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Tales of King Abgar: a Basis to Investigate Earliest Syrian Christian Syncretism

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Tales of King Abgar: a Basis to Investigate Earliest Syrian Christian Syncretism Tales of King Abgar: A Basis to Investigate Earliest Syrian Christian Syncretism Emran El-Badawi§ Introduction Although king Abgar V is known and celebrated as the first Christian king, little attention has been paid to how this giant of history has functioned as a literary bridge between paganism and Christianity in Syria. By sifting through sources remarking on Abgar, especially the Doctrine of Addai, we learn about the earliest history of Syrian Christianity and religious syncretism with earlier paganism. Furthermore the role of Urhai as a semi-autonomous city-state and as an ethnic crossroads plays an important role to this end as well, as it accommodates freer Christian development, with its many beliefs and practices more discernable to study. Edessa, an ancient crossroads of different cultures, and more importantly, the birthplace of Christianity in “the East,” remains—alas—an obscurity. In particular, as pertains to this study, the relationship between Edessa and Christianity up until approximately the first two-hundred and thirty years after the Common Era1 is, by and large, unresolved.2 That is to say that scholars of the field have naturally remained, and still remain, concerned with Syrian Christianity’s origins, and have published a moderate amount of literature to this end.3 But this task is severely hampered by the sheer poverty of primary sources. Furthermore deducing the original language of a textual tradition, whether it is Syriac, Greek, or both,4 adds to the challenge. What is more, scholarly § Mr. Emran El-Badawi is a Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, from the University of Chicago. He has an M.A. in Religion from Temple University, Philadelphia, and a B.A. in Religion and Computer Science from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 1 This timeframe has been chosen to parallel, as best as possible, Bardaisan’s death and subsequent diminishing of “earliest Syrian Christianity,” before it is notably Chalcedonized by Ephrem Syrus (c.306-373) in the fourth century. Edessa also comes within the fold of the Roman Empire in 214 C.E. 2 Bauer, Walter. Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971),44. <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/publics/new/BAUER00.htm> 3 Burkitt, F. C. Early Christianity Outside the Roman Empire: Two Lectures Delivered at Trinity College, Dublin (Glasgow: Cambridge University Press, 1899), 3-5, 26. I must agree with the late F.C. Burkitt, when he asserts that the very study of Jesus Christ should be principally employed via the study of Semitic tradition (principally Aramaic-Syriac). He also underscores the stability of Semitic language as opposed to Greek, and further emphasizes the difference between this and Greek civilization, which later came to dominate the landscape. 2 Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. 20, no. 2, 2006 disagreement regarding this field is widespread and can be dreadfully problematic.5 The oldest known Edessan church building that we know of was destroyed by the flood of 201 C.E.6 In addition the scarcity of sources before 70 C.E., is customarily blamed on the “great catastrophe of the Jewish war…sack of Jerusalem…[and separation] of Church and Synagogue.”7 The scarcity thereafter until about the 5th century remains far more puzzling. The task at hand therefore is most challenging but duly imperative to the study of Christian origins, Classical Near Eastern history, and religious dialogue. Indeed this study is of particularly great value, not simply because it constitutes an additional examination of Christian origins, but in truth because of the rarity of its kind and its challenge in scrutinizing a groundbreaking field. It is furthermore absolutely essential that we acknowledge the blended Semitic, and Greek elements involved in texts reflecting the Christianization of Syria— Harnack provides a helpful background to work with.8 As such, a great deal of 4 Drijvers, H. J. W. East of Antioch: Studies in Early Syriac Christianity (London: Variorum Reprints, 1984), 3. Dr. Drijvers is not unique in purporting that many Syrian texts of antiquity were simultaneously written in both Syriac and Greek, only he asserts that this textual duality does not matter much. 5 Cureton, William. Ancient Syriac Documents relative to the earliest Establishment of Christianity in Edessa and the neighbouring Countries (London, 1864; reprint, Amsterdam: Oriental Press, 1967), 162; Drijvers, H. J. W. Bardaisan of Edessa, English translation by G. E. van Baaren-Pape (Assen, Netherlands: Royal von Gorcum Ltd, 1966), 1-59; Murray, Robert. Symbols of Church and Kingdom: A Study in Early Syriac Tradition (London: Cambridge University Press, 1975), 5-8. 