Theodore commences chapter one of his Commentary on John by stating t h a t John understood the Divine Essence and could speak of it. This introduction is followed by a discussion of the use of versus i * 5 0 j»-®. While all things first,

not all things which are

which are are

are The use

of

in connection with the Word means t h a t God the Word was at Ihe beginning and it is He who is without beginning, the Primal Cause and Maker of all things. 2 1 It does not mean t h a t the Word came into being at its own beginning, Theodore protests, for this is true of all things which come to be and John would therefore be informing us of nothing new. The lengthy r e f u t a t i o n of those who think t h a t the Word came into being is not paralleled at this point by Narsai, although the stichs on ^ u ) in homily 81 are certainly derived f r o m Theodore. Moving on to why J o h n spoke of the " W o r d " and not the "Son", Theodore argues 23 t h a t men would be confused by the term " s o n " since birth, to them, implies a time difference between the begettor and the begotten. T h a t time is consequential only to t h a t which comes into being is restated by Theodore when summarizing John's use of '"Word". Narsai, as we have seen, denies t h a t time is of any influence on an E t e r n a l Being and asserts t h a t there is no time when the Son came to be, nor is there time attributable to the begetting. It is only after having established the co-eternality of F a t h e r and Son t h a t Narsai t u r n s to John's use of " W o r d " for the Son. Here he and Theodore are in concord when explaining that the word in us forms an analogy to t h e Word in t h e flesh, even if the comparison is im21. See, for example, McLeod, op. cit., p. 25 (introduction). 22 Voste, J.-M., Theodori Mopsuesteni Commenlarius in Evangelium Iohannis Apostoli (CSCO 115-116/Syr. 62-63), Louvain, 1940. 23. Sachau, E., Theodori Mopsuestent Fragmenta Syriaca, Leipzig, 1869, pp. 28-57 and Swete, H., Theodori Episcopi Mopsuesteni in Epistolas B. Pauli Commentarii, 2 vol., Cambridge, 1880; 1882. 24. VostS, op. cit., pp. 16-17. 25. Ibid., pp. 17-18.

N A R S A I ' S CIIRISTOLOGY

...

WORD

BECAME FLESH

301

perfect. Theodore, however, adds t h a t the Son is called " W o r d " and not " W o r d of God" so t h a t men not think t h a t t h e Son simply expresses God's will, as do angels and messengers. R e t u r n i n g to the analogy between the Divine and h u m a n word, Theodore, like Narsai, observes t h a t the word is perpetually with the soul yet outside it. So too the Son is perpetually with the F a t h e r and didn't come to be in the course of time. The Father is the cause of His being called Son, b u t in t h e Divine Essence the Son is with Him and conjoined to Him. They are not separated, just as the effulgence of t h e sun is of the sun yet not separated f r o m it by time, nor does it cause t h a t n a t u r e f r o m which it shines forth to be divided. Theodore thus makes the same analogy found in the introduction to Narsai's homily, whereby he, unlike Narsai, explicitly links John 1,2 (through Him all things came to be") to Hebrews 1,3 ( " H e has spoken to us through the Son... t h r o u g h whose hands He made the worlds, and He is the splendor of His glory"). It is now evident t h a t Narsai's arguments are quite proximate to Theodore's yet the latter's argumentation has been greatly simplified and its order reversed by Narsai. Theodore's exegesis of J o h n 1. verses 2-13 covers eight printed pages and these are reduced to 32 stichs by Narsai. These stichs serve merely as a transitional passage, connecting the section on the relationship between God t h e F a t h e r and the Word (John 1,1) to t h a t on the Only Begotten Word and man (John 1,14). Of note perhaps is the a t t r i b u t i o n by Narsai of sonship t h r o u g h baptism which is of primal import to Theodore. 2 6 Having arrived at t h e crux of the m a t t e r under discussion, i.e., " t h e Word Became Flesh", it is now Narsai who is more expansive than Theodore, at least as far as the latter's Commentary on John is concerned. Both authors agree t h a t the explanation of "became flesh" lies in " H e dwelled in u s " (which is t h e meaning of ( ^ ¡ ¡ J ) and

t h a t the flesh

s t a n d s for the

whole

26. Cf. L. Abramowski, "Zur Theologie Theodore von Mopsuestia", Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 72 (1961) pp. 281-283.

302

THE HARP

person. As usual, Narsai omits the biblcal parallels abundantly by Theodore in support of his exegesis. 27

provided

A study of John 1 , 1 and 1, 14 would be incomplete without consideration of Theodore's De incarnatione, for it is to t h a t work t h a t Theodore himself refers all those who wish to learn the proper interpretation of John 1,14. 28 There are indeed many parallels to be found between homily 81 and De incarnatione, b u t on account of the fragmentary nature of the latter it is not possible to determine whether Narsai's reasoning is sequentially the same as Theodore's. R e t u r n i n g to the section in our homily on the word "became" flesh (part II), Thtodore avers t h a t the Word did not become man in the sense that His n a t u r e changed. He took ( w ^ j c q l j ) real flesh b u t He did not "become" flesh. He was not changed into flesh b u t it was only in appearance, according to what people imagined. 29 If the Word was not altered, t h e n He came to be in a man, i.e. to dwell in a man. This indwelling is neithej by substance nor activity b u l by good pleasure-the best and noblest will of God. 30 Elsewhere Theodore explains t h a t this indwelling or descent to man is not by removal f r o m one place to another b u t by condescension; 31 it occurs through grace or love. a2 The passage in De incarnatione cited above leads to a discussion of the prosoponic union. As Theodore says, "This indwelling caused the assumed Man to share with the Word in the diginity in which the Son by nature participates, so as t o be counted one prosopon according to the union with Him and 27. See Vosté, op. cit., p. 23 for proof texts demonstrating t h a t flesh represents the whole person. 28. Vosté, op. cit., p. 34. 29. Swete, op. cit., II, p. 300. 30. Ibid.' p. 294f. 31. Tonneau, R.-M. and Devreesse, R., Les Homélies catéchêtiques de Théodore de Mopsueste (Studi e Testi, 145), Vatican City, 1949, Horn, catech VII, 14, p. 183. 32. Devreesse, R. Le Commentaire de Théodore de Mopsueste. sur les Psaumes (Studi e Testi, 93) Vatican City, 1939, In Ps. xli.2ab, p. 261.

N A R S A I ' S GIIHISTOLOGY

...

WORD B E C A M E

303

FLESH

to share all His dominion and work everything in him". 3 3 While God descends to unite with man, man shares in the honor of the Word. It is for this reason that man is worshipped and through him the Divine Nature. This prosoponic union may be compared to that of the body and the soul which, while they are two natures, form one prosopon. 34 So too the divine and human natures are known as natures and yet there is one prosopon. 35 According to Norris, well-known author of a work on Theodore's Christology, 36 the one prosopon means that because of the union between Word and man, " t h e L o r d presents himself to the world and! the believer as the single object of knowledge and faith and the single agent of reconciliation with God". 37 This description is apt for Narsai's. use of prosopon as well, as is attested by stichs 469-480 of the homily at hand: " F o r this reason He chose him and dwelled in him, that the hidden be revealed in the manifest ... that we worship the Hidden nature through him ... in whom the renewal of the fashioning of our corrupted image took place . . . " . In conclusion, the study of Narsai's homily 81 and its comparison with Theodore's Christologv bring to light the rapid and thorough integration of Theodore's works in the school of Edessa in the fifth century c.e. 33. Swete, ibid,, pp. 295f.; cf. Norris, R.A., Manhood and Christ. A Study in the Christology of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Oxford, 1963, pp 216-234, esp. p. 221. 34. Sachau, op. cit., p. 70-71 although the additional words j.sso.1.0

precede

the

latest

dis-

cussion concerning the authenticity of the fragments of De incarnatione including those published by Sachau. see Abramowski, L., "On the Fragments of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Brit. Libr. add. 12.156 and the Christological Fragment in Double Tradition", The Harp VI, 3 (1993) pp. 199-206. The fact that Narsai so faifhfully reproduces Theodore's ideas may serve as additional proof of the secondary nature of the terms "one hypostasis" and "prosopon of union (see the following note). 35. Sachau, ibid.,

p. 71;

Swete,

ibid., p. 300.

Sachau makes use of the term

The

fragment in

11 Q u £ . « 0 J.iS>® j f A

which

is foreign to Narsai and to Theodore as well. Cf. Abramowski, art. cit., p. 204. 36. See above, n. 33. 37. Norris, op. cit., p. 231. «*

304

THE

HARP

You have received money, and have buried it. The key has been delivered to you, and you have shut the gate. You have not entered yourself, and you do not let in those who approach. (Aphrahal)

We were numbered in the number in whose lamps oil was found; we were number in the number of we passed from the number of the We were numbered in the number we passed from the number of the

of the virgins the Right, Left. of the sheep; goats. (St

Ephrem)

For a new shepherd it is right to guard the flock in a new way, to know what is its number and see what is its need. This is the flock bought with the blood of that Christ Shepherd. Call and review the sheep by name, for this is the flock whose name is written and whose reckoning is in the Book of Life. Blessed be he who will demand its number! (St Ephrem

to Bishop

Abraham)

THE HARP

Vol. VIII., I X . , July 1995 - 1996, pp. 305-327 Dr. Joseph Kolangadan*

The Historicity of Apostle Thomas Evangelization in Kerala

Apocryphal Evidence

Apostle Thomas, who conveyed the message of the Gospel to the confines of the then known world, has been hailed as the symbol of the spirit of adventure. Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, Thomas Becket, Thomas More..., quite a galaxy of eminent Thomases have illumined the ecclesiastical firmament. Original Thomas was not just one among the twelve to be disposed of with a bare mention once in each of the synoptic Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles. 'Doubting Thomas' looms large towards the close of his Master's mortal career as he plays a prominent role in the last Gospel. With his bilingual name, Thomas Didymus (Twin), he was destined to work in the wide world. Along with Peter and Paul, Thomas was a pre-eminent Apostle with striking individuality and towering personality. As the canonical Bible is reticent about Thomas' actual apostolic field, apocryphal evidence has to be resorted to. The Doctrine of the Apostles1 witnesses the ancient usages and belief of the church. * 1

Dr. Joseph Kolangadan, Research guide in the University of Calicut, Kerala. Cureton (ed.) Ancient Syriac Documents, London 1864. The text of one version is taken from the Mesopotamian MS of the Syriac Bible recovered from Malabar by Buchanan, and left to the Cambridge University.

306

TIIE

HARP

...also what J a m e s had w r i t t e n f r o m Jerusalem, and Simon f r o m the city of Rome..., and Judas Thomas f r o m India... India and all its own countries and those bordering on it, even to the farther sea, received the Apostle's Hand of Priesthood from J u d a s Thomas, who was Guide and Ruler in the church which he built and ministered there. This Indian Apostolate is the burden of the Acts of Judas Thomas.2 Augustine and Epiphanius had regretted the Manichaeans and the gnostics abusing the Acts of Judas Thomas in the place of Holy Scriptures. 3 Ephraem and Gregory of Tours recognise as historical, incidents mentioned in the Acts. The Semitic t e x t has been submitted to scrutiny to ascertain the primitive language of the composition, by Prof. F. C. Burkitt 4 . 'The mingled cup' takes us back to t h e period of nascent Christianity when the disciplina Arcani particularly regarding the Eucharist, prevailed. 'The Acta Thomae is a work probably going back to the second century. 5 P a r t I of t h e Acts deals with Thomas" mission of King Gudnaphar of Gandara with his capital at the ancient Takshasila, the Indian Athens. Numismatic as well as * epigraphic evidences have rendered this King of the first century A. D. quite reliable historically. 6 As the Uttarayana phase 7 of 'Thomayanam' is not our immediate concern, let us concentrate more on P a r t II of the Acts where the Apostle is said to have proceeded t o the land of Mazdai. No less a savant t h a n Sylvain Levi has interpreted Mazdai as a corruption of Vasudeva (one of Kanishka's successors). Dr. Medlycott 8 however 2

Edition of the original Syriac t e x t with an English translation by Dr. Wright. Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles 2 Vols, London 1871. 3 Prof. Carl Schmidt, like Max Bonnet, a specialist on the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles says: 'A gnostic romance of the Apostles is to me a phantom'. 4 Cf. Early Christianity outside the Roman Empire, Cambridge, 1899, pp. 63-79. 5 Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh, 1902, Vol. IV. Article on Thomas. 6 The coins of Gondophares and t h e T a k h t - i - B a h i inscription are studied in great detail particularly by General Cunningham. 7 Cf. J. N. F a r q u h a r The Apostle Thomas in North India. Thatta in Sind has a fakir community, to all appearances Hindu, yet known as Barthomai 'Sons of Thomas'. 8 Cf. India and the Apostle Thomas, London 1905, p. 288.

THE

HISTORICITY

OF A P O S T L E

...

IN KERALA

307

deems i t t h e I r a n i a n c o n f u s e d r e n d e r i n g , b e c a u s e of s i m i l a r i t y w i t h Mazdai, of Mahadeo (Mahadeva), some S o u t h Indian p o t e n t a t e . T h e p r o n o u n c e d l y S o u t h I n d i a n a t m o s p h e r e of P a r t I I is u n m i s t a k a b l e . Bullock c a r t , n o t only f o r t h e t r a n s p o r t of goods b u t also f o r p e r s o n a l c o n v e y a n c e , is characteristic, of S o u t h India. T h e l a d y t r a v e l l i n g in her p a l a n q u i n is a n o t h e r i n s t a n c e . T h e r e i t e r a t e d a b l u t i o n s b e f o r e meals, t h e g a r m e n t s of m o u r n i n g , t h e S a s h t a n g a - N a m a s k a r a , all these e n h a n c e t h e local colour. Such fidelity t o t h e minutiae argues out mere h e r e - s a y c o m p o s i t i o n . A t least t h e n u c l e u s m u s t h a v e come from firsthand contact with South India. T h e t w o p a r t s of t h e Acts, t h e n , r e f e r t o t w o clear c u t phases of T h o m a s ' a p o s t o l a t e . In his first mission t o t h e P a r t h i a n empire, he c a m e t o t h e I n d o - S c y t h i a n b o r d e r p r o v i n c e of K a n d a h a r . I t was in his s u b s e q u e n t t r i p t h a t he evangelized M a l a b a r as well as t h e C o r o m a n d a l coast. This is in c o n f o r m i t y w i t h t h e ecclesiastical t r a d i t i o n t h a t T h o m a s was s u m m o n e d f r o m I n d i a t o witness Transitus Mariae 48 A. D. 9 P r o b a b l y only a f t e r t h e 1st Council of t h e A p o s t l e s in 50 A. D. h e e m b a r k e d o n his D a k s h i n a y a n a . T h o m a s ' I n d i a n a p o s t o l a t e is confirmed b y t h e Acts of Mari (Bishop of Ctesiphon, in t h e s u b - a p o s t o l i c age) based on t h e Doctrine of Addai. P r o c e e d i n g b e y o n d P e r s i a , Mari f e l t ' t h e p e r f u m e of Mar T h o m a s w a f t e d u n t o him'. 1 0 First Century A. D. Intense Maritime contact with Malabar I n d i a h a d b e e n in a c t i v e c o n t a c t w i t h t r a d e c e n t r e s like Alexandria, a n d t h e e x a c t w h e r e a b o u t s of I n d i a n p o r t s w e r e k n o w n t o W e s t e r n m a r i n e r s d u r i n g t h e first C e n t u r y of t h e X i a n era. S t r a b o (circa 19 A. D.) speaks of 120 ships a n n u a l l y sailing t o I n d i a . H i p p a l u s ' discovery, a b o u t 4 5 - 47 A. D., of t h e m o n s o o n w i n d s revolutionized t h e R o m a n t r a d e w i t h I n d i a . 9. G r e g o r y of T o u r s A. D. 590 ' I n Gloria M a r t y r u m ' a n d M o d e s t u s , Archbishop of J e r u s a l e m ( a n o t h e r 6 t h c e n t u r y w r i t e r ) r e f e r t o Mary's demise c a u s i n g t h e g a t h e r i n g of t h e s c a t t e r e d Apostles. A n d r e w , A r c h b i s h o p of Crete (d. 720) h a s 3 homilies ' i n D o r m i t i o n e m Yirginis Mariae', as in t h e case w i t h St. J o h n of D a m a s c u s of t h e same c e n t u r y . 10. J . B. Abbeloos (ed.) B r u s s e l s 1995, p. 85.

308

THE

HARP

Peutinger's Tables attests the existence at Muziris of an Augustan temple with a Roman garrison. Pliny's Natural History (circa 50-60 A. D.) explicitly refers to p o r t s in Malabar, the world's pepper-emporium. Periplus Maris Erithrae (about 60 A. D.) is almost as detailed as a mariner's vade-me-cum. The fairly accurate information about South India postulates the author's first-hand contact. The European names for several Indian commodities, particularly of the spices, are derived f r o m lingua Malabaria. 11 Apostle Thomas, then, landing at Muziris in the middle of the first century is no conundrum; it is quite feasible in the historical context. Kerala Claim

The Kerala Christian Community, cherishing its hoary antiquity is legitimately proud of its apostolic or'gin. Rampanpattu, attributed to Thomas Rampan II of the MUiekal family f r o m Niranam, redacted in its present form by Thoma Rampan X L V I I I of the same family in 1601, is a panegyric of the Apostle's South Indian activities. The song is in circulation in more than one recension, the chief variation being linguistic. The same is the theme of the songs of Margam Kali, the Christian counterpart to the Hindu Yathrakali, a survival of the mock-fight started probably during Pallibana Perumal's eventful reign. ' P a n a n p a t t u ' on the occasion of Christian marriage celebration, chronicling the community's former gala days, is all the more significant as recent research on early Tamil literature has established the erstwhile covetable status of the Panan as the royal chronicler. Veeradiyan pattu, too, popular from the 4th century onwards expatiates on the apostolic origin of the Kerala Christian community. Folklore, the ore out of which history is to be refined, reiterates the Apostle's landing in 52 A. D. at Malankara (near Kodungalloor) the Roman Muziris. 12 11. See Caldwell's A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages. 12. Correa Amandor S. J. in his letters from Cochin testifies t h a t till the 17th century the Malabar Christians used to celebrate in November the feast of the Apostles landing at Maleankara. Early Portuguese chroniclers like Peter Maffei

THE HISTORICITY OF APOSTLE . . .

Local Hindu tradition Christian b r o t h e r s ' claim

too,

generously

IN KERALA

supports

309

their

The Keralolpathi, a Brahmin work written to support the social a n d religious c l a i m s of t h e N a m b u d i r i B r a h m i n s , says that " a certain foreigner, Thomman, who is s p o k e n of as Sarua Veda Vigrahan ( a n o p p o n e n t of all Vedas) c a m e t o M a l a b a r a n d c o n v e r t e d t o his B u d h a f a i t h m a n y p r o m i n e n t p e o p l e of t h e l a n d , i n c l u d i n g t h e r e i g n i n g C h e r a m a n king, B a n a P e r u m a l . " If B a n a m a y b e i d e n t i f i e d w i t h K i n g B a n a V a r m a n m e n t i o n e d in e a r l y T a m i l w o r k s , w e m i g h t p l a c e h i m b e t w e e n 50 a n d 80 a c c o r d i n g t o the l a t e K a n a k a s a b h a i P i l l a i ' s c a l c u l a t i o n b a s e d on G a j a b a h u . Synchronism.13 There are t w o other local H i n d u r e f e r e n c e s a w a i t i n g c r i t i c a l r e s e a r c h . M a v e l i k a r a K a r u t h e d a t h p a l m leaf d o c u m e n t , Keralathile Marga Vazhiyude Avastha h a s , recorded' 72 V e l l a l a C h r i s t i a n f a m i l i e s m i g r a t i n g f r o m C a v e r i - p o o m p a t t i n a m to Q u i l o n in 293 A.D. 1 4 T h e y e t - t o - b e - t r a c e d Kulathwana Mana Thaliola m i g h t shed a flood of l i g h t o n t h e a p o s t o l i c p h a s e of K e r a l a Christianity. Pailibana Peruraal - A Royal Disciple of Apostle Thomas ? The 7§ inches liijh bronze s t a t u e t t e recovered f r o m t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e N i l a m p e r u r t e m p l e ( n o t f a r f r o m C h a n g a n a c l i e r r y ) m i g h t p r o v e t h e c l u e to t h e s o l u t i o n of t h e P a i l i b a n a P e r u m a l controversy. The s t a t u e has a cross suspended f r o m the neck ( e m b o s s e d ' o n t h e c h e s t ? ) T h e b r o k e n staff w h i c h t o o , a p p a r e n t l y h a d a cross a t i t s t i p , is i r o n i c a l l y s y m b o l i c of t h e f o r c e d

(Historia Indicarum 1588 l i b r i 1(3) a n d D u a r t e B a r b o s a a f t e r extensive travel along b o t h coasts, have with meticulous fidelity r e c o r d e d a u t h e n t i c a t e d a c c o u n t s of t h e t r a d i t i o n i n M a l a b a r a n d M y l a p o r e . G o u v e a ' s Jornada (1606) is a n o t h e r i n e x h u s t i b l e m i n e of i n f o r m a t i o n . M i s s i o n a r i e s ' d e t a i l e d r e p o r t s k e p t in t h e R o m a n a r c h i v e s p r o v i d e a m p l e m a t e r i a l for life-long research on Kerala Christianity. 13. D r . P . J . T h o m a s ' A r t i c l e c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e C e n t e n a r y S u p p l e m e n t to t h e J o u r n a l of t h e R o y a l A s i a t i c S o c i e t y . ( L o n d o n , O c t o b e r 1924) 14. Cf. T . K . J o s e p h Malabar Christian Documents

310

THE

HARP

abdication. After conversion the Perumal might have retired to this solitary resort. The granite slab underneath the statue with a cross sculptured on it supports this view. The nearby compound bearing the name Thiruvanchikulam, its revenue accruing to Kodungallur Temple, all fit in well with the assumption of royal association with the place. The large bearded statue nearby, instead of being of 'Maha-Jina' might be as well the first statue in India of the Perumal's Guru, the Apostle or even that of the preceptor's preceptor, Christ himself. In case Bana Perumal is identical with Vana Varampan mentioned in early Tamil works, his reign must have been between 50 and 80 A.D., according to Chera chronology experts, exactly coinciding with the period of apostolic activity in Kerala. Collating the rulers according to Kerala tradition with the Padiltupathu account is a commendable line of historical research, Uthiyan Cheral Athan is said to have been defeated which led to his renunciation and sad demise (Vadakkirunnu). The Padittapathu iocussed on the Cheras, in its extant versions lacking only the first section / presumably dealing with Uthiyan Cheral Athan, leaves room for speculation. Anyway South Indian political climate then had been congenial to conversion. Chilappadikaram and ManiMekhalai with royal approbation propagated the tenets of Jainism and Buddhism. Any innovator then was a Boudha. In. fact even today the Malayalam expression to become a Christian is 'Margamkuduka'. Only from the days of Manikavachakar's militant Saivaism there had been instances of resistance to conversion. Keralolpathi's chronogram '«o'sraajo C S 1 J rao^o' confounding Apostle Thomas with his namesake Thomas of Cana, need not be overemphasized. Such a farrago of mutually contradictory legends as Keralotpathi, which any one can emend or interpolate anywhere cannot be used for changing dates and events which have been already settled ou fairly valid grounds. 15 The Seven Cradles of Nascent Kerala Church

Kodungalloor, the ancient Chera capital 1 8 where the Apostle is said to have converted the reigning Perumal, naturally became Thomas st - Thomas the Apostle, Ernakulam 1952 p 63 16. Cf. McCrindle s Ptolemy London 1885, p. 51

THE HISTORICITY OF APOSTLE . . .

IN KERALA

311

the first episcopal see in South India. By the Iravi K o r t h a n (=Mani?) Copper Plate as well as the copper plates granted to Thomas of Cana in the 4th century Kodungallur became a privileged Christian centre with royal charters safeguarding the community's rights. Mahoda (= town in Syriac) with itsMalayalam equivalent P a t t a n a m in combination might have been the nucleus of Mahodaya P a t t a n a m . " Kollam is hailed as the second cradle of Kerala Christianity. I m p o r t a n t Christian documents used to commence invariably referring to Kodungallur or Kollam. The immigration f r o m the east coast in 293 A. D., already referred to in connection with the Mavelikara document, might have been under the aegis of Mani. This has caused the appellation 'Manigramakar'. Otherwise Manikavachakar's a t t e m p t . The mountain city, chayal at the source of the Pampa, an apostolic cradle of Kerala christian community was deserted in the fourteenth century, owing to 'Vakrippuli' and ' p e r u m p a t t a i ' leopards and locusts or bandits, still a m a t t e r for speculation. The flourishing parish of Kanjirapally, recently elevated into a diocese, is one of the filial churches of Chayal, still ruminating memories of their emigration. The ruins of this ancient centre have of late been discovered at Nilakkal. Niranam, Trikpaleswaram the 'Neacyndon' of Pliny and Periplus was another scene of apostolic activity, four of the Pathillathil Pottimar, receiving baptism. After the schism, Niranam has remained, a Jacobite stronghold. Kokamangalam on the banks of t h e Vembanad lake was the next venue of the Apostle. Even now the ruins of an ancient Hindu shrine is visible adjacent to the church, with an old neglected tank. Kokamangalam has lost its former importance, the nearby still flourishing Pallipuram church treasuring portions of t h e wooden cross said to be planted by the Apostle. 17. The original Jewish colony, becoming a Nazarany settlement t h a n k s to the Apostle, might have been replaced later by the Manassoh tribe under the able leadership of Joseph Rabban, who secured the Jewish Copper Plate. Later Kodungallur got destroyed by the Dutch.

312

THE

HARP

K o t t a k a v u or N o r t h P a r u r on the n o r t h e r n bank of the Vembanad lake, signifies fortified temple. As most of the people accepted the new faith, the temple itself became a citadel of christian worship. 1 8 The present spacious church claims to be built on t h e very t a x - f r e e site of t h e ancient church. Palayur - Brahmakulam, Pliny's 'Palora' and 'Bramagara' is said to be the northernmost shrine associated with the Apostle. Local legend maintains t h a t the Apostle miraculously convinced the Brahmins performing ablutions. The unconvinced withdrew saying Adutha Kuli Veminatl (next bath at Vemmenad), meaning no more dealings, which has become an idiom in Malayalam. Even to this day no orthodox Malabar Brahmin takes a b a t h or meal in Palayur, t h e accursed desert - 'Sapakad', t h e modern Chavakatt. Othuparambu, Talika tank, Kalath P a r a m b u , Orumanachery, Pudumanachery, the area is still resonant with n e v e r - t o - b e stifled echoes of its apostolic encounter. The main feast of this church is fittingly celebrated even to this day on Karkadaka-Sankr&ntlii. As the church of Palur dedicated t o Saint Cyriac (Syr. Quiraqus was the oldest (primus) among all the churches in Malabar and renowned for favours and graces obtained, and for this reason much f r e q u e n t e d , I devoted myself more especially to it. The stone church which I began two years ago enclosing, apparently, within it the primitive building had risen to the height of the windows. At this stage no one would dare to pull down the old building, fearing to be struck down by sudden death; it stood surrounded by the walls of the new erection, b u t after I had prayed and removed their timidity, the old s t r u c t u r e was pulled down, and the new building stood out in such fine proportions t h a t the Hindus, the Mohammedans, and the Jews flocked to see it. 1 9 Probably the most popular Thomist shrine in Kerala today is the M a l a y a t t u r t a b l e - t o p mountain sanctuary commanding the 18. Dr. Buchanan (1806) has recorded the existence of a Kavu-like structure. 19. Letter of James Fenicio S. J. quoted. J a r r i c Indicarum R e r u m torn iii lib ii cap v pp 50-51.

THE HISTORICITY OF APOSTLE

...

IN KERALA

313

P e r i y a r view below. The sage like his g u r u , is said t o h a v e r e t i r e d t o this solitary r e s o r t f o r c o n t e m p l a t i o n . The first S u n d a y a f t e r E a s t e r , a v a s t c o n c o u r c e of people ascend t h i s m o u n t a i n t o p , the a t m o s p h e r e v i b r a t i n g t o t h e i r ' P o n n i n - K u r i s u Mala-Mulhappo, ponmala kayattam'20 Mylapore Tomb According to the Syro-Malabarian tradition, Apostle T h o m a s being lanced, r o u n d e d off his career w i n n i n g t h e m a r t y r ' s c r o w n , near Mylapore. If t h e claim of Mylapore 2 1 to b;>, t h e place of m a r t y r d o m a n d of the b u r i a l of the A p o s t l e was not based on u n d e n i a b l e f a c t , t h e Christians of Malabar would never h a v e acknowledged t h e i r neighbours' claim to hold t h e t o m b of t h e Apost.le, n e i t h e r would t h e y ever be i n d u c t e d t o f r e q u e n t it by w a y of pilgrimage how u n r e a s o n a b l e it is t o suppose t h a t t r a d i t i o n s converging f r o m v a r i o u s p o i n t s a n d m u t u a l l y s e l f s u p p o r t i n g , can be t h e o u t c o m e of l e g e n d a r y imaginings. 2 2 20. The word ' K u r i s u ' in t h e i r devotional c h a n t b e t r a y s t h a t a t least t h e pilgrimage b e c a m e p o p u l a r only in t h e p o s t P o r t u g u e s e period, since t h e t i m e - h o n o u r e d word h a d been t h e Syriac 'Sleeva'. 21. P t o l e m y ' s Maliarpha (Med. Op. C't. p p 161-170). If we t a k e i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e i n a c c u r a t e r e p r o d u c t i o n of I n d i a n names in P t o l e m y ' s p r e s e n t t e x t , it is a l m o s t a s u r p r i s e t h a t so m u c h of t h e n a t i v e sound of the n a m e is yet r e t a i n e d . 22. Ibid p p 134, 150 Y u l e M a y l l a p p u r - pea fowl t o w n . B u r n e l l M a l a i p p u r a m - M o u n t t o w n C a t a l a n m a p 1375 Mirapor, echoing Mirapolis, t h e Celestial city T h o m a s t u i r A L a t i n a c c o u n t of t h e t r a d i t i o n s of t h e place was r e n d e r e d into T a m i l b y one G a n a p r a k a s a m Pillai, Rev. W. T y l o r translated, i t into English and published it in The South Indian Christian Repository, (Madras, C h u r c h Mission Press, 1837 vol. I p p . 263 - 266) A H i n d u Tamil v e r s i o n of t h e St. T h o m a s t r a d i t i o n , w r i t t e n c e r t a i n l y a f t e r t h e 16th c e n t u r y , t h o u g h it mixes u p persons, places and dates, r e f e r s t o K i n g Kandapa ( K a n d a p a r a j a ) and t o T i r u - M v i l a = Mylapore). This v e r s i o n has been published in The Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings of meetings (Vol. V I , J a n 1924, p p 121-124)

314

THE; H A R P

Early Syriac sources

Bardaisson (A.D. 154-222) 'child of the river Daisan' which flows by Edessa might have been highly influential at the court of Abgar IX of Edessa where Julius Africanus, on visit, is recorded to have met him. Astronomer cum historian, he is hailed as the Father of classical Syriac. In fact to wean away the populace from the highly popular hymns of Bardaisson. Ephraem composed his hymns, as Bardaisson is suspected to have been tainted with Gnosticism. The Acts of Thomas Syriac t e x t contains a gnostic hymn by him, 'The H y m n of the Soul'. The present Syriac text which has merited the unstinted praise of Prof. Burkitt, might have received the final polish while the Syriac language was still in its best age. M. Duval 2 3 on the authority of Noeldeke holds t h a t the Acts was written at Edessa by the school of Bardaisson. Mani (A. D. 216-274) in his (Manichaen) Psalm has recorded Apostle Thomas' landing in Kerala. The coptic papyrus MS is preserved in Chester Beatty collections. Baroda House, London. Corroboration from Early Tamil Literature

Bardaisson's compositions evince the unmistakable stamp of first-hand contact with India as he meticulously describes Digambara Sanyasins. The Acts of Judas Thomas mentions some customs analogous to "Mannappedi' t h a t was in vogue in Kerala till recently. Bardaisson was associated with 'Elagabolus' who might very well have been 'Elango Adigal', the author of 'Chilappadikaram'. Bardaisson himself might be Madurai Koola Vanikan C h a t t a n a r - t h e royal t r a d e commissioner 24 . (This might provide a clue to the right interpretation of the 'Loka Perumchetty' in the Iravi Corthan copper plate). Bardaisson's sojourn in South India gains additional significance as his visit 23 24

Litt. Syr. p. 100 Cf. Charlesworth Trade Routes and Commerce of the Roman Empire (pp. 18, 26, 29, 30, 31) for the Imperial t r a d e commissioners as a policy since Augustus, Dr. F. W. Thomas too mentions its counterpart ' R a j a Vaidehaka' (Royal t r a d e agent) in the Maurya period (The Cambridge History of India I p. 479).

T H E HISTOKICITY OF APOSTLE . . .

IN KERALA

315

coincides with the likely period of the transfer of Apostle's relics f r o m Mvlapore to Edessa, His intimacy with Elagabolus (Elanco) has its effect discernible in Chilappadhikaram. Gáthai 29 social concern is resonant of Isias LVIII 4-12 proclaiming liberation of the oppressed. The 'Canal Vari' song is reminiscent of Solomon's inimitable love lyric, 'the Song of Songs' made the medium for Bardaissou's Valentine approach to love and m a t t e r s of sex, as he maintained t h a i sexual intercourse dilutes the darkness in the world and is as such a means of purification. 'Manimekhalai' celebrating the courtesan's daughter turned ascetic, inculcates the diametrically opposite approach to sex, in fact the Manichaen a t t i t u d e to sex. 'Mmicliaens never kissed anyone of the other sex. Instead they kissed a New Testament and passed il accross to be kissed'. 23 May this not be some clue to the Indian legend of Siva burnlug K a m a . Anyway Manimekhalai G a t h d 27 describes the 'Iváiiuvadikal' of Vanchimánagar, with strict monotheism, most likely a reference to the nascent Christian community. 2 6 Patristic citations

As early as 303 A. D. Arnobius had testified: " T h e deeds can be reckoned up and numbered which have been done in India." The greatest luminary of the Syrian church, E p h r a e m (d. 373) makes the devil lament " t h e Aposlle I slew in India has overtaken me in Edessa". 2 7 There are ever so many references in Ephraem's hymns to Apostle Thomas' Indian evangelization and m a r t y r d o m and' the translation of his remains to Edessa. A land of people dark fell to t h y lot ... t h y grateful dawn India's painful darkness doth dispel ... Blessed a r t thou whom the Great king h a t h sent, t h a t India to his One-begotten thou shouldst espouse ... Blessed a r t thou, 25 26 27

Woyland' Young Eros Denied, p. 155. For f u r t h e r elucidation of this as a working hypothesis, see P. V. Mathew's Reader in Early Christianity and Manichaeism in India - Mar Thoma and Mar Mani E r n a k u l a m 1977. Bickell (ed.) Carmina Nisibena No. 42.

