John of Dara On the Resurrection of Human Bodies
Edited and Translated by Aho Shemunkasho
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Printed in the United States of America
5.1 Translation of Mimro I
5.2 Translation of Mimro II
5.3 Translation of Mimro III
5.4 Translation of Mimro
5.5
6.
7.
PREFACE
The following work provides the edition and translation of the four treatises of John of Dara (+ 860) On the Resurrection of Human Bodies. The final mimro places the resurrection in the context of the renewal of the whole of creation on the Day of Judgement. The Christian dogma of resurrection and the ecclesiastical understanding of eschatology are the central points of the treatises. The great scholar of the ninth century, John of Dara, collected extensive material and presented it in an elaborate, systematic way. In addition to the spiritual understanding of resurrection, the treatises include material on physical anatomy and psychology, as well as on the philosophical explanation of the elements of creation. Furthermore, the text provides a terminological definition of keywords. Theologically, the concept of the Creator and creation are in focus, along with the logical proof of God’s existence, exegetical commentaries on the relevant Biblical passages, and on the vision of the future world.
This volume was completed during my work at the Department of Biblical Studies and Ecclesiastiacal History at the University of Salzburg and was submitted as my ‘habilitation’ thesis in 2017. I am very thankful to my colleagues and assistants for their help and support. In particular, I would like to express my words of gratitude to Prof. Dietmar W. Winkler for offering me a position as university assistant in 2006 and as an assistant professor in 2010. During this time, I started to collect material on John of Dara and work on the four mimre.
At the same time negotiations between the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Austrian Ministry of Science, the Archdiocese and the University of Salzburg started, and led successfully to the establishment of a professorship for Syriac Christianity in 2014, a postion that I now hold. An academic degree, Master of Arts in Syriac Theology, was introduced in 2015, and a student house, Beth Suryoye, was established. In order to achieve this, many leading figures were involved and I owe them my sincere gratitude for their trust in the work I am doing: HH Mor Ignatius Zakka I (previous Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church), HH Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II (current Patriarch), HE Kardinal Christoph Schönborn (Archbishop of Vienna), HE Dr. Alois Kothgasser (previous Archbishop of Salzburg), HE Dr. Franz Lackner (current), Prof. Karlheinz Töchterle (previous Austrian Minister of Science), MP Wolfgang Großruck (previous President of OSCE), Dr. Wilfried Haslauer (Governor of Land Salzburg), Dr. Johann Marte (previous President of Pro Oriente), Prof. Peter Bruck (President of Syriac Institute) and the committee members of Suryoye Theological Seminary Salzburg: Mor Polycarpus Dr. Augin Aydin, Mor Philoxenus Mattias Nayis, Gabriel Malas, Abdulmesih Barabraham and Steve Samuel. In addition there are many other volunteers and benefactors: such as the Austrian Catholic Bishops Conference, Evangelical Church in
Germany (EKD), Initiative Christlicher Orient (ICO), Mor Gregorios Johanna Ibrahim (Archbishop of Aleppo), Prof. Erich Busek (previous Vice-Chancelor of Austria), Dr. Hania M. Fedorowicz, Dr. Victor Baillou, Dr. Alfred and Sissy Berghammer, Dr. Johannes Großruck, Joseph Leitner and Michaela and Robert Luckmann.
The idea of editing and translating John of Dara’s mimre in general was initiatied and encouraged in discussion with Dr. Andreas Juckel (Insitute for Research on New Testament, Münster), to whom I owe profound gratitude. I owe also heartfelt and sincere thanks to Prof. Sebastian P. Brock (emer. Univesity of Oxford) for his counsel throughout the work, particularly for the suggestions regarding the translation of some technical terms.
I am very thankful to Elisabeth Humer, our librarian, who ordered the manuscripts from the western libraries: i.e. Birmingham, Bodleian, British, Harvard and Vatican, to whom I extend my appreciation. I am also most grateful to HE Mor Gregorios Saliba Shamoun, the retired Archbischop of Mosul for sending me a digitised copy of Mosul ms, to HE Mor Philoxenus Saliba Özmen for the mss in Mardin, and to HE Mor Philoxenus Mattias Nayis for the MS Damascus Patriarchat 4/4. I would also like to thank HB Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan for instructing the librarian in Sharfeh, to show me the mss there.
During their visits to Salzburg to teach classes for the MA in Syriac Theology, I had the chance to consult my colleagues, and I am thankful for their advice: HE Mor Polycarpus Dr Augin Aydin, Dr Kees den Biesen, Dr. Ephrem A. Ishac, Prof. Hubert Kaufhold, Dr. George Kiraz, Dr. Robert Kitchen, Prof. Erich Renhart, Prof. Hidemi Takahashi, Prof. Shabo Talay, Prof. Herman Teule, and Prof. Lucas Van Rompay.
Above all, I would like to thank my wife Penelope for her encouragement throughout my career and for proofreading the English text. This work is devoted to her and to our three children Joseph, Rachel and John.
Finally, the greatest thanks and praise is to the Lord of heaven and earth, God of the living and the dead for His endless mercy and compassion on me in strengthening me in the growth of such work, and letting me experience the trust, love and support of so many people.
ABBREVIATIONS
CPG Clavis Patrum Graecorum
CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
GOF Göttinger Orientforschungen
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JRS The Journal of Roman Studies
JTS The Journal of Theological Studies
LM Le Muséon
NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
PG Patrologia Graeca
OC Oriens Christianus
OCA Orientalia Christiana Analecta
OLA Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta
OLP Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica
OS L’Orient Syrien
PdO Parole de l’Orient
PO Patrologia Orientalis
SP Studia Patristica
SSyr [Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium] Scriptores Syri
ThQ Theologische Quartalschrift
ZKTh Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie
1. INTRODUCTION
OVERVIEW
John of Dara was the metropolitan of Dara from 825 until his death in 860 A.D. A number of treatises have been attributed to him which have been transmitted in various manuscripts. John was very much interested in the creation of the world, celestial and ecclesiastical hierarchy, priesthood, Paradise and the salvation of man in the context of divine revelation and eschatological theology. Among others he composed four mimre [= treatises] On the Resurrection of Human Bodies. Not just these treatises, but most of his other work has been ignored for a long time. Without an edition and translation, John’s rich theological material regarding the Christian dogma on resurrection and of the renewal of the world remains inaccessible, except in manuscripts. John approached the theme of resurrection from many different angles, and for clarification he asks various questions about the nature of resurrection. Through this edition and translation, John’s questions and detailed theological answers are made available to the academic world for the first time.
