School of Seleucia-Ctesiphon

Last updated

The School of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (sometimes School of Seleucia) was a theological school of the Church of the East located in the western half of the city of Seleucia-Ctesiphon on the right bank of the Tigris. It was an independent Christian school, not attached to any particular church or monastery. [1]

Contents

The origins of the school are unclear. The Patriarch Acacius (485–495/6) taught in Seleucia-Ctesiphon after leaving the School of Edessa and this has been taken as evidence for the school existing in the late 5th century. According to the foundation legend found in the Chronicle of Siirt , the Patriarch Aba I (540–552) defeated a Zoroastrian adversary in a debate and founded the school at that very spot. This, however, is not mentioned in Aba's earlier and more reliable biography. [1] A fragment of Barḥadbshabba's On the Cause of the Foundation of the Schools also ascribes the founding of the school to Aba I. [2] The historian Jean Maurice Fiey concluded that the school of Acacius was re-founded under Aba. The Chronicle of Siirt states that it was restored and rebuilt under the Patriarch Ezekiel (567–581). It was certainly in existence by that time. Its early prestige can be judged by the fact that its headmaster or director, Ishai at the time, took part in the selection of a new patriarch. [1]

Between 596 and 602, the Roman emperor Maurice sent Maruta, bishop of Chalcedon, as ambassador to the Sasanian king Khosrau II. The ambassador listened to lectures at the school, gave gifts to the students and was received directions for his return journey from the headmaster, Bokhtisho . The school appears to have been at the centre of the Christian community in the Sasanian capital if it could host a visiting Roman dignitary. [1]

There was some exchange of personnel and texts between the School of Seleucia and the older School of Nisibis. [1] [3] According to the Chronicle of Siirt, Aba studied at Nisibis before founding the school in Seleucia. Gregory of Kashkar, who became archbishop of Nisibis (c.596) after studying there, originally studied the Psalms at Seleucia. [1] The Patriarch Ishoyahb III (649–659) studied at Nisibis and tried to move part of the School of Seleucia to the Monastery of Beth Abe, probably to protect it after the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the Arabs. [4]

In the late 7th and early 8th century, Gabriel Arya of Beth Qatraye taught at Seleucia. Among his students were the future patriarchs Hnanisho I (686–700) and Aba II (742–753). Gabriel is known to have written biblical commentaries and Aba II works of philosophy. The latter had a dispute with his clergy over the running of the school. [1]

Famous teachers and alumni

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Becker 2006, pp. 157–159.
  2. 1 2 Becker 2008, pp. 161–162.
  3. 1 2 Becker 2006, p. 102.
  4. ↑ Becker 2006, p. 169.
  5. ↑ Van Rompay 2011.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School of Nisibis</span>

The School of Nisibis 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.

Barsauma, nicknamed Bar Sawma, "son of the Lent" in Syriac, was Metropolitan of Nisibis in the 5th century, and a major figure in the history of the Church of the East. Under his leadership the church moved away from Roman loyalties and became increasingly aligned with the Nestorian movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aba I</span> 6th-century Patriarch of the Church of the East

Aba I or Mar Abba the Great was the Patriarch of the Church of the East at Seleucia-Ctesiphon from 540 to 552. He introduced to the church the anaphoras of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius beside the more ancient liturgical rite of Addai and Mari. Though his tenure as catholicos saw Christians in the region threatened during the Persian-Roman wars and attempts by both Sassanid Persian and Byzantine rulers to interfere with the governance of the church, his reign is reckoned a period of consolidation, and a synod he held in 544 as instrumental in unifying and strengthening the church. In 544, the Synod of Mar Aba I adopted the ordinances of the Council of Chalcedon. He is thought to have written and translated a number of religious works. After his death in February 552, the faithful carried his casket from his simple home across the Tigris to the monastery of Mar Pithyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dioceses of the Church of the East to 1318</span>

At the height of its power, in the 10th century AD, the dioceses of the Church of the East numbered well over a hundred and stretched from Egypt to China. These dioceses were organised into six interior provinces in Mesopotamia, in the Church's Iraqi heartland, and a dozen or more second-rank exterior provinces. Most of the exterior provinces were located in Iran, Central Asia, India and China, testifying to the Church's remarkable eastern expansion in the Middle Ages. A number of East Syriac dioceses were also established in the towns of the eastern Mediterranean, in Palestine, Syria, Cilicia and Egypt.