316

THE

HARP

0 Thrice-Blessed c i t y ! t h a t hast acquired this pearl None greater doth India yield. 28 Gregory Nazianzus (d. 390) speaking of the Apostles' mission to alien lands mentions 'Thomas with India', 2 9 Ambrose (d. 397) expatiates on divine providence rendering even remote regions accessible to the Apostles 'as India to Thomas'... 3 0 St. Augustine has commented on Thomas' p a r t in the story of the cupbearer. Early in the 5th century an Indian priest Daniel, is said to have assisted Mar Komai to t r a n s l a t e a work from Greek to Syriac. Jerome mentions Christ's power operating 'with Thomas in India, with Peter in Rome'. 3 1 Gaudentius of Brescia (d. 410-427) proud to possess a portion of the Apostle's relic, speaks of 'Thomas among the Indians' consummating his martyrdom. 3 2 Paulinus of Nola (d. 431) attests: 'Parthia received Mathew, India Thomas' 3 3 . Chrysostom (d. 407) bears indirect testimony as he speaks of the evangelization of India by an Apostle with the 'gift of tongues' 3 4 Gregory of Tours unequivocally asserts: Thomas the Apostle, according to the narrative of his m a r t y r d o m , is stated to have suffered in India. His holy remains (corpus), after a long interval of time, were removed to the city of Edessa in Syria and there interred. In t h a t p a r t of India where they first rested, stand a monastery and a church of striking dimensions, elaborately adorned and designed ... This, Theodore, who had been to the place, narrated to us. 35

28. Monsignor Lamy S. Ephraemi Syri Hgmni et Sermones (Mechliniae, 1902) Vol. iv. col. 694 seq. 29. Homil X X X I 1 1 Contra Arriarios et de seipso cap. xi. 30. Enarratio in Psalm xiv. 31. Epist 59 ad Marcellam. 32. Sermon 17. 33. Migne Patrol. Lat. Vol. 61, Col. 514. 34. Mont faucon (ed.) Opera Omina (Paris 1735) torn i pp. 566, 567, 575. 35. Cf. In Gloria Martgrum revised in 590. Medlycott deemed it worthwhile to devote six pages to establish t h a t the detailed account of a festival in Gregory's account is more applicable to the topographic and climatic conditions of Mylapore t h a n of Edessa. Op. cit., pp. 77-79.

THE

HISTORICITY

OF

APOSTLE

IN KERALA

317

V e n e r a b l e B e d e (d. 735) t o o a f f i r m s " . . . P e t e r r e c e i v e s R o m e . . . , T h o m a s , I n d i a ... " 3 6 Ecclesiastical Tradition J a c o b of S a r u g w i t h his p o e m ' T h e P a l a c e T h a t T h o m a s B u i l t ' (A.D. 552), e x p l i c i t l y affirms M a r T h o m a ' s I n d i a n a p o s t o late. A p r a y e r a s c r i b e d t o h i m a d v e r t s t o T h o m a s ' a p p r e h e n s i o n s on e m b a r k i n g t o I n d i a . '"The A p o s t l e T h o m a s o n l e a v i n g f o r India, parting f r o m the Apostles, wept and moved t h e m to t e a r s . ... B e h o l d , ... I go n o w t o a d a r k e n e d l a n d as a r c h i t e c t ... 0 blessed one, t h o u g o e s t f o r t h as a r a y of t h e s u m t o d i s s i p a t e t h e d a r k n i g h t of I n d i a . " T h e t r a d i t i o n of t h e E a s t e r n C h u r c h is v o i c e d f o r t h b y S o l o m o n , b i s h o p of B a s s o r a h (c. 1222) " T h o m a s ... b e c a u s e h e b a p t i s e d t h e d a u g h t e r of t h e K i n g of t h e I n d i a n s , h e ( t h e K i n g ) stabbed: h i m w i t h a s p e a r a n d h e d i e d ... " 3 7 A m r ' ( c i r c a 1340) h a n d s d o w n t h e N e s t o r i a n t r a d i t i o n regarding Apostle Thomas " H i s t o m b s t a n d s on t h e p e n i n s u l a Meilan in I n d i a , t o t h e r i g h t of t h e a l t a r in t h e m o n a s t e r y b e a r i n g his n a m e " . S o o n a f t e r t h e a r r i v a l of t h e P o r t u g u e s e o n t h e I n d i a n scene, in 1504 f o u r r e c e n t l y a r r i v e d S y r i a n b i s h o p s w r i t e f r o m M a l a b a r t o t h e C a t h o l i c u s of t h e E a s t " T h e h o u s e s as well of S a i n t T h o m a s t h e A p o s t l e h a v e c o m m e n c e d t o be o c c u p i e d b y some C h r i s t i a n s w h o a r e l o o k i n g a f t e r t h e r e p a i r s ; t h e y a r e s i t u a t e d a t a d i s t a n c e f r o m o u r a f o r e s a i d C h r i s t i a n s (of M a l a b a r ) of a b o u t t w e n t y five d a y s , a n d s t a n d in a c i t y on t h e sea n a m e d Meliapor, in t h e p r o v i n c e of Silan, w h i c h is one of t h e p r o v i n c e s of I n d i a " 3 8 Liturgical confirmation T h e L i t u r g i c a l b o o k s a n d c a l e n d a r s of t h e S y r i a n C h u r c h are replete with Apostle Thomas' Indian Martyrdom. E a s t Syrian 36. O p e r a O m n i a . Coloniae A g r i p p i n a e 1688 t o r n iii col. 37. W a l l i s B u d g e (ed.) The Book of the Bee p. 105. 38. M e d l y c o t t r i g h t l y c o m m e n t s : u p t o r e c e n t - y e a r s t h e age to S a i n t T h o m a s ' S h r i n e u s e d t o b e m a d e ( a c r o s s t h e lulls) b y t h e S a i n t T h o m a s C h r i s t i a n s of

485. pilgrimon foot Malabar.

318

THE

HARP

c a l e n d a r : " J u l y 3 ... St. T h o m a s , ' w h o was pierced w i t h a l a n c e in I n d i a . His b o d y is a t U r h a i (Edessa) h a v i n g been b r o u g h t there by the merchant Khabin'. A great festival"39 F r o m t h e Sedra of t h e f e a s t o n J u l y 3 : Blessed Apostle, be t h o u p r a i s e d , 0 Mar T h o m a s , t h o u w h o s e slavery secured f r e e d o m t o t h e I n d i a n s ... By t h e e H e has c o n v e r t e d t h e I n d i a n s t o t h e t r u e f a i t h ... As t h e sun lights u p a n d g l a d d e n s t h e w o r l d , so T h o m a s t h e A p o s t l e b r i g h t e n s a n d g l a d d e n s d a r k I n d i a ... 40 T h e office of t h e J a c o b i t e Syrians ( A n t i o c h ) : J u l y 3 " T h i s T h o m a s whose m e m o r y we c e l e b r a t e , o n being s e n t t o I n d i a ... 41 "The Indians N e s t o r i a n Syrian Office. J u l y 3 Vespers. inhaled t h e odour of life b y t h y d o c t r i n e , 0 T h o m a s ... " T h e L o r d has designed t o g r a n t St. T h o m a s t o his f a i t h f u l c h u r c h as a t r e a s u r e f o u n d in I n d i a . . . As Christ has a n o i n t e d P e t e r t o t h e H i g h P r i e s t h o o d of R o m e , so thou ( 0 T h o m a s ) t o d a y a m o n g t h e I n d i a n s (has received t h e same h o n o u r ) T h o m a s t o o k t h e r o u t e to India " F r o m a Jacobite Calendar : " T e s r i - O c t o b e r , die 6, c o r o n a t i o T h o m a e A p o s t o l i regis Indiae et Misadi, e j u s q u e filii J o a n n i s - et decern". 4 2

et

T h e W e s t e r n c h u r c h ' s l i t u r g i c a l t r a d i t i o n is enshrined in t h e E p t e r n a c c o p y t h e H i e r o n y m i a n M a r t y r o l o g y . "V. N o n . J u l . T r a n s l a t i o T h o m a e Apostoli in Edessa. X I I K a l . J a n . Passio T h o m a e apostoli in I n d i a " M a r t y r o l o g i u m B e d a e too endorses t h e I n d i a n m a r t y r d o m of A p o s t l e T h o m a s . 4 3 39. Stained Glass in P o r t a l C h u r c h of N o t r e Dame, S e m u r , Coted 'Or ( F r a n c e ) , Stained Glass, C a t h e d r a l , T o u r s , Stained Glass, C a t h e d r a l , B o u r g e s ( F r a n c e ) ... i l l u s t r a t e scenes f r o m Thomas' Indian Apostolate. Based o n MS d a t e d A. D. 1443, 14th May, obviously a copy of a n a n c i e n t K a l e n d a r , R e v : A. J . Maclean The Catholicos of the East and his people L o n d o n 1892, p. 350. 40. Mgr. L a m y (ed.) B r e v i a r , torn iv, pp. 427-484. 41. Assemani Bibl, Or. iv, pp. 30 ff. 42. A s s e m a n i codex X X X V I I , p. 250. 43. Cf. M e d l y c o t t op. cit., p p . 62-3.

THE HISTORICITY OF AFOSTLH

The Greek liturgical Indian m a r t y r d o m "The named also Didymus (the of God to the Parthians, the Indians, ... was p u t Indians" 4 1

IN KERALA.

319

tradition too upholds Apostle Thomas' conflict of Saint Thomas the Apostle, Twin). He having preached the word and the Medes, and the Persians, and to death by Misdeus, King of the

From the Menologium October, the sixth day - The contending of Saint Thomas the Apostle. After the - Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ when the Apostles each went to the countries which had fallen to them by lot to teach, to Saint Thomas fell the country of the Indians, where he preached Christ. Because he had brought to the faith of Christ the wife of the king of the Indians and her son, he is traduced before the King ... The holy man thus taken to the mount is by them (solidiers) transfixed with a lance and killed. 45 As regards the Abyssinian church, Medlycot has quoted an Ethiopian calendar of the t w e l f t h century " I n menso Octobris 6, Thomas Indiae Apostolus. 46 Pilgrims'

Attestation

In 883 victorious king Alfred in thanksgiving sent an. embassy with royal offerings to the apostolic shrine in India. "And in the same year (883) Sighelin and Aethalstan conveyed to Rome the alms which the king had vowed (to send) thither, and also to India to St. Thomas..." 4 7 Dr. Lingard comments on Alfred's pious disposition. Often he sent considerable presents to Rome...on one occasion to the Indian Christians of Meliapor. Swithelm, 44. Bollandists (ed.) Synaxarium Ecclesiae Conslantinopolitana (Bruxelles, 1902) col. 113 seq. 45 First edited by order of Emperor Basil, reedited by order of Pope Benedict X I I I Pars i p. 97. 46 Published by Job Ludolf Commentarium ad suam Historiam Eihiopicam (Frankfurt 1691) pp. 389-436. 47 Banjamin Thorpe (ed.) The Anglo-Saxon chronicle according to the several Original Authorities (London 1861) Vol. II p. 66.

320

THE

HARP

the bearer of the royal alms, brought back to the king several Oriental pearls and aromatic liquors. 4 8 Prof. E. A. Freemail is duly impressed by the hazard of such a voyage in those days...And what seems stranger t h a n all, he sent an embassy all the way to India with alms for t h e Christians there, called the Christians of St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew. 4 9 Dictionary of Christian Antiquities has the following entry on St. Thomas " I n the 9th century Sighelm and Aethelstan were sent by King Alfred with alms to Rome and thence to India to St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew". 5 0 Florence of Worcester (d. 1117) in his chronicle under the year 883 writes: "Asser, Bishop of Shorborne died and was succeeded by Swithelm, who carried king Alfred's alms to St. Thomas in India and returned in safety". 5 1 William of Malmesbury attests: Beyond the sea, to Rome and to Saint Thomas in India he (Alfred) sent many gifts. The legate employed for this purpose was Sigclineus the Bishop of Sherborna, who with great success arrived in India, at which every one of this age wonders. R e t u r n i n g thence he brought back exotic gems and aromatic liquors which the land there produces. 5 2 The Anglo-saxon homage t o the remote shrine of India's Apostle evidently captured popular imagination so much, Thomas has remained the most popular English name, as is instanced in the idiom 'Tom, Dick and H a r r y . ' The Venetian globe t r o t t e r Marco Polo has left us a detailed account after his visit in 1293 of Apostle Thomas' tomb in Malabar. The Body of Messer Saint Thomas the Apostle, lies in this province of Malabar at a certain little t o w n having no great population; 'tis a place where few traders go, because there is very little merchandise to be got there, and it is 48 49 50 51 52

History of England Vol. i ch iv, 6th ed. (London 1854) p. 112. Quoted Medlvcott p. 82. Old English History (London 1869) p. 131. See Thos. Forester's translation (London 1851) p. 73. T. D. H a r d y (ed.) Willelmi Malmesbiriensis de pestis regam Anglorum libri quinque (London 1840) Vol. 1 p. 187.

THE HISTORICITY OF APOSTLE . . .

IN KERALA

321

a place not very accessible. Both Christians and Saracens, however, greatly frequent it in pilgrimage. For the Saracens also do hold the Saint in great reverence, and say t h a t he was one of their own Saracens and a great prophet, giving him the title of Avarian which is as much to say " H o l y Man." The Christians who go thither in pilgrimage take of the earth from the place where the Saint was killed, and give a portion thereof to any one who is sick of a quartan or a t e r t i a n fever; and by the power of God and of Saint Thomas the sick man is incontinently cured. The earth I should tell you is red. 5 3 Franciscan Friar J o h n of Monte, Corvino of Cathay famo, gratefully recalls his stay in the vicinity of the Apostle's tomb. I John of Monte Corvino...departed from Tauris, a city of the Persians, in the year of the Lord 1291 and proceeded to India. And I remained, in the country of India, wherein stands the church of St. Thomas the Apostle, for thirteen months, and in t h a t region baptised in different places about one hundred persons. 5 1 Blessed Oderic of Pordenone, after recovering the bones of the Franciscan m a r t y r s of Thana, proceeded to Quilon (Palumbum). E n r o u t e to China, he visited Malabar in 1324-'25. From this realm (Minibar-Malabar) 'tis a journey of t h e n days to another realm which is called Mebar, and this is very great, and h a t h in it many cities and towns. And in this realm is laid the body of the Blessed Thomas the Apostle. His church is filled with idols and beside it are some fifteen houses of the Nestorians. 5 5 John de Marignoli who landed in Columbum (Quilon) just before Easter and tarried with the Christians there for upwards of a year, during the monsoon of 1349 sailed to the Mylapore shrine " T h e third province of India is called Malabar, and t h e 53 54 55

Colonel Y U L E (The Book of Ser Marco Polo 2nd edition, London 1975), vol. ii chap, xviii, p. 338. Colonel Yule Cathy and the Way Thither (Hakluyt Society, London 1966 Vol. i p. 197. Ibid Vol. i, p. 80.

322

THE

HARP

Church of St. Thomas which he built with his own hands, is t h e r e besides a n o t h e r which h e built by the agency of workmen.' 5 6 Marignoli refers also to the Apostle in Ceylon, ordering t h e t r u n k of a t r e e t h a t had been c u t down on t h e island "go and t a r r y f o r us at the haven of the city of Mirapolis". 5 7 Nicolo de Conti visited Mylapore some Lime between 14251430, " P r o c e e d i n g onwards t h e said Nicolo arrived at a m a r i t i m e city, which is named Malepur (should be Malpuria), situated in t h e second gulf beyond the I n d u s (the Ray of Bengal). H e r e t h e b o d y of St. Thomas lies h o n o u r a b l y buried in a large and b e a u t i f u l church; it is worshipped (venerated) b y heretics, who are called Nestorians, and i n h a b i t this city to t h e number of a t h o u s a n d . These Nestorians are s a c a t t e r e d over all India, as t h e Jews among us." 5 8 Mani himself, as we have seen earlier, had come to India. One disciple of Mani, Mar A m m o n has a p p a r e n t l y come to South India. This p r o b a b l y might elucidate the 'Mariamman m y s t e r y . ' Our examination of the credentials of the alleged apostles of India has proved no idle peeling of t h e onion. I t has helped us to get a t t h e kernel of Apostle T h o m a s ' Malabar Mission. We are g r a t e f u l to subsequent evangelizers whoever they be down to the recent times of St. F r a n c i s Xavier, rightly hailed ' t h e second Apostle of I n d i a ' and R o b e r t de Nobil who concentrated on t h e B r a h m i n s and revived Apostle T h o m a s ' experiment of r e t a i n i n g local c u l t u r e even a f t e r conversion. Our g r a t i t u d e to them in no way lessens our primordial filial a t t a c h m e n t to Apostle Thomas who b e t r o t h e d K e r a l a to Christ. Sociological Proof

E v e n in t h e case of St. P e t e r , there are n o t in Rome, nor in Antioch, a people who claim to be the lineal descendants of t h a t Apostle's disciples whereas in t h e case of Apostle Thomas t h e r e is in Kerala a large body of a b o u t five million Christians, of indigenous origin, who have all along cherished their lineal descent f r o m t h e Saints' disciples. Even as scrupulously as they 56 57 58

Ibid Vol. ii, p. 311. Graecized f o r m of Mylapore Yule. R. H. Major India in the Fifteenth Century, L o n d o n 1857, p. 7.

Hakluyt Society,

THE

H I S T O R I C I T Y OF

APOSTLE,

IN KERALA

323

keep the sradhas (death anniversaries) of their ancestory, they have down the corridor of time, celebrated the memory of their ancestoral preceptor: Although Kerala's peculiar social system and practices have proved an impediment to the spread of the Gospel, they have rendered one inestimable service, namely, supplying unassailable evidence 59 for the apostolate of St. Thomas in South India. St. Thomas Christians of Malabar, the living moment of the Apostle's work, are more numerous t h a n all the Christians of Western Asia p u t together; they are also the one consolidated block of the scattered body of Indian Christians. True, they had been evangelistically sterile for several centuries, having kept up the social exclusiveness of their H i n d u ancestory. They have at the same time, preserved their faith, unlike the Thomas Christian community on the east coast. The full force of the sociological argument in favour of the Apostolic origin of the Kerala Church can be appreciated only in the Kerala milieu. " T h a r a w a d " is the core of Kerala society - not exactly family in the English sense, b u t clan, cherishing the memory of the spot where the first family resided. Well informed persons make no bogus claim tracing their ancestors. As Dr. P. J. Thomas has pointed out, "there is hardly a royal family in Europe, which can claim such long podigree" 6 0 as the ancient Kerala Christian 'Tharawads' like 'Kalli, Kalikavu, (Kaliangat), Sankarapuri, Pakalomattom.' Like their Hindu neighbours St. Thomas Christians became something like a caste, on an endogamous basis, as marital relationships were restricted, by social taboos, within the narrow range of noble clans of hoary antiquity. 6 1 If the South Indian tradition is a baseless fabrication, the East Syrians who held the South Indian Christianity under control till the end of the 16th century would not have tolerated such a preposterous claim. On the contrary, Seleucia scrupulously recognised the claim and showed special consideration for this autocephalic Church respecting the unprecedented prerogatives of the Archdeacon of Malankara who is styled 'Gate of All 59

Prezter John, Community in Socotra, like the fabulour.

60.

Cf. St. Thomas

the Apostle

E k m . 1952, p. 18.

61. St. Francis Xavier has repeatedly w r i t t e n to the Roman authorities about 'the St. Thomas Christians of the highest nobility',

324

THE

HARP

India'. (Thar 'a d 'kol e Hendo) The succession to Archdeaconship was restricted to the Palcalomattom family whose ancestor had received high-priesthood from the Apostle himself. 62 The Apostolic tradition is deep rooted and ingrained in the very blood of the Thomas Christ : ans. The Syrian Christians of Malabar used to celebrate J u l y 3 as Sr&ddha. Friar Jordanus (A.D. 1320) records t h a t the Thomas Christians honoured Apostle Thomas as Christ himself. Synod of Daimper (1599) laments that water mingled with dust from Mylapore sepulchre served as Holy Water among Malabar Christians. At every ceremony Mar Thomas' name was formerly invoked, as is instanced in the Kalianapattu - 'Mar Thoman Arulale'. One of the most ancient Christian communities, the Thomas Christians of Kerala form 'the perfect example of thorough assimilation to the milieu' 63 . Christian in essentials, they are cent per cent Indian in their way of life. W i t h a Christian ancestory as old as t h a t of Antioch and Rome, they have ever been loyal to the Christian ideals and proud of the Christian heritage. Long before several of the now prominent Western centres even heard of Christ, Christianity had taken root in Kerala's privileged soil, as is iterated by F r . Placid, the very embodiment of the St. Thomas tradition. No less loyal to, and proud of their motherland, have they proved themselves down the centuries. This community has zealously preserved several pristine elements of Christian heritage, like one of the oldest versions of the Old Testament (Pshitn), t h e Anaphora of Addai and Mari ... At the same time the ancient Kerala culture, too, has been this community's heirloom. 6 4 In the modern way of life, due to ever increasing inter-influence, cultural distinctions are being wiped out. Still, the Thomas Christians retain enough of their ancestoral culture as to arrest the attention of savants of culture. 6 5 62. Jaor S. J., Teezamio Rev Indi p. 339. 63. Cardinal Tisserant, Eastern Christianity in India. 64. Cf. Joseph Kolangaden 'The Culture and Traditions of the Thomos Christians' in The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India Vol. 2, Trichur, 1973, p. 127-131. 65. Cf. Anantha Krishna Iyer, The Anthropology of the Syrian Christians Ekm, 1926.

THE HISTORICITY OF APOSTLE . . .

IN KERALA

325

W h e n t h e P o r t u g u e s e first opened t h e navigation of India, t h e Christians oi St. Thomas had bccome seated for ages on t h e coast of Malabar. In arms, in a r t s , and possibly in v i r t u e , they excelled t h e natives of H i n d u s t a n ; the h u s b a n d m e n cultivated the palm tree; t h e m e r c h a n t s were enriched by t h e p e p p e r t r a d e , t h e soldiers preceded t h e Nairs or nobles of Malabar, and their h e r e d i t a r y privileges were respected by t h e g r a t i t u d e or t h e fear of t h e K i n g of Cochin or t h e Z a m o r i n himself." 6 6 Historians' Assessment H y p e r - c r i t i c s easily yield to the t e n d e n c y t o reject all h i s t o r y n o t based on c o n t e m p o r a r y d o c u m e n t s or m o n u m e n t s . They are n o t critical and p a t i e n t enough lo sift t h e gold1 f r o m t h e dross vis-a-vis. time honoured t r a d i t i o n s a n d folklore. As every historian w o r t h y of the name should not hesitate t o discard baseless claims, he m u s t likewise exercise his critical acumen in a c o n s t r u c t i v e m a n n e r while dealing with long established t r a d i t i o n s woven into the v e r y life of a c o m m u n i t y . We have to vindicate our f a t h e r s against the ' a r m - c h a i r h i s t o r i a n ' in t h e name of scientific objectivity, poohpoohing well a u t h e n t i cated t r a d i t i o n s , the very life-blood of a c o m m u n i t y , as F r . Placid has a p t l y t e r m e d it. Discarding the Shylock-like insistence on t h e ' p o u n d of objectivity' several h i s t o r i a n s a p p r o a c h t h i s issue with a saner a l t i t u d e . Indologists w i t h their insight into I n d i a n sociology, have accepted the St. Thomas t r a d i t i o n . E x p e r t s on Kerala, like K. P. P a d m a n a b h a Menon, L. K. A n a n t h a K r i s h n a Iyer a n d A. Balakrishna Pillai h a v e respected t h e apostolic origin of Kerala Christianity. The S t a t e Manuals of T r a v a n c o r e and1 Cochin fully accept t h e St. Thomas T r a d i t i o n . The P o r t u g u e s e a u t h o r i t i e s in spite of their ruthless a t t e m p t t o westernize t h e local ' H i n d u - C h r i s t i a n s ' , respected t h e K e r a l a Christian claim of apostolic origin. P o r t u g u e s e historians, de Barros and de Couto, who m a d e critical enquiries i n t o t h e t r a d i t i o n , were satisfied a b o u t its credibility. 68. Gibbon, Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, c h a p t e r on Christian c o m m u n i t y ' s o u t s i d e t h e R o m a n Empire..

the

326

THE HARP

The P r o t e s t a n t writers unsympathetic to the miracles centered round the Mylapore tomb, however endorse the historicity of Apostle Thomas' evangelization of South India. The Cambridge scholar, Dr. Claudius Buchanan after travelling all over the Malabar country and visiting nearly all our ancient churches, wrote: We have as good authority t h a t Apostle Thomas died in India as that Apostle Peter died in Rome 57 Bishop Heber is even more convinced about this : It may be as readily believed t h a t St. Thomas was slain at Mylapore as that St. Paul was beheaded in Rome or t h a t leonidas fell at Thermopylae. 6 8 In the wake of Medlycotl's India and the Apostle Thomas (1905), there was a definite t u r n in favour of Apostle Thomas' Indian mission. Dahlrnann's Die Thomas I eg ende (1912) is a worthy sequel to Medlycott's monumental work. Although this did not satisfy the Tubingen school of Richard Garbe, and certain Catholic Hyper-critics like Fr. H e r b e r t Thurston, S. J., support for this came from more seasoned scholars - Vath in Germany (Der Heil.ge Thomas der Apostle Indiens, 1925). An excellent little essay was w r i t t e n for academical honours by Malhias II. Hohlenberg of Copenhagen, entitled, De originibus et falis Eeelesiae Christianae in India Orientali, disquislio histórica ad linem saéculi decimi quinti perducta, Havinae, 1822. The title is rather high sounding, b u t his effort to establish t h a t the first evangelisation of India was by the Apostle Thomas, is not only commendable, but on t h e whole is the best thing yet published on the subject. Thirty years ago the balance of the probability stood absolutely against the story of the Apostolate of Thomas in India. We suggest t h a t today the balance of probability is distinctly on the side of historicity. 6 9 Cardinal Tisserant (Diet. Theol. Catholique, 1941) and Fr. Hambye (Clergy Monthly, Nov. 1952) uphold the historicity of St. Thomas' 67. Christian Researches in Asia, 1814. 68. Cf. Indian journal. 69. F a r q u h a r The Apostle Thomas in North

India.

THE

HISTORICITY

OF A P O S T L E

...

IX KERALA

327

I n d i a n mission. Dr. Vincent S m i t h , t h o u g h a t first sceptical a b o u t t h e A p o s t l e ' s j o u r n e y to S o u t h India, when, h e came i n t o closer c o n t a c t w i t h t h e sources asserted: I t m u s t be a d m i t t e d t h a t a p e r s o n a l visit of t h e A p o s t l e t o S o u t h India was easily feasible in t h e c o n d i t i o n s of t h e t i m e , a n d t h a t t h e r e is n o t h i n g i n c r e d i b l e in t h e t r a d i t i o n a l belief t h a t he came by Socodra. I a m now satisfied t h a t t h e C h u r c h of South I n d i a is e x t r e m e l y ancient. 7 0 Dr. Mingana is m o s t categorical in his affirmation: There is no h i s t o r i a n , no poel, no b r e v i a r y , no l i t u r g y a n d no w r i t e r of any kind, who h a v i n g t h e o p p o r t u n i t y of speaking of St. T h o m a s does n o t associate his n a m e w i t h India t h e n a m e of T h o m a s can never be dissociated f r o m India T h o m a s a n d I n d i a are s y n o n y m o u s . 7 1 K e r a l a has gained f r o m the Apostle's c o n t a c t , n o t only s p i r i t u a l l y b u t t e m p o r a l l y too. U n d o u b t e d l y K e r a l a d o m i n a t e d I n d i a economically which paved the w a y f o r even political s u p r e m a c y t o some exLent in t h e Chera hegemony u n d e r N e d u m cheral A t h a n a n d C h e n - K u t t u v a n whose reign f o r m the m o s t glorious age in t h e c h e q u e r e d h i s t o r y of K e r a l a . T h a t m a y be t h e s p i r i t in which J a w a h a r l a l N e h r u gladly associated himself w i t h t h e c e n t e n a r y c e l e b r a t i o n s in 1952. Detailed analysis of t h e Apostle T h o m a s ' c o n t a c t w i t h K e r a l a m i g h t p r o v e a n i n e x h a u s t i b l e m i n e of i n f o r m a t i o n . F o r t h e p r o b l e m s t h e y give rise t o , a n d t h e light t h e y shed on K e r a l a C h r i s t i a n i t y as well as C h u r c h H i s t o r y in general, h a v e a w i d t r a p p l i c a t i o n possibility because of t h e side lights t h e y t h r o w on K e r a l a c u l t u r e a n d I n d i a n H i s t o r y . T h e s c r u t i n y of N a c e n t C h r i s t i a n i t y in K e r a l a enables us t o get n e a r e r t o our rich c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e , assessing its p a s t glory, m a y be lost g r a n d e u r , its d i v e r s i t y , its e n c o u n t e r s along t h e c o r r i d o r of t i m e . A diligent s t u d e n t of A p o s t o l i c Christianity as well as a n a d m i r e r of a n c i e n t K e r a l a c u l t u r e will cherish t h e A p o s t l e T h o m a s ' evangelization of K e r a l a as t h e ' o p e n - s e s a m e ' t o t h e h i d d e n t r e a s u r e s of K e r a l o l o g y . 70. Oxford History of India, 1923. 71. The Early Spread of Christianity in India, t h e B u l l e t i n of J o h n R y l a n d ' s L i b r a r y , M a n c h e s t e r , J u l y , 1926. **

328

THE HARP

The Shepherd of all flew down and sought Adam, the straying sheep. He took him on his shoulders and ascended; it was an offering for the Lord of the flock. Blessed be his hovering! (St

Ephrem)

The Lord of the flock, as he ate with his shepherds, took and delivered his flock to Simon who obeyed him. He spoke once, twice and again to stress his concern. Three pledges he took from him as shepherd, t h a t with love he should shepherd his lambs, and should visit his sheep with mercy, and should guard his ewes with fear. (St

Ephrem)

Order the speech-endowed sheep, keep the celibates chaste and the virgins pure! Establish the priests in virtue, the prelates in humility, and the people in righteousness. Blessed be he who has filled you with understanding! (St Ephrem

to Bishop

Abraham)

Come forth then, come, 0 sheep, 0 lambs and ewes, stolen by those astray, and deny the marks and names of the thieves! Come and be marked with the glorious name of God, and be called 'Christians', t h a t by both mark and name in all things you may be the Christian flock! (St

Ephrem)

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 329-338 Karen Hermes

The Syriac Language and Heritage in the Life of the Churches of the Syrian Christians of St. Thomas

Introduction

When I first came to Kerala and heard the evening liturgy in the chapel of the S E E R I , it happened t h a t I could understand some of the words of the liturgy. But the language was not the vernacular Malayalam! It sounded like Syriac - and it actually was Syriac! So one of my first liturgical discoveries during my trip to India was t h a t 'real' Syriac remains a p a r t of the vernacular Malayalam liturgy of the Syrian Churches in Kerala. In my paper I will reflect upon my experience here in the Syrian churches of Kerala 1 and consider some aspects of the Syriac heritage which I have drawn from the works of Indian theologians. In the first p a r t I discuss the relationship between Syriac and Malayalam with regard to the above-mentioned Syriac portions of the liturgy. In the second p a r t I consider both the question of liturgical realization and the study of Syriac.

1. Here I refer to the seven denominations of the St. Thomas Christians with Syrian tradition.

330

I

THE

HARP

The Significance of the Syriac Language Churches of St. Thomas

in the Life of

the

Syrian

The native language of the people is an important factor for the life of the churches in Kerala. As Malayalam is the mother tongue of the Syrian Christians of St. Thomas in Kerala t h e question arises as to the relationship between the vernacular and Syriac. In March I spoke with a professor of the Malayalam language about the significance of Syriac for the life of the churches of the St. Thomas Christians. His view was t h a t Syriac is of no real importance for the people because it exists only as a liturgical language which is not understood. So Syriac remains alien to them. The Malayalam professor believed t h a t Syriac was significant for only a few of the priests who still understood it. He noted t h a t there is no common Syriac word in use in Malayalam today. The small number of Syriac words t h a t are in use, are those taken f r o m the ecclesiastical sphere. The Syriac language, therefore, has not found deep roots in Malayalam. So, because it isn't used in the colloquial language, he concluded t h a t Syriac is insignificant for contemporary St. Thomas Christians. In response to his assessment, let us examine the Syriac words which have been adopted in Malayalam. At the first World Syriac Conference, Father Dr. Jacob Vellian gave a paper on the theme: "The Love of St. Thomas Christians for Syriac and its After Effects in Malayalam Literature". 2 The title of the paper alone reveals t h a t he thinks the opposite of what we have just heard from the Malayalam professor. For Father J. Vellian, it is clear t h a t the St. Thomas Christians hold Syriac in the highest esteem! 3 His paper contains a list 4 of the Syriac words in Malayalam today, which number altogether 104. Some of the

2. J. Vellian, The Love of St. Thomas Christians for Syriac and its After Effects in Malayalam Literature, in: The Harp, Vol. II, No. 1&2, Kottayam 1989, pp. 103-108. 3. The paper gives a lot of references taken mainly from Portuguese accounts which show that Syriac was an important language for the St. Thomas Christians, cf. ibid., pp. 103-106. 4. Ibid., pp. 106-108.