PREVIOUS WORK
Some academic studies on resurrection in the Syriac tradition – primarily on Christ’s resurrection – have been done in the past. Some liturgical and patristic texts have been edited and translated, such as Ephrem’s hymns de resurrectione, 1 Philoxenus of Mabbug’s homily, 2 Jacob of Serugh’s mimre 3 or Narsai’s homily On Resurrection 4 But none of the
1 Edmund Beck, Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Paschahymnen: De azymnis, de crucifixione, de re surrectione, CSCO 248/249, S Syr. 108/109 (Louvain 1964). See also the studies of Ignazio De Francesco, Efrem il Siro. Inni Pasquali, sugli Azzimi, sulla Crocifissione, sulla Risurrezione (Milano 2001).
2 Jad Hatem, La gloire de l’un: Philoxène de Mabboug et Laurent de la résurrection (Paris 2003).
3 Thomas Kollamparampil, Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on the Resurrection, Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 14, Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug 5 (New Jersey 2008); Edward George Mathews, Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on the Creation of Adam and the Resurrection of the Dead, Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 37, Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug 32 (New Jersey 2014).
4 Frederick G. McLeod, Narsai’s Metrical Homilies on the Nativity, Epiphany, Passion, Resurrec tion and Ascension: Critical Edition of Syriac Text, PO 40.1 [182] (Turnhout 1979).
studies which have been done 1 are as thorough as John’s treatises. In his extensive work, John refers to Scripture and previous authors, and he influences later writers, such as Moses Bar Kepha (d. 903), Barhebraeus (d. 1286) and the Jewish philosopher Saadia Gaon (d. 942) 2 – Barhebraeus’ work On Resurrection has been translated into German. 3
Modern scholars have realised the significance of John’s rich material. A general introduction is given by Anton Baumstark, 4 Patriarch Aphram I Barsoum, 5 Arthur Vööbus 6 and Sebastian Brock. 7 Nevertheless, only his treatise On Divine Liturgy has been edited and translated into French and English. 8 Additionally, Baumstark devotes an article to John’s references to Bardaisan, 9 and Vööbus highlights the exegetical character of the treatise On Pentecost. 10
One of the earliest Western scholars working on John was Pius Zingerle. In the nineteenth century he had already summarised the four treatises On the Priesthood 11 With regard to the same work, Michel Breydy published an article in French, 12 and Liza Anderson started her Ph.D at Yale University working on “The Interpretation of Pseudo-Dionysius in the Works of John of Dara”, but then changed her topic without finishing it. Her draft translation of John’s treatises On Celestial Hierachy and On Ecclesi
1 Ute Possekel, “Bardaisan of Edessa on the Resurrection: Early Syriac Eschatology in its Religious-Historical Context”, Oriens Christianus 88 (2004), 1–28; Varghese Pathikulangara, Res urrection, Life and Renewal: A Theological Study of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Great Saturday and the Sunday of Resurrection in the Chaldeo Indian Church (Kottayam 1982).
2 See the recent work of Yonatan Moss, “Fish Eats Lion Eats Man: Saadia Gaon, Syriac Christianity, and the Resurrection of the Dead”, Jewish Quarterly Review 106:4 (2016), 494–520.
3 Hubert Koffler, Die Lehre des Barhebräus von der Auferstehung der Leiber, OC 28:1 [81] (Roma 1932); Élise Zigmund-Cerbü, Le Candélabre du Sanctuaire de Grégoire Abou’lfaradj dit Barhebræus. Dixième base: De la resurrection, Patrologia Orientalis 35.2 (Turnhout 1969).
4 Anton Baumstark, Geschichte der Syrischen Literatur (Bonn 1922), 271–81 [§ 44].
5 Ignatius Aphram I Barsoum, The Scattered Pearls, 370–97 [number 139–69].
6 Arthur Vööbus, “New Manuscript Discoveries for the Literary Heritage of Mose bar Kepha: The Genre of Theological Writings”, Harward Theological Review 8 (1975), 377–84; “Important manuscript discoveries of Iwannis of Dara and his literary heritage”, JAOS 96 (1976), 576–78; “Die Entdeckung von Überresten der altsyrischen Apostelgeschichte”, OC 64 (1980), 32–35.
7 Sebastian P. Brock, A Brief Outline of Syriac Literature, (Kottayam 2009), 63–70 [nr. 73–82].
8 J. Sader, Le De Oblatione de Jean de Dara CSCO 308/9, S.Syr. 132/3 (Louvain 1970); English translation by Baby Varghese, John of Dara Commentary on the Eucharist, Moran Etho 12 (Kerala 1999).
9 A. Baumstark, “Iwannis von Dara über Bardaisan”, OC 8/3 (1933), 62–71.
10 A. Vööbus, “Die Entdeckung von Überresten der altsyrischen Apostelgeschichte”, OC 64 (1980), 32–35.
11 P. Zingerle, “Aus dem Handschriftlichen syrischen Werk des Johannes von Dara über das Priestertum”, ThQ 49 (1867), 183–205; ThQ 50 (1868), 267–285.