6 von Harnack, Adolph. The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries (translated by James Moffat): vol. I-IV (London and New York: Williams and Norgate, Putnam’s Sons, 1908), 4:2. 7 Burkitt, 5. 8 von Harnack, 4:3:3. “The Apology of pseudo-Melito …composed about the beginning of the third century, was probably written in Syriac originally (and in Coele-Syria), but it is the only Syriac writing which can be named in this connection Investigations into the Acts of Thomas have not yet advanced far enough. The great probability is, however, that they were composed in Syriac, and that they belong to Edessa — in fact, to the circle of that great Eastern missionary and teacher, Bardesanes; …and Burkitt in the Journal of Theological Studies .... The Syriac version of the gospels also belongs to Edessa, rather than to Western Syria. The gnostic Saturninus (Satornil) also belonged to Antioch …and other Gnostic sects and schools (Ophites, etc.) originated in Syria. Their language was Greek, but interspersed with many Semitic loan-words….According to reliable traditions, the first catholic bishop of Edessa was ordained by Serapion, the bishop of Antioch.…Outside the gates of Antioch, that “fair city of the Greeks” … Syriac was the language of the people; in fact, it was spoken by the lower classes in Antioch itself …, and only in the upper classes of the Greek towns was it displaced by Greek. The Syriac spirit was wedded to Greek, however, even here, and remained the predominant factor in religious and in social life, although at first and indeed for long it did not look as if it would. Yet in this Syrian world, Christianity operated from Edessa rather than from Tales of King Abgar: A Basis to Investigate Earliest Syrian Christian Syncretism 3 rummaging through sources and general investigative-work has been put forth. Having said this, it is with both hope and meticulousness that Syrian Christianity, in its earliest form(s), will be explored in light of the historical and religious character of king Abgar V of Edessa (Appendix 1). Abgar: Sifted from the Sources From amongst all the Syriac manuscripts of the first two and a half centuries of the Common Era, in addition to the later 5th-7th century translations thereof, Abgar V is mentioned only in a few. Amongst the relevant sources are: the Doctrine of Addai,9 both the apostle Addai’s address to king Abgar and his address to the city of Edessa; Eusebius of Caesarea’s (c.260-339)10 History of the Antioch, unless we are wholly mistaken. The wide territory lying between these cities was consequently evangelized from two centers during the third century; from Antioch in the West by means of a Greek Christian propaganda, and from Edessa in the East by means of one which was Syro-Christian. The inference is that the larger towns practically adopted the former, while the country towns and villages went over to the latter. At the same time there was also a Western Syrian movement of Christianity, though it did not amount to much, both in and after the days of Paul of Samosata and Zenobia…. “The relations between the Greeks and the older population of Syria may be inferred clearly from the local terminology. The majority of the towns and districts bore Greek names, mainly derived, as we have seen, from Macedonia-e.g., Pieria, Anthemusias, Arethusa, Berœa, Chalcis, Edessa, Europos, Cyrrhus, Larissa and Pella. Others were called after Alexander or some member of the Seleucid house-e.g., Alexandria, Antioch, Seleucis and Seleucia, Apameia, Laodicea, Epiphaneia. The old native names kept their place indeed, as in the case of Berœa (formerly Chalep in Aramaic, or Chalybon), Edessa or Hierapolis (previously Mabbug or Bambyce), and Epiphania (previously Hamath or Amathe); but the newer names mostly displaced the old, and only a few districts (e.g., Commagene, Samosata, etc.) did without new Greek names.”… The peculiarity of the Antiochene (upper) bishop in early days was that his interest in missions, extending as far as Mesopotamia, was confined to the spread of a Greek Christianity; he did little for the establishment of a national Syrian church. This was where Edessa came in. But I think it too much to say, with Burkitt…that “the church of Antioch was, so far as we know, wholly Greek.” The country districts, where there was a Semitic-speaking population, seem to have remained unevangelized. Where the Jews had settled, the new Jewish heresy followed, but the country-side remained pagan.” See also von Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three, 4:3:5. 9 Griffith, Sidney H. “The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century.” Hogoye Journal of Syriac Studies 6.2 (2003). <http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/HV6N2Griffith.html> This manuscript is originally called “malpanuta d’aday shlikha,” and is presently also called the St. Petersburg manuscript. 10 This document is included as Eusebius attempts to reproduce an older version of the original text, though he does make some personally-biased editions.
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