T H E SYRIAC LANGUAGE A N D HERITAGE

. . . ST THOMAS

331

words are listed twice 5 - so there are less t h a n 100 Syriac words in use in contemporary Malayalam. 0 The significance of this statistic depends upon one's judgement. One can say: Malayalam has a huge vocabulary, an enormous variety of w o r d s - w h a t are less t h a n 100 Syriac words? And: if you compare the Sanskrit influence on the Malayalam vocabulary 7 , then the Syriac impact seems meaningless. Or one can draw the conclusion of Father Jacob Vellian: "The... list shows the abundance of the use of Syriac in Malayalam t o d a y " . 8 It may be t h a t so far we have followed a wrong path: perhaps the number of the Syriac words is not the decisive factor in judging whether Syriac is important or not i m p o r t a n t in the life of the churches of St. Thomas today. It simply m u s t be stated: one cannot derive from the fact that there is a limited number of Syriac words in the Malayalam language t o d a y t h a t t h e Syrian heritage, which is also expressed in the Syrian language, is not important for the life of the churches. My point is this: A peoples's consciousness of their liturgical language and heritage determines its importance for them. 9 The liturgy is one of the important expressions of the life of the Syrian churches in Kerala today. The liturgy in. the Malayalam language has its basis in the authoritative Syriac 5. These words are: "Ava", p. 106/107; "Martha Mariam", p. 106/107; "Malpan", p. 107/108; "Ramban" twice on p. 107; "Sleeva", p. 106/107; "Malakha", p. 106/108; cf. also on p. 106 "Maran Iso Misiha" and "Misiha" and also "Mar". There are also two names of Latin origin ("Paulose" and "Luka" on p. 107) which have been adopted in a Syriac form. The word "Parudeesa" on p. 106 is of Persian origin, cf. J. Payne Smith (Mrs. Margoliouth), ed., A Compendious Syriac Dictionary, Oxford 1903, repr. 1979, p. 458. 6. In Appendix II of his grammar Fronmeyer gives some examples of common Syriac words which were used in Malayalam at the beginning of this century, cf. L. J. Fronmeyer, A Progressive Grammar of the Malayalam Language, New Delhi, Madras 2 1989, p. 284. 7. I thank Dr. Bertram Schmitz who has helped me to consider the Malayalam vocabulary in its connection to other languages. 8. cf, J. Vellian, p. 106. 9. cf. B. Schmitz, The Impact of Language and Writing on the 'Selfunderstanding' of a Religion or Denomination, in: The Harp, Vol. VI, No. 3 Kottayam 1993, p. 25 If

332

THE

HARP

l i t u r g y . T h e S y r i a c key words of t h e l i t u r g y r e m a i n n o t h a v i n g b e e n t r a n s l a t e d i n t o M a l a y a l a m or S a n s k r i t . T h e y h a v e o n l y b e e n transliterated with Malayalam characters. J 3 One of

the

most

c e n t r a l S y r i a c w o r d s is

J.1.2>

& It is

u s e d n o t o n l y i n M a l a y a l a m as 'cwSsruomo' b u t a l s o in t h e E n g l i s h of I n d i a as 'Qurbana'. W h e n M a l a y a l e e s s p e a k to m e i n E n g l i s h a b o u t t h e s e r v i c e oil S u n d a y m o r n i n g , t h e y say: " W e g o to t h e H o l y Q u r b a n a . " T h e y d o n ' t s a y : ' ' W e g> to t h e H o l y Mass" or " t o t h e S u n d a y m o r n i n g l i t u r g y " or " t o the E u c h a r i s t i c s e r v i c e " . T h i s specific use of t h e S y r i a c w o r d ' Q u r b a n a ' r e v e a l s t h a t t h e people have a consciousness that they go to a holy liturgy which is e x p r e s s e d b y the w o r d ' Q u r b a n a ' a n d n o t b v a n y o t h e r w o r d . T h e ' Q u r b a n a ' is o n e of t h e m o s t c e n t r a l a s p e c t s of t h e S y r i a c h e r i t a g e . T h e c o n n o t a t i o n s w i n c h are g i v e n b y t h e S y r i a c w o r d ' Q u r b a n a ' are c l o s e l y c o n n e c t e d w i t h i t s S y r i a c o r i g i n a n d t h i s c o n n e c t i o n is e x p r e s s e d t h r o u g h the l a n g u a g e . In t h e K u r i s h u m a l a A s h r a m 1 0 t h e w o r d ' B h a r a t i y a P o o j a ' is u s e d for t h e c e l e b r a t i o n of a n I n d i a n R i t e E u c h a r i s t . T h e w o r d 'pooja' is a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a h i n d u c e r e m o n y . 1 1 T h i s e x p e r i m e n t of I n d i a n i z a t i o n is also e x p r e s s e d t h r o u g h the l a n g u a g e b y t h e u s e of a s p e c i f i c I n d i a n w o r d . If o n e w o u l d t a k e a S y r i a c k e y w o r d like ' Q u r b a n a ' o u t of the

M a l a y a l a m l a n g u a g e , i t m a y be

Syriac

word,

that

one

loses

but also the whole ecclesiastical sphere

not only a associated

with this word.

in

In t h e s a m e w a y o n e c a n t a k e o t h e r e x a m p l e s of S y r i a c w o r d s t h e M a l a y a l a m l a n g u a g e like ' m a ' m u d i t a , ' s l i b a 1 2 , e t c . , w h i c h

10. The Christian monastic community of the Kurishumala Ashram (located in the Westghats/Kerala) has adopted both the Antiochean-Syrian liturgical tradition and religious traditions of non-Christian India. So the KurishumalaAshram is a model of inculturation of oriental Christian monasticism in the Indian context. 11. It is perhaps already a pre--hinduistic South Indian heritage. This hint was suggested to me by Dr. B. Schmitz. 12. E. G. the title of the book: "The Biblical and Archaeological Foundations of the Mar Thoma Sliba" by J. Vazhuthanapally (Kottayam 1990, OIRSI 139) shows that the expression 'Mar Thoma sliba' is somewhat intranslatab le

T H E SYRIAC LANGUAGE

AND

HERITAGE

...

ST THOMAS

333

continue to bear the Syriac heritage in the life of the churches of St. Thomas. The special characteristic of the remaining Syriac words in the Malayalam language is t h a t usually they have only one meaning. 'Sliba in Malayalam means only the Christian cross, often used in the expression 'Mar Thoma §liba. In the Syriac language it is also used, for example, as an adverb: §lTbait with the meaning 'crosswise' 1 3 and also in the context of astrology when there is a constellation of f o u r stars: 'sliba denesra (cross of the eagle) 14 . The same is with the word 'ma'mudita: in Malayalam it means 'baptism', b u t in Syriac it can also mean a 'pool' or simply a 'washing'. 1 5 I am not sure whether it is for Malayalees the same to say 'daivam' instead of 'Alalia'. For me it is not. If I hear t h e word 'daivain' (a word of Indo-European origiu) a colorful Indian world of Gods and Goddesses comes to mind-whereas the word 'Aldha' evokes though Is of the monotheistic religious world of Semitic origin. For you it may be different because you use the word 'daivam' in. a Christian context also: in the Malayalam bible translation 1 6 and in the liturgy. The high consciousness of the use of Syriac can be seen in something else: One of the Malayalam liturgical books contains a list (suriyani vadannalute art I ham/The meaning of the Syriac words) of explanations of Syriac words such as:'aloho', ' m o r a n ' or 'sliho'. 17 At first I was astonished when I found in the list of Syriac words expressions like: 'Kuriyelayison, and 'staumen kalos'. 18 In fact, these are Greek. But the medium through which these Greek elements have come into the liturgy is, of course, Although one could say in the context of the English title: the 'cross of St. Thomas', it is not done because it does no mean exactly the same. 13. 14. 15. 16.

J. Payne Smith, op. cit., p, 479. ibid. ibid., p. 289 The Greek word is translated with 'daivam' in the Malayalam Bible-1 thank Dr. Bertram Schmitz, who has given this information to me. Hermann Gundert criticizes the use of 'devam' in the neuter form, believing the masculine form'devan' to be more suitable, cf. A. Frenz (ed>. Hermann Gundert, Schriften nad Berichte aus Malabar, Ulm 1983, p. 101, 10617. cf. Malankara suriyani kattolikkarute vi. kurbanakramam, Tiruvalla 1992. p. 3f. 18. cf. ibid., p. 3.

334

THE

HARP

t h e Syriac liturgy, which contains these Greek words. And t h a t it is indicated t o be Syriac itself reveals t h e consciousness t h a t everything in the liturgy t h a t is n o t Malayalam m u s t be Syriac! The above-mentioned list of F a t h e r J a c o b Vellian contains, besides t h e Syriac words of t h e ecclesiastical sphere, several Syriac names. In the Indian c u l t u r e , t h e name of a person is a m a r k of his or her identity. So t h e use of Semitic names like Mathew, Sosamma and Y o h a n n a n shows t h e 'belongingness' to the oriental Christian background (for example, a H i n d u can recognize if a person is a Christian merely t h r o u g h t h a t person's name). As I come to t h e conclusion of t h e first section, I now a d m i t I am not convinced t h a t there is a n a b u n d a n t use of Syriac in Malayalam today. 1 9 I t h i n k t h e observation of t h e Malayalam professor whom I have q u o t e d in t h e beginning is correct: Syriac has not found deep roots in colloquial Malayalam. Syriac words in Malayalam have mainly been taken f r o m the ecclesiastical sphere. B u t I d o n ' t agree with t h e conclusion which this professor has d r a w n f r o m these observations. I t h i n k t h e Syriac words which are still in use t o d a y are m o s t i m p o r t a n t . Not t h e q u a n t i t y b u t t h e quality of these words is decisive. Is it possible to t r a n s l a t e t h e Syriac words in a n a d e q u a t e way i n t o Malayalam w i t h o u t losing their wider significance with all the c o n n o t a t i o n s they have? The result of t h e examination of the Syriac words in Malayalam d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t the Syriac heritage has been incorporated into t h e ecclesiastical Malayalam language through t h e use of key-words - k e y - w o r d s which s t a n d in t h e center of the life of the Syrian Churches of St. Thomas. II. 1.

The Significance of the Syriac Heritage in the Life of the Syrian Churches of St. Thomas Liturgical Realization

W h a t is t h e meaning of t h e Syriac heritage in t h e R e f o r m of the liturgy of t h e Syro-Malabar Church? 2 0 In light of the 19. In the Index of T. Burrow / M. B. Emmeneau of all languages which have influenced the Dravidian Languages, Syriac is not at all mentioned, cf. T. Burrow / M. B. Emmeiieau, A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, New York 1984, p. 515. 20. The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the seven denominations of the Syrian Churches of St. Thomas. She is in communion with Rome.

T H E SYRIAC LANGUAGE

AND

HERITAGE

...

ST THOMAS

335

decrees of the Second "Vatican Council, which encouraged the variety of the different traditions within the Roman Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar priests are currently undertaking a great amount of research in an a t t e m p t to rediscover the richness of the Syriac liturgy. 2 1 There are two movements t h a t are currently active in the Syrian Churches of St. Thomas. On the one hand, there is a move to go back to the ancient Syriac heritage in order to renew it for the life of the churches. On the other, there is also a move towards 'Indianization'.: Besides an awareness of the common Syriac heritage there is also the consciousness of the common Indian heritage. When both approaches are combined, the Syriac liturgical heritage is taken as a basic form which has to be adopted to t h e Indian situation. 2 2 The concern which stands behind the question of 'Indianization' or 'Syrianization' is the quest for the identity of the churches of the St. Thomas Christians. Father Placid Podipara describes their identity with three marks: " H i n d u in culture Christian in religion - Oriental in worship" 2 3 The a t t e m p t s of Indianization correspond with the cultural background of the Indian churches. The definition of worship as 'oriental' implies t h a t the Latin influence does not belong to the true heritage of t h e Syrian churches and so must be removed. Podipara's characteristics of identity form the basis of a consciousness of the St. Thomas Christians which fights against foreign domination

21. A number of studies have already been done. Two examples: A. G. Kollamparampil, Rubta d-Hasa: Friday of the Passion in the East Syrian Liturgy, A Source Study, Doctoral Dissertation at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of S. Anselmo. Rome 1994. J. Moolan, The Period of Annunciation - Nativity in the East Syrian Calendar. Its Background and Place in the Liturgical Year, Kottayam 1985 (Oriental Institute of Religious Studies Publications, 90) 22. cf. Francis Kanichikattil, To Restore or to Reform? A critical Study on Current Liturgical Renewal in the Syro-Malabar Church in India, Bangalore 1992 (Dharmaram Publications), pp. 91/109f/127. A critical view-point towards 'Indianization' is given by J. Vazhuthanapally, op. cit., p. xvii. 23. P. Podipara, Hindu in Culture, Christian in Religion, Oriental1 in Worship, in: Ostkirchliche Studien 8, 1959, pp. S9-104.

336

THE

HARP

and struggles for an indo-oriental St. Thomas. 2 4

renewal

of the

churches of

I have used the example of t h e liturgy to point to the significance of the Syriac heritage for liturgical reform and to demonstrate the importance of t h e Syriac heritage for the identity of the oriental churches in Kerala. It would, however, be too simple to take an ancient liturgy and use it in the church today. If this were to occur, the people would say: " W e don't understand the -liturgy. It does not mean anything to us! It is an o u t - ^ a t e d language!" To avoid this, an understanding of t h e Syriac heritage is necessary. 2.

Study of Syriac Language and Heritage

As far as I can tell, there are two different approaches to t h e learning of Syriac. Again let me s t a r t with a conversation. An Indian Orthodox student asked me whether I knew Syriac. And when I said 'yes' he brought a liturgical text to me and said: " R e a d and translate!" (this happened several times in fact). So there I stood. How could I explain t h a t I could not read and translate the t e x t although I knew Syriac? When we take Syriac classes in Germany, we learn how to make a proper analysis of a Syriac t e x t , word by word. It is a philological approach: for example, if the word in question is a verb, we determine the root, conjugation, tense, gender, number and person and look for an attached pronominal suffix. If a double determination is possible, we decide which one is appropriate. After the determination of the form we set the vowels and then we can pronounce the word. A f t e r w a r d s we translate it with the help of a dictionary. Simple verb-forms, of course, we learn by heart, b u t generally we make a full determination. The aim of this approach is to enable us to cope with any kind of text. Since there is a large variety of different Syriac sources, we must learn to analyse any unknown texts. 2 5 I don't know which answer you might give if I'd ask you what two German research students do when they sit at the 24. E.g. cf. Thomas Vellilamthadam, African Payal. Towards a mental Breakthrough in the Latin Connection of Indian Catholicism, Kottayam 1984 (Denha Services 4) 25. I thank Prof. Dr. W. Hage who has directed me to this aspect of the method of learning Syriac.

T H E SYRIAC LANGUAGE

AND

HERITAGE

...

S T THOMAS

337

beautiful beach at Trivandrum. W e did not go for a swim. In fact, in March we sat there with Father Samuel (Thaikkoottathil) a t the beach and translated two pages of the Syriac liturgy. This was a great experience for me: to sit at the beach and get an explanation of a Syriac liturgical t e x t and immediately to hear the same t e x t sung. 26 Of course, Father Samuel also could have analysed all of the forms, b u t the purpose of learning Syriac here was another one t h a n I knew. It was to u n d e r stand a celebrated liturgy and to get the sense of one's own liturgical heritage. For me, Syriac t e x t s are mainly historical sources. The students in Germany who learn Syriac are either students of Semitic languages in general or theologians with a special interest in oriental theology. Normally they have a good knowledge of the s t r u c t u r e of Semitic languages because they have learned at least one Semitic language before like biblical Hebrew. This is our entry point into the grammar of Syriac. We have a comparative philological approach to Syriac, ma ; nly in order to undertake some sort of research work. When Indians study their Syriac heritage they may also use the Syriac texts as sources for research, but nevertheless the interest is based on an existential concern for their life in the church. For a person with a western background like myself, this is especially interesting. I r e t u r n now to the conversation with the Orthodox student. As he belongs to a Syrian church I also asked him whether he knew Syriac. And he answered t h a t he took Syriac during the time of his theological studies b u t t h a t it was not enough for him to use it. I don't know if the same answer would be given by most of the Indian students I wondered whether it is to a certain degree in India the same as in Germany: if you want to come to a deeper understanding of Syriac texts you have to take special classes in Syriac. The Syrian churches of St. Thomas have a special institute, the SEERI, which is unique in this way: it facilitates everything 26. I should mention that there were hardly any people at the beach that morning. So we did not provide entertainment for a vast audience as Paul Strawn (Ft. Wayne/USA, now Marburg / Germany) guessed when he read through the draft of my paper. I thank him for his many helpful suggestions that contributed toward the betterment of the English text.

338

THE

HARP

t h a t is needed for a deeper understanding of the Syriac heritage. One focus is on the Syriac heritage in the life of the Syrian churches of St. Thomas. For example, one of the aims of the S E E R I Correspondence Courses 27 is to motivate the student to a conscious, intensive and effective participation in the liturgy of the Syrian Church. B u t as the S E E R I is known to you, I need not say anything else about this place. May be the S E E R I could also become more and more a center for mutual learning, so t h a t students f r o m the West could also get a touch of what it means t o study a living heritage. Conclusion

There are many other aspects of the Syriac heritage which could be considered here like Syriac spirituality or theology. I have focussed upon the liturgy because it is the basic expression of the life of the Syrian churches. All the churches of the Syrian Christians of St. Thomas claim t h a t the Syriac heritage is the basis of their ecclesiastical life. The Syriac heritage, therefore, finds its expression in various forms. It can be seen in the use of Syriac key words as I have shown above or in its meaning for the current liturgical renewal. The study of Syriac aims at a deeper understanding of the life of t h e Syrian churches. Still there is much to be discovered! F r o m these examples one can draw the conclusion t h a t the Syriac heritage is vivid and living. Even if i t is not always obviously seen, the Syriac heritage forms the substance of the life of the churches. The different denominations of the St. Thomas Christians have their own way to be faithful to their oriental origin. The Syriac heritage is an integral p a r t of the identity of the life of the churches of the Syrian Christians of St. Thomas today. **

27. Cf. on the back-cover of the SEERI Correspondence Courses, Kottayam.

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 339-343 Archbishop Joseph Powathll*

World Syriae Conference In a culture critique, on the basis of the experiments with chimpanzees Rustow concluded that "the quality of man that is lacking in animals is not intellect, but t r a d i t i o n - t r a d i t i o n as the possibility of passing on to others the product of the intellect and thus augmenting it and enriching it as it is preserved from generation to generation". (Quoted in Joseph Pieper). There is inseparable connection between humanity and history. One may, however, differ here with the meaning assigned to the intellect. In fact it is as memory that intellect proves itself as intellect. One could even say that intellect is basically memory. Memory leads to tradition and tradition realises itself in history. Tradition thus is the 'Constitutivum' of history. In some way intellect can anticipate future in the present. For, memory enables a person to understand the past in a new way in the light of the present, experiences (and Vice versa). Thus it provides an opening to the future. Of. course tradition can also be a block to development - but this is because wrong accretions are not perceived, and the fundamentals are lost sight of. Yet whoever destroys tradition destroys man - like the space traveller who destroys the. possibility of ground control. I have started in this vein because, in our times and in our countries, there are people who speak of all traditions with contempt and want to break with it all. As a matter of fact, many do not understand what tradition is all about. Often they * Inaugural address of Most Rev. Mar Joseph Powathil, Archbishop of Changanacherry and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.

340

THE

IIARP

would identify it with rituals and customs. This view could be more a n t i - t r a d i l i o n t h a n even .Luther's. Luther perhaps was protesting against a particular form of tradition, namely ecclesial and historical, as opposed to the primary tradition which for him was the direct word of God. However tradition, as Card. Ratzinger puts it, is constitutive of humanity t h a t is t r u l y human. Tradition subsists in a subject - and it can be an individual or a community. In our context it is the Church. Christian faith, by its very nature, includes the act of remembering. The seat of faith is the memory of the church. It realises itself in the comemmoration of the paschal event. In fact, we can even say t h a t the church is the Great Tradition (the Great Memory). Iu this conference you are probably not discussing lingustics or language pioblems. You are more concerned with the church and the role of the syriac tradition in the church. 2. In the beginning the great Christian tradition presented itself as a Triple Tradition - the Syriac, Greek traditions along side the Latin. This, I think, was part of the divine dispensationChurch was to the early fathers the Ikon of the Trinity. No wonder then t h a t the experience of God was manifested in three diverse ways. This diversity, far f r o m impoverishing the christian mystery, indicated only its great depth and infinite richness. To those who think of the church as a vast and uniform organization, there is nothing comforting in the earliest period of Church history. This t r u t h has great significance for the f u t u r e . Recognition by all, of this principle of ' u n i t y in diversity' is an essential pre-condition for any sort of christian unity. It was in the fitness of things t h a t the Second Vatican Council, whose aim was to open the way for t r u e ecumenical dialogue, started by proclaiming the pluriformity of the church. It even exhorted eastern catholics who were in any way westernised to go back to their oriental / eastern heritage. All churches within the catholic communion are equal in dignity and have the same right and responsibilities. By way of diversion, it may be said, t h a t at the moment the syriac tradition remains largely weak and powerless like the

WORLD SYRIAC C O N F E R E N C E

311

"third world". Though it was perhaps the first tradition and the fir«t centuries saw its growth as far as China and Indonesia, political vicissitudes had their severely negative impact on The Syrian Churches, Some of the western theologians and church historians even ignore it altogether. It is also a fact t h a t most of them do not know anything about the riches of this great tradition. This indeed is a wrong situation. A Christianity t h a t i s ignorant of the syriac world is a sadly deficient C h r i s t i a n i t y . A Church without Ephrem, Philixenos, St. Issac of Nineveh, the west and east syrian liturgies and the east Syrian schools and monasteries would indeed be a poor church. 3. S \ r i a n liturgy, spirituality and theology form a distinct patrimony in the church catholic and Apostolic. We could emphatically agree with Prof. Sebastian Brock in saying t h a t " I t alone is an authentic representative of the Semitic world out of which the Bible sprang". ('Sp. in the syriac t r a d i t i o n ' - p . l ) . The word was first proclaimed in. this language and in this cultural milieux - every other tradition is a translation and an expression of this earliest preaching. It would be refreshing to go back to the very source and capture its spirit for the genuine growth of the church. Eve n the syriac version of the Bible has a special significance in interpreting the Word. A proper understanding of the Semitic thought patterns is certainly necessary for the correct understanding of the Scriptures. The syriac tradition with its emphasis on divine love and self emptying, on the sonship of Ihe redeemed man, on asceticism, on self-offering and on esclialology certainly makes an important contribution to the universal patrimony of the church. In the context of self centredness of secularisation and consumerism, of the spirit of domination arid violence, the world has to be reminded of the emphases this original form of Christianity had. This world is in dire need of a return to the attitudes t h a t found expression in the syriac tradition. 4. Today we hear much about a third world theology and an Asian spirituality. There has also been much breast beating about the post Constantman deviations. Well, here in the syriac tradition, we have a form of C h r i s t i a n i t y t h a t is free from western cultural thought patterns. Again as Prof. Sebastian Brock

342

THE HARP

said " i t is free from the European " c u l t u r a l baggage" with which western forms of Christianity are usually associated 5 ' (ibid. p. 1). Any form of Christianity will have to have its unbreakable link with the original preaching. The moderns will have to verify their faith with the apostolic tradition. We can't have a theology and spirituality like a bolt from the blue. Our theology and spirituality have to be rooted in the earliest expression of christian faith. Therefore it is up to the Asian theologians and spiritual masters to dive deep in to the authentically Asian form of Christianity which is the syriac tradition. Unfortunately many of those who today seek Asian forms are still thinking in western terms and do not care to appreciate the treasure they have in their midst. 5. Now a days we hear much about Christianity being foreign. People like Arun Shourie sharply criticise the church for its alliance with the colonising powers of the past. Even christians sometimes get into a neurosis because of a deep feeling that the church is western. Here again we forget the existence of an ancient form of Christianity which we had in India, which we had from the beginning. People like Jawaharlal Nehru have reminded Indians about this - though even some of us have set this thought aside ! People, who have really understood the worth of the early tradition which we had, could assert that we had a church in India that was christian in faith, Syrian in its liturgy and spirituality and Indian in its general culture. We had the Syrian ecclesial tradition well integrated with the Indian or Asian cultural background. In facing the challenges of today we have to bring to the foreground the existence of this ancient heritage. An enthusiastic fostering of the Syrian ecclesial tradition will only help establishing the genuinely indigenous character of Christianity in India. We had here a form of Christianity that was deeply rooted in the Indian soil from the first century onwards. In this blending of the Semitic, the Dravidian and the modern Indian, will be the hope of Christianity in India - and perhaps in Asia as well..

WORLD SYRIAC

CONFERENCE

343

6. It is in this context that I see the value of. this World Syriac Conference. Experts, well versed in the syriac tradition, will be explaining the treasures of the syriac tradition to us in the coming days. It is significant that a number of western scholars are participating in this undertaking. Some in the west have in recent years, started appreciating the syriac tradition. Can those in the east wait or lag far behind ? Together we have to bring the syriac tradition back to the stage to fulfill its role as part of the triple tradition that is Christianity. Only such a Christianity can meet the challenges of the complex cultural situation of today. I wish the Conference all success. With this wish at heart, and imploring God's blessing, may I declare this Conference formally inaugurated.

My Farmer, plough my lands, and1 again and a third time, Lord 1 just as by a threefold action thou has baptized and brought to life the soil of our souls, the church of our spirits! So did the Apostles, twice and a third time, they sowed and reaped; and from that same crop [the increase] has continued and come down. It has grown rich and filled the earth with the treasures of teaching. (St

Ephrem)

344

THE HARP

The twelve Apostles were t h e farmers of the whole world. Yet no place and no region was named after them, till the tares appeared after the death of the farmers; And the tares have given their own names to the wheat. In the day of harvest they will be uproootecl. Blessed be he whose harvest is nigh! (St.

Ephrem)

(St.

Ephrem)

The Farmer came down to earth for the sake of mankind (who had turned to thorns) t h a t they might t u r n to wheat; the thorns plaited thorns for the head of the Farmer. Yet not lost was the seed of t h a t parable they depicted for see - the thorns are transformed to roses and lilies. a crown for the Labourer who endured the crown of thorns. And for t h a t farmer who lias laboured in Haran, among the thorns, to make them wheat, [grant] by thy grace t h a t cypress, myrtle and flowers may form a crown for t h y Athlete.

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., J u l y 1995 - 1996, pp. 345-354 Koonammakkal Thoma Kathanar

Christ and Christians: An Ecclesiological Theme in Ephrem

Introduction

Since Ephrem is the greatest poet and theologian for all interested in Christian Aramaic or Syriac branch of Christianity no conference is better suited t h a n this one for exploring an ecumenical theme from Ephrem himself. The very name "St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research I n s t i t u t e " where all the seven Thomas Christian Syriac Churches are represented, justifies such an attempt. Robert Murray has already explored Ephrem's profound interest in Church unity. 1 The Christological dimension of ecclesiology in fourth century Syriac theological literature is best presented by him. 2 Not to mention his epoch-making, work in the Syriac ecclesiological field when t h a t tradition was undivided. 3 In spite of such pioneering studies related to the Christian Aramaic ecclesiology there are new areas worth exploring. As regards the Syriac ecumenical ecclesiology is concerned it is an unfinished task and this paper is only an a t t e m p t at introducing 1

R. Murray, "St. Ephrem the Syrian on Church Unity", ECQ 15 (1963), pp. 164-176. 2 R. Murray, '"The Rock and the House on the Rock. A chapter in the ecclesiological symbolism of Aphraates and Ephrem", OCP 50 (1964), pp. 315-362. 3 R. Murray,. Symbols of Church and Kingdom. A Study in Early Syriac Tradition (Cambridge r p t 1977).

346

THE

HARP

a hitherto unnoticed aspect of the ecumenical ecclesiology of Ephrem the ecumenical Doctor and common Father of the entire Syriac tradition. Church is Unity

Church is the House built u p o n the Rock (këphâ) t h a t is Christ. 4 Church is a unity represented by the seamless tunic of Christ. 5 This imagery of Church unity we find a century before Ephrem, in Cyprian of Carthage (+258): "This sacrament of unity, this bond of concord inseparably cohering, is set forth where in the Gospel the coat of the Lord Jesus Christ is not at all divided nor cut, b u t is received as an entire garment, and is possessed as an uninjured and undivided robe by those who cast lots concerning Christ's garment, who should rather p u t on Christ...That coat bore with it an unity t h a t came down from the top, t h a t is, t h a t came down f r o m heaven and the Father, which was not to be at all r e n t by the receiver and the possessor, b u t without separation we obtain a whole and substantial entireness. He cannot possess the garment of Christ who parts and divides the Church of Christ." 6 Thus the feature of unity belongs to the very nature of the Church. According to Ephrem a divided Church is a 'wounded body'; some members are 'cut-off' and 'wounded' in every division. 7 It is only Christ the Physician who can repair and heal those cut off f r o m the body which is the Church. 6 The Church is in great grief because of its being wounded and also on account of its cut-off members. 9 So she is a 'weeping mother because of her divided children.' 1 0 Sheep of Christ the Only Shepherd

Christ's sheep is branded with the name Msihâyê. The name Mslhâ is upon every member of His sheepfold and this 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ibid., pp. 205-238. HdC 6:6; H c H 38:5. De imitate ecclesiae 7 = Ante-Nicene Fathers 5. R. Murray, "St. Ephrem the Syrian on Church Unity", pp. 168-170. CNis 26:3. CNis 26:5-7. R. Murray, " S t . Ephrem the Syrian on Church Unity", pp. 172f.

CHRIST A N D

CHRISTIANS:

...

THEME

IN EPIIREM

347

serves as an identification mark. I t is an indelible mark and seal p u t by the Good Shepherd. Wandering sheep were brought together into a single flock and fold by Christ. It is no more the common property of anyone else. B u t sometimes there are thieves and robbers who appear as heretics. They borrow ideas and sheep from fellow-heretics. Thus heresies spread like rabies. This sarcastic remark of Ephrem reflects the ecclesiastical situation in Edessa in 360s. There mad dogs are biting other dogs and madness is spreading without any proper cure. So Ephrem's prayer for the stray sheep is only this: Let the Good (Shepherd) bring t h e n back to His fold. 11 Here the t e r m used is dayrefh) which means (His) enclosure for sheep; the same term was later used for a 'monastery' in. the Syriac tradition. 1 2 Heretics are always keen to call their followers with their own names. Even such stray sheep belong to Christ if they are Christians; if they do not carry the name of Christ they have nothing to do with Christ. The proof of sheep's belongingness to Christ is the name of Christ on the sheep: MSihaye belong to MSiha. When the sheep is led astray the name of Christ leaves them and hereafter they will degrade themselves f r o m the level of wheat to t h a t of useless weeds. Christ is the farmer whose Church is the field of wheat. But occasionally weeds appear amidst the wheat. Ephrem's typical term for every heretic is zisane - weeds in the field of wheat. 1 3 Not only heretics b u t also their followers are weeds. Coins f r o m the royal mint are imprinted with the p o r t r a i t of the king. But mere pieces of metal are. no substitute for the royal coins. The royal1 image makes mere metal coins of the kingdom. Ordinary human beings are like gold. But in baptism MSiha is imprinted upon them and they become MSihaye. who belong to the Kingdom of God. That is why Ignatius of Antioch. used to call Christians, 'fellow travellers those who carry God, the Temple, Christ and holiness'. 14 11 H c H 22:4. 12 Thes. Syr. I, 850-857. 13 Mt. 13:24-30. 14 Eph. 9:2.

318

THE IIARP

III H c H Ephrem is applying his theory of divine names in a concrete and contemporary ecclesiastical situation in Edessa. The sheep of Christ are distinguished by the appellation MSihaye or Christians. All other groups who are claiming to be Christians contradict themselves by calling themselves by the name of one or another fellow human being. Heretics are called after their masters and not after Christ. Ephrem gives a long list of heretics such as, Valentinians, Quqites, Bardaisanites, Marcionites, Manichaeans, Arians, Aetians, Paulinians, Sabellians, Photinians, Borborians, Kathari, Audians, Messalians, etc. 15 When Ephrem came to Edessa in 363/64 as a refugee the mainstream Christians were called Palutians after the name of Palut. In H c H 22:5 we find the terms, plat, Patutaye, platan and Ephrem is playing on the name of Palut. The situation in Edessa was a reflection of the ecclesiastical groupings in Corinth. J u s t like Paul Palut came to the rescue of the mainstream Church separating it f r o m the different groupings. Palut is often described as the bishop who first led ' t h e orthodox' Christians against 'the heterodox', 1 6 certainly with the help of Antioch because Palut's episcopal consecration is associated with the See of Antioch. The Doctrine of Acldai does not give any doctrinal reason for Palut's Antiochean connection. B u t it is probable t h a t different heritical sects had taken over all the episcopal sees in the Edessan region and Palut emerges to restore the 'orthodox' minority and seeks consecration from Antioch. This might be the reason why the legends underlying the Doctrine of Addai neglected the ' u n - o r t h o d o x elements in the history of the churches in the Edessan region.. Because of this new initiative by Palut the heretics were calling 'the orthodox' group under him 'Palutians', a name unacceptable and wrong in Ephrem's view. Ephrem's play on Palut's name in H c H 22:5-6 is indicating how real Christians 'slipped away' from heretics to join the 15 16

HcH. 22:3-7. G. Phillips, The Doctrine of Addai (London 1876), p. 50; see W. Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Earliest Christianity (Philadelphia 1979), pp. 17-24. Though Bauer's understanding of 'orthodoxy' and 'heresy' is not fully acceptable, Palut's role in the m i d - t h i r d century Edessan Church is clear.

CHRIST A N D

CHRISTIANS:

...

THEME

IN EPHREM

349

fold of Christ. The name of Msiha is claimed by them and hence called Msihaye. But if any Christian teacher adds falsehood to t r u t h the name of Msiha, deserts him; thus his followers have no claim to be called after Christ. Christ imprinted His living Name upon His followers in and through baptism. This imprint shows whose property they are. The criterion for detecting t r u e teachers from false ones is this imprint of Msiha. The servants do not work in their own name; they work for their master's name. 17 However, not everyone who makes disciples Calls his disciples with his own name. The apostles instructed the nations But none called them with his own name. W i t h t h a t Name which He taught them In t h a t same Name he baptized them. The same (Name) he caused them to worship. This same Name He gave to all. Blessed is He whose Name is worthy of a l l ! Let us indeed make it clear and simple So t h a t it may be heard even by the deaf. You, I make the mediator You choose, O hearer I What is more noble and praiseworthy, That you should be called Msihaya Or be designated Marcionite; Should they call you Christian 1 8 Or 'daisanite' weed? 19 Blessed is He whom all long for I Both when Bardaisan was not yet born And Marcion was not renowned, Let us go back to the first (Christians) Who are older t h a n Marcion; And let us see how they were designated, Those first churches; And let us be designated with t h a t Name; And let us p u t off and cast away the appellations,. 17 H e l l . 23:3-10. 18 kr esty ana. 19 daisanuya zizHna.

350

THE

HARP

The names which came afterwards. Blessed is He who is handed down with His names ! 20 Ephrem is making clear the distinction between apostles and 'weeds'. The apostles do not give their names to Christ's flock whereas 'weeds' pass on their names to their followers whom they steal from among Christians. Apostles work for God's name whereas 'weeds' propagate their own names. In fact the heretics are 'deceivers' because they appropriate God's branded flock.21 For Ephrem the appellation of a heretic's name over a group who claim to be Christians is the clearest proof that they are not the real Christians who are branded with Christ's name and no other name. The followers of Msiha are Msihaye. True teachers are like the apostles who worked for the name of Christ and not for their own names. Thus the name of Christ is the unifying factor and the distinguishing mark among all Christians. In H c H 23:9 two terms -Msihaye and Krestyane- apparently refer to Syriac and Greek speaking Christians. It is also possible t h a t the term Msihaye was more popular among native Christians of Edessa at the time of Marcion (+c. 160) and Bardaisan (154222). As Ephrem clearly indicates in H c H 23:10, he is drawing attention to the early appellation of the first Christians (of Edessa?) who lived before the birth of Bardaisan (A. D. 154) and before Marcion became famous (c. A. D. 144). In stanza 9 the parallels between Msihaye and Marqyonaye, Krestyane and Daisanaya zizana may be another historical indication. Marcion 22 flourished before Bardaisan 2 3 and it is possible t h a t by the m i d second century Marcionites had reached Edessa. Though we do not have definite historical evidence to show t h a t Msihaye existed side by side with Marcionites in Edessa before the birth of Bardaisan, such a possibility remains. The parallel between Krestyane and the Daisanite weed may be a similar indication t h a t by Bardaisan's time the t e r m Krestyane came into popular use also among Syriac speaking Christians. According to Brock there is a similar situation in the Persian empire where the 20 21 22 23

HcH. 23:6, 9-10, CSCO 169 Syr. 76, pp. 88-89. See Jn. 10:1-16. See J. Quasten, Patrology I, pp. 268-272. H. J. W. Drijvers, Bardaisan of Edessa (Assen 1966), pp. 213-227.

CHRIST AND CHRISTIANS: . . .