12 M. Breydy, “Les compilations syriaques sur le sacerdoce au IXe siècle: Jean de Dara”, OCA 205 (1978), 267–293 (= 2. Symp. Syr. 1976).
astical Hierarchy, along with the first two mimre On Priesthood were made available electronically. 1
Particular attention has been drawn to the treatise On the Soul, which is attributed to both John of Dara and Moses Bar Kepha. Guiseppe Furlani found this treatise in the manuscript Vat. Syr. 147 and translated some of it (fol. 133r–154r) into Italian, but did not publish it. Based on this work Furlani published an article on John’s psychology in 1928. 2 A great work on this mimro has been done by Jobst Reller, as he carefully analysed John’s understanding of the soul, in comparison to Moses Bar Kepha and Barhebraeus. 3 Also Mauro Zonta has been interested in the treatise On the Soul and published three excellent articles. 4
Some quotations from the second treatise On Resurrection can be found in O. Braun. 5 Very relevant to the theme of resurrection are the articles of Carl-Martin Edsman on “Death, Corruption and Eternal Life” 6 and Yonatan Moss on “Fish Eats Lion Eats Man: Saadia Gaon, Syriac Christianity, and the Resurrection of the Dead”. 7 My publications also include three articles on John’s work. 8
1 Liza Anderson, a post-doc student at the Episcopal Divinity School in Boston, shared her work on John of Dara on her webpage: www.academica.edu, in March 2017.
2 Giuseppe Furlani, “La Psicologia di Giovanni di Dara”, Rivista degli Studi Orientali 11 (1928), 254–79.
3 Jobst Reller, “Iwannis von Dara, Mose bar Kepha und Barhebräus über die Seele, traditionsgeschichtlich untersucht”, in: G. J. Reinink and A. C. Klugkist (ed.), After Bardaisan, Studies on Continuity and Change in Syriac Christianity in Honour of Professor Han J.W. Drijvers (Leuven 1999), 253–264. See also J. Reller, “Wahrnehmung und Erkenntnis in syrischsprachigen Lehrbüchern von der Seele”, V. Makarios Symposion Preetz 1995, GOF, I Syriaca (Wiesbaden 1997), 55–56. See also O. Braun, Moses Bar Kepha und sein Buch von der Seele (Freiburg im Breisgau 1891), 26–132.
4 Mauro Zonta, “Iwānnīs of Dārā on Soul’s Virtues: About a Late Antiquity Greek Philosophical Work among Syrians and Arabs”, in Studia graeca arabica 5 (2015), 129–43: As Appendix Zonta provides a useful Greek-Syriac glosssary of philosophical terms. See also Zonta, Mauro, “Iwānnīs of Dārā’s Treatise on the Soul and its Sources: A New Contribution to the History of Syriac Psychology around 800 AD”, in Elisa Coda and Cecilia Martini Bonadeo (eds.), De l’Antiquité tardive au Moyen Âge. Études de logique aristotélicienne et de philosophie grecque, syriaque, arabe et latine offertes à Henri Hugonnard Roche, Études musulmanes 44 (Paris 2014), 113–22; “Nemesiana Syriaca: New Fragments from the Missing Syriac Version of the De Natura Hominis ”, JSS 36/2 (1991), 227.
5 O. Braun, “Beiträge zur Geschichte der Eschatologie in den syrischen Kirchen”, ZKTh 16 (1892), 273–91, particularly pp. 286–87.
6 Carl-Martin Edsman, “Death, Corruption and Eternal Life”, in Bulletin of the Iranian Cul ture Foundation 1 (1969), 85–104 (about John of Dara, On Resurrection, see p. 89).
7 Yonatan Moss, “Fish Eats Lion Eats Man: Saadia Gaon, Syriac Christianity, and the Resurrection of the Dead”, Jewish Quarterly Review 106:4 (2016), 494–520.
8 Aho Shemunkasho, “John of Dara and His References to Previous Authors”, Actes du 10e Symposium Syriacum, in PdO 36 (2011), 413–44; “Jacob of Serugh and His Influence on John
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study contributes to the understanding of John of Dara in the context of his time and enriches the Syriac theological understanding of the Christian dogma of the resurrection of the human body and the renewal of the world. In their style, the four treatises are the most detailed and offer the richest exposition of the concept of resurrection studied in the whole Syriac tradition. As the Patristic age in Syriac Christianity goes beyond the first millennium of the Christian Era, this work contributes to Patristic studies and is complementary to the research and studies done by other scholars on the concept of resurrection in both Byzantine Greek and Roman Latin Patristic texts. 1
Furthermore, in addition to theology, John of Dara`s mimre will be of great interest for philologians, philosophers, anthropologians and for those studying the knowledge of anatomy in late antiquity and the elements out of which the world is created.
John of Dara is concerned with the Christian dogma of the resurrection of human bodies and provides an elaborate commentary, in which he manifests the necessity of the resurrection of human bodies. Particularly in the First Treatise, John argues against the heretics and non-believers, who either neglect the resurrection of human bodies or misunderstand it. According to John of Dara, the resurrection must take place because God is capable of doing it and because of justice at the final Day of Judgment, so that everyone can be rewarded or punished according to what he/she deserves. Resurrection must be the restoration of the same body, which is a safeguard for the integrity of the identity of each individuum.
In the Second Treatise, divided into 15 chapters, John focuses very much on the classical understanding of the elements and the structure of the human body with its limbs. He refuses the concept of a spiritual and an aerial body, or of any body without limbs and a physical mass. In John’s theology, the resurrected body is a body with a solid material form, including all the limbs that is transformed and nourished by the spirit. John supports his commentary with biblical references as well as with quotations from church fathers. In the whole work the most prominent authors are Ephrem, 2 John Chrysostom, 3 Jacob of Serugh, 4 Jacob of Edessa, 1 Philoxenus of Mabbug, 2 Severus of Antioch 3 and Gregory of Nyssa. 4
of Dara as Exemplified by the use of two verse-homilies”, in: George Kiraz (ed.), Jacob of Sarug and His Times: Studies in Sixth Century Syriac Christianity (New Jersey 2010), 163–97; “Anmerkungen zu Iwannis von Dara (9.Jh.) und seinen Mimre zur Auferstehung des Leibes”, in Dietmar W. Winkler (ed.), Syrische Studien, Beiträge zum 8. Deutschen Syrologie Symposium in Salzburg 2014 (Wien 2016), 129–40.
