Melkite Chronicle

Last updated

The Melkite Chronicle or Chronicle of 641 is an anonymous world chronicle written in Syriac shortly after the death of the Emperor Heraclius in 641. [1] [2]

The chronicle is preserved in a single copy in the 8th- or 9th-century manuscript codex Sinai syr. 10 at folios 42–53. [1] The codex also contains anti-Miaphysite polemics. [3] The copy of the chronicle is damaged and not complete in its present state. [4] André de Halleux argued that it is an epitome of a longer work written between 641 and 680, likely in 642. It has also been suggested that the longer original was written in the late 6th century and the epitomized and extended with a brief record of imperial reigns down to 641. [5]

The chronicle was the work of a Chalcedonian cleric in Syria. [1] [4] Although usually labelled Melkite, this is something of a misnomer, since this terminology did not come into use until after the Third Council of Constantinople (680/681). [5] The anonymous author did not use the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea. [6] He did, however, use a now lost Miaphysite source also used by two Miaphysite Syriac chronicles: the Chronicle of 819 and the Chronicle of 846 . [1] [4] He also made use of the historical compilation of Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor. [7]

The chronicle begins with Adam and continues down to the death of Heraclius. [1] For the early period it borrows its chronology from the Hebrew Bible. For the Christian era, it lists the holders of the patriarchal sees. [6] It offers a Chalcedonian account of the ecumenical councils and contains denunciations of the errors of Arius and Nestorius. [3] From the time of Nestorius, it gets more detailed. [6] It is most valuable for its coverage of the church in the 6th century. [1] It contains unique Syriac accounts of the synods of 536, 553 and 571 in Constantinople. [8] The acts of the poorly known council of 571 are lost and the Melkite Chronicle provides information not found elsewhere. [5] [9] Its most detailed coverage concerns Philoxenus of Mabbugh, Severus of Antioch and, to a lesser extent, Timothy Aelurus, all of whom are accused of error and lust for power. [3] [4]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brock 1979–80, p. 7.
  2. ↑ Witakowski 2011 has it "composed after 638".
  3. 1 2 3 Palmer 1993, p. 28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ginkel 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Palmer 1993, p. 27.
  6. 1 2 3 Witakowski 2011.
  7. ↑ Allen 1980, p. 473.
  8. ↑ Kaufhold 2012, p. 223.
  9. ↑ Halleux 1977.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, or Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an Oriental Orthodox Church tracing its origin‎ to Antioch by Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the 1st century.

The Syriac Orthodox Church, or Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, or informally the Jacobite Church and historically the Assyrian Apostolic Church, is an Oriental Orthodox church branched from the Church of Antioch. The Bishop of Antioch, known as the Patriarch, heads the church, claiming apostolic succession through Saint Peter in the c. 1st century, according to sacred tradition. In 512, Flavian II, Patriarch of Antioch, was deposed by Byzantine emperor Anastasius I, and a synod was held at Laodicea in Syria to elect a successor. Severus the Great was elected on 6 November and consecrated at the Great Church of Antioch on 16 November. The autocephalous patriarchate was established in Antioch by Severus the Great in the c. 6th century and was organized by Jacob Baradaeus in rejection of Dyophysitism.

John of Ephesus was a leader of the early Syriac Orthodox Church in the sixth century and one of the earliest and the most important historians to write in Syriac.

The School of Nisibis, for a time absorbed into the School of Edessa, was an educational establishment in Nisibis. It was an important spiritual centre of the early Church of the East, and like the Academy of Gondishapur, it is sometimes referred to as the world's first university. The school had three primary departments teaching: theology, philosophy and medicine. Its most famous teacher was Narsai, formerly head of the School of Edessa.

Syriac Christianity Form of Eastern Christianity

Syriac Christianity is the form of Eastern Christianity whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgy are expressed in the Syriac language, which, along with Latin and Greek, was one of "the three most important Christian languages in the early centuries" of the Common Era.

Melkite Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite

The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root M-L-K, meaning "royal", and by extension "imperial" or loyal to the Byzantine Emperor. The Melkites accepted the Council of Chalcedon. Originally they used Greek and, to a lesser extent, Aramaic in worship, but later incorporated Arabic in parts of their liturgy.

Maphrian is the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, right below that of patriarch. The office of a maphrian is an maphrianate. There have been three maphrianates in the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church and one, briefly, in the Syriac Catholic Church.

John III of the Sedre was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 631 until his death in 648. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 14 December.

Michael the Syrian ,(Classical Syriac: ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ‎, romanized: Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as the author of the largest medieval Chronicle, which he composed in Syriac. Various other materials written in his own hand have survived.

Christian Palestinian Aramaic was a Western Aramaic dialect used by the Melkite Christian community in Palestine and Transjordan between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. It is preserved in inscriptions, manuscripts and amulets. All the medieval Western Aramaic dialects are defined by religious community. CPA is closely related to its counterparts, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (JPA) and Samaritan Aramaic (SA).

Quriaqos of Tagrit was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, from 793 until his death in 817. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Martyrology of Rabban Sliba, and his feast day is 13 or 16 August.

Paul II the Black, also known as Paul of Bēth Ukkāme, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from c. 551 or 564 to his deposition in 578. He succeeded Sergius of Tella as the spiritual leader of the Syrian non-Chalcedonians, in opposition to the Chalcedonian Imperial Church, and led the nascent Syriac Orthodox Church as it endured division and persecution.

Peter III of Callinicum was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 581 until his death in 591. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Martyrology of Rabban Sliba, and his feast day is 22 April.

Oriental Orthodox Churches Branch of Eastern Christianity

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a group of Christian churches adhering to miaphysite Christology and theology and have about 60 million members worldwide.

Elias I of Antioch was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 709 until his death in 723. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Martyrology of Rabban Sliba, and his feast day is 3 November.

Athanasius I Gammolo was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 594/595 or 603 until his death in 631. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Martyrology of Rabban Sliba, and his feast day is 3 January.

Julian II, also known as Julian the Roman or Julian the Soldier, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 687 until his death in 708.

The Chronicle of 846 is a fragmentary universal chronicle written in Syriac by an anonymous author sometime between 846 and 873. Its focus for the later centuries, where it is most valuable, is ecclesiastical history. It is written from a Syriac Orthodox perspective.

The Chronicle of 819, also called the Chronicle of Qarṭmin, is a chronological table of important events and people from the birth of Jesus down to the year AD 819 written in Syriac by an anonymous Miaphysite monk from the monastery of Qarṭmin. It contains lists of the Abbasid caliphs for 785–813 and the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs for 788–819.

Athanasius III was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 724 until his death in 739/740.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.