THEME IN EPHREM

351

term Krestyane came to be in use because of Shapur I's deportation of Greek-speaking Christians before the mid-third century. 2 4 It is probable t h a t such a double appellation for Christians existed also in Edessa before the time of Palut because of the bilingual situation. After all Msihaye and Krestyane are respectively the Syriac and Greek designations of the followers of Christ. But later on there is a struggle to shed the name Palutians because of Palut's apparent connection with Greek Antioch. If the above-mentioned assumption is historically tenable one can easily understand the legends underlying the Doctrine of Addai deliberately trying to assert some orthodox and apostolic origin of Christianity in Edessa. In bilingual areas the new term Krestyane became popular especially after Bardaisan and Palut; but in more rural areas the term Msihaye was continued even in Ephrem's life time. For Ephrem it is significant to show t h a t the first Christians (of Edessa?) were called after Msiha and not after any t r u e apostle, let alone some false teacher like Marcion or Bardaisan. The heretical teachers, as well as some Christians who are designated as weeds, came only afterwards. The name Msihaye is handed down by Msiha through His apostles who laboured as servants for their Master's name. Is Ephrem speaking about Msihaye in general terms or is he referring back to the situation in Edessa before the emergence of Marcionites and Bardaisanites? It is most probable t h a t in mid-second century Edessa there were orthodox Christians as well as Marcionites. Until P a l u t became bishop of the minority orthodox Msihaye the demarcation between 'orthodox 3 and 'heretic 5 was not very clear. The 'tradition' about the role of Palut in leading the orthodox-group is known to Ephrem 2 1 But Palut's apparent establishment of episcopal links with Antioch (and anachronistically even with Rome!) 25 as described in the Doctrine of Addai in fifth century can be a later accretion. The Baptismal Foundation of the Church

Christians have only one Master (rabba) on earth who alone is the True Master. 26 The Church has only one Bridegroom and the apostles are only makóré sarrire - the friends of the 24 25 26

HcH. 22:5-6. Serapion of Antioch (190-220) was already a bishop before Zephyrinus became bishop (199-217) of Rome. The latter is said to have consecrated the former! H e l l . 24:2; cf. Mt. 23:8.

352

THE

HARP

B r i d e g r o o m of t h e Church. 2 7 B u t t h e sheep of Christ a t t i m e s a t t e m p t e d to 'sign' itself with the n a m e of fellow h u m a n beings: 0 t h e sheep t h a t signed itself W i t h t h e names of its f e l l o w - s e r v a n t s ! F o r t h e good s e r v a n t s feared and removed Their own names f r o m t h e flock. 2 8 And w i t h t h e sign of t h e L o r d t h e y signed it Blessed is H e who signed i t t h r o u g h His apostles. 2 9 T h e use of t h e v e r b rsm t h r i c e and t h e noun rusma once in t h e above given stanza is a n explicit reference t o 'signing' a t b a p t i s m which m a r k s o u t Christ's sheep. This t e x t has a n i m p o r t a n t ecclesiological t e r m h i t h e r t o u n n o t i c e d . I t is mar'ita, a t e r m which occurs in a n ecclesiological sense in A c t s 20:28,29, 1 Cor. 9:7, Heb. 13:20 a n d 1 P e t 5:2,3. T h e Greeks, t h e P e r s i a n s a n d t h e E g y p t i a n s saw t h e greatness (rabbuteh) of t h e Teacher of T r u t h (rabbd d-qusta), t h e t r u e a n d only Master. T h e y l e f t the names of their m a s t e r s a n d gods a n d w e n t a f t e r t h e n a m e of Christ. 3 0 This is t h e s t o r y of p a g a n s b e c o m i n g Christians. Christ 'leads back t h e s t r a y ones'. 3 1 H e alone can rebuild t h e fence and assemble the sheep i n t o a single flock. T h e Bride of Christ is t a r n i s h e d b y t h e a c t i v i t y of heretics. She m a y become a p r o s t i t u t e , c o r r u p t and w a n t o n going a f t e r heretics. So zealous apostles ' c u t away t h e names' other t h a n t h a t of Christ. The heretics are thieves (gannabe) who c u t off t h e fence a n d drive t h e sheep away a n d b r a n d it w i t h t h e i r names. 3 2 T h e t e r m gannabe we find in J n . 10:1,10 (singular) and 8 (plural). B u t it is Christ who p r o p p e d u p t h e sheep w i t h His adorable names. 3 3 I n c o n t r a s t t o ' t h e h e r d of B a r d a i s a n ' (sahreh d-bardoisan) and t h e sect of Mani - b o t h of which are stolen lambs, 3 4 E p h r e m 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Cf. 2 Cor. 11:2. mar'ita. H c H . 24:4. H c H . 24:8. H c H . 24:8. H e l l . 24:9-11. H c H . 24:10. H c H . 56:1.

CHRIST A N D CHRISTIANS: . . .

THEME IN EPIIREM

353

speaks of the people who p u t on the 'beautiful name' of MsilwP The people belong to God 36 and God's name is on God's people. The heretical sects are designated after their founders; such a situation is called 'fornication' 3 7 in the typical OT tradition. The people of God is the Bride of God. The prophets and apostles are only makore (suitors) and friends of God's congregation (knusta). 3 8 They do not act or speak in their own names. Their faithfulness to God and their trustworthiness to God's congregation depend on their actions and speech in God's name. Thus for Ephrem 'the name' which is p u t on by the congregation as well as its leaders is the crucial mark of ownership by God. Baptism 'in the name of Jesus' provides a distinguishing name 'Christians' - a name t h a t reveals the identity of their Shepherd 'Christ', a name t h a t shows t h a t they are not1 'stolen' by others. 3 9 In H c H 56:6 Ephrem invites the 'stolen sheep' to come back to the real fold, and to reject the name of thieves' and to be called after the praiseworthy name of God. Thus t h e name of Christ which Christians p u t on is the continuation of the name of Creator towards His possessions (qenyanawy). The relationship of divine love and divine ownership remains. 4 0 In order to understand Ephrem's theology of divine names his idea of: created realities as God's 'possessions' is important. 4 1 At baptism the names are w r i t t e n in heaven, in the Book of Life; 42 the martyrs read their names f r o m t h a t book. 43 Names are not anything superficial, a r b i t r a r y or meaningless. 44 The 'beautiful name' of Jesus beautifies our name, by mixing t h a t name with ours and this provides the exaltation of our low state. 4 5 This process is our divinization; 4 0 the salvific dimension 35 36 37 38 39 40

HcH. 56:2. See Ex. 5:1 which E p h r e m alludes to in HcH. 56:2. See HcH. 56:2-3. See HcH. 56:1-3. HcH. 56:5-7. See H c H . 31:1-2 where liphrem refutes the view of Marcion about an uncaring Stranger God. 41 In E p h r e m the term qenyana signifies the bond of relation between Creator and the created, Shepherd and his sheep. 42 H d E . 9:onita. 43 H d E . 8:6. 44 HdE. 11:6-7, 4:18; IldV. 7:1; HdF. 80:10, etc. 45 HdE. 21:4; H d F . 12:20; see Beck's note in CSCO 155 Syr. 74, p. 43 n, 23. 46 S. Broke, The Luminous Eye. The Spiritual World Vision of St. Ephrem (Rome 1985), pp. 123-128.

354

THE

HARP

of Christ's many names are for ours. So Ephrem compares Christ (Msiha) and oil (mesha). The names mesha is only a raza, and shadow (tellala) of the name Msiha,47 Here Ephrem is identifying the baptismal oil and Christ whose name is being put on by those who receive baptism. Msiha was used as an external symbol for the inward working of Msiha,. Christ was depicted inwardly through anointing, and thus it is the name of Christ that works through 'oil' and through the anointed ones or Msihaye. The name Msiha is transmitted through baptism. The names of the Holy Trinity become operative in Msihahaye because of MSiha at baptism. 48 At baptism the royal picture which was lost by the first Adam is re-depicted. 49 Thus Christ has united all who are baptized into His name. Both the name of Christ and baptismal oil provide the name Msihaye- for all the followers of Msiha. Hence when we are not united it is a serious scandal. But the fact remains that when we are united we are divided; when we are divided we are united. There is no ontological division and it is only a matter of realizing the baptismal unity which is yet to be lived. If only we can accept the common baptismal foundation of our churches it would pave way for an ecumenical ecclesiology. Hence the relevance of what Ephrem wrote in the fourth century about the relation between MSiha and Msihaye. It may be apt to conclude with Ephrem's prayer for unity: Make peace, our Lord, In my days in Your churches Both unite and join, my Lord, The quarrelling sects Both pacify and reconcile too The conflicting sides And let there be One true Church from all churches And let her righteous children Be gathered in her bosom That we may confess Your grace, Praises to Your reconciliation. 50 47 HdV. 4:8. 48 HdV. 4:14; HdF. 46:4, 51:7. 49 HdV. 7:5; see P. Bruns, Das Christusbild Aphrahats des Persischen Weisen (Bonn 1990), pp. 161-166. 50 IldF. 52:15, CSCO 154 Syr. 73 (Louvain 1955), p. 164. * Paper read at SEERI, Illrd World Syriac Conference 4-10 September 1991.

THE

HARP

Vol. V I I I . , I X . , July 1995 - 1996, pp. 355-363 P. K. Varghese

Mar Oudhisho Metropolitan of Suwa (Died in 1318) and his Literary Works

The fossil fuel accelerates the movement in our day and the patrimony promotes ethos and spirituality of a society, more so a christian congregation. Lishana suryaya the syriac language, according to Saint Ephraem, says Mar Oudhisho, is lishana kadmya by which God spoke to our forefather Adam. The more ancient the language, the more precious the heritage. Hence the need of exploitation and excavation of the gold mines of syriac treasures hidden in the ancient MSS and books. Main sources of the present study concerning the bishop and his1 literary works confine to the publications of Qashisha Joseph Killaitha (1870-1952) who had once visited Thrissur in the early years of present century. He has published more than twenty syriac books including the 0 . T. (London) in 1911. Apart from the above, the present writer has made use of Qthawad' ihurgame the book of homelies printed and published from the metropolitan press of the church of the east Iraq in 1983. Mar Oudhisho was the son of Brikha born in an island Beth Zautha near Tigris (Diklath). For a long time he was a friar at the monastery of Mar Aktia and Mar Yokhannan nearto the island. He was made bishop of Sheegar and of Arabs who lived on the mount Abdirt by His Holiness Mar Yawalaha I I I a Turkish by race. Five years later the same patriarch consecrated him Metropolitan (Archbishop) of Suwa and Armenia. Suwa was the famous

356

THE

HARP

city of Nisibin, the seat of high learning, even one of the first universities of the world. The metropolitan was considered its Chancellor. Qashisha Joseph Killaitha praises the prelate as a sun in the east brightened the education, realising the lamp of knowledge practically being quenched in his period. He died during the reign of Mar Timotheus II the patriarch from Abil. The titles of his own work 19 in number he narrates in the following versification taken from the preface of one of his books- "Pardaisa d' Adin".

.

tdi ¿ ¿ s c u l l s

r ( 1 ) i5£sa ¿Ssog ta 2a9?

• Itssj*ïa C h r i s t i a n i t y in China, T a r t a r y , and T h i b e t I. F r o m t h e Apostleship of St. T h o m a s t o the Discovery of t h e Cape of Good H o p e ( L o n d o n 1 8 5 7 / N e w Y o r k 1857, R e p r . New Y o r k 1884. R e p r . eb. 1897) Dietrich Huff, E i n christliches Felsgrab bei I s t a k h r , in: Archaeologia I r a n i c a et Orientalia. Miscellanea in h o n o r e m Louis Y a n d e n Berghe edenda c u r a v e r u n t L[éon] de Meyer et E[rnie] H a e r i n c k II (Gent 1989) 713-729 George [Leonard] Huxley, G e o g r a p h y in t h e A c t s of Thomas, in: GRBS 24 (1983) 71-80 K . J . John, Origin and G r o w t h of C h r i s t i a n i t y in K e r a l a , in: Christian H e r i t a g e of K e r a l a . G r a n d Chevalier Prof. L [ a n t h a p a r a m p i l ] M[ani] Pylee F e l i c i t a t i o n Volume. E d i t e d b y K. J . J o h n (Cochin 1981) 1 - 2 1 H e i n r i c h F . J . Junker - Bozorg Alavi, P e r s i s c h - d e u t s c h e s W ö r t e r b u c h (Leipzig 1965) L.K., L ' a p o s t o l a t direct, ou i n d i r e c t de S. T h o m a s en Chine, in: B u l l e t i n Catholique de Pékin 14 (Pékin 1.927)20-24 P e t e r Kawerau, Amerika u n d die orientalischen K i r c h e n . U r s p r u n g u n d A n f a n g der amerikanischen Mission u n t e r den N a t i o n a l k i r c h e n Westasiens (AKG 31) Berlin 1958 Ders., Ostkirchengeschichte I. Das C h r i s t e n t u m in Asien u n d A f r i k a bis zum A u f t r e t e n der P o r t u g i e s e n im Indischen Ozean (CSCO 451 / Subsidia 70) L o u v a i n 1983 A l b e r t u s ] F[rederik] J[ohannes] Klijn, Seth in Christian a n d Gnostic l i t e r a t u r e (NT.S 46) Leiden 1977

Jewish,

424

THE

IIAMJ

Ders. T h e Acts of Thomas. I n t r o d u c t i o n , T e x t , Commentary :(N. T. S - 5 ) L e i d e n 1962. Ulrich Knefelkatnp, Die Suche nach dem Reich des Priesterkoenigs J o h a n n e s . D a r g e s t e l l t a n h a n d v o n Reiseberichten und a n d e r e n e t h n o g r a p h i s c h e n Quellen des 12. bis 17. J a h r h u n d e r t s (Gelsenkirchen 1986). Donald F r e d e r i c k ] Lach, Asia in t h e Making of E u r o p e Ii.2. The C e n t u r y of Discovery ( C h i c a g o - L o n d o n 1965). B. J . Lamers, Der Apostel T h o m a s in Suedindien, in: NZM 14 (1958) 15-28. 116-130. R o d r i g o josé de Lima Feiner (ed.), L e n d a s da India, por Gaspar Corrêa I I I (Lisboa 1862, R e p r . N e n d e l n , L i e c h t e n s t e i n 1976). M a t t h i a s Lipinski, K o n k o r d a n z zu den T h o m a s a k t e n (BBB 67) F r a n k f u r t 1988. Ma Y u e - Y a n Zhangyi - Zhang X i z h u - L i u J i n g c h u a n (ed.), X i ' a n - Legacies of A n c i e n t Chinese Civilization (Beijing 1992). D[avid] N[eil] MacKenzie, ( L o n d o n 1971. 2 1986).

A

Concise

Pahlavi

T h e s a u r i s m a t a . Bolletino d e l l ' I s t i t u t o Ellenico Bizantini e P o s t b i z a n t i n i 6 (Venezia 1969) 7-112.

Dictionary di

Studi

Marcellino da Civezza, H i s t o i r e universelle des Missions f r a n c i s c a i n e s d'après Marcellin de Civezza. O u v r a g e t r a d u i t de l'italien et disposé sur u n p l a n n o u v e a u p a r V i c t o r - B e r n a r d i n de R o u e n I. Asie. T a r t a r i e (Grande T a r t a r i e , Chine, Perse, Indes, K a p t c h a k , T h i b e t , T u r k e s t a n ) P a r i s 1898. A b r a h a m Mattam, T h e I n d i a n Church of St. T h o m a s Chris t i a n s a n d H e r Missionary E n t e r p r i s e s Before t h e S i x t e e n t h C e n t u r y ( O I R S I [= Oriental I n s t i t u t e of Religious Studies, India] P u b l i c a t i o n s 92) V a d a v a t h o o r , K o t t a y a m 1985. A[lphonse] Mlngana. The E a r l y S p r e a d of C h r i s t i a n i t y in India, in: B J R L 10 (1926). R e p r . N e n d e l n 1967) 435-514 [auch sep..]. Ugo Monneret de Villard, Le leggende o r i e n t a l i sui Magi evangelici ( S t u d i e t e s t i 163) C i t t à del V a t i c a n o 1952. 2 1973.

DER, A P O S T E L T H O M A S I N C H I N A

...

TRADITION

425

M o n u m e n t a X a v e r i a n a ex a u t o g r a p h i s vel ex a n t i q u i o r i b u s exemplis collecta I. Sancti F r a n ç i s c i X a v e r i i epistolas a l i a q u e s c r i p t a c o m p l e t e n s (MHSJ 6/7 Fase. 71-79) Madrid 1899-1900. A [ r t h u r ] C[hristopher] Moule, Christians in China b e f o r e t h e year 1550 (London 1930/New Y o r k - T o r o n t o 1930. 1947. R e p r . Taipei 1972. R e p r . N e w Y o r k 1977/dsgl. [Gordon Press] 1977)/ Chin. Transi, by H a o Z h e n h u a (Zhonghua P u b i . Comp. 1984). R e g i n a Mueller, J e a n de M o n t e c o r v i n o ( 1247-1328)-premier archevêque de Chine. A c t i o n et c o n t e x t e missionaire, in: NZM 44 (1988) 81-109. 197-217. 263-284. A. Mathias Mundadan. T h e Arrival of t h e P o r t u g u e s e in I n d i a a n d t h e T h o m a s C h r i s t i a n s u n d e r Mar J a c o b , 1498-1552 ( B a n g a l o r e 1967). Ders., S i x t e e n t h C e n t u r y T r a d i t i o n s of St. T h o m a s Christians (Bangalore 1970). Ders., H i s t o r y of Christiani ty in I n d i a I. F r o m t h e Beginning u p to t h e Middle of t h e S i x t e e n t h C e n t u r y (up t o 1542) Bangalore 1984 . R e p r . 1989. F[rançois Nicolas] Nau, Bardesanes. Liber L e g u m R e g i o n u m cuius t e x t u m s y r i a c u m v o c a l i u m signis i n s t r u x i t , l a t i n e v e r t i t , in: PS 2 ( P a r i s 1907) 490-657. Ders., B a r d e s a n e . Le L i v r e des Lois des pays. T e x t e s y r i a q u e publié avec un a v e r t i s s e m e n t et u n e analyse (Paris 2 1931). S t e p h e n [Charles], Neil!, A H i s t o r y of C h r i s t i a n i t y in I n d i a [I], T h e beginnings t o AD 1707 (Cambridge u. a. 1984). E [ d m o n d ] Noye, St. T h o m a s e t la Chine: quelle r o u t e S. T h o m a s p o u v a i t - i l suivre p o u r venir en Chine I. II, in: B u l l e t i n Catholique de P é k i n 21 (Pékin 1934) 579-588. 640-645; I I I , in: eb. 22 (1935) 28-36. E [ d w a r d ] H [ a r p e r ] Parker, T h e E a r l y Christian R o a d t o China, in: AQR [3. ser.] 16 No. 32 (1903) 350-354 > Ders S t u d i e s in Chinese Religion (London 1910/New Y o r k 1910) 271-275. S. Desivinayagan Pillai, T h e Mudaliar Manuscripts,, in: [Charles William E g e r t o n ] C o t t o n Memorial N u m b e r ( K e r a l a Society P a p e r s Vol. II, Series 7, T r i v a n d r u m 1931) 19-40.

426

THE HARP

Placid of Si. J o s e p h , T h e S o u t h I n d i a n St. T h o m a s , in: O r C h r P 18 (1952) 229-245.

Apostolate

Thesaurismata. Bolletino dell'Istituto Ellinico B i z a n t i n i e P o s t b i z a n t i n i 4 (Venezia 1967) 85-113.

di

of

Studi

P l a c i d J . Podipara, Die T h o m a s - C h r i s t e n (OC [NF] W ü r z b u r g 1956 [= T h e T h o m a s C h r i s t i a n s , B o m b a y 1971]

18)

R i c h a r d Raabe, Die G e s c h i c h l e d t s D o m i n u s Màri, eines A p o s t e l s des Orients: Aus dem S y r i s c h e n ü b e r s e t z t und u n t e r s u c h t (Leipzig 1893) M. S. N a g a r a j a Rao (ed.), V i j a y a n a g a r , P r o g r e s s of R e s e a r c h 1979-1983 ( V i j a y a n a g a r R e s e a r c h C e n t r e series 1) M y s o r e 1983. Ders., V i j a y a n a g a r , P r o g r e s s of R e s e a r c h 1983-1984 (Vijayan a g a r R e s e a r c h C e n t r e series 2. C e n t e n a r y P u b l i c a t i o n 1) Mysore 1983. J o [seph] F a c u n d u s Raulin, H i s t o r i a E c c l e s i a e Malabaricae c u m D i a m p e r i t a n a S y n o d o a p u d I n d o s N e s t o r i a n o s , S. T h o m a e C h r i s t i a n o s n u n c u p a t o s c o a c t a ab Alexio de Menezes A u g u s t i n e n s i An. Dni M D X C I X . N u n c p r i m u m e L u s i t a n o i n L a t i n u m versa cui a c c e d u n t , c u m L i t u r g i a M a l a b a r i c a , t u m D i s s e r t a t i o n e s v a r i a : o m n i a p e r p e t u i s a n i m a d v e r s i o n i b u s i l l u s t r a t a ( R o m a 1745. R e p r . W e s t m e a d , F a r n b o r o u g h , H a n t s . 1969). G [erriti J [an] Reinink, Das L a n d " S e i r i s " (Sir) u n d das Volk der Serer in j ü d i s c h e n u n d c h r i s t l i c h e n T r a d i t i o n e n , in: J S J 6 (1975) 72-85. S u - M i n Ri, L a c a v e r n e des t r é s o r s . Les d e u x r e c e n s i o n s s y r i a q u e s (CSCO 186/487. S c r i p t o r e s Syri 207/208) L o u v a i n 1987. M a t t e o Ricci, De Christiana expeditione apud 1618 u. 1678) [non vidi].

Sinas (Koeln

F . X . Rocca, L a L e g e n d di S. T o m a s o A p o s t o l o , ( R ) 32 (1933) 168-179. [Car] E d u a r d Sachau, S P A W . P H (1916) 958-980.

Vom

Christentum

in

in: der

OrChr Persis:

G :[ustave] Schlegel, T h e t e r m T a h - s o T a r s a , in: T P [ser. I] 6 (1895) 533f.

DER APOSTEL THOMAS IN CHINA

...

TRADITION

427

G e o r g Schurhamtner, U a d o c u m e n t o i n é d i t o s o b r e F e r n a o M e n d e s P i n t o , in: R e v i s t a de H i s t o r i a 13 (Lisboa 1924) 8 1 - 8 8 = Ders., G e s a m m e l t e S t u d i e n . H e r a u s g e g e b e n z u m 80. G e b u r t s t a g des V e r f a s s e r s I I . O r i e n t a l i a . H e r a u s g e g e b e n u n t e r M i t w i r k u n g v o n L á s z l o Szilas ( B I H S J 21) R o m / L i s b o a 1963, 105-109. Ders., F e r n a o M e n d e s P i n t o u n d seine " P e r e g r i n a c a m " , in: As 3 (1926) 71-103. 194-267 = eb. 23-103. Ders., Der " T e m p e l des K r e u z e s " , in: AM 5 (1930) 247-255 = eb. 781-788. Ders., Die zeitgenoessischen Quellen zur Geschichte P o r t u g i e s i s c h - A s i e n s und seiner Nachbarländer (Ostafrika, Abessinien, A r a b i e n , P e r s i e n , V o r d e r - u n d H i n t e r i n d i e n , M a l a i i s c h e r A r c h i p e l , P h i l i p p i n e n , China u n d J a p a n ) z u r Zeit des H l . F r a n z X a v e r (1538-1552), V e r ö f f e n t l i c h u n g e n der K a t h o l i s c h e n U n i v e r s i t ä t J ö c h i D a i g a k u Tökyö. X a v e r i u s r e i h e 1 (Leipzig 1932) = Ders., Gesammelte Studien. H e r a u s g e b e n z u m 80. G e b u r t s t a g des V e r f a s s e r s I. ( B I H S J 20) R o m 1962. Ders., T h r e e l e t t e r s of Mar J a c o b , b i s h o p of M a l a b a r , 15031550, in: G r e g o r i a n u m 14 (1933) 6 2 - 8 6 = G e s a m m e l t e S t u d i e n . H e r a u s g e g e b e n z u m 80. G e b u r t s t a g des V e r f a s s e r s II O r i e n t a l i a . H e r a u s g e g e b e n u n t e r M i t w i r k u n g vo L ä s z l ö Szilas ( B I H S J 21) R o m / L i s b o a 1963, 333-349. Ders., D e r U r s p r u n g des C h i n a p l a n s des H I . F r a n z X a v e r , in: A H S J 22 (1953) 38-56 = G e s a m m e l t e S t u d i e n I I I . X a v e r i a n a (eb). eb. 1964, 665-679. Ders., F r a n z X a v e r . Sein L e b e n a n d seine Zeti I. E u r o p a 1506-1541 ( F r e i b u r g 1955), II. Asien (1541-1552) 1. I n d i e n u n d I n d o n e s i e n 1541-1547 ( F r e i b u r g - B a s e l - W i e n 1963), 2. I n d i e n u n d I n d o n e s i e n 1547-1549 (eb. 1971), 3. J a p a n u n d China 1549-1552 (eb. 1973) > F r a n c i s X a v i e r . H i s Life a n d Times. T r a n s l a t e d b y J o s e p h Costelloe I. E u r o p e (1506-1541), II. I n d i a (1541-1545), I I I . I n d o n e s i a a n d I n d i a (1545-1549), IV. J a p a n , I n d i a a n d China (1549-1552) R o m a 1973.1977. 1980. 1982. Ders., A r m e n i a n b i s h o p s in M a l a b a r , in: A r q u i v o s do C e n t r o C u l t u r a l P o r t u g u é s 4 ( P a r i s 1972) 141-148.

428

THE

HARP

Ders. - J o s e p h Wicki (ed.), E p i s t o l a e S. F r a n c i s c i Xavierii aliaque eius Scripta. Nova edilio ex integro r e f e c t a textibus, i n t r o d u c t i o n i b u s , notis, a p p e n d i c i b u s I (MHSJ 67) R o m a 1944. R o b e r t S e w e l l , A F o r g o t t e n E m p i r e : V i j a y a n a g a r . A Contrib u t i o n t o t h e H i s t o r y of India (London 1900. 1921 R e p r . Delhi 1962. 1970. 1980). M. H . R ä m a Sharma, The H i s t o r y of the V i j a y a n a g a r E m p i r e I. Beginnings and E x p a n s i o n , 1308-1569 (Bombay 1978). Nicholas Sims-Williams, The Christian Sogdian C 2 (SGKAO. Berliner T u r f a n t e x t e 12) Berlin 1985.

Manuscript

George T[homas] Staunton (ed.), The H i s t o r y of t h e Great and Mighty K i n g d o m of China a n d The S i t u a t i o n Thereof. Compiled b y t h e P a d r e J u a n Gonzales de M< ndoza and now r e p r i n t e d f r o m t h e E a r l y T r a n s l a t i o n of R [ o b e r t ] Parke. E d i t e d b y . . . W i t h an I n t r o d u c t i o n by R [ i c h a r d ] H f e n r y ] Major II ( W H S ) l L o n d o n 1853. B u r t o n Stein, T h e New V i j a y a n a g a r Cambridge (1989)

Cambridge H i s t o r y of India I. 2

F [ r a n c i s Joseph] Steingass, A comprehensive P e r s i a n - E n g l i s h D i c t i o n a r y ( L o n d o n 1892/Beirut 1892. R e p r . 8 1988). J o h n Stewart, N e s t o r i a n Missionary E n t e r p r i s e . The Story of a Church on F i r e ( E d i n b u r g h 1928. R e p r . New Y o r k 1980/ T r i c h u r , I n d i a 1928. R e p r . eb. 1961). A u g u s t Strobel, W e l t e n j a h r , grosse K o n j u n k t i o n u n d Messiasstern. Ein t h e m a g e - s c h i c h t l i c h e r Ueberblick, in A N R W II 20 2 ( B e r l i n - N e w Y o r k 1987) 988-1187. O t t o F r e d e r i c u s Tullberg, Dionysii Telmahharensis Chronici Liber p r i m u s . T e x t u m e codice ms. syriaco Bibliothecae Vaticanae t r a n s c r i p s i t n o t i s q u e i l l u s t r a v i t (Uppsala 1850). F r a n z Uebleis, Marco Polo in Südasien 60 (1978)268-304.

(1293/94,

in: AKuG

E d w a r d Ullendorff, H e b r a i c - J e w i s h E l e m e n t s in Abyssinian ( m o n o p h y s i t e ) C h r i s t i a n i t y , in J S S t 1 (1956) 216-256 = Ders., S t u d i a Aethiopica et Semitica (Aethiopistische F o r s c h u n g e n 24) S t u t t g a r t 1987, 2-42.

DER APOSTEL THOMAS IN CHINA

...

TRADITION

429

Oers., E t h i o p i a and t h e Bible (SchL 1967) L o n d o n 1968. A l f o n s Vaeth, Der hl. T h o m a s der Apostel Indiens. E i n e U n t e r s u c h u n g über den historischen Gehalt der T h o m a s - L e g e n d e (AMMG 4) Aachen [1918]. 2 1925. P a u l Verghese, Die dunklen J a h r h u n d e r t e , in: Die syrischen K i r c h e n in Indien. H e r a u s g e g e b e n v o n P a u l Verghese ( K W 13) S t u t t g a r t 1974, 21-32. M [ a t h u r i n ] V[eyssiere de] La Croze, H i s t o i r e des Indes I (La H a y e ['1724]. 2 1758).

du christianisme

A r t h u r Waldron, T h e G r e a t Wall of China. F r o m H i s t o r y t o M y t h (Cambridge S t u d i e s in Chinese H i s t o r y , L i t e r a t u r e and I n s t i t u t i o n s ( C a m b r i d g e - N e w Y o r k 1990). P a u l u s Welser, H i s t o r i a von der E i n f ü h r u n g der c h r i s t l i c h e n Rekligion in dass grosse K o e n i g r e i c h China d u r c h die Societet Jesu. Aus dem L a t e i n i s c h e n R. P. Nicolai T r i g a u l t i i . . . M a t t h e u s Ricius. U e b e r s e t z t v o n . . . ( A u g s b u r g 1617). David Whitehouse-Andrew Williamson, T r a d e , in. I r a n II (1973) 29-49.

Sasanian

Maritime

Geo Widengren, I r a n i s c h - s e m i t i s c h e K u l t u r b e g e g n u n g in p a r t h i s c h e r Zeit ( A r b e i t s g e m e i n s c h a f t f ü r F o r s c h u n g des L a n d e s N o r d r h e i n - W e s t f a l e n H . 70) K o e l n - O p l a d e n 1960. Ders., Die Religionen I r a n s (RM 14) S t u l t g a r l 196.") > Les religions d e l ' I r a n (Bibliothèque h i s t o r i q u e . Collections" Les religions de l ' h u m a n i t é " ) P a r i s 1968. Ders., I r a n , der grosse Gegner R o m s : Koenigsgewalt, F e u d a lismus, Militärwesen, in: A N R W II. P r i n c i p a t 9i: Politische Geschichte (Provinzen u n d R a n d v o e l k e r : M e s o p o t a m i e n ' A r m e n i e n , I r a n , S ü d a r a b i e n R o m u n d der F e r n e Osten). H r s g . v. H i l d e g a r d T e m p o r i n i (Berlin/New Y o r k 1976) 219-309. W[illiam] Wright, A p o c r y p h a l Acts of the AposLles, edited f r o m Syriac M a n u s c r i p t s in t h e B r i t i s h M u s e u m and olher Libraries I. The Syriac T e x t s , II The E n g l i s h Translations. ( L o n d o n - E d i n b u r g h 1871. R e p r . A m s t e r d a m 1968. R e p r . 1990).

430

THE

HARP

Anastase v a n den Wyngaert, Sinica F r a n c i s c a n a I. Itinera et relationes F r a t r u m M i n o r u m saeculi X I I I et X I V (Ad Claras A q u a s [Quaracchi/Firenze] 1929. Eflizabeth] A[nna] Gordon, Asian C[h]ristology and the Mahayana. A R e p r i n t of the C e n t u r y - o l d " I n d i a n C h u r c h H i s t o r y " b y T h o m a s Yeates, and the. f u r t h e r I n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e Religion of t h e Orient as influenced by t h e Apostle of t h e H i n d u s and Chinese (Tokyo 1921). H e n r y Yule-Henri Cordier, The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian, concerning t h e k i n g d o m s a n d marvels of t h e East, t r a n s l a t e d and edited, w i t h extensive critical and explanatory notes, references, appendices and full indexes, preceded b y an a n a l y t i c a l and historical i n t r o d u c t i o n . Third edition, revised t h r o u g h o u t i n t h e light of r e c e n t discoveries accompanied by a s u p p l e m e n t , c o n t a i n i n g additional notes and a d d e n d a , w i t h a memoir of H e n r y Yule by his d a u g h t e r Amy F r a n c e s Yule and a bibliography of his w r i t i n g s I - I I I (London ['1871], 3 1903 /1920. R e p r . A m s t e r d a m 1975). Dies., Cathay and t h e W a y T h i t h e r , being a Collection of medieval notices of china t r a n s l a t e d and edited. New E d i t i o n , revised t h r o u g h o u t in t h e L i g h t of R e c e n t Discoveries I. Prelim i n a r y Essays on t h e I n t e r c o u r s e b e t w e e n China and t h e W e s t e r n N a t i o n s previous t o t h e Discovery of t h e Cape R o u t e ( W H S [Ser. II] 38) London 1915. R e p r . Taipei 1966. Repr. Nendeln, L i e c h t e n s t e i n 1967.

I n t o t h e n e t of let every soul i n t o t h e sea of let h u m a n i t y be

m y word enter; my b a p t i s m gathered. [CYRILLONA]

THE

HARP

Vol, V I I I . , I X . , J u l y 1995 - 1996 p p . 431-450 K. Luke*

Gondopharnes A c c o r d i n g t o t h e A c t s of T h o m a s 1 , G o n d o p h a r n e s was t h e k i n g d u r i n g whose r e i g n t h e a p o s t l e T h o m a s c a m e t o I n d i a a n d preached the Christian faith. Archaeological findings prove beyond doubt t h a t t h e r e reigned in t h e I n d o - I r a n i a n borderland a k i n g b e a r i n g t h i s n a m e , a n a m e w h i c h is g e n u i n e l y Iranian a n d not I n d i e . I t is t h e p u r p o s e of t h i s p a p e r t o a n a l y s e t h e m o n a r c h ' s n a m e and t o s u m m a r i z e t h e h i s t o r i c a l a n d a r c h a e o l o gical d a t a ; we begin o u r d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h a s h o r t a c c o u n t of t h e l a n g u a g e s of a n c i e n t I r a n . I.

The Languages of Ancient Iran

I n d o - I r a n i a n is one of t h e m a i n b r a n c h e s of (he I n d o E u r o p e a n ( a b b r . I E ) f a m i l y of l a n g u a g e s , 2 a n d it is s o m e t i m e s called A r y a n , f r o m t h e s e l f - d e s i g n a t i o n used b y t h e speakers, *

Professor of S. Scripture, Capuchin Vidyabhavan, Kottayam, Kerala

1. A .F. J . K l e i j n, The Acts of Thomas. Introduction, Translation, Commentary. S u p p l e m e n t s t o N o v u m T e s t a m e n t u m 5, L e i d e n , 1962. G. B o r n k a m m , Mythos und Legende in den apokryphen Thomasakten. F o r s c h u n g e n zur Religion und Literatur des A l t e n u n d N e u e n T e s t a m e n t s 31. G o e t t i n g e n , 1933. P . Vielhauer, Geschichte der urchristlichen Literatur (de G r u y t e r L e h r b u c h . 4 t h r e p r . , B e r l i n , 1985) p p . 710-718. 2. W. Cowgill, Indogermanische Grammatik (Indogermanische B i b l i o t h e k . I. R e i h e : L e h r - u n d H a n d b ü c h e r . H e i d e l b e r g , 1986) I, p p . 9 - 7 1 ( w i t h b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l i n d i c a t i o n s ) . Cf. t o o H . R i r n b a u m - J . P u h v e l (eds.), Ancient Indo-European Dialects. B e r k e l e y , Cal., 1966. A Meillet, The Indo European Dialects. A l a b a m a L i n g u i s t i c a n d P h i l o l o g i c a l Series 15. A l a b a m a , 1967.