1 A profound study is provided by Caroline Walker Bynum, The Resurrection of the Body: in Western Christianity, 200 1336 (New York 1995).
2 For Ephrem see pp. 224, 297– 298, 363, 494, 506, 522, 528–529, 533, 552.
3 For John Chrysostom see pp. 134, 148, 212–215, 219–220, 224, 247, 327, 392, 404, 461–463, 467–468, 480, 492–493, 495, 536, 549.
4 For Jacob of Serugh see pp. 119–120, 122, 171, 237, 241–242, 295–296, 335, 384, 402, 426, 485, 487–488, 528, 541, 557.
At the beginning of the Third Treatise, that is divided into eight chapters, John provides a summary of the first two mimre, and then he presents a unique commentary on some relevant biblical passages, among them verses from Deuteronomy (Deut 32:39); 1 Samuel (1 Sam 2:6.10); Isaiah (Isa 25:8; 26:19), Hosea (Hos 3:14; 6:1–2) and Jonah (Jon 2:7). Also a few verses from the Psalms (Ps 30:4.6; 30:11–12; 41:13; 68:21; 88:11) are cited. In chapter 6 a proper exegetical commentary is provided to Daniel 12:2–3.13 and to Ezekiel 37:1–14. Finally, John devotes two whole chapters of detailed work to 1 Cor 15, altogether seven folios, each side of two columns, including over 6,000 words. Chapter seven discusses 1 Cor 15:1–33; and chapter eight comments on 1 Cor 15:34–58.
In the Fourth Treatise that contains 24 chapters, John studies the concept of resurrection of human bodies in the context of the whole divine economy and the eschatological renewal of the world. John explains salvation with divine knowledge and accordingly defines the Kingdom of God and Gehenna in the world to come. Also in this Fourth Treatise John refers to Scripture (such as 1 Thess 4:13–16) and quotes from church fathers (such as from Jacob of Serugh and Severus of Antioch), and based on the use of words he often defines the literal meaning of key words, such as ‘revival’ (ܐܡܚܘܢ) and ‘forever’ (ܡܠܥܠ ).
The content of the text provides rich material for biblical exegesis, philosophical classical knowledge of the elements, ancient theory of physiology and theological creation of the world and the soul. The treatises support the doctrine that man is created in the image of God with a living soul and a physical body as a rational being. His destiny is the world to come, in which man will take part after the resurrection of the bodies. In the world to come, man remains immortal, and therefore God invites him to enjoy His presence in the heavenly Kingdom and not to remain with a lack of divine knowledge in the punishment of Gehenna. With this concern John, as the Archbishop of Dara, studied the concept of the Christian’s dogma of resurrection and presents his results to the faithful, encouraging them to believe in it and not to follow and believe in other teachings. From a Christian point of view, this can be seen as a response to all heretics, but also to Judaism and Islam in the context of his time. Regarding Islam, for instance, John deals extensively with the question of marriage after the resurrection as he dismisses it on the basis of the bible, but it is very much present in Islam. Therefore, John’s writing is a response to the challenge of his time, namely with the biblical references, as well as with the references to the Hellenistic philosophers and ecclesiastical doctors, he explains the Christian’s dogma of resurrection that is the central point of human salvation. In order to be saved, the integrity of each person must be kept and
1 For Jacob of Edessa see pp. 134, 172, 382, 392, 426, 554.
2 For Philoxenus of Mabbug see pp. 151, 185, 363, 406, 437, 440–441.
3 For Severus of Antioch see pp. 170, 224, 248–249, 310–314, 335, 406, 419, 424–426, 432, 471, 480, 493–494, 538–540, 557.
4 For Gregory of Nyssa see pp. 165, 309, 342, 419–420, 431, 480, 524, 537, 563.
the guarantee for it is the resurrection of each person along with his/her own body and to be transformed with divine glory in the presence of God.
METHODOLOGY
Regarding the First to Third Chapter of this work, research has been carried out to gather information on John of Dara, his work and the historical context in the ninth century. Based on primary and secondary literature, relevant material has been identified, studied, analysed, and presented systematically.
The editorial task in the Fourth Chapter seeks to reconstruct the original text as closely as possible. With the collection of the manuscripts, looking at their colophons and the relation of the manuscripts to each other, the transmission of the text has been studied. The oldest manuscripts, containing the text on resurrection and the renewal of the word are the manuscripts in Mosul and Vat. Syr. 100 [V]. The other collected manuscripts derive from codex Mosul [M], and thus, M is the archetype of these modern copies. Since M exists there is no need to apply the ‘archetype’ method for these manuscripts. But there is a need to apply it for M and V, as they are related to each other. In case one of them is the archetype of the other, then both might have been copied from the same manuscript. For the reconstruction of the text a mixture of the so called ‘autograph’ and ‘archetype’ methods has been applied, as is done by authoritative Syriac scholars. Andrew Palmer refers to Sebastian Brock, Gerrit Reinink and Andreas Juckel and calls this third method a synthesis of the other two methods. He defines it as such: “The editor’s task is to amend the text, using textual criticism. The apparatus will include only such variants as have a bearing on the original.” 1 Nevertheless, the orthographical method has been more dominant for this edition. M has been used as the main work, and all variations – not orthographical – have been noted. Mistakes have been corrected, and occasionally better readings of V have been applied in the main text.
For the edition and translation, one of the main tasks has been the identification of the biblical references and the quotations of previous authors, which results in a large index. The ‘Accordance’ programme was very useful, although the whole Syriac Bible is not included and the search for Syriac terms and phrases is not as advanced as in Western languages. The biblical verses have been compared to the Peshitta, and variations to the Peshitta have been noted in the critical apparatus. The English translation of the biblical passages is based on the Syriac text, but the English Standard Version has been taken into consideration. Although the identified patristic texts, that have been edited and translated into English before, are mainly retranslated in this work. The whole translation follows the Syriac text very closely.
1 See Andrew Palmer, “Editing a Syriac Hagiography: The Life of Barsawmo the Northerner”, in Dietmar W. Winkler (ed.), Syrische Studien: Beiträge zum 8. Deutschen Syrologie Symposium in Salzburg 2014 (Wien 2016), 97–8.