The Metropolitanate of Maishan or Maysan was an East Syriac metropolitan province of the Church of the East between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. The historical region of Maishan or Maysan is situated in southern Iran. The metropolitans of Maishan sat at Prath d'Maishan, and for most of its history the province had three suffragan dioceses, at Karka d'Maishan, Rima and Nahargur. The last metropolitan of Maishan, the noted East Syriac author Shlemun (Solomon) of Basra, is attested in 1222, and it is not clear when the province ceased to exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Garmaï (East Syriac ecclesiastical province)</span>

Metropolitanate of Beth Garmai was an East Syriac metropolitan province of the Church of the East between the fifth and fourteenth centuries. The region of Beth Garmai is situated in northern Iraq, bounded by the Little Zab and Diyala Rivers and centered on the town of Karka d'Beth Slokh. Several bishops and metropolitans of Beth Garmaï are mentioned between the fourth and fourteenth centuries, residing first at Shahrgard, then at Karka d'Beth Slokh, later at Shahrzur and finally at Daquqa. The known suffragan dioceses of the metropolitan province of Beth Garmaï included Shahrgard, Lashom (ܠܫܘܡ), Khanijar, Mahoze d'Arewan, Radani, Hrbath Glal (ܚܪܒܬܓܠܠ), Tahal and Shahrzur. The suffragan dioceses of 'Darabad' and 'al-Qabba', mentioned respectively by Eliya of Damascus and Mari, are probably to be identified with one or more of these known dioceses. The diocese of Gawkaï, attested in the eighth and ninth centuries, may also have been a suffragan diocese of the province of Beth Garmaï. The last known metropolitan of Beth Garmaï is attested in the thirteenth century, and the last known bishop in 1318, though the historian ʿAmr continued to describe Beth Garmai as a metropolitan province as late as 1348. It is not clear when the province ceased to exist, but the campaigns of Timur Leng between 1390 and 1405 offer a reasonable context.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon</span>

The Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was an ecclesiastical province of the Church of the East, with see in Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It was attested between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. As its name entails, it was the province of the patriarch of the Church of the East. The province consisted of a number of dioceses in the region of Beth Aramaye, between Basra and Kirkuk, which were placed under the patriarch's direct supervision at the synod of Yahballaha I in 420.

Beth Huzaye or ʿIlam was an East Syriac metropolitan province of the Church of the East, between the fifth and fourteenth centuries. The metropolitan bishops of Beth Huzaye sat at Beth Lapat (Jundishapur). The metropolitan province of Beth Huzaye had a number of suffragan dioceses at different periods in its history, including Karka d'Ledan, Hormizd Ardashir, Shushter, Susa, Ispahan, Mihraganqadaq and Ram Hormizd. The diocese of Shahpur Khwast may also have been a suffragan diocese of the province of Beth Huzaye.

Diocese of Kashkar, sometimes called Kaskar, was the senior diocese in the Church of the East's Province of the Patriarch. It see was in the city of Kashkar. The diocese is attested between the fourth and the twelfth centuries. The bishops of Kashkar had the privilege of guarding the patriarchal throne during the interregnum between the death of a patriarch and the appointment of his successor. As a result, they are often mentioned by name in the standard histories of the Nestorian patriarchs, so that a relatively full list of the bishops of the diocese has survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriarch of the Church of the East</span> Supreme head of the Church of the East

The Patriarch of the Church of the East is the patriarch, or leader and head bishop of the Church of the East. The position dates to the early centuries of Christianity within the Sassanid Empire, and the Church has been known by a variety of names, including the Church of the East, Nestorian Church, the Persian Church, the Sassanid Church, or East Syrian.

Ḥnanishoʿ I, called Ḥnanishoʿ the Exegete, was patriarch of the Church of the East between 686 and 698. His name means 'mercy of Jesus'. Hnanishoʿ offended the caliph ʿAbd al-Malik with a tactless remark about Islam, which gave his enemies the opportunity to dethrone him in 691. He spent the next two years of his reign either in prison or, after surviving a murder attempt, in hiding, while the throne of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was occupied by the anti-patriarch Yohannan Garba. He was restored in 693, after Yohannan's disgrace and death. After his death he was rehabilitated by his successor Sliba-zkha.

Aba II was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 741 to 751. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.

Acacius was Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Patriarch of the Church of the East from 485 to 496. His tenure was marked by internal christological and ecclesiological disputes. He struggled to prevent the Church of the East from aligning itself with the 'Nestorian' doctrine espoused by the metropolitan Barsauma of Nisibis. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.

Gregory of Prat was patriarch of the Church of the East from 605 to 609. His name is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.

Ahudemmeh was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 559 until his execution in 575. He was known as the Apostle of the Arabs, and is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church.

George of Arbela was an East Syriac churchman and author who served as the metropolitan of Mosul and Erbil (Arbela) from c. 960 until after 987.

Cyrus of Edessa was a Syriac writer and teacher in the Church of the East. He was probably a native of Edessa. He studied at the school of Nisibis under Aba, the future patriarch, and then taught at the school of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, eventually rising to become its headmaster. He founded a monastery at Ḥirta sometime after the death of Aba (552).

Thomas of Edessa was a theologian of the Church of the East who wrote several works in Syriac, most of them lost.

Gregory of Kashkar was the bishop of Kashkar and then from about 596 the metropolitan of Nisibis in the Church of the East. His hagiography treats him as a pivotal figure in the preservation of the church's distinctive theology.

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.