432

THE

IIARP

n a m e l y , I n d i e ärya-, A v e s t a n airya-, a n d Old P e r s i a n ariya-3. T h e name I r a n is itself a s h o r t e n e d f o r m of t h e c o m p o u n d Eran-shahr, which goes b a c k u l t i m a t e l y t o aryänäm xshathram ( = I n d i e äryänätn ksatram), " t h e k i n g d o m of t h e A r y a n s . " The A v e s t a a t t e s t s airganem* vaejah-, " t h e e x p a n s e of t h e A r y a n s , " a detailed b u t m y t h i c a l g e o g r a p h y of which is p r e s e r v e d in t h e same source. 5 T h e n a m e I r a n was officially a d o p t e d b y an act of t h e P a r l i a m e n t in 1935, a n d it replaces P e r s i a , the designa t i o n in use f o r c e n t u r i e s . T h e languages of I r a n c a n , on t h e basis of d i v i d e d i n t o Old, Middle a n d N e w I r a n i a n ; we cerned w i t h Old I r a n i a n which i n c l u d e s t w o m a i n P e r s i a n and A v e s t a n , a n d t h e r e are, in a d d i t i o n l a t e r dialects which have no b e a r i n g on t h e t o p i c s t u d y , a n d so need n o t be t o u c h e d u p o n here.

c h r o n o l o g y , be a r e h e r e condivisions, Old a n u m b e r of of t h e p r e s e n t

T h e close c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n I n d i e a n d I r a n i a n , and also t h e special d e v e l o p m e n t s in t h e l a t t e r , deserve t o be c a r e f u l l y n o t e d ; we shall c o n s i d e r h e r e a c o u p l e of examples. 6 3. T h e d e s i g n a t i o n has b e e n derived f r o m ari- ( < I E al-i-, s u r v i v i n g in L a t i n alius a n d Greek alios), " a l i e n , s t r a n g e r , " a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y also " p r o t e c t i n g t h e s t r a n g e r , t h e h o s p i t a b l e o n e . " T h e d e v e l o p m e n t here p o s t u l a t e d h a s a parallel in I E ghostis, " a l i e n , s t r a n g e r , " which has become in L a t i n hostis, " e n e m y , " a n d in G o t h i c gasts, " g u e s t . " Discussions in P . Toieme, Der Fremdlinq in Rqveda. Eine Studie über die Bedeutung der Worte ARI, ARYA, ARYAMAN und Arya. A b h a n d l u n g e n f ü r die K u n d e des M o r g e n l a n d e s 23/2. Leipzig, 1938. A n o t h e r suggestion is t h a t the e x p r e s s i o n is c o g n a t e with Greek aristos, " b e s t , n o b l e s t ; " t h e A r y a n is t h e r e f o r e t h e noble one, t h e f r e e one. 4. To f a c i l i t a t e t h e w o r k of t h e p r i n t e r , we employ a simplified t r a n s c r i p t i o n of I r a n i a n words; s t r i c t l y speaking t h e e in t h e e x p r e s s i o n should h a v e b e e n i n v e r t e d . 5. A. Christensen, Le premier chapitre du Videvdät et l'histoire primitive des tribus iraniens. Copenhagen, 1943 ( n o t accessible). M. Mole, " L a s t r u c t u r e du p r e m i e r c h a p i t r e du V i d e v d ä t , " Journal Asiatique 239 (1951) p p . 283-298. H. S. N y b e r g , Die Religionen des alten Iran ( M i t t e i l u n g e n der v o r d e r a s i a t i s c h ägyptischen Gesellschaft 43. R e p r . , Osnabrück, 1966) p p . 313-317. 6. W. G e i g e r - E . K u h n (eds.), Grundriss der iranischen Philologie. 2 vols. S i r a s s b u r g , 1895-1904 (repr., 1967). K . H o f f m a n n et alii, 'Iranistik. Linguistik. H a n d b u c h der O r i e n t a l i s t i k . I. Abt.,

GONDOPHARNES

433

Ind. p = Iran, f Ind. pra- = Aves. fra- (Greek/Latin pro). I n d . Aves. fras-, OPer. frath- (Latin precor).

pras-,

" t o ask" =

Ind. t = Iran, th Ind. putra-, " s o n " = Aves. puthra-, " k i n g d o m " = Aves. xshathra-, OPer. Ind. k = Iran,

OPer. pusa-. xshasa-.

Ind.

ksatra-,

x

Ind. ksap-, " n i g h t " = Aves. xshap-, r u l e " = Aves. xshâ(y)~, OPer. xshay-

OPer. id. Indie ksay-, .

"to

I n d . bh = Iran, b Ind. bhar-, " t o b e a r " = Aves. L a t i n fer-o).

bar-,

OPer.

Ind. bhrâtar-, " b r o t h e r " = Aves. brâtar-, L a t i n frâter).

id.

(Greek

pher-d,

OPer. id. (Greek

phrâtêr,

Ind. dh = Iran, d Ind. dhâ-, ' ' t o p u t " = Aves .dà-, OPer. id, (Greek the in li-lhc-mi, L a t i n fé- in fe-ci). Ind. dhar-, " t o s u p p o r t " = Aves. dar-, OPer. id. I n d . s = Iran. W Ind. sadas-, " s e s s i o n " = Aves. hadish-, OPer. id. Ind. asmi, " I a m " = Aves. ahmi, OPer. âham, " I w a s . " H e r e belongs t o o t h e r i v e r - n a m e Sindhu = Hindu. IV. B a n d , 1. Absch. R e p r . , Leiden, 1967. I. M. Oranskij, Les langues iraniennes. I n s t i t u t des études i r a n i e n n e s de l'université de la S o r b o n n e nouvelle. D o c u m e n t s et ouvrages de référence 1. Paris, 1977 ( f r o m Russian). 7. Compare t h e Shaphel and H i p h i l v e r b a l stems and the p r o nouns shu and hu in t h e Semitic languages. According t o A. Meillet, Introduction d l'étude comparative des langues indoeuropéennes (Alabama Linguistic and Philological Series 3. R e p r . , Alabama, 1966) p. 95, s> h " r é s u l t e d ' u n e p r o n u n c i a t i o n faible e l a p p a r a t i . . . dans les langues où FarLiculalion des occlusives est r e l a t i v e m e n t peu f e r m e " .

434

THE

HARP

These examples, it is hoped, will serve t o give some idea of t h e peculiarities of t h e A r y a n dialect of I r a n . L e t us now cast a c u r s o r y glance a t Old Iranian. Old Persian 8 is t h e language of a n c i e n t P ä r s a (Greek Përsis), which is k n o w n f r o m t h e i n s c r i p t i o n s of t h e Achaemenid emperors Darius I (521-486), X e r x e s (486-465\ a n d others, and is w r i t t e n in a special c u n e i f o r m script, whose origin remains obscure. 9 The Old P e r s i a n s y l l a b a r y consists of t h i r t y s i x c h a r a c t e r s , five ideograms, one ligature, t h e word divider, and symbols f o r n u m b e r s . 1 0 Avestan 1 1 is t h e language of t h e Z o r o a s t r i a n s c r i p t u r e s , and is r e p r e s e n t e d b y two dialectal f o r m s , Gäthic, o c c u r r i n g in t h e Gäthäs of Z a r a t h u s h t r a , t h e p r o p h e t of Iran, 1 2 a n d Y o u n g e r Avestan, f o u n d m t h e rest of t h e scriptures. Since t h e p r o p h e t was a n a t i v e of t h e n o r t h w e s t and worked i n the n o r t h e a s t , 1 3 8. On t h e d e c i p h e r m e n t of t h e language, cf. W. B r a n d e n s t e i n M. Mayrhofer, Handbuch des Altpersischen (Wiesbaden, 1964) pp. 17-26. R. G. K e n t , Old Persian Grammar Texts Lexicon (American Oriental Series 33. 2nd ed., New H a v e n , 1961) pp. 9-11. 9. K e n t , op cit., pp. 11-12. 10. K e n t , op. cit., pp. 18-19. 11. H o f f m a n n , " A l t i r a n i s c h , " op. cit., pp. 1-19; r e p r i n t e d in id., Aufsätze zur Indoiranistik (3 vols., Wiesbaden, 1975 ff.) I, pp. 58-76. S. S. Misra, The Avestan. A Historical and Comparative Grammar. C h a u k h a m b h a Oriental R e s e a r c h Studies 13. Varanasi, 1979. H. R e i c h e l t , Awestisches Elementarbuch. Indogermanische Bibliothek. I. Reihe, 5. B a n d . 2nd ed., Heidelberg, 1967. 12. Luke, " Z a r a t h u s h t r a / Z o r o a s t e r , " Indian Theological Studies 20 (1983) p p . 227-52. F o r the t e x t w i t h t r a n s l a t i o n , cf. H. H a m b a c h , The Gothas of Zarathustra and Other Old Avestan Texts. I. Introduction, Text, Translation. II. Commentary. Indogermanische Bibliothek. I. Reihe: L e h r - U n d H a n d b ü c h e r . Heidelberg, 1991 (from German). S. Insler, The Gälhäs of Zarathustra. A c t a Iranica. 3. Série: Textes et Memoirs 1. Liège, 1975. M. W. Smith, Studies in the Syntax of the Gathas of Zarathustra, together with Text, Translation and Notes. Language D i s s e r t a t i o n s 4. R e p r . , N e w Y o r k , 1966. 13. Basing themselves on Y a s n a 19:18 where m e n t i o n is m a d e of Z a r a t h u s t r i a n Raga, several scholars believe t h a t t h e p r o p h e t was b o r n in Media (= WTest Iran), and t h a t he, because of the h o s t i l i t y of the people there, m i g r a t e d t o E a s t Iran,

GONDOPHARNES

435

the dialect he employed could have been the one of the northwest or the one of the northeast; the question remains obscure, and it has no bearing on our topic. Special mention must be made here of Median, the language of Media, 14 the region south of the Caspian Sea, for it had far-reaching impact on the phonology of Old Iranian. The earliest reference to the Medes occur in the inscriptions of the Assyrian emperors, 15 and according to them the first ruler of Media was Deioces, 16 whose floruit is around 715; the next ruler was Phraortes (675-653), 17 and there now followed the

14.

15.

16. 17.

where he won over to the new faith the ruler Vishtäspa. Yasna 46:1 cites his query, "To what land should I flee?" Cf. R. C. Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism (London, 1961) p. 31, passim. The objection to this theory is that the Avesta hardly ever refers to Media, and it is also significant that Ecbatana, the chief city of the realm, never comes up for mention in the sacred texts. Modern authorities, therefore, think that the reformer was a native of East Iran. M. Mayrhofer, Die Rekonstruktion des Medischen. Anzeiger der Oesterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-historische Klasse 105. Vienna, 1968 (pp. 1-22). I n Old Persian the land is called Mäda (Elamite Ma-da; Aecadian Ma-da-a-a), and the name has become in Greek Media (with the change of long a to g in Ionic-Attic); compare Mêdos, "the Mede" (plural Medoi). Exhaustive discussions in I. Gershevitch (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran. II. The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge, 1985. Cf. too J. B. Bury et alii, The Cambridge Ancient History. III. The Assyrian Empire. Repr., Cambridge, 1965 (revised and enlarged edition, not accessible to the writer). M. A. Dandamaev, Persien unter den ersten Achämeniden. Beiträge zur Iranistik 8. Wiesbaden, 1976 (from Russian). Popular account in W. Culican, The Medas and Persians. Ancient Peoples and Places 42. London, 1965. The first mention of the Medes occurs in the account of an expedition Shalmaneser III (858-824) conducted in 836-835 against the lands to the east; brief reference in R. N. Frye, The Heritage of Persia (Mentor Rooks. New York, 1966) p. 92. The name appears in cuneiform documents as Dayaukku (Frye, op. cit., pp. 94, 96). The forms of the Median rulers' names given in the text are the Greek ones. In cuneiform texts Kashtaritu (Frve, op. cit., pp. 96, 295, n 28). Discussions on the hislorical background in R. Labat, "Kashtariti, Phraorte et les débuts de l'histoiro inéde, "Journal Asiatique 219(1961) pp. 1-12; on this study, cf. E. Cavaignac, "A propos du début de l'histoire des Mèdes," ibid. pp. 153-162.

436

THE HARP

S c y t h i a n i n t e r r e g n u m which lasted till 625. Cyaxares (625585) 18 ascended t h e t h r o n e a f t e r t h e collapse of t h e Scythian r u l e , and he was succeeded b y Astyages (585-550), 1 9 w i t h whom Median h i s t o r y comes t o a close: in 550 t h e Achaemenid king Cyrus (559-530) c o n q u e r e d Media which t h e r e a f t e r remained a province of Persia. The Median language, which is k n o w n f r o m glosses and names of persons and places, had its influence on A v e s t a n and Old P e r s i a n , and a n u m b e r of p e c u l i a r i t i e s o c c u r r i n g in t h e m a n d also in other sources (e.g. in t h e A c c a d i a n version of t h e B e h i s t u m inscription) are derived f r o m Median; we shall now i l l u s t r a t e t h e point w i t h t h e help of examples. 2 0 Cambyses (530-522), Cyrus' successor and c o n q u e r o r of E g y p t , h a d a b r o t h e r named B a r d i y a 2 1 whom he managed t o p u t t o d e a t h secretly; 2 2 t h e name, f o r m e d f r o m t h e Old Persian r o o t bard-, " t o be h i g h " (and hence " t h e E x a l t e d One"), appears in A c c a d i a n as Barzi'a (i.e. Barziya), a n d this f o r m is t h e Median one, for I E g' a n d g'h2i will become d in Old P e r s i a n and z in Median (whence also A v e s t a n z) : I E g'ono-, " c h i l d " > OPer. dana-, Ind. jana-.

Med. zana-,

I E bherg'h-, " t o be h i g h " > OPer. bard-, barezah-, Ind. brhant-.

Aves.

zana-,

Med. barz-,

Aves.

18. In c u n e i f o r m sources U m a k i s h t a r (Frye, op. cit., p. 96). 19. In c u n e i f o r m t r a d i t i o n I s h t u m u g u ( F r y e , op. cit., p p . 102, 105, 112). 20. K e n t , op. cit., pp. 8 - 9 . 21. Aeschylts, in his d r a m a Persae 774, preserves the f o r m Mardos, which is a v a r i a n t of Mardiya; t h e r e m u s t h a v e also been in circulation t h e f o r m Mardis t o which was added later on t h e mobils s ( t h u s F r y e , op. cit., p. 114). 22. Is this a c c o u n t t r u e or is it a s t o r y c o n c o c t e d by Darius? B o t h t h e views h a v e been defended b y historians. Compare F r y e , op. cit., p p . 113-117. A. T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire (Phoenix Books. 5th ed., Chicago, 1966) pp. 107-118. 23. The commas i n d i c a t e p a l a t a l i z a t i o n of t h e t w o c o n s o n a n t s ( c o m p a r e gas, game, as d i s t i n c t f r o m give, got); it is to be noted t h a t gh in g'h is n o t a double c o n s o n a n t b u t a single one, a voiced aspirate.

GONDOPIIARNES

The horse is called asa- in Old Persian, b u t aspaIE k'w2i

437

in Median, for

becomes s in Old P e r s i a n a n d sp in Median:

I E ek'wos,

" h o r s e " > OPer. asa-,

I n d . aiva-,

Lat.

I E k'won,

" d o g ' ' > Med,

span-'26

Med. aspa-,

Aves.

aspah-,

(= I n d . sva-ka-),25

Aves.

equus. spaka-

Ind. ivan-.

In Old P e r s i a n t h e r e is t h e word pusa-, " s o n , " b u t in Avestan t h e r e is puthra-, which is of Median origin, for tr yields s in Old P e r s i a n and thr in Median: IE putlo-, Ind.

Med. puthra-,28

Aves. id.,

putra-.

lEmitro-, Ind.

" s o n " 2 7 > OPer. pusa-,

" f r i e n d " 2 9 > OPer. misa-,

Med. mithra-,

Aves. id.,

mitra-.

24. P a l a t a l k (as in cat, c a t c h , in opposition t o call, caught). 25. H e r o d o t u s r e m a r k s : " . . . a w o m a n whose n a m e in Greek would be K u n o or Bitch: t h e Median f o r m of which was S p a k o ' s p a k a ' being t h e Median for b i t c h " (1:110). The word has as its Indie e q u i v a l e n t sva-ka-, " w o l f " (originally, " d o g - l i k e " ) . 26. A v e r y i m p o r t a n t t e r m in t h e Avesta, and used also of t h e hedgehog, t h e o t t e r , t h e p r o c u p i n e , etc.; cf. C. B a r t h o l o m a e , Altiranisches Worterbuch (repr., Berlin, 1961) cols. 1610-1612. The dog was a sacred animal of t h e I n d o - E u r o p e a n s , which had a p a r t t o p l a y in magic, and also in t h e rites connected w i t h d e a t h a n d its a f t e r m a t h . 27. Compare t h e d i a l e c t a l f o r m s in Italic puclom, " f i l i u m " puclois, "filiis," pucles, id.; L a t i n pullus, "young one," represents put-s-lo-, a n d puer, " b o y , " is put-lo-on t h e analogy of gener and socer. 28. A f t e r sibilants a n d a s p i r a n t s tr remains unchanged in Median, and accordingly t h e r e is t h e name of t h e Median r u l e r Uvax, s h t r a , " C y a x a r e s " ( K e n t , op. cil., p. 31). 29. To be split into mi-tro-, where the first element is a derivat i v e of I E mei-, " t o e x c h a n g e , " and -tro-is a suffix serving t o create n e u t e r i n s t r u m e n t a l nouns; c o m p a r e Greek ara-tro-n, " p l o u g h , " skep-tro-n, " s c e p t r e , staff, " L a t i n ara-tru-m, " p l o u g h , " Indie ari-tra-m, " o a r , " etc. In Vedic mitra-is b o t h masculine (the god Mitra) and neuter ( " c o n t r a c t , f r i e n d s h i p " ) . Discussions in E. B e n v e n i s t e , Indo-European Language and Society (London, 1973) pp. 79-83.

438

THE HARP

T h e r e a r e m o r e e x a m p l e s of M e d i a n influence o n Old P e r s i a n a n d A v e s t a n , a n d for o u r p u r p o s e suffice it t o n o t e t h a t pharnes in t h e n a m e G o n d o p h a r n e s is a M e d i a n f o r m ; t h e d i s c u s s i o n s in t h i s s e c t i o n a r e m e a n t t o s u p p l y t h e b a c k g r o u n d f o r t h e a n a l y s i s of the royal name under investigation. II. The Name Gondopharnes W h a t we have given as t h e t i t l e of o u r p a p e r is one of t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l f o r m s of the k i n g ' s n a m e , a n d t h e r e a r e e x t a n t s e v e r a l o t h e r s as well: Accadian: Elamite: Kharosthi:

Wi-in-da-pnr-na'30 Mi-in-da-par-na31 Guduuharai2

Greek: Intaphernes,

Goundaphoros,

L a t i n : Gundaforus,

Gundoforus.

Syriac: Gundaphar,

Güdnaphar34

Gundiaphoros,

Gountaphoros33

Guduphara,

GudaphamcP5

All t h e f o r m s h e r e c i t e d go b a c k t o Old I r a n i a n l i t e r a l l y , " f i n d e r of g l o r y " (i.e. ' w i n n e r of g l o r y " ) .

Vindapharnah-,

Coins a n d i n s c r i p t i o n s : Gondophares,

30. I t is t o be n o t e d t h a t t h e B e h i s t u n i n s c r i p t i o n is t r i l i n g u a l , w r i t t e n in Old P e r s i a n , E l a m i t e a n d A c c a d i a n ; d e s c r i p t i o n in K e n t , op. cil., p p . 107-108. T h e t h r e e t e x t s w i t h t r a n s l a t i o n , e t c in F . H . W e i s s b a c h , Die Keilinschriften der Achämeniden. Leipzig, 1911. 31. I n E l a m i t e v b e c o m e s m: V a h u m i s a = Ma-u-mi-ish-sha, Vayas p a r a = Mi-ish-par-a, V a h y a z d a t a = Mi-ish-da-ad-da, etc. ( K e n t , op. eit., p p . 206-209). 32. V. A. S m i t h , The Early History of India from 600 B. C. to the Muhammadan Conquest ( r e p r . , O x f o r d , 1967) p. 246, n. 2. In a n c i e n t I n d i a t w o s c r i p t s w e r e in use, t h e B r ä h m i a n d t h e K h a r o s t h i , b o t h d e r i v e d f r o m t h e A r a m a i c a l p h a b e t . Brief a c c o u n t in A. T h u m b - R . H a u s c h i l d , Handbuch des Sanskrit (2 vols, in 3 p a r t s . I n d o g e r m a n i s c h e B i b l i o t h e k . I. R e i h e : L e h r u n d H a n d b ü c h e r . 3rd ed., H e i d e l b e r g , 1953,1958) 1/1, pp. 182-188. 33. T h e G r e e k f o r m s a r e i n t e r e s t i n g , in as m u c h as t h e y a t t e s t t h e a l t e r n a t i o n b e t w e e n v a n d g ( t h e f o r m e r b e c o m i n g i in t h e first form). 34. S m i t h , op. cil., p. 248, n. 1. 35. T h e n a m e has p a s s e d over i n t o A r m e n i a n , Georgian, etc.; for t h e A r m e n i a n f o r m , cf. K l i j n , The Acts of Thomas, p. 160.

GONDOPHARNES

439

T h e n a m e is not a n y t h i n g a r t i s t i c or artificial, f o r t h e r e have been p e r s o n s bearing it; Darius I, in his B e h i s t u n inscription, m e n t i o n s a P e r s i a n of the same name: 3 6 Vindafarna nama Parsa mana badaka akunavam (3:84-85) Vindafarna

hada kara ashiyava

vashna Auramazdaha Vindafarna

nama

avamsham

Babirum

Vindafarna

(3:86-87)

Babiruviya

Vayasparahya

mathishtam

aja (3:87-88)

pusa Parsa (4:83)

A P e r s i a n by t h e name V i n d a p h a r n a h m y subject, I m a d e h i m chief V i n d a p h a r n a h w i t h t h e a r m y m a r c h e d oil to Babylon By t h e f a v o u r of A h u r a m a z d a , V i n d a p h a r n a h s m o t e the Babyl onians V i n d a p h a r n a h b y name, son of V a y a s p a r a a Persian. T h e m a n was s u b s e q u e n t l y c o n d e m n e d and p u t to d e a t h by Darius. 3 7 V i n d a p h a r n a h is t h e r e f o r e a v e r y good Old I r a n i a n n a m e which, in the course of dialectal development, became G o n d a p h a r n a h ! The change of v t o g is a special dialectal f e a t u r e which has its parallels in t h e sources: 3 8 compare Vrkana

Gurgan, a p l a c e - n a m e

Vishtaspa

Gushtasp,

»art-

gart-,

vaesa-

gaesa-,

vastrem

gasirem,

a personal name

to rotate hair clothing

36. K e n t , op. cit, p p . 116-134. 37. T h e reason for this act of i n g r a t i t u d e a n d c r u e l t y was t h a t " h e had learned w i t h w h a t ease t h r o n e s m i g h t be won a n d he determined t o t r y f o r himself. H e lost his life, j u s t when we do not k n o w " (Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire p. 143). H e r o d o t u s 3:118-119 has his o w n a c c o u n t of t h e i n c i d e n t , which seems q u i t e f a n c i f u l . 38. W . Eilers, " S t e r n - P l a n e t - B e g e n b o g e n , "Der Orient in der Forschnng. Festschrift fur Otto Spies (Wiesbaden, 1967) pp. 92-146 (pp. 125-126, 134-135). I t m a y be n o t e d here in passing t h a t P a h l a v i too preserves f o r m s in g gushn < A v e s t a n varshnim a l e , " gurz < Old Persian vuzruk, " g r e a t , " etc.

140

THE IIARi»

T h e p h e n o m e n o n h e r e described occurs in some m o d e r n dialects as well, 39 b u t we shall n o t cite examples.

Iranian

R e f e r e n c e m u s t , in this connection, be m a d e t o an interesting detail f u r n i s h e d b y t h e Assyrian documents. 4 0 Shalmaneser I I I (858-824) m e n t i o n s a Median ruler bearing t h e name Ku-uni.e. Vindaspa. T i g l a t h - P i l s e r I I I •da-ash-pi (= Gu-un-da-ash-pi), (745-727) speaks of Ku-ush-ta-ash-pi (= Gu-ush-ta-ash-pi), i.e. Vishtaspa. There are three p o i n t s t o be noted w i t h regard to the t w o names: 1) I r a n i a n sources do n o t include t h e name Vindaspa; 2) t h e initial syllable /«¡-represents gu-, because in Accadian voiced c o n s o n a n t s in l o a n w o r d s are r e n d e r e d b y t h e i r unvoiced equivalents; 4 1 3) t h e change of vi- to gu- occurs in t e x t s d a t i n g f r o m t h e first centuries of t h e Christian era. a n d it is c e r t a i n l y odd to find it a t t e s t e d in d o c u m e n t s going back to t h e n i n e t h c e n t u r y B.C. The reason m a y very well be t h a t the Assyrians who happened t o hear t h e s t r a n g e names of Median rulers, c o n f u s e d t h e initial sounds, and, t h r o u g h r e p e t i t i o n , even d i s t o r t e d t h e m . L e t us now analyse t h e c o n s t i t u e n t elements in t h e n a m e V i n d a p h a r n a h . T h e a p p e l l a t i o n consists of t w o halves, namely, vinda- and pharnah, which call for detailed e x p l a n a t i o n . T h e r e is in Old I r a n i a n t h e v e r b a l r o o t vind-, " t o f i n d , " which c o r r e s p o n d s to Indie vind-, "'to find, discover, o b t a i n , " and Avestan vaed-, " t o find, a t t a i n . " 4 2 T h e r o o t is f o u n d only in I n d o - I r a n i a n , and it is

39. G. M o r g e n s t i r n e , Iranistik. Linguistik, pp. 170-171. The following examples f r o m Germanic a n d R o m a n c e languages are interesting: iverra = guerra, guerre, warnjan = guarnire, guarnir, waidanjan = guadagnare, gagner, Walter = Gualbertus, William = Gulielmus, etc. Cf. R . Posener, The Romance Languages. A Linguistic Introduction. Doubleday Anchor Books, New York, 1966 (cf. t h e index). 40. M. Mayrhofer, " E i n altes P r o b l e m : ' G u s h t a s p ' im a c h t e n vorchristlichen J a h r h u n d e r t ? " Monumentum H. S. Nyberg (Acta Iranica. II. sèrie: H o m m a g e s et opera m i n o r a 7. Teheran, 1975) II, pp. 53-57. 41. This is best i l l u s t r a t e d b y the t r a n s c r i p t i o n of Sumerian t e r m s w i t h voiced c o n s o n a n t s into Accadian: abzu > apsu, " o c e a n , " abgal > apkallu, " s a g e , " àzag > asakku, " a kind of sickness," égal > ekallu, " p a l a c e , t e m p l e , " ibilu > aplu, "son" ezen > isinnu, " f e a s t , " etc. 42. B a r t h o l o m a e , Alliranisches Wörterbuch, cols. 1318-1320.

GONDOPHARNES

441

genetically related to Indie vid-, " t o k n o w . " " The f o r m vindaactually vindat- (also vidal-) is an old n e u t e r p a r t i c i p l e which, is c o g n a t e w i t h Avestan vidhat-, "finding." 4 4 In o r d e r to be able t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e forms, we m u s t know something a b o u t t h e f o r m a t i o n of p a r t i c i p l e s in IE. 4 5 The infix -nt- serves to create t h e present, f u t u r e a n d a o r i s t participles in t h e I E languages; c o m p a r e t h e I E p r e s e n t p a r t i ciple masculine singular bher-o-nt-s which survives in Greek phero-nt —os (genitive singular of masculine pherön), in I n d i e bhar—a.— nt-am (accusative singular of masculine bharan-), in Gothic baira-nd-s (masculine singular), bah-a-nd-ei (feminine singular), e t c . The f u t u r e p a r t i c i p l e is r e p r e s e n t e d by Greek dös-o-nt-os (genitive of dösön), and t h e aorist one b y deix-a-nt-os (genitive of deixas). The c o n s o n a n t a l cluser -nl-s has been simplified, and hence we have Greek pherön, I n d i e bharan-, Avestan baran-, etc. T h e Old P e r s i a n evidence for the a c t i v e p a r t i c i p l e is q u i t e m e a g r e , t h e r e being only a single example, viz. tunvä (tunvän-), "power f u l " ( n o m i n a t i v e singular), tunva-nt-am (accusative singular m a sculine), and tunva-nt-ahyä (genitive singular masculine). 4 6 I n d o - I r a n i a n has a n e u t e r p a r t i c i p l e in -at-, which is p r e s e r v e d by t h e initial element in t h e c o m p o u n d s üäray-at-vahu-, " D a r i u s " (= " h e who holds firm t h e good"), Väy-at-spara-, "man 43. M. M a y r h o f e r , Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen (3 vols. I n d o g e r m a n i s c h e Bibliothek. II. Rihe: W o e r t e r b ü c h e r . Heidelberg, 1953-1973) 111, p, 214. 44. T h e voiced a s p i r a t e dh is peculiar to Y o u n g e r Avestan: I E dhedheti, " p u t s , places" > Gathic dadaiti, YAves. dadhaiti (Indie dadhäti); I E medhu, " h o n e y " > Gathic madhu YAves. madhu (Indie madhu), etc. 45. E x h a u s t i v e discussions in K . B r u g m a n n - B . D e l l b r u c k , Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der indogermanischen Sprachen (5 vols, in 9 p a r t s . R e p r . , Berlin, 1967) I I / l , pp. 649667. H. K r ä h e , Indogermanische Sprachwissenschaft ( 2 vols. S a m m l u n g Goschen. 4 - 5 t h ed., Berlin, 1963, 1966) I I , p p . 87-89. A. Meillet, Introduction a l'etude. comparative des langues indo-europeennes, pp. 277-280. 0 . Szemerenyi, Einfuhrung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft ( E i n f u h r u n g e n - Sprachwissenschaft. 2nd ed., D a r m s t a d t , 1980) pp. 291-298. 46. B r a n d e n s t e i n - M a y r h o f e r , Handbuch, p. 146. K e n t , Old Persian p. 186.

442

THE

HARP

of the wicker shield," 4 7 and glory".«

finally

Vind-at-pharnah,

"finder of

The second half the name, pharnah, is a Median term derived from I E swel-nos, "sun's splendour," 4 9 and is the equivalent of Avestan xvarenah-, " r o y a l splendour, fortuna regia" (cf. below). The origin of the forms has to be understood in the light of the special phonetic laws at work in Old Iranian: I E sw becomes huv- in Old Persian, ph in Mediau, xv in Avestan, and so in Indie; compare. I E swos, "one's own, suus" OPer. hiiva-, Aves. xua-, Ind. svaI E swel-nos sun".

Med. pharnah,

Aves. xvarenah-,

Ind. svar-,

"the

The explanation offered here is the traditional one, but there is also another suggestion: xvarenahoriginally meant " a thing obtained/desired," whence "good things, welfare, fortune, etc. The root in this case will be Proto—Aryan swar—, surviving in Avestan xvar-, " t o get, take, take food," and so on. 5 0 In Zoroastrian tradition xvarenahsense 51 and it has been described as

has a

special

religious

a divine grace which descends on those favoured by the gods. endowing them with exceptional power and prosperity. 5 2 47. This man was the father oi Vindapharnah. 48. Brandenstein-Mayrhofer, op. cit, pp. 81-82, 153. Kent op. cit. p. 78. ' 49. In addition to the stem in -/- there is also another one in -n-, i.e. swen-! sun-, which underlies Gothic sunno, New English sun, Avestan xvan-, etc. Indie suryapreserves sul( > sur-) plus the suffix -yo- ( > Indie - y a - , with change of o to a) 50. References in K e n t , op. cit., 208. Cf. too Bartholomae Altiranisches Worterbuch, cols. 1865-1867. ' 51. Bartholomae, op. cit., cols. 1870-1874. W. Lenz, "Was ist nun eigentlich Chwarenah?" Zeitschrift der deutschen morenlandischen Gesellschaft 111 (1961) p. 410. Summary in Luke " A n Avestan Parallel to Genesis 3, "Indian Theological Studies 26(1989) pp. 134-151 (p. 146). 52. M. Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism. I. The Early Period (Handbuch der Orientalistik. I. Abteil., V I I I . Band I Absch Lief. 2, Heft 2A. Leiden, 1975) p. 66.

(lONDOl'IIARNES

443

T h e w o r d has t r a d i t i o n a l l y been t r a n s l a t e d " g l o r y " , which, in some instances, is q u i t e a p p r o p r i a t e . If kings and heroes h a v e a t t a i n e d f a m e a n d greatness, it is because xvarenahhas b e e n r e s t i n g on t h e m , and when it d e p a r t s f r o m t h e m , they become o r d i n a r y men. As a n a t t r i b u t e , it is p r o p e r t o t h e A h u r a s 5 3 , and t h e god Mitlira is t h e one who possesses it to the highest degree. W h e n the god Y i m a , on, w h o m xvarenah- has been r e s t i n g , fell into sin, it passed away f r o m him in t h e f o r m of a bird. 5 4 I t was with Z a r a t h u s h t r a a n d also w i t h his royal p a t r o n V i s h t a s p a , a n d , being associated w i t h t h e r u l e r s of I r a n , it has been called airiganem. xvarenah"the glory of t h e A r y a n s . " 5 5 Y a s h t 19:57 speaks of the " g l o r y which belongs to the I r a n i a n peoples, b o r n a n d t o be b o r n . " 5 6 No wonder, then, t h a t t h e t e r m came to be used as p a r t of p r o p e r names. The Avesta a t t e s t s once the name V i d h a t - x v a r e n a h ( Y a s h t 13:128), b o r n e by one of t h e associates of S a o s h y a n t , t h e Z o r o a s t r i a n s a v i o u r - m e s s i a h who will a p p e a r a t t h e end of time. 5 7 A v a r i a n t of the n a m e is V i n d i - x v a r e n a h : t h e god Vayu i n t r o d u c e s himself as " d e r R u h m v e r s c l i a f t " ( Y a s h t 15:45). 58 I n H o l o p h e r n e s . the n a m e of the general who was t r e a c h erously killed by J u d i t h , 5 9 t h e second element phernes is a 53.

54. 55. 56.

57. 58. 59.