STRUCTURE
The context and scope of this study is the edition and translation of John’s four treatises On the Resurrection of Human Bodies and the Renewal of the Word. These can be better understood through a presentation of John and his work in the context of the ninth century historical and religious development and literary creativity. Therefore, the political situation of Syriac Christianity under the Abbasids and the reaction of Syriac Christendom to the new religion of Islam is studied in the Second Chapter. John lived in the time of the translation movement, when Syriac Christianity contributed immensely to the growth of Arabic literature, but was itself still in the process of growing.
The Third Chapter aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of John, his life and work. It gathers the few pieces of information we have about him and gives an overview of his work. In particular the treatises preserved in Mardin 356 and in M, along with V are described. In order to get an impression of the richness of John’s work the titles and chapters of each treatise are listed in both Syriac and English. All these three manuscripts could be from the ninth or tenth century. The study shows that most of the other manuscripts containing John of Dara’s work are from the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century.
The introduction to the Fourth Chapter focuses on the editorial work of John’s four treatises on the resurrection and the renewal of the world, which can be found in at least eight manuscripts today, but until the end of the nineteenth century were transmitted only in two known manuscripts, M and V. As we will see, all the other manuscripts were copied from the manuscript in Mosul by the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century.
The edition and translation of the four treatises On Resurrection of Human Bodies and the Renewal of the World appear in the Fourth and Fifth Chapter. In the introduction to the edition the available manuscripts and their relationship to each other is discussed, and the method and the critical apparatus is explained. The translation aims to be reasonably close to the Syriac text. Consequently, at times this results in a somewhat awkward style of English.
The large Index at the end should be useful in searching for biblical references and authors, which John of Dara mentions or quotes. Extensive work was involved in identifying the references to the bible and to the previous authors. The long list in the biblical index is evidence of John of Dara’s detailed exegetical and patristic work.
Finally, the Bibliography lists the literature used alphabetically, including both primary and secondary sources.
2. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF S YRIAC CHRISTIANITY IN THE NINTH CENTURY
DARA: FROM VILLAGE TO METROPOLITAN SEE
John of Dara’s literary creativity and episcopacy was established in Dara in the 9th century. Dara is located between Mardin and Nisibis in the southeast of Turkey, and today is called Oğuz Until the beginning of the sixth century, Dara was a little village on the Eastern border of the Roman Empire. In 505 the emperor Anastasius I (491–518) rebuilt the village of Dara in great haste into a strategically significant east Roman fortress on the border with the Sassanid Empire, and therefore it was called Anastasioupolis. While the historical city Nisibis, located only 20 miles south-east of Dara, was the strategically important city of the Sassanid Empire, Dara was built to become a stronghold of the Romans. Both cities, Dara and Nisibis, symbolise the long division of Mesopotamia under different rulers. The Syriac Chronicle, attributed to Zacharias of Mitylene, devotes a whole chapter to Dara and describes how it was built in the days of the emperor Anastasius I. 1 Later, Emperor Justinian I (527–65) improved it and served as the eastern Roman military base until 639, when finally it was captured by the Arabs and lost its military significance permanently. 2
While Dara became an important city and had a large military population, it also became a Melkite metropolitan see with three suffragans: Rishayna, Randus and Nasala
1 Zacharias of Mytilene, Syriac Chronicle, Book VII, Chapter VI; English translation by F. J. Hamilton and E. W. Brooks (London 1899), 164–68. Another important primary source is Procopius, De Aedificiis, Book II, published in Loeb Classical Library (1940), 96–131. For studies on Dara see Brian Croke, James Crow: Procopius and Dara, JRS 73 (1983), p. 143–159. Italo Furlan, Accertamenti a Dara, Padua 1984; Michael Whitby, Procopius’ description of Dara (“Buildings” II 1 3), in: The defense of the Roman and Byzantine East. Proceedings of a colloquium held at the University of Sheffield in April 1986 (Oxford 1986), 737–783; Gunnar Brands, Ein Baukomplex in Dara Anastasiopolis, in: Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 47 (2004), 144–155.
2 For archaeological and ancient literary evidence for battles near Dara, see Ariel Lewin and Pietrina Pellegrine (Ed.), The Late Roman Army in the Near East from Diocletian to the Arab Conquest: Proceedings of a colloquium held at Potenza, Acerenza and Matera, Italy (Michigan 2007), 299–311.
for the Byzantine Church. 1 According to Zachara of Mitylene, Eutychianus became the first bishop of Dara in 506, but his successor was Thomas who rejected the Council of Chalcedon and was therefore deposed in 519. 2 In 553 bishop Stephanus took part in the Second Council of Constantinople and followed the Chalcedonian tradition. Later, however, after the city was captured by the Arabs, Dara became a bishopric of the West Syriac church and held its metropolitan rank probably until the eleventh century, 3 when Reshayna became a metropolitan see.
At the time of the Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar al Mansur (754–75), the West Syriac Patriarch George I was not recognised by the Caliph when he was elected in Mabbogh in 758. Instead he was imprisoned in Baghdad for nine years, from 766 until the death of al Mansur in 775. Two bishops disagreed with the election of Patriarch George I; one of them was David of Dara, and the other John of Qalliniqus (today Raqqa), 4 who was supported by the Caliph. According to Patriarch Aphrem I Barsoum, John of Qalliniqus became an anti-patriarch until his death in 763 and took his seat in the monastery of Zuqnin; then David of Dara became the anti-patriarch as he took over the Patriarchal See from 766 until 775. Thus, Dara must have played a major role, in that its bishops could be a rival to the Patriarchate of Antioch. However, only George I is recognised as the legitimate Patriarch in the Syriac tradition 5
For the time after David of Dara, Michael the Great’s chronicle provides a list of seven metropolitans, one bishop and two episcopi of Dara:
1. Patriarch Dionysius I of Tel Mahre (817–845) ordained Severus from the monastery of Qube (ܐܒܘܩܕ
) as Episcopos for Dara. 6
2. Patriarch Dionysius I also ordained the author of these treatises, namely Iwannis/John, who was from the Mor Hannany, as metropolitan for Dara. 7
1 Echos d’Orient X (1907), 145, Nr. 12: “Province de Dara, 3 évèchés: Théodosioupolis ou Résaina, Randos (?), Banasypsa ou Nassala”.
2 Zacharias of Mytilene, Syriac Chronicle, Book VII, Chapter VI; English translation by F. J. Hamilton and E. W. Brooks (London 1899), 164–68.
3 Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus (Paris 1740), vol. 2, coll. 997–8, and 1427–30; Raymond Janin, “Dara”, in: Dictionnaire d’Histoire et de Géographie ecclésias tiques, Vol. XIV (Paris 1960), 83–4.
4 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel le Syrien, vol. 3, 450; vol. 4, 753; nr. 16: ܝܓܪܘܐܓ
5 See Aphrem I. Barsaum, Geschichte der syrischen Wissenschaften und Literatur (translated from Arabic by G. Toro und A. Gorgis, Wiesbaden 2012), 286–87. With Patriarch George also the Melchite Patriarch and the East Syriac Catholicos were imprisoned.
6 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 453; vol. 4, 754; nr. 3:
7 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 454; vol. 4, 754; nr. 27:
3. Patriarch John III (846–73) ordained Athanasius Hakim as metropolitan for Dara. 1
4. Patriarch Theodosius Romanus (887–96) ordained Severus as Episcopos for Dara. 2
5. Patriarch Dionysius II (897–909) ordained Iwannis from the local monastery of St. John as metropolitan for Dara. 3
6. Patriarch John V (936–953) ordained Michael as metropolitan for Dara. 4
7. Patriarch John VI (965–985) ordained Ignatius from the convent of Qartmin as metropolitan for Dara. 5
8. Patriarch John VII (1004–1033) ordained John from the convent of Barid as metropolitan for Dara and Habora. 6
9. Patriarch John VII also ordained John from the monastery of Mor Abbay of Deqlath later as metropolitan for Dara. 7
10. Patriarch John IX ordained Ignatius from Qelat as [bishop] for Qelat and Dara. 8
Thus, judging by this list four things can be noticed: firstly, John of Dara’s predecessor was an episcopos as was the second bishop after John of Dara, and both were called Severus. Secondly, the last person on the list, Bishop Ignatius, is not provided with a title. Thirdly, Ignatius is also the only person mentioned here, who became a “bishop” for Qeleth and Dara. Since Qeleth is mentioned first and Dara second, this could simply imply Dara’s declining role in the eleventh century, at the time of Patriarch John IX (1063–1073). Already at the beginning of the eleventh century, at the time of Patriarch John VI (1004–1033), Dara is mentioned together with another city, namely Habora.
1 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 457; vol. 4, 756; nr. 64: ܪܛܝܡ ܡܝܟܚ ܘܝܣܐܢܐܬܐ
2 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 460; vol. 4, 757; nr. 29: ܐܪܕܠ
3 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 461; vol. 4, 758; nr. 43:
4 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 464; vol. 4, 760; nr. 46: ܐܬܢܝܕܡ ܐܪܕܠ
5 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 466; vol. 4, 760; nr. 18: ܐܪܕܠ
6 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 469; vol. 4, 762; nr. 22: ܐܪܕܠ
7 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 469; vol. 4, 762; nr. 26:
8 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 773; vol. 4, 764; nr. 1:
ܐܪܝܘܐܣ .ܛܟ
Furthermore, from the eighth to the tenth century there must have been a vital monastery in Dara, called the monastery of Mor Yohannun (John) of Qurdis. 1 In Appendix III of his chronicle, Michael Rabo lists at least six monks from the monastery of Mor Yohannun of Dara who were ordained as bishops for different dioceses between the eighth and the tenth century:
11. Patriarch Quriaqos of Tagrit (793–817) ordained Peter as Episcopos for Arzoun. 2
12. Patriarch Ignatius II (878–83) ordained Quriaqos as metropolitan for Edessa. 3
13. The same patriarch also ordained Mattai as metropolitan for Dara. 4
14. Patriarch Theodosius Romanus (887–96) ordained Gewargis as Episcopos for Circesium 5
15. Patriarch Dionysius II (897–909) ordained Quriaqos as Episcopos for Baalbek. 6
16. Patriarch Dionysius II also ordained Iwannis as metropolitan for Dara. 7
Thus, in the ninth century at the time of John of Dara, the metropolitan see must have been an influential and important bishopric of the West Syriac Church, and it remained so for a long time. Dara must have been well-known among West Syriac Christians, so that its name has been interpolated in some hagiographies, such as in the Vita of Mor Yoreth the Alexandrian 8 and Mor Benjamin the Eldest. 9 There were Christians in Dara
1 Ignatius Aphram I Barsoum, The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, trans. Matti Moosa (New Jersey 2003), 380.
2 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel le Syrien, vol. 3, 452; vol. 4, 754; nr. 60: ܝܦܐ
3 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 458; vol. 4, 756; nr. 4: ܢܡ ܝܗܪܘ�
4 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 459; vol. 4, 757; nr. 19: ܢܡ
5 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 459; vol. 4, 757; nr. 9: ܣܝܦܐ
6 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 460; vol. 4, 757; nr. 10: ܣܝܦܐ
7 J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michel, vol. 3, 461; vol. 4, 758; nr. 43:
8 Sister Hana Dogan from Mor Augin monastery in Switzerland typed this hagiography along with many others, all of which are not yet published. In chapter 8 of the Vita, Mor Yoreth expels demons from the stone-throwing woman:
9 Vita of Mor Benjamin:
until the middle of the twentieth century, 1 but they left as a result of the political situation. Consequently, there are no Christians in Dara today, but archaeological remains provide evidence of their previous existence. 2
THE POLITICAL SITUATION UNDER THE ABBASID EMPIRE
With the advent of the Arab rulers Syriac Christianity was subject to the rule of the Caliphate (632–661), Umayyads (661–750) and at the time of John of Dara to the Abbasids (750-1250). 3 The Abbasid tribe goes back to al-Abbas who was an uncle of Muhammad (d. 653). Therefore, the Abbasids claimed to be the true descendants of Muhammad. Consequently, the Abbasids were against the Umayyads, their cousins, and fought for imperial power until they succeeded in the Battle of the Great Zab River in 750. Abu al-Abbas (722–54) defeated and killed the last Umayyad Caliph, Marwan II. He slaughtered almost the whole Umayyad family 4 and became the first Abbasid Caliph. When the Omayyad Dynasty came to an end in Damascus in 750, the Abbasid Caliphate started in Baghdad and reigned until 1258.