T h a t is, t h e A s u r a s of t h e I n d i a n s c r i p t u r e s (on h in A h u r a , cf. n. 7 above). T h e Aryans, a d m i t t e d t w o classes of celestial beings t h e a s u r a s and the devas, and while t h e f o r m e r w e r e c o n c e r n e d with the order of t h e universe, t h e l a t t e r t o o k care of the affairs oJ men. In t h e R g v e d a t h e a s u r a s are good beings, t h o u g h l a t e r on t h e y came t o be degraded into demons; in I r a n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t was j u s t t h e opposite, f o r t h e devas were c o n v e r t e d i n t o demons a n d t h e asuras r e m a i n e d good. Yima's sin consisted in e n d e a v o u r i n g t o become equal t o God; discussions in Luke op. cit., pp. 145-150. Boyce, op. cit., p. 67. F. Wolf, Avesta. Die heiligen Buecher der Parsen (repr., Berlin, 1960) p. 292 ( " N i c h t v e r m o c h t e ich dieser I l e r r l i c h k e i t zu bemaclitigen, die den arischen L a n d e r n zatanam azatanam-ca, den jetzigen u n d k u e n f t i g e n . . . g e h o r t " ) . On t h i s figure, cf. Luke, " D e a t h ' s A f t e r m a t h : t h e A r y a n T r a d i t i o n , " Jeevadhara 9(1979) pp. 100-116 (p. 113). B a r t h o l o m a e , op. cit, col. 1449 ( " h e who p r o c u r e s f a m e " ) . L u k e , " T h e Book of J u d i t h , " Bible Bhashuam 9(1983) pp. 17-37 (pp. 19-20). ^

441

THE HAI«»

modification of pharnah-, the original form of the name was Oropharnah, " t h e one of wide splendour", where oro- (Avestan vouru-) is the equivalent of Indio uru-, "wide, broad;" compare uru-krama-, "wide-striding", which is an epithet of the god Visnu in the Rgveda. 6 0 The name Oropharnah occurs in the ancient sources. Ariarathes I of Cappadocia had a brother named Oropharnah who helped Artaxerxes III Ochus (359-338) during his campaign against Egypt (circa 351-342). The second son of Ariarathes IV bore the same name; he managed to usurp the throne of Cappodocia (158-156), and looted the temple of Zeus on Mount Ariadne in order to have the sum needed to pay his soldiers. 61 We bring this section to a close with t h e remark that pharnah occurs as p a r t of proper names: Pharnaspa, Pharnahvant, 6 2 Pharnadata, Pharnabagha ( > Pharnabazos), Pharnukes, Agnipharnah, 6 3 Artapharnah, Bagapharnah ( < Barzapharna), Datapharnah, Phradatpharnah (Avestan Phradat-xvarenah), 6 4 Cithrapharnah ( > Tissapharnes), 6 5 etc. III. The Indo-Parthians The Parthian age in the history of Iran 6 6 has not only been neglected b u t also falsified by the Iranians themselves: the CO. References in H. Grassmann, Wörterbuch zum Riq-Veda (4th ed., Wiesbaden, 1964) col. 263. 61. F. M. Heichelheim, "Geschichte .Kleinasiens von der Eroberung durch Kyros II. bis zum Tode des Heraklios I. (547 v. Chr.-641 n. C h r ) , "Orientalische Geschichte von Kyros bid Muhammad (Handbuch der Orientalistik. I. Abteil. II Band, IV. Absch., Lief. 2, Leiden, 1966) pp. 32-98 (pp 59-69). M. Rostovtzefl- H. A. Ormerod, The Cambridge Ancient History. IX. The Roman Republic 133-44 B C (repr Cambridge, 1987) pp. 211-260 (Pontus). 62. W. B. Henning, Iranistik Linguistik, p. 65 ("glucklich"). 63. This name is interesting, in as much as it preserves the word agni-, "fire," which, in Old Iranian, came to be replaced by Star-, id. (whose etymology remains obscure), 64. Bartholomae, op. cit., col. 1015 ("das Xvarenah mehrend"). 65. Iranian c ( = ch, as in church), which has no equivalent in Greek, is represented by t. 66. Cf. n. 15 above. Exhaustive survey in E. Yarshater (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran. III. The Seleucid, Parthian and

GONDOPHARNES

415

Sasanians (226-632), for religious reasons, shortened the span of time between Alexander the Great (336-326) and the coming to power of Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, by reducing the Parthian period to about half its duration. There was in circulation a prophecy to the effect that the Persian empire would come to an end one thousand years a f t e r Zoroaster (who, according to Zoroastrian tradition, flourished nearly 300 years before Alexander). 6 7 The close of the millenium was drawing near, and, in order to avert the catastrophe, the Zoroastrian clergy and the royal officials modified the chronology! They hoped t h a t they would thus be able to t h w a r t the designs of fate. 6 8 The Parthians were domiciled in what is roughly the province of Khurasan in Iran. After Alexander's death there commenced a movement of nomadic tribes f r o m Russian Turkestan, and a group among them, called the P a r n i in the sources. 69 migrated to the area of Parthia, where they gradually became assimilated to the local population. It has been pointed out t h a t some words in Armenian and Manichaean P a r t h i a n are survivals f r o m the language of the Parni. 7 0 The founder of the Parthian kingdom was Arsaces, whose historicity is established beyond doubt by the discovery of an

67. 68. 69. 70.

Sasanian Periods. Cambridge 1983. M. A. R. College, The Parthians. Ancient Peoples and Places 59. London, 1967. N. C. Debevoise, A Political History of Parthia. Ch/cago, 1938 (repr., 1969). J. Filliozat, in L. R e n o u - J. Filliozat (eds.), L'Inde classique. Manuel des etudes indiennes (2 vols., repr., Paris, 1985) I, pp. 230-232. B. Piotrovskv- G. Bongard Levin (eds.), Ancient Civilizations of East and West, pp. 141143 (the Parthians) 155 (the Indo-Parthians). E. J. Rapson, " T h e Scythian and Parthian Invaders, "The Cambridge History of India (Cambridge, 1922) I, pp. 562-587. K. Schippmann, Grundzuege der parthischen Geschichte. Grundzuege 39. Darmstadt, 1980 (pp. 129-132: bibliography). Smith, The Early History of India, pp. 242 -245 (the I n d o - P a r t h i a n rulers), 245-250 (Gondopharnes and St. Thomas). L. de la Vallee Poussin, L'Inde aux temps des Mauryas et. des barbares, Grecs, Scythes, Parthes et Yue-tchi (Histoire du Monde 6. Paris 1930) pp. 262-280. On the prophet's date, cf. Luke, " Z a r a t h u s h t r a , " pp. 229-232. Frye, The Heritage of Persia, pp. 205-207. F r y e . op. rit., p. 73. Henning, op. cit., p. 93.

446

THE

HARP

o s t r a c o n f r o m t h e c i t y of Nysa (cf. below) which m e n t i o n s a d e s c e n d a n t of t h e king's nephew. 7 1 H i s name can be derived e i t h e r f r o m arsha-, " b e a r " (as t o t e m ) , 7 2 or f r o m arshan-, "man, h e r o . " 7 3 W h e n t h e P a r t h i a n s began t o e n t e r u p o n a policy of expansion, t h e y were opposed b y the Seleucids: in 222 Seleucus II (247-226) f o u g h t against t h e m , b u t , because of t r o u b l e at home, he had t o w i t h d r a w , and t h e P a r t h i a n s were l e f t t o themselvesI n 209 or so A n t i o c h u s I I I (223-187) c o n d u c t e d an expedition l a s t i n g several years, a t t h e close of which a peace t r e a t y was concluded, and t h e P a r t h i a n s recognized Seleucid s u p r e m a c y . A f t e r t h e b a t t l e of Carrhae in 53 B. C. t h e r e commenced t h e age of c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h Rome, and Mark A n t o n y , Octavian, Tiberius, Nero, T r a j a n a n d S e p t i m u s Severus all waged war against t h e P a r t h i a n s . M i t h r a d a t e s I (171-138) was a p o w e r f u l P a r t h i a n ruler who succeeded in c r e a t i n g an e m p i r e a n d won the t i t l e " t h e g r e a t k i n g " (found on his coins). 7 4 I t is a f a c t t h a t he extended his c a m p a i g n s t o Arachosia and even b e y o n d , b u t t h e details r e m a i n u n k n o w n , a n d it is m o s t likely t h a t H e r a t , Seistan, Gedrosia and o t h e r d i s t r i c t s of e a s t e r n I r a n were u n d e r local p o t e n t a t e s . M i t h r a d a t e s I I (123-87) too was a g r e a t c o n q u e r o r , 71. F r y e , op. cit., p. 208. 72. B a r t h o l o m a e , op. cit., col. 203. T h e Old I r a n i a n f o r m of the n a m e will Arshaka ( > Greek Arsakes L a t i n Arsaces); the w o r d arsha- is r e l a t e d t o Indie fksa-, " b e a r , " Greek arktos. id., L a t i n ursus, etc. 73. B a r t h o l o m a e , op. cit., ibid. To arshan- correspond Indie ysa-bha-, " m a n , b u l l , " and Greek arsen / arrhen, " t h e male". 74. In Old Iranian xshtiyathia vazraka-. The Old P e r s i a n desig n a t i o n of kings was xshayathiya-, which is in all likelihood an a d j e c t i v e , " r o y a l " , and goes back t o Proto - Aryan ksatya-, a n d -thiis t h e r e s u l t of Median influence. The v e r b a l r o o t xahay- (Avestan xsha(v)-, " t o r u l e , " is related to Indie ksayati, "possesses", Greek ktaomai, " t o acquire," and occurs w i t h t h e p r e p o s i t i o n s upari-, " t o rule over", and pati-, " t o have lordship over. " The t i t l e may have been inspired by Accadian sharru rabu (Sumerian lugal gal) "the g r e a t king," which f o r m e d an integral p a r t of the M e s o p o t a m i a n royal t i t u l a r y . E x h a u s t i v e discussions in 0 . Szemerenyi, " I r a n i c a Y (nos. 59-70), "Monumenlum Nyberg II, pp. 313-394 (pp. 313-343).

GONDOI'IIARNKS

447

and his coins attest the title "king of kings; 7 5 he was the first Parthian ruler to assume the present title, 7 6 The Parthian rulers had always to face the threat from the West, first from the Seleucids and then from the Romans; the north and the east were also trouble spots, mainly because of the incursions of nomads from Central Asia, and this confused and chaotic situation meant that the eastern parts of Iran and the regions beyond (i. e. India) were not under the effective control of the Parthians, with the result that the local rulers could enjoy autonomy. The Indo-Parthian kings were, for all practical purposes, independent of the emperor in the West. Smith distinguishes two main lines of Indo-Partliian rulers, viz. in Seistan and Archosia, and in West Panjab or Taxila. 7 7 The name Seistan is a modification of Sakastana, " t h e land of the Sakas" (or Scythians), and denotes the country around Lake Hamun and the river Helmand; the area was a fertile plain away from the mountains, and was therefore a flourishing settlement. Arachosia is the name the Greeks gave to ancient Harahuvati (= Indie Sarasvati), the land further upstream to the east on the foothills of the tributaries of the Helmand, and it was rich enough to support large groups of settlers. As for Taxila, it is too well known to need any description. The Indo-Parthian rulers were Yonones, S.p?ls;rcs, Azes, Orthagnes, Gondopharnes, Abdagases, Paco res and Sanbares. 7 8 The names are all Iranian (and not Indo-Aryan), and a couple of them are interesting. We have analysed the name Gondopharnes, and his predecessor's name (on coins Orthagnes) is a variant of 75. That is xsháyalhiyñnám xshayathiya-, which survives in modern Persian as shahan shah (used by the kings of Iran), and may represent a modification of Accadian shar sharrani, "king of kings;" the Middle Iranian inscriptions preserve the Aramaic phrase malkln malka', which is a literal rendering of the Iranian title. On the genitive plural in -anam (compare Indie devanara, "deorum"), cf. Brandenstein-Mayrhofer, Handbuch, p. 56. K e n t , Old Persian, pp. 58-59. 76. Frye, op.cit, p. 212. 77. Op.cit., p. 243. 78. J . Duchesne-Guillemin, FAI religion de F'lran ancieri ("Alalia's. Introduction á 1' histoire des religions. I. Les anciennes' religions orientales 3. Paris, 1962) pp. 238-239.

418

THE

HARP

V e r e t h r a g h n a . l i t e r a l l y , " t h e s l a y e r of ( t h e d e m o n ) V r t r a " , 7 9 a n d h e n c e " t h e v i c t o r i o u s one, v i c t o r y " . 8 0 Coins m e n t i o n s'nbry MLK', " S a n b a r e s t h e k i n g " , 8 1 a n d t h e n a m e is itself of P a r n i a n origin a n d c o n s i s t s of sän, " t h e f o e " , a n d bar, " t o c a r r y o i l / a w a y " ( a n d h e n c e " t h e one w h o c a r r i e s off t h e f o e " ) ; c o m p a r e t h e P a r t h i a n n a m e S a n a t r u k ( < S ä n a - t a r u - k a ) , " t h e o n e who o v e r c o m e s t h e foe".82 T h e c h r o n o l o g y of t h e I n d o - P a r t h i a n r u l e r s is a m o o t p r o b l e m , a n d t h e v a r i o u s s u g g e s t i o n s p u t f o r w a r d h a v e all t h e i r w e a k p o i n t s . 8 3 A c c o r d i n g t o S c l i i p p m a n n t h e d a t e of G o n d o p h a r nes is c i r c a A. D 2 6 - 6 4 , 8 4 a n d D u c h e s n e G u i l l e m i n is of t h e v i e w t h a t h e r e i g n e d f i f t y y e a r s , 8 5 b u t h e does n o t i n d i c a t e t h e termini a quo a n d ad quem. T h e l a n g u a g e used b y t h e I n d o - P a r t h i a n s was a d i a l e c t of I r a n i a n , a n d is g e n e r a l l y k n o w n as P a r t h i a n , b u t on t h e coins t h e r u l e r s ' n a m e s a r e w r i t t e n in A r a m a i c a n d Greek c h a r a c t e r s . F r o m a wine cellar in Old N i s a . 8 6 t h e h o m e t o w n if n o t c a p i t a l of A r s a c e s , w e r e u n e a r t h e d 2750 o s t r a c a , w h i c h a r e d o c u m e n t s of r e g i s t r a t i o n in A r a m a i c . 8 7 IV.

Archaeological Evidence

T h e m a i n s o u r c e f o r t h e s t u d y of t h e I n d o - P a r t h i a n age is t h e l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n of coins u n e a r t h e d b y a r c h a e o l o g i s t s a n d e x p e r t s in n u m i s m a t i c s . 8 8 Greek a n d R o m a n w r i t e r s who deal 79. On t h i s figure, cf. D u c h e s n e - G u i l l e m i n , op. cit., p p . 175-178. H . S, N y b e r g , Die Religionen des alten Iran (Mitteilungen der vorderasiatisch-ägyptischen Gesellschaft 43. Repr., O s n a b r ü c k , 1966) p p . 69-83. On t h e Vedic t r a d i t i o n , cf. Luke, " P r a y e r in t h e R g v e d a : i t s N a t u r e , " God's Word among Men. Papers in Honour of Joseph Putz (Delhi, 1973) p p . 231-246. 80. B a r t h o l o m a e , op.cit., cols. 1420-1424. 81. H e n n i n g , op.cit., p. 41. 82. H e n n i n g , ibid., n. 1. 83. De l a Vallee P o u s s i n , op.cit., p p . 272-276. 84. Op.cit., p . 51 ( " v i l l e i c h t 2 6 - 6 4 n. Chr."). 85. Op.cit, p. 238. 86. I n a n c i e n t t i m e s t h e c i t y w a s k n o w n as Mithridatekert, "built b y M i t h r a d a t e s " ( P i o t r o v s k y - B o n g a r d - L e v i n , op.cit., p. 142)" 87. S c h i p p m a n n ; op.cit., p. 5. 88. P . G a r d i n e r , British Museum Coins: Greek and Scythian Kings of Bactria and India. L o n d o n , 1886. T h e r e a r e several artick-s a n d m o n o g r a p h s which a r e n o t accessible t o t h e w r i t e r .

GONDOPHARNES

449

w i t h t h e P a r t h i a n s and their e m p i r e have n o t h i n g t o say a b o u t t h e I n d o - P a r t h i a n rulers, for, as f a r as t h e y were concerned, these, kings were b a r b a r i a n c h i e f t a i n s i n h a b i t i n g inaccessible, m o u n t a i n o u s areas. L o t of work has b e e n done b y Soviet archaeologists a t different c e n t r e s in w h a t was once P a r t h i a n t e r r i t o r y , 8 9 b u t t h e i r p u b l i c a t i o n s are in R u s s i a n and r e m a i n beyond t h e reach of most scholars. Our discussions here will t h e r e f o r e be q u i t e manqué. The credit for t h e discovery of coins bearing the name of G o n d o p h a r n e s belongs t o t h e E n g l i s h m a n J a m e s Lewis who claimed to be an A m e r i c a n a n d called himself Charles Masson. 9 0 I n 1826 he deserted f r o m t h e Bengal E u r o p e a n A r t i l l e r y and m a n a g e d to reach A f g h a n i s t a n , where he worked as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e B r i t i s h G o v e r n m e n t . In 1835 he was g r a n t e d a royal pardon, and subsequently returned to England. A m a n w i t h c u l t u r a l i n t e r e s t s , Masson c o n d u c t e d i x c a v a t i o n s a t B e g r a m (= a n c i e n t Kâpisa) in t h e K a b u l valley a n d u n e a r t h e d f r o m t h e site 1565 coins of copper and 14 of silver and gold. 9 1 T h e collection included coins bearing the name V i n d a p h a r n a h in Greek c h a r a c t e r s , and it has been surmised t h a t " G o n d o p h a r n e s m a y h a v e been the last king of I n d i a t o use Greek l e t t e r i n g on his coins". 9 2 Masson published his findings in t h e J o u r n a l of t h e R o y a l Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1834. There is a n i n s c r i p t i o n of G o n d o p h a r n e s in P r a k r i t discovered a t T a k h t - i Bahai ( n o r t h e a s t of P e s h a w a r in P a k i s t a n ) in

89. T h a t is Soviet T u r k e m e n i s t a n . 90. S.. Neill, A History of Christianity in India from the Beginnings to A.D. 1107 (Cambridge, 1984) p p . 27-28 (cf. too p. 428, nn. 3-4). Compare too D. Daniel, The Orthodox Church of India (2nd ed., Delhi, 1986) pp. 22-23. 91. F i l l i o z a t , L'Inde classique I, p. 179 (coin no. 23). P. V. M a t h e w , Acta Indica. The Acts of St. Thomas in India ( E r n a k u l a m , 1986) p l a t e 11. 9, opposite p. 11 (several coins). Smith, op. cit., p l a t e , coin no. 6. 92. Neill, op. cit., p. 430, n. 6.

450

THE

HARP

t h e last c e n t u r y 9 3 a n d consisting of six lines; t h e first t w o lines which are of i n t e r e s t to us r u n thus: 9 4 The year (vasha) 26 of t h e g r e a t king G u d u v h a r a T h e year (sambatsara) 103, t h e fifth day of t h e m o n t h Vesakha The t e r r a s vasha and sambatsara r e p r e s e n t varsha a n d samvatsara, t h o u g h it is not clear why t h e y are b o t h used by t h e scribe. The m o o t problem is a b o u t t h e t w o regnal y e a r s 26 and 103: t h e s e m u s t r e p r e s e n t t w o eras, whose terminus a quo is n o t clear. Specialists h a v e p u t f o r w a r d several e x p l a n a t i o n s which c a n n o t be discussed in our m o d e s t s t u d y . 9 5 T h e m o n t h of Vesakha ( < Vaisâkha) is t h e second l u n a r m o n t h a n d c o r r e s p o n d s to April-May. T h r o u g h t h e m e d i u m ' of Syriac sources G o n d o p h a r n e s became k n o w n t o t h e A r m e n i a n s who modified t h e n a m e t o G a t h a s p e r , a n d t h i s f o r m was g r a d u a l l y s h o r t e n e d t o Gaspar. 9 6 In Christian legend Gasper is r e g a r d e d as one of t h e Magis who journeyed f r o m t h e Orient t o B e t h l e h e m to p a y homage t o t h e i n f a n t Messiah. I t h a d widely been believed in t h e p a s t t h a t one of t h e t h r e e kings was f r o m India. F i n a l l y as h a v e b e e n made ruler Kandappa tically possible,

a curiosity we w o u l d like t o n o t e t h a t a t t e m p t s to identify Gondopharnes with the South Indian or K u t n a p p a ; t h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , t h o u g h theorec a n n o t be defended. 9 7

93. T h e i n s c r i p t i o n , w r i t t e n in K h a r o s t h i c h a r a c t e r s , was f o u n d b y Dr. Bello in a B u d d h i s t t e m p l e a n d is now p r e s e r v e d in t h e L a h o r e Museum; t h e original is r e p r o d u c e d by M a t h e w , op.cit., p l a t e no. 10 (opposite p. 45). T e x t in Devanâgarî c h a r a c t e r s in R. P a n d e y , Historical and Literary Inscriptions (The C h a u k h a m b h a S a n s k r i t Studies 23. Varnasi, 1962) p. 66 (no. 7). 94. M a t h e w , op.cit., p. 46 ( t r a n s l a t i o n ) . De la Vallée Poussin, (vasha) op.çit., p. 274, gives t h e following r e n d e r i n g : " L ' a n 26 du g r a n d roi G u d a f a r a , en l'en (sambatsara) c e n t troisième, le cinquième j o u r d u mois Vaiââkha, u n char; en hommage du p r i n c e (Chupa?) E j h s u n a . . . " 95. De la Vallée P o u s s i n , op.cit., pp. 272-276. 96. De la Vallée Poussin, op.cit., p. 278. 97. A. M. M u n d a d a n , " O r i g i n s of C h r i s t i a n i t y in India: The F i r s t C e n t u r i e s , " The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia (Trichur, 1982 if.) I, p. 4. Id., History of Christianity in India. I. From the Beginning up to the Middle of the Sixteenth Centurij (Bangalore, 1981) p.26 (cf. too ibid., n. 23). ** '

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 451-465

Documentation Judgement o! the Supreme Court of India

IN T H E SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL Nos. 4958-60 OF 1990. C. A. Nos. 4953, 4957, 4989, 4954-56/90, 607/95 AND 6071-74/95. Most. Rev. P. M. A. Metropolitan & Ors. E t c Versus Moran Mar Marthoma Mathews Anr. Etc.

Appellants

Respondents

ORDER

This Order may be read in continuation of the Judgement dated June 20, 1995. In as much as the Malankara Association was vested with control over the religious and Communal affairs of the entire Malankara Christian Community, it was held desirable and necessary t h a t the Association must " t r u l y and genuinely reflect the will, of the said community." For ensuring it, it was observed: "its composition must be so structured as to represent the entire spectrum of the community. A powerful body having control over both spiritual and communal affairs of the Malankara Church should be composed in a reasonable and fair manner." It was held t h a t judged from the above, angle, clause (68) of the 1934 Constitution cannot be said to be a fair one, in as much as said clause provided for representation parish Church-wise. We took note of the contention urged on behalf of the patriarch group that with a view to obtain majority in the Association, the Catholicos group lias created a number of new Parish Churches with very small membership and that giving

452

THE

HARP

equal represention to all parish Churches irrespective of the strength of their membership is neither fair nor does it ensure a fair and proper representation of the community in the Association. It was held that it is necessary to substitute clause (68) [now clause (71)] and other relevant clauses of the constitution to achieve the aforesaid objective which would also affirm the democratic principle, which appears to be one of the basic tenets of this Church. Accordingly, we direct both the parties as well as the Rule committee (mentioned in clause (120) of the Constitution) to place before this Court within three months from today draft amendments to the Constitution." It was observed that after perusing the said proposals, the Court will make appropriate directions. Accordingly, both parties have placed before us their respective proposals. Some other parties too have placed their proposals. The proposals put forward by the Patriarch group seek to amend a large number of clauses in the constitution which was not the intention behind the above direction. The objective was to amend only clause (68) and other clauses to ensure the aforementioned objective. It is brought to our notice that there are two clauses in the constitution which necessarily have to be Amended if the aforementioned objective has to be attained. They are clauses (71) and (46) (re-numbered clauses). They read as follows: Article 46: The Vicar or if inconvenient for him, one of the Assistant Priests deputed by the Vicar and two laymen elected by every parish assembly in a Diocese shall be members of the Diocesan Assembly. Their term of office shall be three years. Article 71: A priest and two laymen elected by each parish assembly and the members of the existing Managing Committee shall be members of the Association. We may now set out the amendments as proposed by the Catholicos group and Patriarch group: As proposed by the Catholicos Group

Article 71 The following shall be the members of the Association i.e.

DOCUMENTATION

453

(a) members of the existing Managing Committee. (b) a priest from each parish elected by the parish Assembly. (c) (i)

two laymen elected by the parish Assembly of each of those parishes whereof the number of families are upto 400.

(ii)

three laymen elected by the Parish Assembly of each of those parishes whereof families are between 401 and 800;

(iii)

four laymen elected by the parish Assembly of each of those parishes whereof the number of families are between 801 and 1200;

(iv) five laymen elected by the parish Assembly of each of those parishes whereof the number of families exceed 1200. As proposed by the Patriarch Group

Article 71 (1) All men and women who are members of the Malankara Church, and not less than the age of eighteen years and are members of a parish Assembly in Malankara (Kerala) shall be members of the Malankara Association. (2) The following powers of the Malankara Association shall be exercised directly by all the members of the Malankara Association and all the other powers shall, be exercised by the Managing Committee and the office bearers so elected. (a) Election of the Catholicos, Malankara Metropolitan, Associate trustees, Two Association Secretary and Assist a n t to the Malankara Metropolitan. (b) Election of the managing Committee. Provided, however t h a t such election of members of the Managing Committee shall be held at the level of the dioceses in malankara (Kerala), t h a t is to say t h a t the members of the Association belonging to the parish diocese in Malankara (Kerala) will vote and elect only those members of the Managing Committee who will be representing t h a t diocese.

454

TIIE IIARP (c) Ratificati on of the amendments to the proposed by the Managing Committee.

constitution

(3) Whenever the office of the Catholicos falls vacant or when a vacancy is expected due to retirement of the incumbent, the managing Committee shall propose two names for final selection by the members of t h e Association and the Metropolitan who secures t h e higher number of votes shall be consecrated as the Catholicos. For the above purpose each member of the Managing Committee shall be entitled to propose any Metropolitan who is a Vice President of the Malankara Association. The names of the two Metropolitans securing the largest number of proposals shall be placed before the Association members for selection of one of them by ballot. The Catholicos shall hold office till he attains the age of 75 years or resigns. (4) Election shall be held one in five years to the following officers : i. Malankara Metropolitan; ii. Two Associate Trustees; iii. Association Secretary; iv. Managing Committee; v. Assistant to the Malankara metropolitan. (5) (a) Whenever a vacancy of a Diocesan Metropolitan arises or is expected on account of retirement of the incumbent the Election Committee shall conduct an election for the said office in the said Diocese. (b) A priest of the Malankara church shall be elected to be consecrated as the Metropolitan of a Diocese by the Association members of the Parish Churches of that Diocese. Provided t h a t a priest to be elected for consecration as Diocesan Metropolitan should secure 5 0 X + 1 of the votes polled among the members of the Association in the Diocese.

DOCUMENTATION

455

The person ihus elected shall be consecrated by the Patriarch or the Catholicos with the co-operation of the Synod. (c) A Metropolitan shall hold office till he attains the age of seventy five, years. (d) In the first election after the amendment of the constitution, the members in the Diocese shall approve one of the two incumbent Diocesan Metropolitans. Article 46 (a) The vicar or if it be inconvenient for him, one of the Assistant Priests deputed by the Vicar as well as lay representatives elected by the Parish Assembly of every parish in the Diocese as laid down in clause (b) below shall be the members of the Diocesan Assembly. (b) Parishes with upto 400 families shall elect two representatives those with 401 to 800 shall elect three representatives, those with 801 to 1200 families shall elect four representatives and those parishes exceeding 1200 families shall elect five representatives f r o m among the lay members to the Diocesan Assembly. (c) The term of office of the Diocesan Assembly shall be three years. Article 46 (a) The parish Churches of the Malankara Church are grouped into dioceses and the number and jurisdiction of the dioceses shall be determined by the Managing Committee of the Association f r o m time to time. (b) Every diocese shall have a diocesan assembly which shall consist of the following: (i)

Diocesan Metropolitan (President).

(ii) All priests (including vicars and assistant vicars) who are in active service in the diocese.

456

THE HARP

(iii) Lay representatives of all the parish Churches in diocese, Provided that the number of lay representatives to be elected to the diocesan assembly from each parish Church shall be fixed as per the scale given below:Parish Churches having 100 or more members b u t 500 or less members- 1 lay representative; parish churches having more than 500 members- 1 additional lay representative for every additional 500 members and more lay representative for the remainder of the members beyond the multiples of 500 if such remained is not less t h a n 250. Parish Churches having less than 100 members shall not be entitled to have an independent lay representative, but may with mutual consent join any other parish Church and if the combined strength of their members is 100 msps shall be entitled to have a representative for such combined strength. (c)

30X of the representatives of the parish Churches shall be women and the wards to be reserved for women to ensure such representation shall be decided by the Election committee or the Association.

(d)

The t e r m of office of the diocesan assembly shall be co-terminus with t h a t of the managing Committee. Having heard the counsel for the parties and considered the relevent facts and circumstances, we direct t h a t Articles 71 and 46, as provided hereunder, shall stand substituted in the place of the existing Articles 71 and 46 in the Constitution with effect from this day.

Article 71: The following shall be the members of the Syrian Christian Association (Malankara Association) viz., (a)

Members of the existing Managing Committee. Provided t h a t the nominated members of the Managing Committee, if any, shall not be entitled to vote at the election of the Catholicos, Malankara Metropolitan or any other holder of office who is to be elected by the Association.

(b)

A Priest from each Parish Church elected by the Parish Assembly; Provided t h a t if in any Parish church, there is

DOCUMENTATION

457

only one Priest, he shall be priest represent ative of the Parish Church without the need of an election; (c) (i)

One layman member elected by the Parish Assembly of each Parish Church whose membership does not exceed 100 families;

(ii) 0 ne additional layman member to be elected by the Parish Assembly of a Parish Church having a membership of more than 100 families but not exceeding 250 families; (iii) One more additional layman member to be elected by the Parish Assembly of a Parish church having membership exceeding 250 families b u t not exceeding 500 families; (iv) One more additional layman member to be elected by the Parish Assembly of a Parish Church having membership of more than 500 families but not exeeding 750 members; (v) One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish church having membership of more t h a n 750 families but not exceeding 1000 families; (vi) One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish church having membership of more than 1000 families but not exceeding 1250 families; (vii) One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish church having membership of more than 1250 families but not exceeding 1500 families; (viii) One more additional layman member to be elected bv the parish Assembly of a parish church having membership of more t h a n 1500 families but not exceeding 1750 families; (ix) One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 1750 families but not exceeding 2000 families.

458

TIIE IIARP (x) One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more than 2000 families;

Provided t h a t each family which is a member of the Parish Church shall have one vote and it is for the family to decide who among them shall participate in the voting. Providing f u r t h e r t h a t a vote can be cast on behalf of the family either by a male member or by a female member provided he or she has attained the age of t w e n t y one years. Provided f u r t h e r t h a t the membership of each parish church shall be determined with reference to the entries in t h e relevant register maintained by each parish Church as on the date of the Judgement, i. e. J u n e 20, 1995. (a) The t e r m of the members elected under clauses (a) and (b) above shall be five years. (b) The managing committee shall be elected every five years soon after the election of the members under clauses (b) and (c). Article 46: The following shall be the members of the Diocesan Assembly, viz. (a) A Priest from each Parish Assembly.

Church elected

by the parish

(b) A priest from each parish Church elected by the parish Assembly provided t h a t if in any parish church, there is only one priest, he shall be the priest representative of the parish church without the need of an election; (c) (i)

One layman member elected by the Parish Assembly of each parish church whose membership does not exceed 100 families.

(ii)

One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish church having a membership of more t h a n 100 families but not exceeding 250 families.

(iii)

One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership exceeding 250 families but not exceeding 500 families;

DOCUMENTATION

459

(iv)

One more additional layman member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more than 500 families b u t n o t exceeding 750 families.

(v)

One more additional layman member to be elected by t h e parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 750 families b u t not exceeding 1000 families.

(vi)

One more additional layman member to be elected by t h e parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 1000 families b u t not exceeding 1250 families.

(vii)

One more additional l a y m a n member to be elected by the parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 1250 families b u t not exceeding 1500 families.

(viii)

One more a d d i t i o n a l layman member to be elected by t h e parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 1500 families b u t not exceeding 1750 families.

(ix)

One more additional layman member to be elected by t h e parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 1750 families b u t not exceeding 2000 families.

(x)

One more additional layman member to be elected b y t h e parish Assembly of a parish Church having membership of more t h a n 2000 families.

(c) The t e r m of members elected under shall be five years.

clauses

(a)

and

(b)

I t is directed t h a t the election of members of the Association and the Diocesan Assemblies shall take place within t h r e e m o n t h s f r o m t o d a y on t h e basis of Articles 71 and 46 aforementioned. Part - II Another controversy which was raised before us relates t o t h e a p p o i n t m e n t s m a d e on or a f t e r J a n u a r y 1, 1971 u p t o t h e d a t e of t h e j u d g e m e n t of this Court. It is submitted t h a t in respect of some posts, a p p o i n t m e n t s have been made by b o t h the groups, with t h e result t h a t in respect of certain offices/

460

THE

HARP

posts, there is more than one claimant. At this juncture, it is not possible to give any specific direction as to who among the two contenders is the legitimate incumbent. It is accordingly directed t h a t the status quo as on the date of the judgement shall continue until a new Managing Committee is elected. The said managing Committee can decide the said dispute, if and when necessary. Part - III

It is brought to this court pursuant to been wrongly prepared. learned counsel for the learned counsel for the

our notice t h a t the decree prepared by the judgement dated June 20, 1995 has This is agreed to by both Sri Parasaran, Patriarch group and Sri F. S. Nariman, Catholicos group.

A decree drafted should truly reflect the operative decision and directions in the judgement. That is the Principle. We therefore, direct Ms. Manju Goel, Registrar (Judicial II) to prepare a decree in the light of the judgement aforesaid, after notice to both the parties. It is obvious that the decree shall also incorporate the directions given in this order. If either party or both of them are not satisfied with the decree drafted by the said Registrar (Judicial II), the matter may be requested to be placed before us for appropriate orders in the behalf. New Delhi March 25, 1996.

Travel well - girt like merchants that we may gain the world; convert men to me, fill creation with teaching. [CYRILLONA]

DOCUMENTATION

Joint Communique of the Non-official

Syriac

Second

PRO

461

ORIENTE

Consultation

In the last working session of t h e Second non-official Syriac Consultation organized by the foundation P R O O R I E N T E of Vienna the following Communiqué has been worked out in agreement with all the participants of the Consultation: Continuing in its quest to promote theological understanding and ecumenical relations among the apostolic Churches, the P R O O R I E N T E F o u n d a t i o n has for a second time invited t o Vienna participants from the Oriental Catholic Churches (Chaldean, Syrian, Maronite, Malabar and Malankara), from t h e Oriental. Orthodox Churches (Syrian Orthodox from Antioch» Malankara Orthodox, from India) and the Assyrian Church of the E a s t of both J u r i s d i c t i o n s , namely all who share a common ecclesial heritage in the Syriac language and traditions. This second Dialogue to include all the Syriac Churches took place from F e b r u a r y 22 - 27, 1996, in Vienna. Also present were Observers from the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Middle E a s t Council of Churches and expert scholars, as well as the staff of P R O O R I E N T E . This

important ecumenical initiative on th~ part of was once again very warmly welcomed and appreciated by all participants, who most gratefully a c c e p t e d the fraternal hospitality of the Foundation. Also appreciated was the presence of and inaugural address b y H. E x c . Christoph Schonborn. Archbishop of Vienna and the presence of H . E m F r a n z Cardinal Konig, founder of P R O O R I E N T E . PRO

ORIENTE

The subjects that were treated were the christological agreement already achieved, the Council of Ephesus, the Three Chapters Controversy and the liturgical expressions of Chrisiology in the E a s t - S y r i a n tradition.