The Abbasid Dynasty not only lasted the longest and had the most territory but was also the most influential Islamic Empire. This started particularly in 752, when
1 In the spring and summer of 1915 many Christians were killed in the Armenian genocide. See Raymond Kevorkian, The Armenian Genocide: a Complete History (London 2011), 364, 375, 378.
2 Andrew N. Palmer collected some of the discovered Greek and Syriac inscriptions of Dara and published them in his article, “Syriac Inscriptions of Quṣūr al-Banāt in the Tektek Dağları, Turkey”, in Martin Tamcke and Seven Grebenstein (eds.), Geschichte, Theologie und Kultur des syrischen Christentums: Beiträge zum 7. Deutschen Syrologie Symposium in Göttingen, Dezember 2011, GOF, I. Reihe: Syriaca 46 (Wiesbaden 2014), 209–290.
3 See Dietmar W. Winkler (ed.), Syriac Churches encountering Islam, Pro Oriente Studies in Syriac Tradition 1 (New Jersey 2010): Raphael Louis Sako, “Muslim-Christian dialogue in Syriac Sources” (6–13), Sidney Griffith, “The Syriac-Speaking Churches and the Muslims in the Medinan Era of Muhammad and the Four Caliphs” (14–46); Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, “The Syrian Churches during the Umayyad Era” (48–65); Dietmar W. Winkler, “Christian Responses to Islam in the Umayyad Period” (66–84); Bawai Soro, “The Contribution of Mesopotanian Christianity during the Abbasid Period” (86–109); Herman Teule, “The Interaction of Syriac Christianity and the Muslim world in the Period of the Syriac Renaissance” (110–28). Furthermore for Christians under the rule of Islam see also Harald Suermann, “Orientalische Christen und der Islam: Christliche Texte aus der Zeit von 632–750”, in: Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 67 (1983), 120–36; David Thomas, Syrian Christians under Islam: The first Thousand Years (Leiden 2001); Jan J. Ginkel and Helen Murre-van den Berg/Theo M. van Lint (eds.), Redefining Christian Identity: Cultural Interaction in the Middle East since the Rise of Islam, OLA 134 (Louvain 2005).
4 Abd al-Rahman I (731–88) survived, as he fled to Spain and established the Muslim dynasty in Cordoba. In 756 he proclaimed himself as the Emir of Cordoba; see Roger Collins, The Arab Conquest of Spain 710 797 (Oxford 1989), 87.
Caliph al-Mansur (754–775) followed his brother As-Saffah (750-754) and moved his imperial residence to Baghdad, a new city on the banks of the Tigris River, not far from Ctesiphon, the ancient Persian capital. Far away from Byzantine influence and from Damascus, a different multicultural society appeared among a demographically mixed population: Christian, Jews, Muslims; Aramaic-, Persian- and Arabic-speakers. These ethnically and religiously different groups contributed to the social, political and cultural activities in Baghdad and formed in one way or the other classical Islamic civilization. 1
Baghdad grew quickly and became an important city for culture, architecture, art and science. Within a few decades Baghdad became of great importance for literature, on the one hand through manufacturing paper easily, which they had learned from the Chinese; on the other hand for establishing the bayt al Hikma as an excellent intellectual academy and within it embracing knowledge of the other cultures. 2 It was the fifth Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who reigned from 786–809, who established the bayt al Hikma in Baghdad. In his time scientific and cultural knowledge flourished considerably, as did the economy. This was the beginning of the so-called Islamic Golden Age, which is attributed to the reign of Harun al-Rashid. Throughout the Islamic Golden Age the erudition and knowledge of many civilizations was preserved and developed further. As Gutas sees a paradox in the preservation of Greek heritage in Baghdad instead of in Damascus, he notes: “Much as the Umayyads had to rely on the local Byzantines and Christian Arabs in Damascus for their administration, so also did the early ‘Abbasids have to rely on the local Persians, Christian Arabs, and Arameans for theirs. The culture of these people in the employ of the ‘Abbasids, in contradistinction to the Christians of Damascus, was Hellenized without the animosity against the ethnic Greek learning evident in Orthodox Christian Byzantine circles. Hence the transfer of the caliphate from Damascus to central Iraq – i.e. from a Greek-speaking to a non-Greekspeaking area – had the paradoxical consequence of allowing the preservation of the classical Greek heritage which the Byzantines had all but extirpated.” 3
John of Dara must have been aware of this prosperous time of Arabic culture, but also of the conflict that started in the Caliph’s family at the beginning of the ninth century. It was in John of Dara’s time when the old Sassanid city Sumra 4 was established as a new capital city by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutasim in 836, and it was called Samara and remained a capital residence until 892. 5 Although Baghdad suffered severe damage due to the ongoing war between the two brothers, al-Amen (809–13) and al-Mamun
1 Dimitri Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbasid Society (2nd 4th/8th 10th centuries) (London 1998), 19.
2 Dimitri Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture; De Lacy O’Leary, How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs (London 1979); Franz Rosenthal, The Classical Heritage in Islam (London 1975).
3 Dimitri Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture, 19–20.
4 Sumra is mentioned by Michael the Syrian, J.-B. Chabot, Chronique de Michael le Syrien, vol. 3 (Paris 1905), 88.
5 Chase Robinson (ed.), A Medieval Islamic City Reconsidered: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Samarra (Oxford 2001).
(813–33), it still remained influential in the development of Arabic literature. The population of the imperial city grew more than that of all other cities, probably between a quarter and a half million, suggests Joel L. Kraemer. 1 Baghdad remained as a capital city and as a city of knowledge and kept its famous reputation as the ‘Madinatal-Salam’, the City of peace for a long time, until it was taken by the Mongols in 1258.
Particularly this first part of the Abbasid period, the golden Age of Islam, contributed significantly to the growth of Arabic culture and literature. Despite the active involvement of Syriac Christians in translating philosophical, medical and scientific texts from Greek and Syriac into Arabic, the Abbasid Dynasty brought for them a paradigm shift: the Arab empire became an Islamic empire. Hugh Kennedy states that “the early ‘Abbasid state was essentially a Muslim state, rather than a purely Arab or Persian one.” 2 The Chaldean bishop Mar Bawai Soro considers the increase of Islamic rules in public policy to have had a great impact on the Christians: “It was under public policy that the Christians began to feel the weight of persecution and humiliation, especially in the ninth century when the dynasty was already firmly established in Baghdad. And still, under the Abbasids, we see Christians being employed as physicians, even as members of the court and also being instrumental in the translation process of many works of Greek thought and knowledge.” 3
Although the beginning of the Abbasid dynasty was fruitful and lead to cultural and literary exchange between Christians and Muslims, but also between Jews and Muslims, at the end of the first Millennium a decline in Christianity started when a stricter interpretation of Islam appeared and reduced freedom of thought and expression.
With the dhimmi-status the Christians, along with the Jews, were under protection. But already this implied a difference in their social and legal status. For instance, Christians could not convert Muslims to Christianity anymore, but conversion became only possible from Christianity or other religions into Islam, such as the converstion of Ali at-Tabari (d. 855). Already in the middle of the seventh century, the East Syrian catholicos Ishoyahb (d. 659) speaks of conversion to Islam in his Letter 14C to Simeon, the metropolitan bishop of Rev Ardashir, followed two decades later by the Apocalypse of Pseudo Methodius und later by Jacob of Edessa (d. 708) and his correspondence with Joshua the Stylite of Zuqnin. Half a century later, the anonymous Chronicle of Zuqnin
1 Joel L. Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The Cultural Revival during the Buyid Age (Leiden 1992), 47. Kraemer notes that the highest estimate with 1.5 million is that of A. A. Duri, “Baghdad”, EI , I, 899; wheras the lowest is that of J. Lassner, “Massignon and Abaghdad; the complexities of growth in an imperial city,” JESHO 9 (1966), 8, 10.
2 Hugh Kennedy, The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: the Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century (London/New York 1986), 135.
3 Mar Bawai Soro, “The Contribution of Mesopotamian Christianity during the Abbasid Period”, 87.
devotes the last six folios to the topic of conversion, where the author laments the conversion of Christian elders and sometimes entire communities to Islam. 1
THE REACTION OF SYRIAC CHRISTIANS TO ISLAM
Under the Abbasid rulers, historians notice a crucial change in the Christian communities. Sidney H. Griffith states: “And so it was that by the middle of the eighth century historical circumstances began to favour the efforts of the Christian communities to enculturate themselves into the world of Islam.” 2 This implies the adoption of the Arabic language, starting first in the Melkite Church with its centre in Jerusalem, and then followed by the West and East Syriac Christians in the eighth century, as well as by the Copts in Egypt in the ninth century. 3 As a result of inculturation the Christians did not just translate ancient texts into Arabic, but also started creating and composing Christian Arabic literature. 4
Language and confession were two main significant factors to distinguish the Syrian Orthodox community from the other communities. From the ninth century onwards Arabic was used gradually, but this did not lead to a loss of identity. But changing one’s confession was a determination of “nationality”, as Witold Witakowski writes. 5 Probably until the time of John of Dara the Syriac language was the most dominant among the Syrian Orthodox Christians. Witold Witakowski says: “So far language is concerned we may surmise that in the second century of Hejira most of the Jacobites still spoke Syriac. There is evidence that high Jacobite churchmen had to resort to interpreters when contact with Muslim authorities was necessary”. 6 With reference to Griffith, Witakowski emphasises that the theologian and apologist Abu Raita al-Takriti
1 Michael Philip Penn, Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World (Philadelphia 2015), 167–79.
2 Sidney H. Griffith, “Answering the Call of the Minaret: The Topics and Strategies of Christian Apologetics in the World of Islam”, in: Martin Tamcke/Andreas Heinz (eds.), Die Suryoye und ihre Umwelt: 4. Deutsches Syrologen Symposium in Trier 2004 Festgabe Wolfgang Hage zum 70. Geburtstag (Münster 2005), 11–42, see page 14–15.
3 See Sidney H. Griffith, “Answering the Call of the Minaret”, 14–15; see also Khalil Samir, “Arabic Sources for Early Egyptian Christianity”, in Birger A. Pearson/James E. Goehring (eds.), The Roots of Egyptian Christianity (Philadelphia 1986), 82–97; Samuel Rubenson, “Translating the Tradition: Some Remarks on the Arabization of the Patristic Heritage in Egypt”, Medieval Encounters 2 (1996), 4–14. For the Copts see Harald Suermann, “Copts and the Islam of the Seventh Century”, in: Emmanouela Grypeou/Mark N. Swanson/David Thomas (eds.), The Encounter of Eastern Christianity with Early Islam (The History of Christian-Muslim Relation 5; Leiden 2006), 95–110.
4 Sidney H. Griffith, “The Monks of Palestine and the Growth of Christian Literature in Arabic”, The Muslim World 78 (1988), 1–28.
5 Witold Witakowski, The Syriac Chronicle of PseudoDionysius of Tel Mahre: A Study in the Histo ry of Historiography (Uppsala 1987), 48.
6 Witold Witakowski, The Syriac Chronicle of PseudoDionysius of Tel Mahre, 47–48.