462

TIIE

HARP

T a k i n g as t h e i r basis t h e N i c e n e - C o n s t a n t i n o p o l i t a n Symbol of F a i t h and relying on w h a t h a d a l r e a d y been achieved a t t h e F i r s t Non-official C o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h i n t h e Syriac T r a d i t i o n in 1994 we, t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s agreed w i t h a n d w e r e able t o proceed f r o m a common u n d e r s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e U n i t y of F a i t h t h a t was expressed in the Vienna Christological F o r m u l a in t h e words; '"Our L o r d and Saviour, J e s u s Christ, is God t h e Son I n c a r n a t e , p e r f e c t in his Divinity and p e r f e c t in his h u m a n i t y , his Divinity has n o t s e p a r a t e d f r o m his h u m a n i t y for a single m o m e n t ; not f o r t h e t w i n k l i n g of an eye, his h u m a n i t y is one with his Divinity w i t h o u t c o m m i x t u r e , w i t h o u t c o n f u s i o n , w i t h o u t division, w i t h o u t s e p a r a t i o n , we realize at t h e same t i m e t h a t t h e m y s t e r y of t h e one Lord J e s u s Christ is i n e x h a u s t i b l e a n d ineffable, and f o r t h e h u m a n mind never f u l l y comprehens)ble or expressible". At t h e o u t s e t a p p r e c i a t i o n was given t o the significance f o r t h e p r e s e n t dialogue of (I) t h e Common Christological D e c l a r a t i o n b e t w e e n Pope J o h n P a u l II and C a t h o l i c o s - P a t r i a r c h Mar Dinkha IV f r o m N o v e m b e r 11th 1994 and (2) t h e five PRO ORIENTE C o n s u l t a t i o n s b e t w e e n theologians of t h e O r i e n t a l Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (1971, 1973, 1976: 1978, 1988). In t h e course of this Second C o n s u l t a t i o n we were able t o deepen our dialogue c o n c e r n i n g the v a r i o u s - c h r i s t o l o g i c a l t r a d i t i o n s , A n t i o c h e n e , M e s o p o t a m i a n and A l e x a n d r i a n . Since it h a d a l r e a d y been recognized in t h e c o u r s e of t h e first Syriac Dialogue t h a t t h e t e c h n i c a l Christological t e r m s used since the Councils a n d w r i t i n g s of t h e fifth a n d s i x t h c e n t u r i e s ( N o t a b l y Greek physis, hypostasis, prosopon and Syriac kyana, qnoma, and parsopa) were u n d e r s t o o d in different ways b y the different t r a d i t i o n s ( a n d so had been t h e cause of m a n y m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s and confusions), t h e Second Syriac Dialogue was able t o move on t o discuss other i m p o r t a n t issues. Topics covered were " D o e s E p h e s u s u n i t e or divide ?", " T h e Three Chapters C o n t r o v e r s y " and "East Syrian L i t u r g y as an expression of Cliristology". T h e Council of E p h e s u s (431), as a n E c u m e n i c a l Council f o r t h e Chalcedonian and O r i e n t a l O r t h o d o x Churches, with its affirmation of the t i t l e " T h e o t o k o s " f o r t h e Blessed Virgin M a r y , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e l e t t e r s of Cyril associated w i t h t h e Council,

DOCUMENTATION

463

remains of special significance for the Syrian O r t h o d o x Church, being t h e last of t h e E c u m e n i c a l Councils recognized by t h e O r i e n t a l O r t h o d o x Churches. The Church of the E a s t , on t h e o t h e r h a n d , has never been officially a p p r o a c h e d b y a n y of t h e o t h e r Churches to f o r m a l l y a c c e p t or reject it. Nevertheless, t h e theological c o n t e n t s of t h e Council of Ephesus 431 are shared in one f o r m or a n o t h e r by all t h e c h u r c h e s of t h e Syriac T r a d i t i o n , a n d , t h e r e f o r e , could indeed be considered as a theological basis t h a t could u n i t e these Churches w i t h t h e same f a i t h in J e s u s Christ. The theological t h o u g h t a n d f o r m u l a t i o n s of t h e Church of t h e E a s t as p r e s e n t in its liturgical and synodical sources a r e considered to be in line w i t h the teachings of t h e E c u m e n i c a l Councils of Nicea (325), C o n s t a n t i n o p l e (381) a n d compatible w i t h those of t h e Council of E p h e s u s (431). Our discussion of t h e " T h r e e C h a p t e r s " Controversy and the ensuing c o n d e m n a t i o n of t h e " T h r e e C h a p t e r s " a t t h e Council of Constantinople (533) led us to see t h e need to make t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n d o c t r i n e s condemned and persons a n a t h e matized. The c o n d e m n a t i o n of specific names a t t h e Council of E p h e s u s , and t h e Council of C o n s t a n t i n o p l e , is a m a t t e r which requires f u r t h e r discussion in t h e c o n t e x t of t h e p r e s e n t Dialogue. T h e p a p e r s on t h e liturgical t r a d i t i o n by members of t h e Church of t h e E a s t i l l u s t r a t e d , among other things, how prayers addressed t o Christ are always directed t o single subject in t h e person of Christ and how examples can also be f o u n d of t h e exchange of p r e d i c a t e s (Communicatio idiomaium). T h a n k s t o the s p i r i t of openness and m u t u a l respect, and with t h e firm conviction of t h e neccessity of r e m a i n i n g completely loyal to our respective T r a d i t i o n s , we were able to explore w a y s t o w a r d s gaining a t r u e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of each o t h e r ' s T r a d i t i o n s a n d p u t t i n g away p a s t and p r e s e n t misconceptions on all sides. I t became clear in p a r t i c u l a r , in t h e course of our dialogue, t h a t t h e r e is a necessity to make a n a b s o l u t e d i s t i n c t i o n between t h e d o c t r i n a l position of t h e Assyrian Church of t h e E a s t and t h e position, recognized by all to be heretical which holds, t h a i t h e r e are t w o Sons, t w o prosopa in t h e one I n c a r n a t e Christ, a position

464

THE

HARP

w h i c h is I radi Lio ually d e s c r i b e d b y t h e C h a l c e d o n i a n s a n d O r i e n t a l O r t h o d o x as " N e s t o r i a n i s m " . I t has also b e c o m e v e r y clear f r o m o u r t w o c o n s u l t a t i o n s t h a t it is a l w a y s e s s e n t i a l t o realize t h a t , in t h e c o n t e x t of c h r i s t o l o g y (as o p p o s e d to T r i n i t a r i a n t h e o l o g y ) , t h e r e is a clear a n d i m p o r t a n t difference b e t w e e n t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g i n t h e C h u r c h of t h e E a s t of t h e t e r m qnoma (i. e. i n d i v i d u a t e d , b u t n o t p e r s o n a l i z e d n a t u r e ) a n d t h a t of some o t h e r S y r i a c C h u r c h e s w h e r e q n o m a is r e g u l a r l y u n d e r s t o o d as t h e e q u i v a l e n t of hypostasis in t h e sense of p e r s o n . T h u s t h e f o l l o w i n g e x p l a n a n t i o n of t h e t e r m of " Q n o m a " has been presented by the Assyrian, the Chaldean and the SyroM a l a b a r d e l e g a t i o n s of t h e C h u r c h of t h e E a s t : I n C h r i s t o l o g y , as e x p r e s s e d in t h e s y n o d i c a l a n d l i t u r g i c a l s o u r c e s of t h e C h u r c h of t h e E a s t t h e t e r m " Q n o m a " d o e s n ' t m e a n " h y p o s t a s i s " as u n d e r s t o o d i n A l e x a n d r i n e T r a d i t i o n , b u t i n s t e a d , i n d i v i d u a t e d n a t u r e . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e h u m a n n a t u r e which the Holy Spirit fashioned the Logos assumed and united to Himself w i t h o u t a n y s e p a r a t i o n w a s p e r s o n a l i z e d i n t h e P e r s o n of t h e Son of God. W h e n we speak of t h e t w o n a t u r e s a n d t h e i r q n o m e , we u n d e r s t a n d t h i s v e r y m u c h in t h e same sense as t w o n a t u r e s and their particular properties ( d l a y a t h a ) . I t is i m p o r t a n t to n o t e t h a t t h e t e r m " Q n o m a " is used in a d i f f e r e n t way in Trinitarian theology. W e r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e a i m of o u r d i a l o g u e is not t o r e q u i r e t h a t a n y of us s h o u l d r e c o n s i d e r t h e e h r i s t o l o g i c a l d o c t r i n e of t h e i r own t r a d i t i o n , b u t rather, t h a t each of us, while r e m a i n i n g completely t r u e to our own Tradition should come to perceive t h a t t h e c h r i s t o l o g i c a l t e a c h i n g of t h e o t h e r S y r i a c Traditions, w h e n u n d e r s t o o d c o r r e c t l y , r e p r e s e n t s a l e g i t i m a t e e x p r e s s i o n of o u r c o m m o n f a i t h in t h e one L o r d J e s u s C h r i s t , t h e Son of God, t h e m y s t e r y of whose I n c a r n a t i o n c a n n e v e r b e e x h a u s t i v e l y f o r m u l a t e d in w o r d s . Only in this w a y c a n t h e c o m m o n w i t n e s s t o Christ b y our C h u r c h e s b e c o m e t r u l y effective i n o u r c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d . W e also feel t h e u r g e n t need f o r o u r C h u r c h e s to r e i n t e r p r e t their t e a c h i n g on C h r i s t o l o g y in c o n t e m p o r a r y l a n g u a g e .

DOCUMENTATION

465

Thus being conscious of the continuing scandal of division between the apostolic Churches, and of Christ's own prayer to the Father " T h a t they should be one as we are one" (John 17:21) we strongly recommend that P R O O R I E N T E continues and carries f u r t h e r its present initiative. Recommendations

We have once again experienced how f r u i t f u l our Consultat a t i o n has been, and we give thanks to God t h a t it has been possible to make considerable progress in the mutual understanding of the different christological traditions represented by the Syriac Churches; finally we pray t h a t the Holy Spirit may guide our striving towards the healing of the wounds which human misunderstanding and sin have inflicted on the Body of Christ which is his holy Church.

Moses laid his hands on his 'apostles' and they received the priesthood; and Jesus laid his hands on his 'apostles' and they received the Holy Spirit... Jesus bar Nun, when he was dying, delivered the testimony to his people, and Jesus our Saviour, when he was taken up, delivered the testimony to his Apostles... David handed over the kingdom to Solomon and was. gathered to his people, and Jesus handed over the keys to Simon and went to his sender... Elisha received the spirit of Eiija and Jesus breathed on the face of his Apostles... (APIIRAIIAT)

THE

HARP

Vol. V I I I . , IX., J u l y 1995 - 1996, pp. 466-483

Book Reviews

Jobst Heller, Mose bat Kepha und seine Paulinenauslegung - nebst E d i t i o n u n d U e b e r s e t z u n g des K o m m e n t a r s z u m R o m e r brief (Diss.), in: G o e t t i n g e r O r i e n t f o r s c h u n g e n 1. Reihe Syriaca 35, W i e s b a d e n 1994, X 507 S. Die VeroefTentlichung von J . Reiler b e s t e h t , wie a u c h der Titel angibt, aus zwei Teilen, die a u c h e t w a gleich u m f a n g r e i c h sind: In dem e r s t e n Teil (p. 2-219), den es hier v o r r a n g i g zu besprechen gilt, b e h a n d e l t R e l l e r n a c h einer e i n l e i t e n d e n Darstellung zuerst Moses B e d e u t u n g in der s y r i s c h - o r t h o d o x e n T r a d i tion (p. 2-4), d a n n ueber die westliche F o r s c h u n g s p e r s p e k t i v e zu Mose B a r K e p h a (p. 4-20). Den anschliessenden K a p i t e l n ueber Moses Leben (*833 (?) - + 903, p. 21-58) u n d W e r k (p. 59-87) folgt eine kritische U n t e r s u c h u n g des P a u l i n e n k o m m e n t a r s (p. 88-205) u n d die Z u s a m m e n f a s s u n g der g e s a m t e n U n t e r s u c h u n g (p. 206-219), die diesen e r s t e n Teil abschliesst. D u r c h die d a n a c h folgende E d i t i o n u n d U e b e r s e t z u n g des R o e m e r b r i e f k o m m e n t a r e s wird diese w i c h t i g e s c h r i f t Moses allgemein zuganglich g e m a c h t u n d liegt so d e m O r i e n t a l i s t e n u n d d e m an syrischer K i r c h e n g e s c h i c h t e I n t e r e s s i e r t e n ebenso v o r wie dem, dessen Anliegen die Geschic h t e der Exegese d a r s t e l l t ; alle diese L e s e r g r u p p e n w e r d e n v o n dieser Ausgabe p r o f i t i e r e n k o e n n e n . Bei der U n t e r s u c h u n g u n d D a r s t e l l u n g von Moses Leben s t e h t i m m e r wieder die F r a g e n a c h dem Gewicht der so u m f a n g r e i c h e n T e x t p r o d u k t i o n f u e r die s y r i s c h - o t h o d o x e Theologie, wie auch die F r a g e n a c h der Originalität Moses im V o r d e r g r und; so dass R e l l e r die B e r e c h t i g u n g h e r v o r h e b t , m i t der Mose

DOCUMENTATION

465

Thus being conscious of the continuing scandal of division between the apostolic Churches, and of Christ's own prayer to the Father " T h a t they should be one as we are one" (John 17:21) we strongly recommend that P R O O R I E N T E continues and carries f u r t h e r its present initiative. Recommendations

We have once again experienced how f r u i t f u l our Consultat a t i o n has been, and we give thanks to God t h a t it has been possible to make considerable progress in the mutual understanding of the different christological traditions represented by the Syriac Churches; finally we pray t h a t the Holy Spirit may guide our striving towards the healing of the wounds which human misunderstanding and sin have inflicted on the Body of Christ which is his holy Church.

Moses laid his hands on his 'apostles' and they received the priesthood; and Jesus laid his hands on his 'apostles' and they received the Holy Spirit... Jesus bar Nun, when he was dying, delivered the testimony to his people, and Jesus our Saviour, when he was taken up, delivered the testimony to his Apostles... David handed over the kingdom to Solomon and was. gathered to his people. and Jesus handed over the keys to Simon and went to his sender... Elisha received the spirit of Elija and Jesus breathed on the face of his Apostles... (APIIRAIIAT)

468

TUE

IIARP

Frage nach der Originalitaet von Moses Schrillen insgesamt will Reller auch nach seiner Untersuchung nicht endgueltig entschieden wissen, da er durch ein solches Verfahren selbstverständlich nur einen kleinen Ausschnitt des exegetischen Werkes ueberpruefen konnte; was den "Paulinenkommentar" betrifft, so ist Moses, wie Reiler aufzeight, "durchweg von den Quellen abhaengig" (p. 206); wobei ja m. E. bei solchen Exegeten auch kaum der Anspruch nach Orig ; naltaet von ihnen selbst erhoben worden sein wird, da es eben nicht darum ging etwas "Neues" zu sagen, sondern nur rechtens (und möglichst angemessen) auszulegen. Auch wenn viele Fragen zu Leben und Werk, insbesondere zur Originalitaet Moses offenbleiben, ist doch ein entscheidender Schritt durch Rellers Arbeit getan. Was die Textausgabe betrifft so ist der syrische Schrif t t y p gut lesbar, und dass sich dafuer - besonders in der Kursive - die drucktechnisch-punktuelle Zusammensetzung der lateinischen Buchstaben zeigt, wird der Leser gern in Kauf nehmen. Da jedoch die syrisch und armenisch zitierten Wörter und Saetze ausschliesslich in Originalschrift wiedergegeben sind, sind diese Zusätze nur fuer den zuganglich, der der jeweiligen Schrift kundig ist; andere muessen auf die entsprechenden Belege verzichten, da diese fuer sie unlesbar und "unaussprechilich" bleiben. So ist z. B. die Anmerkung 57, Kap. II (p. 39f) nur fuer denjenigen in seiner Tiefe verstaendlich, der neben Syrisch auch die arabische und die armenische Schrift zu lesen gewohnt ist; erst dann wird deutlich, dass zwischen batrak/batrik " P a t r i a r c h " ) und bitriq ("Patrizier"), der "schriftliche" Unterschied äusserst gering ist (k/q); bei dem von Reiler ebenfalls angegebonen Plural des letzteren wird der Unterschied beider Wörter jedoch deutlicher. Auch mit dem ebenfalls mcht in Umschrift angegebenen armenischen 'isxanac' isxan, welches etwa 'Fuerst der Fuersten' oder 'Herrscher der Herrscher' heisst (vgl. den Titel 'Koenig der Koenige', der sich bis weit in den alten Orient zurueckverfolgen lasst), kann man ohne grundlegende Armenischkenntnisse nichts anfangen und dann auch nicht verstehen, warum beider 'synonum' gesetzt werden kann und 'Patriarch' nicht mit 'Patrizier' verwechselt werden darf. Solche, "Verstandnispröbleme" betreffen auch einige Fussnoten und Literaturangaben (z. B. p. 345 u. 355).

BOOK R E V I E W S

469

Dennoch wird sich a u c h f u e r diejenigen, die sich nicht m i t ostkir c h l i c h e n S p r a c h e n b e s c h ä f t i g t haben, ein Blick in dieses Werk lohnen u n d der G e s a m t d u k t u s des Werkes bleibt auch so v e r s t a n d l i c h , klar u n d i n f o r m a t i v . Dr. Dr. B e r t r a m Schmitz Manenlexikon, hrsg. im A u f t r a g des I n s t i t u t s M a r i a n u m B e g e n s b u r g e. V. v o n Remigius B ä u m e r u n d Leo Scheffczyk, St. Ottilien, 1988-94, 6 Bände I n diesem u m f a s s e n d e n , sechs Bände e r f u e l l e n d e n Marienlexikon " w i r d eine G e s a m t s c h a u " aller Bereiche, die Maria u n d ihre V e r e h r u n g b e t r e f f e n , " a n g e s t r e b t " , nicht im Sinn einer K o n s e r v i e r u n g v o n Vergangenem, s o n d e r n vielmehr " u m die Wiederentdeckung und Neuaaeignung der T r a d i t i o n " der M a r i e n v e r e h r u n g u n d - F r ö m m i g k e i t zu f o e r d e r n , " w i e sie das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil z u k u n f t w e i s e n d a n r e g t e " (I, Vorwort), So sind in diesem Lexikon Artikel zu allen Bereichen v e r t r e t e n , in denen ein Bezug zu Maria hergestellt w e r d e n kann: die Mariologie ebenso, wie die Malerei, A r c h i t e k t u r u n d Musik, die Aspekte der M a r i e n v e r e h r u n g in Geschichte u n d Gegenwart, die m a r i a n i s c h geprägte S p i r i t u a l i t ä l u n d auch die Bezuege innerhalb der Theologie-, K i r c h e n u n d Religionsgeschichte. Die Artikel zu den K u e n s t l e r n oder auch zu den Theologen e n t h a l t e n zuerst eine allgemeine E i n f u e h r u n g zu L e b e n u n d Werk u n d zeigen anschliessend dessen Bezug zu Maria speziell auf. Auf diese Weise bietet das Lexikon auch einen F u n d u s a n I n f o r m a t i o n e n aus all diesen Bereichen. U m einen Theologen als Beispiel herauszugreifen, sei Nikolaus v o n K u e s (1401-64) g e n a n n t (IV, 626f; R. H a u p s t ) . An einer k u r z e n D a r s t e l l u n g seiner Vita wird aufgezeigt, wie er in seinen philosophisch-theologischen W e r k e n , z. B. in seiner b e r u e h m t e n " d o c t a i g n o r a n t i a " die B e d e u t u n g Marias als J u n g f r a u u n d (dennoch bzw. gerade) M u t t e r J e s u aufzeigt, u n d ihre " V e r e h r u n g ... vor jeder Suende b e g r u e n d e t " . E r sah sie nicht n u r als frei von " p e c c a t u m originale" u n d als ewige J u n g f r a u , s o n d e r n er festigte diese Sicht a r g u m e n t a t i v in seinem Werk, indem er nicht zuletzt auf die W u e r d e Marias als Je^u M u t t e r hinwies, nit seinen Gedanken w a r er in vielem seiner Zeit

470

t i i e HAftp

voraus; so sieht a u c h der Verfaser dieses Artikels, R. H a u p s t , dass " d i e leibliche A u f n a h m e Mariens in den H i m m e l ... Schon i n der V e r k u e n d i g u n g des j u n g e n N. am hoechsten Marienfest ihren f e s t e n P l a t h a t t e . Jedoch, so liesse sich m. E. anmerken, f u e g t Nikolaus zur M e n s c h w e r d u n g J e s u Christi a u c h in der d o c t a i g n o r a n t i a an e n t s c h e i d e n d e r Stelle ein-vielleicht k a u m s i c h t b a r e s , vielleicht in f r o m m e r Z u r u e c k h a l t u n g g e s e t z t e s " c r e d i t u r " ein. 1 Die D a r s t e l l u n g eines K u n s t l e r s u n d seines Werkes sowie einer e n t s p r e c h e n d e n W u r d i g u n g findet allerdings n i c h t n u r d a n n s t a t t , wenn er, wie B e r t r a m v. Minden (Meister B e r t r a m , I, 460; E . T r e n n e r ) Maria insbesondere w ä h r e n d der V e r k u e n d i g u n g vielfach d a r g e s t e l l t h a t , s o n d e r n nicht weniger a u s f u e h r l i c h a u c h d a n n , w e n n - b e i allem vielfaeltigen u n d f r u c h t b a r e m Schaffen " d i e D a r s t e l l u n g v o n Maria als einem eigenständigen B i l d t h e m a nicht e x i s t e n t " ist (aber i m m e r h i n als Assistenzfigur a u f t a u c h t ) , wie dies z B. bei Max B e c k m a n n (I, 399; G. R o t h - B o j a d z i e v ) der F a l l ist. Ebenso findet sich ein Artikel ueber die " k a n a a n ä i s c h ägyptische weibliche G o t t h e i t " A n a t , dessen Ziel es ist, aufzuzeigen, dass gerade " u n m i t t e l b a r e V e r b i n d u n g e n zur MV [Marienverehrung] schon zeitlich gesehen u n m o e g l i c h " sind, u m einer religionsgeschichtlich behaupteten Abhängigkeit der MV zur A n a t e n t g e g e n z u w i r k e n (I, 134; G. Tautz). N i c h t zuletzt d u r c h eine solche u m f a s s e n d e D a r s t e l l u n g , die auch die " N e g a t i v - A n z e i g e n " miteinschliesst, k o n n t e der U m f a n g des u r s p r u e n g l i c h f u e r vier B ä n d e g e p l a n t e n 'Marienlexik o n s ' (vgl. I, E i n l e i t u n g ) auf g u t e sechs B ä n d e e r w e i t e r t werden. E s w u r d e n Artikel der M a r i e n v e r e h r u n g z. B. in den B y z a n t i n i s c h e n M a r i e n h y m n e n , die vor allem Maria " a l s die j u n g f r ä u l i c h e M u t t e r des Erloesers, als GM [ G o t t e s m u t t e r ] und immerwährende J u n g f r a u " r u e h m e n (I, 625-7; E. T h e o d o r o u ) h i n e i n g e n o m m e n . In diesen H y m n e n wird Maria als Vorbild der F r a u e n v e r s t a n d e n . 1. " J e s u s n o s t e r , in quo omnes t h e s a u r i scientiae et sapientiae, e t i a m d u m in m u n d o a p p a r u i t , a b s c o n d i t i f u e r u n t quasi lux in t e n e b r i s , ad h u n c finem e m i n e n t i s s i m a e intellectualis naturae corpus aptissimum atque perfectissimum, ut etiam a sanctissimis testibus suae c o n v e r s a t i o n i s f e r t u r , creditur h a b u i s s e . " (zitiert nach Nikolaus v o n Kues, P h i l o s o p h i s c h Theologisch S c h r i f t e n , H r s g . Leo Gabriel, W i e n 1966, S. 4.50. H e r v . v o n mir.)

BOOK R E V I E W S

471

"Die GM wird auch lobend hervorgehoben als Vorbild der Verwirklichung der Idee des »Ewigweiblichen,« das jede F r a u inspirieren soll und das F u n d a m e n t jedes gesunden Feminismus sein muss. Die J u n g f r a u Maria wird auch allen Gläubigen als nachzuahmendes Vorbild lebendigen Glaubens, tiefer Demut, Heiligkeit, moralischer Reinheit, Geduld und Liebe hingestellt". Abgesehen davon, dass es in diesem Lexikon nicht moeglich ist, " g e s u n d e n " von " k r a n k e m " Feminismus zu unterscheiden, da es den Artikel 'Feminismus' hier nicht gibt, zeigt dieser Artikel, dass das Bild einer d u r c h "Unterwuerflgkeit, ... Passivität, stilles Ertragen und L e i d e n " geprägten Marienvorstellung nicht auschilesslich in Lateinamerika zu finden ist, wie m. E. d u r c h den Artikel 'Befreiungstheologie, nahegelegt wird, 2 sondern dass die Ansätze zu einem solchen Marienbild d u r c h a u s in vielen F o r m e n der Marienverehrung, in der byzantinischen ebenso wie in der katholischen K i r c h e zu finden sind. Die Besprechung, von theologischen Themen soll anhand der folgenden Artikel aufgezeigt werden: In dem Artikel zur ' A n b e t u n g Marias' wird darauf hingewiesen, dass diese "besonders oft von den P r o t e s t a n t e n , sei es aus U n k e n n t n i s , sei es im Eifer des konfessionellen K a m p f e s , den Katholiken zum Vorwurf gemacht worden [ist]": wohingegen " i n Wirklichkeit jedoch eine Anbetung Marias von der [sei. katholische] Kirche stets klar abgewiesen" wurde; " . . . so l a u t e t stets die Lehre aller kath. Schriftsteller und P r e d i g e r " (1, 137; Feckes). F. Heiler weist jedoch in RGG, 3 4, 764 zu diesem Thema z. B. auf ein Z i t a t des Papstes M a r t i n I. hin: "Wer nicht M [aria] verehret und a n b e t e t (adorat), der sei im B a n n e " , welches der Aussage des o. g. Artikels von C. Feckes widerspricht. Die Aufgabe der Mariologie wird in dem gleichnamigen Artikel beschrieben: " D e r Mariologie geht es d a r u m , die Offenbarungsmysterien v o n der allerseligsten J u n g f r a u Maria wissenschaftlich-theol darzulegen. Der Name wurde gebräuchlich2. vgl. Art: Befreiungstheologie, I, 400f; J. G. Piepke: vgl. ebenso die in der K i r c h e d u r c h B e r n h a r d v. Clairvaux den F r a u e n zugedachten E i g e n s c h a f t e n " W o h l w o l l e n , Mitleiden, D e m u t " , d u r c h welche nach F . Courth das "Bild der F r a u positiv [ge] f o r m i t " wurde; Art. ... Feministische Theologie, II, 459-61; F. Courth)

472

TUE

IIARP

als man die marian. Glaubenswahrheiten systematisch in einem T r a k t a t behandelte." Was aber gerade der Terminus "Glaubenswahrheit" bedeutet, ist nicht unumstritten, denn diese Inhalte der Mariologie duerfen weder als »"Theologumena« ohne historischen W e r t " verstanden werden, noch darf die "Historizität der Evangelien {an der die Kirche] ohne Bedenken festhält", in Frage gestellt werden, und diese Historizität bezieht sich auch auf " d i e Berichte Ober die Empfängnis, Geburt und Kindheit Jesu". Die Stadien der Entwicklung der Mariologie, als deren vornehmlichstes Ziel die Erkenntnis Marias im gottlichen Heilsplan und in ihrer Formulierung die Abgrenzung gegenueber Häresien gilt, werden in d esem Artikel minutioes dargestellt; ein evtl. innerkirchlicher Widerstand wird jedoch nicht erwähnt. So zeigt der Artikel, dass im 1. Jahrtausend die Entwicklung der Mariologie vor allem in der Ostkirche lag und erst danach auch der Westkirche entsprechend bedeutsam wurde. Auch d'e anfaengliche Zustimmung im Protestantismus zur Marienverehrung wird hervorgehoben (vgl. Art. Lutherisch Marienverehrung, III, 191-3; K. Schimmelpfennig: wobei das "Thema, [...] oekumenisch noch nicht ausgelotet ist".), wenngleich die spaetere Distanzierung nicht verschwiegen wird. Die Mariologie erhaelt ihre Begruendung 'als eigene theol. Diszipline" nicht allein mit Rucksicht auf die Erwaehung Marias in der IIL. Schrift oder aufgrund ihrer Privilegien; "vielmehr ist auch ein theol. Verstaendnis ihrer Mitwirkung in der Heilsgeschichte erforderlich." (IV, 320-6, J. Stoehr). Ein weiterer ausführlicher Artikel ist der Jungfräulichkeit gewidmet (III, 465-481) in Abschnitt 2. NT zeigt W. Kirchschläger auf, dass "keiner der Verfasser [sei. der Evangelien] ... ein historisches Protokoll uebermitteln" will; auch wuerde "ein nur buchstäbliches Verständnis sie {d. h. Jungfräulichkeit] nur auf einen biologischen Zustand Marias [reduzieren] und verkennt damit die Absicht der biblischen Texte. Deren Absicht ist es, aufgrund der Einzigartigkeit des Sohnes die ebenfalls einzigartige Ruckbindung Marias an Gott, ihre Verfuegbarkeit und Offenheit fuer sein Wirken zum Ausdruck zu bringen"; mit dem Ziel das "Handeln Gottes im Werden J e s u " deutlicher zu machen, entstand damit "die Grundlage fuer jenes Glaubensbewusstsein, das die Voraussetzung fuer die spätere Systematisierung und Dogmatisierung bildet"' Diese werden im Artikel dann dargestellt, wobei insbesondere

BOOK R E V I E W S

473

auf die B e t o n u n g d e r W u e r d e M a r i a s u n d die A b g r e n z u n g v o n H ä r e s i e n h i n g e w i e s e n w i r d ; es w i r d d a r g e s t e l l t , d a s s M a r i a als N a c h f o l g e r i n J e s u u n d " M u t t e r d e r K i r c h e " alles v e r l a s s e n h a t , ihr L e b e n voellig G o t t z u r V e r f u e g u n g g e s t e l l t h a t , so d a s s sie a u c h n a c h d e r G e b u r t J e s u J u n g f r a u blieb; dies a b e r w a r " e i n e i n m a l i g e r , a n a l o g i e l o s e r F a l l " (A. Ziegenaus). A u c h ev. T h e o l o g e n w e r d e n in i h r e m B e z u g zu M a r i a d u r c h a u s d a r g e s t e l l t , wie z. B. R u d o l f B u l t m a n n , d e n " h i n s i c h t l i c h d e r Mariol. [...] n i c h t die k i r c h l i c h e n U e b e r l i e f e r u n g e n u n d L e h r e n t s c h e i d u n g e n [ i n t e r e s s i e r e n ] , s o n d e r n a u s s c h l i e s s l i c h die n t l . T e x t e " . Das R e s u e m e e dieses A r t i k e l s l a u t e t e n t s p r e c h e n d : " S o b e g e g n e t u n s bei B. eine T e x t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , die d e n k e r y g m a t i s c h e n C h a r a k t e r d e r T e x t e , in d e n e n die M u t t e r J e s u e r w ä h n t wird, ernst n i m m t , ihnen aber keinerlei hist. Relevanz z u e r k e n n t " (I, 614; E . H a l m ) . Als s c h w i e r i g e r w e i s t sich d e r U m g a n g m i t e i n e r P e r s o e n l i c h k e i t wie C. G. J u n g , d e r z w a r e i n e r s e i t s die B e d e u t u n g M a r i e n s als G l a u b e n s r e a l i t ä t äusserst schätzt und betont, a n d e r e r s e i t s a l l e r d i n g s s o w e i t g e h t , M a r i a als A r c h e t y p o s d e r A n i m a in die Gottheit "als deren weiblicher B e s t a n d t e i l " m i t a u f z u n e h m e n u n d s o m i t die T r i n i t ä t zu einer " d e n B e d u e r f n i s s e n u n d P r o j e k t i o n e n der P s y c h e a n g e b l i c h besser e n t s p r e c h e n d e n Q u a t e r n i t ä t " zu e r w e i t e r n . Auf diese Weise solle a u c h auf die " G l e i c h b e r e c h t i g u n g der F r a u " h i n g e w i e s e n w e r d e n . " D i e G l e i c h b e r e c h t i g u n g " , so J u n g , " v e r l a n g e n ä m l i c h i h r e m e t a p h y s i s c h e V e r a n k e r u n g in d e r G e s t a l t einer « g o e t t l i c h e n » F r a u " . V o n e i n e r solchen P o s i t i o n J u n g s m u e s s e j e d o c h , so die A u t o r e n des A r t i k e l s . A b s t a n d g e n o m m e n w e r d e n , da sie d e m c h r i s t l i c h e n S e l b s t v e r ständnis widerspräche: "eine Quaternität anstelle der Trinität; M a r i a als G o e t t i n ; die g l e i c h b e r e c h t i g t e G o e t t l i c h k e i t des B o e s e n " , ... auf diese u n d w e i t e r e " M i s s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n e n " w e i s e n die A u t o r e n des A r t i k e l s h i n , w e n n sie a u c h h e r v o r h e b e n , dass " J . s A n a l y s e d o c h die p r i n z i p i e l l e B e d e u t s a m k e i t der k a t h . MV, i h r e E n t s p r e c h u n g zu z e n t r a l e n B e d u e r f n i s s e n des U n b e w u s s t e n u n d das z u m i n d e s t p o t e n t i e l l H e i l s a m e e i n e r ' m e t a p h y s i s c h e n R e p r e s e n t a t i o n der F r a u ' [ i n s g e a m l b e k r ä f t i g t ] " ( I I I , 461-5; A M o r e n o / R . Schenk).

(III.

In r e l i g i o n s g e s c h i c h t l i c h e n A r t i k e l n , wie u e b e r den ' I s l a m ' 325; P . A n t e s ) w i r d die B e d e u t u n g M a r i a s in a n d e r e n

474

TIIE

HARP

Religionen aufgezeigt (hier besonders ihre V e r e h r u n g in der islamischen V o l k s l i t e r a t u r u n d Mystik); in a n d e r e n A r t i k e l n , die sich auf ein einzelnes L a n d beziehen (wie z. B. ' I n d i e n ' , I I I , 300; H . Rzepkowski) wird die Geschichte der M a r i e n v e r e h r u n g in diesem L a n d von i h r e m B e g i n n bis zur G e g e n w a r t aufgezeigt, einschliesslich der Maria d o r t geweihten b e d e u t e n d e r e n Plätze und Kirchen. Ohne an dieser Stelle noch weiter auf einzelne Artikel dieses Werkes eingehen zu k o e n n e n , soll doch besonders auf die B e d e u t u n g dieses Lexikons hingewiesen w e r d e n , die es f u e r K a t h o l i k e n aller D e n o m i n a t i o n e n , aber a u c h f u e r O r t h o d o x e u n d P r o t e s t a n t e n , d a r u e b e r h i n a u s f u e r alle I n t e r e s s i e r t e n haben k a n n : E s zeigt einen Aspekt des C h r i s t e n t u m s in all seiner Tiefe, seiner A u s f u e h r l i c h k e i t u n d seinem F a c e t t e n r e i c h t u m . I s t es f u e r den A u s s e n s t e h e n d e n " n u r " ein F u n d u s kirchlicher, b e s o n d e r s k a t h o l i scher Substanz, den er zur K e n n t n i s n e h m e n k a n n - u n d gewiss, er e n t h ä l t viel - oder auch, der ihm zur A u s e i n a n d e r s e t z u n g dienen k a n n , so ist es doch m. E. - nicht z u l e t z t e n t s p r e c h e n d seinem im V o r w o r t g e n a n n t e n Anliegen - selbst ein e n t s c h e i d e n d e r B e i t r a g i n n e r h a l b Mariologie u n d ein Zeugnis gelebten (und zu lebenden) Glaubens. B e r t r a m Schmitz A Book o! Blessings and Prayers According to the Rites of the Maronlte Antiochene Church. San A n t o n i o , Texas: Office of L i t u r g y , 1989, 185 pp., h a r d c o v e r U S - $ 15.00 [to b e o r d e r e d w i t h St. Maron P u b l i c a t i o n s , P. 0 . Box 010-360, S t a t e n I s l a n d , N Y 10301, U . S . A . ] W e are glad t o p r e s e n t t h e E n g l i s h edition of t h e blessings a n d p r a y e r s as used by the M a r o n i t e A n t i o c h e n e Church. I t is published w i t h t h e i m p r i m a t u r of Archbishop F r a n c i s M. Z a y e k , Bishop of t h e E p a r c h y of St. Maron of B r o o k l y n (USA) a n d shows once again t h a t t h e M a r o n i t e C h u r c h is n o w r o o t e d also in the E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g world. T h e t e x t of t h e blessing is preceded by a good i n t r o d u c t i o n where we l e a r n t h a t t h e E n g l i s h e d i t i o n is a f a i t h f u l t r a n s l a t i o n of t h e official t e x t of Bkerke, L e b a n o n . Changes m a d e in t h e t e x t have been done w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n » to i m p r o v e t h e blessings and p r a y e r s , t o p r o t e c t t h e m against c e r t a i n flatness i n h e r e n t in t h e n a t u r e of t h e w o r k , a n d t o

BOOK R E V I E W S

c a p t u r e t h e nuances and t h e p r o p e r flavor T h e changes a r e concerned w i t h :

whenever

475

possible...

1. The r e a r r a n g e m e n t s of p a r t s of t h e book and t h e i r t i t l e s ; p r a y e r s a n d blessings f o r people, f o r e x a m p l e , takes p r e c e d e n c e over t h e other p a r t s a n d are listed first; 2. The e l i m i n a t i o n of t e d i o u s and sometimes shocking rep e t i t i o n s of names of animals, plagues and diseases; 3. Bringing consistency t o t h e conclusions of t h e p r a y e r s and blessings and a d d i n g t h e m , wherever t h e y are missing; 4. E x t e n d i n g t h e o u t r e a c h a n d m e a n i n g of t h e p r a y e r s themselves, by p r o v i d i n g t h e m w i t h a second look and a f r e s h reading, b u t w i t h o u t even t o u c h i n g t h e wording of the t e x t . « The English v e r s i o n was enlarged b y f o u r other prayers, and blessings t a k e n f r o m t h e V a t i c a n ms. no. 312 and five f r o m various liturgical books. The Maronite Church has always been r e l u c t a n t t o s e p a r a t e p r a y e r s and blessings f r o m its public celebrations. T h e r e f o r e we point t o t h e p a s t o r a l notes where it is stressed t h a t b l e s s i n g « are reserved t o priests and may n o t be given by deacons or lesser ministers «. The t i m e of t h e i r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n is a t t h e conclusion of t h e l i t u r g y before the blessing of t h e people. The use of t h e h a n d c r o s s f o r the dismissal blessing is reserved to t h e priest. T h e official p r a y e r s a n d blessings h a v e got t h e f o r m of a hussoyo. They are composed of a p r o e m i o n ( f r u m y o n ) a n d a sedro. I n t h e edition, u n d e r review we find six p a r t s . P a r t One is e n t i t l e d Blessing of Persons, p a r t T w o Blessings of Objects (meal; on Thanksgiving Day; of a home; of a home d u r i n g t h e season of E p i p h a n y ; of bread; f o r t h e offering of boiled w h e a t on d i f f e r e n t occasion; of E a s t e r eggs; of f r u i t ; of stored grain or o t h e r f o o d : of seeds or p l a n t s ; of olive t r e e s a n d vineyards; of p l a n t s and seeds; of a wine or olive press; of possessions; for p r o t e c t i o n against h a r m f u l animals a n d n a t u r a l disasters; of a n y o b j e c t ) , p a r t Three is devoted t o t h e blessing of oil, water and wine, p a r t F o u r t o t h e solemn blessings of places ( c h u r c h and a l t a r ; c e m e t e r y ; reconciliation of a p r o f a n e d c h u r c h and a l t a r , of a p r o f a n e d c e m e t e r y ; blessing of a bell or carillon; a f o u n d a t i o n stone; a school; a store, office or f a c t o r y . P a r t Five is e n t i t l e d Blessings

476

THE HARP

of articles for liturgical use (tabernacles, corporals, vessels for holy oil, reliquiaruies of saints; of liturgical v e s t m e n t s ; of a cross or icon; a censer; a music i n s t r u m e n t ) . P a r t six is composed of Prayers t h a t m a y be used, a p a r t f r o m t h e l i t u r g y , b y priests, deacons, or lay people. T h e y are based on t h e blessings of persons given in p a r t One. E a c h p r a y e r m a y begin w i t h t h e l i t t l e doxology » Glory be to t h e F a t h e r . . . " P r a y e r t e x t s are offered f o r a y o u n g boy [on t h e occasion of his first haircut]; f o r b i r t h d a y s a n d g r a d u a t i o n s ; f o r a y o u n g girl or a m o t h e r before c h i l d b i r t h ; a m o t h e r and child a f t e r c h i l d b i r t h ; an engaged couple; an a d u l t or a n elderly p e r s o n ; a sick child; a sick a d u l t ; f o r t h o s e who are critically ill; f o r t h e sick; f o r those who are reconciled or involved in a c o m m o n a c t i v i t y ; f o r t r a v e l l e r s or pilgrims; for t r a v e l l e r s , those who meet t o g e t h e r , or p a r t i c i p a n t s in a p a r t i c u l a r event; f o r those who suffer f r o m m e n t a l illness or e m o t i o n a l stress; for v i c t i m s of t e r r o r , crime, or oppression; f o r t h o s e who suffer f r o m t e m p t a t i o n , a d d i c t i o n , or d r u g abuse. This edition c a n give m u c h i n s p i r a t i o n to all charged w i t h t h e v e r n a c u l a r edition of liturgical books, p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h e Churches of Syr.iac t r a d i t i o n , and t h e r e f o r e m e r i t s wide a t t e n t i o n . J o h n Madey Christus in euch: Hoffnung auf Herrlichkeit. Orthodoxes Glaubensbuch fuer erwachsene und heranwachsende Glaeubige, herausgegeben v o n Sergius H e i t z , e r a r b e i t e t v o n Susanne H a u s a m m a n n u n d Sergius H e i t z , v e r b e s s e r t e u n d e r w e i t e r t e Neuauflage in Z u s a m m e n a r b e i t m i t der s e r b i s c h - o r t h o d o x e n Moenchsskite des heiligen S p y r i d o n in Geilnau. Goettingen: Vandenhoeck & R u p r e c h t , 1994, 272 pp., ppb, DM40,00. This is a c a t e c h i s m f o r a d u l t s belonging to t h e E a s t e r n O r t h o d o x C h u r c h a n d for t h o s e who are i n t e r e s t e d in k n o w i n g t h e essentials of t h e f a i t h as p r o c l a i m e d in t h e O r t h o d o x Church. T h e a u t h o r s a r e all of w e s t e r n b a c k g r o u n d a n d a r e t h e r e f o r e able t o w r i t e u n d e r s t a n d a b l y f o r t h o s e c o n v e r t s t o t h e O r t h o d o x C h u r c h coming f r o m o t h e r d e n o m i n a t i o n s living in t h e w e s t e r n milieu as well as t o o t h e r Christians wishing t o get a genuine i n f o r m a t i o n . The m a i n t i t l e of the book is Hope for Eternity. A c c o r d i n g t o S. H e i t z , » O r t h o d o x y means before all t h e ' r i g h t glorification of God' in professing and p r a i s i n g God's hidden, b u t

BOOK REVIEWS

477

p r e s e n t glory, t o which we are called t o grow up, in o r d e r to see, in Christ's light, God's face. This p a r t i c i p a t i o n in God's g l o r y our t h e o s i s - is t h e 'hope f o r e t e r n i t y ' which is promised to us. To i l l u s t r a t e this in detail is t h e aim of t h i s b o o k « . Basis of t h e d e l i b e r a t i o n s is t h e » Symbol « (Profession of.faith) of t h e ecumenical council of C o n s t a n t i n o p l e (381). I n t h e c o n t e x t of its t h i r d articles, t h e L o r d ' s P r a y e r , t h e T e n C o m m a n d m e n t s a n d t h e B e a t i t u d e s are i n t e r p r e t e d . F o l l o w i n g t h e c o n t e n t s , we find t h e r e seven c h a p t e r s : I t h e T r i - U n e God, II. God t h e c r e a t o r a n d God's creation, I I I J e s u s Christ a n d our r e d e m p t i o n , IV t h e H o l y S p i r t , t h e c h u r c h and the s a n c t i f i c a t i o n of c r e a t i o n , V. Christian h o p e , VI V i r t u e s a n d vices, VII. T h e B e a t i t u d e s . E a c h p a r t begins w i t h a question and a n a n s w e r , a c c o m p a n i e d w i t h biblical r e f e r e n c e s and. a c o n n e c t i o n t o t h e l i t u r g y i n t r o d u c e d b y " R e t a i n " (halte fest.) W e also wish t o d r a w t h e r e a d e r ' s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e a p p e n d i c e s where t h e a n n o t a t i o n s c o n t a i n i n g f u r t h e r v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n s cover 20 pages. T h e y a r e followed by a s u r v e y of the different o r t h o d o x churches which all h a v e in c o m m o n t h e Byzantine r i t e a b b r e v i a t i o n s of biblical books and o f t e n q u o t e d sources, a 26 page glossary which explains theological, liturgical a n d ecclesiastical t e r m s (as e. g. original sin, e x a p o s t i l a r i o n , W h i t e M o n d a y , hesychasm, m e t r o p o l i t a n , p r e s b y t e r , p r o t o s , igumenos, v a g a n t monks, etc), a s u r v e y of t h e q u e s t i o n s asked' a n d an a l p h a b e t i c a l index. A v e r y u s e f u l w o r k , also in the ecumenical c o n t e x t , for e v e r y b o d y wishing t o u n d e r s t a n d b e t t e r t h e o r t h o d o x 'ellios'. John

Madey

Syriac Dialogue: First non-official Consultation on Dialogue within the Syriac Tradition. Vienna: Pro Oriente ( H o f b u r g , Marschallstiege II, 1010 Vienna, Austria). 1994, 236 pages, ppb., n.p. This v o l u m e c o n t a i n s t h e p a p e r s and m i n u t e s of t h e F i r s t non-official C o n s u l t a t i o n within t h e Syriac T r a d i t i o n ( J u n e 23 to 29, 1994). I t has been for t h e first t i m e t h a t all the t h r e e branches of t h e a n c i e n t Church of the E a s t (Assyrian new calend a r í a n , Assyrian old c a l e n d a r í a n , Chaldean Catholic), t h e S y r o Malabar, t h e Syrian O r t h o d o x , t h e M a l a n k a r a O r t h o d o x Syrian, t h e Syrian Catholic, t h e Maronite, a n d the Catholic S y r o - M a l a n k a r a Churches w e r e g a t h e r e d . I n d i a ' s Churches of S y r o - o r i e n t a l t r a d i t i o n were well r e p r e s e n t e d b y M e t r o p o l i t a n s Mar A p r e m

478

THE

HARP

(Church of the E a s t - O l d Calendarían) a n d Mar Joseph (Powathil) of Changanassery, t o g e t h e r w i t h P r o f . Dr. X a v i e r Koodapuzha (Syro-Malabar), while t h e Churches of S y r o - A n t i o c h e n e t r a d i t i o n on I n d i a n soil were r e p r e s e n t e d by M e t r o p o l i t a n Mathews Mar Severios of K a n d a n a d u , Dr. K. M. George K o n d o t h r a (Malankara O r t h o d o x Syrian Church) and P r o f . Dr. Geevarghese Chediath (Catholic S y r o - M a l a n k a r a Church). Mar A p r e m and Prof. Chediath p r e s e n t e d papers. The second non-official consult a t i o n , which is t a k i n g place in F e b r u a r y 1996, will c o n t i n u e the c o m m o n deliberations. The t o p i c s discussed at this first c o n s u l t a t i o n were related t o t h e Vienna dialogue between Catholic and n o n - C h a l c e d o n i a n theologians and its t r e a t m e n t of Nestorius and Nestorianism. The so-called Vienna f o r m u l a , achieved earlier was discussed as well by Mar Bawai Soro as b y Mar A p r e m . A f e w papers on historical topics (Luise Abramowski, Sebastian B r o c k , Sarhad J a m m o , J e a n - M a u r i c e Fiey), t h e S y r o - o r i e n t a l Christology ( B e r n a r d D u p u y , Mar Bawai Soro, Adelbert Davids, Mar A p r e m , Mar E m m a n u e l Delly a n d Geevarghese Chediath) preceded those on t h e S y r o - o r i e n t a l l i t u r g y (Sarhad J a m m o and P e t e r H o f r i c h t e r ) . A j o i n t c o m m u n i q u e was released a t t h e end of the c o n s u l t a t i o n . In t h e a n n e x , we find a p a p e r of t h e late André de H a l l e u x OFM »Nestorius. H i s t o r y and D o c t r i n e « , a n o t h e r p a p e r of Mar Aprem, w h e t h e r N e s t o r i u s was N e s t o r i a n , and Sebastian Brock's e v a l u a t i o n of the c o n s u l t a t i o n . At last, t h e r e is a d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e Church of t h e E a s t , i.a. t h e Christological D e c l a r a t i o n signed by Pope J o h n P a u l II a n d Mar Denkha IV. The following c o n s u l t a t i o n will s t u d y t h e Christological d e b a t e in the five Vienna c o n s u l t a t i o n s between theologians of t h e Oriental O r t h o d o x and R o m a n Catholic Churches in t h e light of its applicability to t h e dialogue w i t h t h e Assyrian Church of t h e E a s t , f u r t h e r t h e r e c e p t i o n of t h e above m e n t i o n e d joint Christological d e c l a r a t i o n of t h e t w o Church leaders, t h e ques t i o n whether E p h e s u s unites or divides, t h e Three Chapters c o n t r o v e r s y , a n d , finally, t h e S y r o - o r i e n t a l l i t u r g y as an expression of Christology. J o h n Madey Andreas

Heinz, Die HeiHge Messe nach dem Ritus der Syrischmaronitischen Klrche [= Sophia, 28], Trier: Paulinus, 1996, 365 pages, ppb. DM 48,00

BOOK R E V I E W S

479

On June 24, 1992, Mar Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, signed the foreword for the new edition of the Syriac-Arabic Ktobo d-Qurbono iyodo de-ito d-Antiokiya d-Surioye Morunoye = Kitab al-Quddas bihassab Taks al-K'inissa al Antakiya al-Suriyaniya al-Maruniya, established according to the directives of the Ecumenical Council Vatican II. The president of the liturgical commission who prepared this edition, was Mar Butros Gemayel, Archbishop of Cyprus, who is also the responsible for the Greek edition of the Maronite Divine Liturgy (November 1993): The German edition of this »Missal« is based upon this Greek edition, with reference to the Arabic version used in the Middle East. The author is ordinary professor for liturgical theology at the Theological Faculty of Trier, Germany, and at the same time Director of the scientific department of the German Liturgical Institute, councillor to the Liturgical Commission of the German Bishops' Conference and a collaborator of the Centre of Pastoral Studies and Research works (CERP) at Antel'ias, Lebanon. In the German liturgical series of St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, Kottayam, he recently edited the German version of the Rite of Baptism according to the Syro-Antiochene rite (Tekso d'Amodo. Die Feier der Taufe nach dem Ritus der Syro-Antiochenischen Kirche, 1995). The series Sophia was founded by the late Julius Tyciak and Wilhelm Nyssen, two priests of the archdiocese of Cologne. After their deaths, Fr. A. Heinz has taken over their heritage. The new German edition of the Maronite Tekso contains an introduction to the history of the Maronites and explains the main parts of the Divine Liturgy, then it offers a short description of the liturgical year. Thereupon follow the liturgical texts themselves. From among the anaphoras, a selection of the most used five anaphoras was translated. The appendix informs about the meaning of the liturgical terminology and gives a small bibliography for f u r t h e r study. We are glad to announce this new publication. It is for the first time t h a t a German version of the Syro-Maronite eucharistie liturgy, with its proper parts, is at the disposal of the Maronites living in German-speaking countries as well as of those western Christians having a keen interest in the Catholic heritage of the East. John Madey

480

THE

HARP

Ottokar Mundj Joseph Machalke (eds)., Pater Kilian Kirchhoff: Priester und Blutzeuge, G e o r g s m a r i e n h u e t t e - F r a n z i s k a n e r k l o s t e r . 1996, 512 pages, h a r d - b o u n d , price (see below). [ISBN 3-98043993-3] Orders to: P. Otto'kar M u n d OFM, A m Boberg 10, D-49121 G e o r g s m a r i e n h u e t t e , G e r m a n y . Pope J o h n P a u l I I ' s visit t o G e r m a n y in 1996 is to be seen in t h e c o n t e x t of t h e beatification of F r . B e r n h a r d L i c h t e n b e r g , c a t h e d r a l p r o v o s t in Berlin, who died a m a r t y r on the way t o t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a m p of D a c h a u in 1944. T h e book u n d e r review p u t s u p a memorial t o a n o t h e r p r i e s t - m a r t y r of t h e Nazi era, F r . Kilian Kirchhof!, a F r a n c i s c a n (1892-1944), who was sentenced t o d e a t h b y t h e so-called Volksgerichtshof in Berlin and e v e n t u a l l y beheaded a t B r a n d e n b u r g - G o e r d e n . F r . Kilian belongs to t h e pioneers in t h e W e s t , who discovered t h e s p i r i t u a l and l i t u r g i c a l t r e a s u r e s of the Christian E a s t t o t h e benefit of t h e R o m a n Catholic Church. F r o m 1926 o n w a r d s till his d e a t h , F r . Kilian who, n e x t to his excellent k n o w l e d g e of classical Greek, also had t h e t a l e n t of a poet, t r a n s l a t e d a t first t h e h y m n s of Symeon the N e w Theologian and t h e n , inspired by t h e f a m o u s Orientalist A. B a u m s t a r k , t h e h y m n s of t h e canonical p r a y e r of t h e B y z a n t i n e Church. In t h e course of the eighteen y e a r s b e t w e e n his discovery of Symeon a n d his d e a t h , he u n d e r w e n t a d e v e l o p m e n t making h i m t h e most o u t s t a n d i n g figure a m o n g t h e e x p e r t s of B y z a n t i n e h y m n o g r a p h y . One of t h e e d i t o r s , F r . O T T O K A R ( b o r n in 1916. F r a n c i s c a n since 1935), is F r . Kilian's last s u r v i v i n g c o n t e m p o r a r y w i t h i n t h e F r a n c i s c a n » Saxonia« province; he helped F r . Kilian as a y o u n g seminarian. The rich d o c u m e n t a t i o n he is p r e s e n t i n g here, is n o t only a precious d o c u m e n t f o r t h e Church historian. T h e book opens w i t h a r e p r i n t of t h e book Die letzte Hymne (The last h y m n , 1952, since long o u t of p r i n t ) a b i o g r a p h y of F r . K i l i a n a u t h o r e d b y Dr. CESLAUS B O D E F E L D OFM (f 19öl) who h a d a c c o m p a n i e d his c o n f r e r e t o t h e scaffold, a n d completed by F-r. C H R Y S O L O G U S S C H O L L M E Y E R OFM (f 1963) [pp. 15-229; t h e last t w o pages are a facsimile of t h e l e t t e r F r . Kilian addressed to his P r o v i n c i a l i m m e d i a t e l y before his death). An a p p r e c i a t i o n of Fr. K i l i a n e n t i t l e d » Aufstieg aus tiefem Leidens g r u n d « (Ascent f r o m the deep b o t t o m of suffering) which F r . OSMUND L I N D E N OFM published in the review Sanctiflcatio nostra follows. A f t e r W o r l d W a r II, Mrs. B e n e d i c t a Maria K e m p n e r , a n A m e r i c a n a u t h o r , w r o t e i. a. the book Priester vor Hitlers

BOOK R E V I E W S

481

Tribunalen (Priests in f r o n t of H i t l e r ' s Tribunals), which gives a most i n t e r e s t i n g d o c u m e n t a t i o n , also a b o u t Mrs. Maria Gies née Volk on whose a c c u s a t i o n Fr. Kilian was a r r e s t e d (pp. 239-256). W e also find a r e p r i n t of F r . O T T O K A R ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n to t h e festschrift in h o n o u r of t h e late Cardinal J a e g e r , Archbishop of P a d e r b o r n , Paderbornensis Ecclesia, in which h e is dealing a b o u t Pater Kilian Kirchhoff: Ein literarisches Werk im Dienst an der Einheit von Ost-und Westchristenheil (A l i t e r a r y w o r k in t h e service of t h e U n i o n of E a s t e r n and W e s t e r n Christianity) [pp. 257-277], F r . OTTOKA.R also a u t h o r e d the r e p o r t o n t h e celebrations held a t A t h e n s a n d Mt. A t h o s in h o n o u r of F r . K i l i a n on t h e occasion of t h e 30th a n n i v e r s a r y of his m a r t y r d o m a n d t h e booklet Kilian Kirchhoff: Glaubenszewie, Brückenbauer zwischen Ost und West (1983) [pp. 297-320. I n 1992, t h e R E V I E W E R held a c o n f e r e n c e on F r . Kilian in the p a r i s h of Oerlinghausen near Detmold, where F r . K i l i a n h a d been, j u s t a f t e r his o r d i n a t i o n , t h e first Catholic priest a f t e r t h e R e f o r m a t i o n of t h e 16th c e n t u r y (pp. 321-329). The academic c o n f e r e n c e on F r . K i l i a n held on J u l y 22, 1983, by Dr. C O N S T A N T I N POHLMA.NN OFM ( t 1993) a t t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n of t h e diocesan f e a s t of St. Liborius in P a d e r b o r n , t h e article «Das Schicksal des F r a n z i s k a n e r p a t e r s K i l i a n K : r c h h o f f « (The F a t e of t h e F r a n c i s c a n F r . K i l i a n Kirchhoff) by D i e t m a r R o s t , and F r . O T T O K A R ' s F r e n c h article d e d i c a t e d to Joël P o t t i e r of t h e u n i v e r s i t y of Angers » K i l i a n K i r c h h o f f - T é m o i n de la Foi P r é c u r s e u r et Ouvrier de l ' U n i t é « follow. F r . O T T O K A R ' s conf e r e n c e held a t A t h e n s in 1974, was t r a n s l a t e d i n t o several languages. The E n g l i s h , I t a l i a n , Polish, R u s s i a n , t r a n s l a t i o n s are r e p r o d u c e d (359-400). T h e y are followed b y an older c o n t r i b u t i o n in Greek a u t h o r e d by F r . CHRYSOLOGUS. F r . O T T O K A R c o n t r i b u t e d also to t h e collective work Das Erzbistum Paderborn in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus (The Archdiocese of P a d e r b o r n in t h e E r a of N a t i o n a l - S o c i a l i s m ) publishing his s t u d y P. Kilian Kirchhoff"Zeuge des Glaubens und Arbeiter der Versöhnung des Ostens und des Westens" (Fr. K i l i a n K i r c h h o f ! - " W i t n e s s of F a i t h and W o r k e r f o r t h e R e c o n c i l i a t i o n of E a s t a n d W e s t " (pp. 407-438). A N G E L A K O C H is p r e s e n t i n g F r . Kilian's life and w o r k on the basis of t h e sources (pp. 430-463. I n a small booklet Blumen auf den Trümmern (Flowers on t h e ruins), F r . O T T O K A R describes t h e life a n d w o r k (richly i l l u s t r a t e d ) of his t h r e e c o n f r è r e s - m a r t y r s of t h e Nazi era, Kilian Kirchhof!, E l p i d i u s Marköttor, and W o l f g a n g R o s e n b a u m (a c o n v e r t f r o m J u d a i s m ) . The rich volume

482

THE

HARP

is concluded with t h e bibliography of F r . Kilian and t w o t e x t s of the 15th S t a t i o n (Resurrection) of t h e Icon W a y of t h e Cross at Oerlinghausen, f r o m Rev. K A R L H E N K E ' s book Ver-Gegenwärtigung - Der Ikonenkreuzweg in Oerlingausen. F r , H e n k e is the present parish priest there. At last some b i o d a t a of t h e different a u t h o r s are give (pp. 510-512). W e have described this excellent work in details, recommending it to m a n y readers. Its price is, as an advertising leaflet says, »according to your judgement«. J . Madey Stefan Rambacher, Formerfordernisse fur die Eheschliessung getaufter Nichtkatholiken nach dem CCEO: Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der altorientalischen Kirchen [= Münchener Theologische Studien, im A u f t r a g der Katholisch-Theologischen F a k u l t ä t : I I I Kanonistische Abteilung, 46). E r z a b t e i St. Ottilien: EOS Verlag, 1995, 221 pages, h a r d b o u n d DM 38.00. This is a most i m p o r t a n t and a c t u a l p u b l i c a t i o n which merits the a t t e n t i o n not only of s t u d e n t s of Canon Law, b u t especially of ecclesiastical courts. Catholic as well as non-Catholic. I n his m a s t e r l y d o c t o r a l dissertation presented at t h e Catholic Theological F a c u l t y of the University of Munich, t h e a u t h o r ' s aim is to explain t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e f o r m of t h e cont r a c t i o n of marriage by baptised non-Catholics according t o the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches with p a r t i c u l a r consideration of the Oriental O r t h o d o x Churches. The a u t h o r uses, in German, t h e obsolete t e r m » A n c i e n t Oriental Churches«. The book has got t h r e e long chapters. A f t e r t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n , he is dealing with marriage of b a p t i s e d non-Catholics in the changed vision of t h e Catholic Church describing t h e development since 1917, i.e. f r o m t h e t i m e a f t e r the p r o m u l g a t i o n of t h e Codex Iuris Canonici till t h a t of the schemata for t h e CCEO, as well as t h e decisions of t h e highest Catholic ecclesiastical court (Signatura Apostolica). Chapter Two is a critical a p p r e c i a t i o n of can. 781 n. 2 of t h e CCEO. Chapter Three is entitled » T h e f o r m of marriage in t h e law of the Oriental O r t h o d o x Churches on t h e background of CCEO can. 781 n. 2 « . A f t e r i n t r o d u c t o r y notes (§ I), Dr. R a m b a c h e r , describes (§ 2) the h i s t o r y of t h e Assyrian or S y r o - o r i e n t a l Church, her canonical sources, her marriage f o r m in t h e course of history and in the present

BOOK R E V I E W S

483

practice, f u r t h e r what is her a t t i t u d e in regard to mixed marriages. At last he gives his results in a systematic way. It is almost according to the same schema t h a t he is dealing with the (§ 3) Syrian Orthodox Church (it seems t h a t he did not know E. Aydin's dissertation), the (§ 4) Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church, the (5) Coptic Orthodox Church and the (§ 6) Ethiopian Orthodox Church. While writing his thesis, the author had, as far as possible, contacted representatives of the Armenian, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in Austria and Germany. I n the appendix the letters of Archbishop Prof* Dr. Mesrob K. Krikorian and Rev, Dr. Merawi Tebege are reproduced. The book has got a very good list of abbreviations, an extensive list of sources and bibliography as well as a register of the canons taken into consideration and a register of persons. Stefan Rambacher is a priest of the R. C. Diocese of Wuerzburg, Germany. His work ought to find its way into many hands, academic libraries, episcopal chanceries and courts, pastors and students. Translations into other languages would certainly be recommendable. John Madey

Let Bethsaida offer a crown to the Fisher of all ! The Fisher of all fished for her so as to fish through her fishermen. [Once] they sought a catch for the belly, [but now] a catch for the Kingdom. The twelve fishermen went out and netted the world; they caught kings from the sea of bitterness, freeborn men from t h e abyss of lust, and slaves from the stream of wickedness. [ST.

EPHREM]

THE

HARP

Vol. VIII., IX., July 1995 - 1996, pp. 484-488

SEERI Chronicle

1995-1996

The diocese of Tiruvalla had declared 1995 as an year dedicated for intensive liturgical formation. S E E R I was entrusted with conducting courses for various groups on liturgical topics. Thus:january

2-25

Liturgy course for Religious Sisters. 50 participants benefited by this programme. Members of the staff of S E E R I as well as guest teachers gave lectures and lessons on various subjects. February 25

Orientation course for Y o u t h - The subject was "The place of liturgy in Church life". There were 35 participants. February 27 - March 2

Seminar for p r i e s t s - "Lex orandi, lex credendi" was the topic. 74 priests joined this seminar. March 6 & 7

R e t r e a t for priests 45 participants. March 10 -

based on liturgical texts. There were

12

Orientation seminar for resource personnel Movement on " l i t u r g y and life." 28 participants.

of

Youth

SEERI CHRONICLE

1995-1996

485

March 31 - April 2 L i t u r g y course for y o u t h 27 p a r t i c i p a n t s .

"Church Fathers

and l i t u r g y " .

March 27 - May 20 Intensive course in Syriac language. 32 s t u d e n t s , including priests and laity p a r t i c i p a t e d . May 23 - 26 Ecumenical p r o g r a m m e - Seminar on " A search in t h e liturgy for a more meaningful liturgical life", f o r members of t h e Theological F o r u m of the K a n d a n a d diocese of t h e J a c o b i t e Church. 18 p a r t i c i p a n t s . June 9 - 1 2 Short d u r a t i o n 85 p a r t i c i p a n t s .

liturgy

course for

Sisters :

there

were

July 8 Meeting of Advisory Committee of S E E R I to evaluate activities u n d e r t a k e n and to plan f u t u r e programmes. 18 members joined. August 1 1 - 1 3 Seminar on " L i t u r g i c a l heritage of the Malankara Church", f o r teachers of catechism and for members of parish councils. 105 a t t e n d e d . October 25 - 28 L i t u r g y course for seminarians in regency. 19 p a r t i c i p a t e d . October 30 - November 1 Seminar on " C h r i s t i a n leadership in our S o c i e t y " - for r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of various Churches of K e r a l a . 47 p a r t i c i p a n t s . November 6 - December 6 Second one 69 participants.

month

course

of

liturgy

for

Sisters.

486

THE HARP

November 18

One day seminar for teachers of catechism and members of parish councils, as an item of out-reach service of S E E R I at Anikad. 63 participants. The topic was "Holy Qurbono - source and summit of Malankara Spirituality". November 2 4 - 26

Seminar for Y o u t h - "Witnessing of the Malankara Christians in our social and ecclesiastical context". There were 30 participants. December

4 - 7

Seminar for priests on " L i t u r g y - source and Church's catechism and theology". 38 participants.

norm for

December 9

One day seminar for Y o u t h - " I n i t i a t i o n into the meaning of the prayers of Qurbono". 94 participants. December

deep

11-13

Seminar for women and Sistershospital milieu. 73 participants.

"Christian witness in

This is not a comprehensive report of all the activities of S E E R I during 1995. Its common and regular recurring programmes have been omitted as being redundant and for the sake of brevity. 1996 January 23 - 31

Prof. Alan Barthel and Rev. Fr. Philip Tovy, constituting a Commission of the SOCIETAS LITURGICA inspect the facilities at S E E R I , in view of the proposed Congress of the Society in 1999. February 18 - March 23

Prof. Dr. Briquel Chatonnette and Prof. Alain des Reumaux f r o m France, together with Rev. Dr. K. A. George, Rev. Dr. Baby Varghese, Rev. Dr. Jacob Thekeparampil, Rev. Dr. Thomas Koonammakal, Rev. Fr. Stephen OIC and Rev. Sr. Agnes CMC inspected collections of Syriac manuscripts at Pampakuda;

SEERI CHRONICLE

1995-1996

487

Archbishop's House, Trichur; Residence of the Metropolitan of the Independent Church of Malabar at Thozhiyoor; Chaldean Metropolitan's Palace at Trichur; Manjanikara Dayara; Archbishop's House, Trivandrum and here at SEERI. They also visited the ancient Syrian churches of Kerala at Kuravilangad, Pala, Kothamangalam, Kuruppumpady, Angamaly, Akaparampu', Kurinji, Pampakuda, Kandanad, Udayamperoor, Paravoor, Chengannur, Kallooppara, Niranom, Thiruvalla, Kottayam etc. They collected copies of Syriac inscriptions on walls, tombs, bells etc. at some of these places. The scholars from France undertook to prepare and publish a catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts at SEERI, without delay. Dr. Jacob Thekeparampil, and Dr. Thomas Koonammakal continued this mission and collected copies of inscriptions in Syriac at such places as Chennamangalam, Vaikatt Dayara, Kanjoor and Piravom churches etc. In February, Rev. Sisters Felix and' Udaya of the Bethany Congregation (SIC), assumed charge of the management of the house in place of Rev. Srs. Stella and Merin of the same Congregation who had left earlier on completion of their period of service here. April 8 - May 29

Intensive course in Syriac language for sixteen participants. Rev. Dr. Jacob Thekeparampil and Rev. Fr. R. V. Markose of M. S. 0. T. S. Udayagiri are the teachers. April 18

Rev. Fr. Abraham Kalakudi, Chancellor of the Diocese of Thiruvalla, joins SEERI as a member of the resident staff. April 27

Rev. Dr. G. Panicker leaves America.

for the

Unites States of

May 2 8

One Day excursion of students of summer course of Syriac to Trivandrum, Kovalam etc. The Director of SEERI and members of the teaching staff joined the. students. June 8

One Day seminar Nr. 7. Rev. Dr. Baby Varghese treats "Development and final form of the Anaphora in the West Syrian tradition."

488

THE

HARl>

Rev. Dr, Sebastian Naduthadom exposes "Anaphora of Mar Nestorius." There were 69 participants. June 27

J O U R N E E SYRIAQUE. A meeting of special invitees to make plans and preparations for this event proposed to be held at S E E R I in November.. June 28

Indian members of the SOCIETAS LITURGICA gathered at S E E R I in the afternoon to plan the conduct of the Congress of the Society proposed to be held here in 1999. On the same day was also held the first meeting of the Faculty of the Master's Degree course in Syriac sanctioned by the M. G. University to be conducted by SEERI. July 17 - August 23

Intensive course in Liturgy for the Junior Sisters of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Imitation of Christ (SIC/ Bethany). July 27

Prof. Mathew Ulakanthara's rendering in Malayalam verse of Jacob of Sarug's treatise in Syriac on the Apostolate in India of St. Thomas, the Apostle was presented in music by the celebrated Cicilia Music Academy troupe, in the S E E R I auditorium. It was the last item of a one day seminar on the influence of Syriac in Malayalam literature and its continued relevance. Several learned papers on the subject were presented. Nearly a hundred people from various walks of life participated in the entire day-long programme. August 9

Rev. Dr. Jacob Thekeparampil, Director of S E E R I left for Sweden to participate in the World Syriac Conference and later visit other countries i;i Europe until the end of October 1996.