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116-685: The East Syriac Rite originated in Edessa , Mesopotamia , and was historically used in the Church of the East —the largest branch of Christianity operating primarily east of the Roman Empire —, with pockets of adherents as far as South India , Central and Inner Asia , and a strong presence in the Sasanian (Persian) Empire . The Church of the East traces its origins to the 1st century, when Saint Thomas

232-514: A governor of the rank of praeses , and it was also the seat of the dux Mesopotamiae , who ranked as vir illustris and commanded (c. 400) the following army units: as well as, 'on the minor roll', apparently auxiliaries: According to Sozomen 's Ecclesiastical History , "there were some very learned men who formerly flourished in Osroene, as for instance Bardaisan , who devised a heresy designated by his name, and his son Harmonius . It

348-527: A Christian. It was around 200 CE that Abgar IX adopted Christianity, thus enabling Edessa to become the first Christian state in history whose ruler was officially and openly a Christian. The fame of Edessa in history rests, however, mainly on its claim to have been the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its official religion. According to the legend current for centuries throughout the civilized world, Abgar Ukkama wrote to Jesus, inviting him to visit him at Edessa to heal him from sickness. In return he received

464-769: A belief in Penance as a Sacrament among the ancient Nestorians or for the practice of auricular confession among the Malabar Nestorians are not conclusive. The Chaldeans have a similar form to that of the Roman Rite. The Assyrian Church of the East omits Matrimony from the list, and make up the number of the mysteries to seven by including the Holy Leaven and the Sign of the Cross , but they are now rather vague about

580-473: A church at Edessa in 201. It is testimony to the personality of Abgar the Great that he is credited by tradition with a leading role in the evangelization of Edessa. Modern scholars have taken basically two very different approaches to this legend (which obviously reflects the general search for apostolic origins, characteristics of the fourth century). Some would dismiss it totally, while others prefer to see it as

696-572: A letter to a priest Thomas comparing the Syriac Liturgy with that of Egypt. This letter is an exceedingly valuable and really critical discussion of the rite. A number of later Syriac writers followed James of Edessa. On the whole this church produced the first scientific students of liturgy. Benjamin of Edessa (period unknown), Lazarus bar Sabhetha of Bagdad (ninth century), Moses bar Kephas of Mosul (d. 903), Dionysius bar Salibi of Amida (d. 1171) wrote valuable commentaries on this Rite. In

812-541: A name which can be defended on archaeological grounds. Brightman, in his "Liturgies Eastern and Western", includes Chaldean and Malabar Catholics and Assyrians under "Persian Rite". The catalogue of liturgies in the British Museum has adopted the usual Roman Catholic nomenclature: Most printed liturgies of those rites are Eastern Rite Catholic. The language of all three forms of the East Syriac Rite

928-459: A province , but it was briefly reestablished during the reign of Roman emperor Gordianus III (238–244). Christianity came early to Osroene. From 318, Osroene was a part of the Diocese of the East . By the 5th century, Edessa had become a main center of Syriac literature and learning. In 608, the Sasanian emperor, Khosrow II ( r.   590–628), took Osroene. It was briefly reconquered by

1044-561: A retrojection into the first century of the conversion of the local king at the end of the second century. In other words, Abgar (V) the Black of the legend in fact represents Abgar (VIII) the Great (c. 177-212), contemporary of Badaisan. Attractive though this second approach might seem, there are serious objections to it, and the various small supportive evidence that Abgar (VIII) the Great became Christian disappears on closer examination. More significant than Bardaisan's conversion to Christianity

1160-552: A shortened form of the same. This is the one commonly used today. Then: Brightman (pp. lviii–lix) mentions 64 liturgies as known, at least by name. Notes of this many of anaphoras will be found after each in Renaudot. In most cases all he can say is that he knows nothing of the real author; often the names affixed are otherwise unknown. Many anaphoras are obviously quite late, inflated with long prayers and rhetorical, expressions, many contain miaphysite ideas, some are insufficient at

1276-921: A small community of around 50,000 people in the Hakkari Mountains under the headship of the Shimun line. A small group of Indians eventually rejoined the Assyrian Church of the East, forming the Chaldean Syrian Church in the 1900s, although the main body of the Malabar Christians remained as the Syro-Malabar Church . A large group joined the Oriental Orthodox West Syriac rite churches in their own set of schisms. Additionally,

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1392-406: Is a selection of from four to seven psalms, varying with the day of the week, and also a Shuraya, or short psalm, with generally a portion of Ps. cxviii, varying with the day of the fortnight. At the morning service the invariable psalms are cix, xc, ciii (1–6), cxii, xcii, cxlviii, cl, cxvi. On ferias and "Memorials" Ps. cxlvi is said after Ps. cxlviii, and on ferias Ps. 1, 1–18, comes at the end of

1508-631: Is always associated an anointing , which as in other eastern rites answers to Confirmation, Holy Order and Matrimony , but not Penance or Unction of the sick. The Chaldean Catholics now have a form not unlike the Byzantine and West Syriac. The nearest approach to Penance among the Nestorians is a form, counted as a sacrament, for the reconciliation of apostates and excommunicated persons, prayers from which are occasionally used in cases of other penitents. Assemani's arguments (ibid., cclxxxvi–viii) for

1624-630: Is an Armenian version (shortened) of the Syriac St James. The liturgy is said in Syriac with (since the 15th century) many Arabic substitutions in the lessons and proanaphoral prayers. The lectionary and diaconicum have not been published and are poorly known. The vestments correspond almost exactly to those of the Byzantine Orthodox, except that the bishop wears a Latinized mitre. The calendar has few feasts. It follows in its main lines

1740-550: Is anointed all over, and there are four consecration crosses on the four interior walls of the sanctuary, and these and the lintel of the door and various other places are anointed. The oil is not that of the Holy Horn, but fresh olive oil consecrated by the bishop. Few of the manuscripts, except some lectionaries in the British Museum, were written before the 15th century, and most, whether Chaldean or Nestorian, are of

1856-645: Is called Nithi Mar (May He come, O Lord) from its opening words. The Liturgy of the Apostles is so vague as to the purpose of the Invocation that, when the words of Institution are not said, it would be difficult to imagine this formula to be sufficient on any hypothesis, Eastern or Western. The Anaphorae of Nestorius and Theodore, besides having the Words of Institution, have definite Invocations, evidently copied from Antiochean or Byzantine forms. The older Chaldean and

1972-504: Is described as "king of the Arabs " by Tacitus . The Edessene onomastic contains many Arabic names. The most common one in the ruling dynasty of Edessa being Abgar, a well-attested name among Arabic groups of antiquity . Some members of the dynasty bore Iranian names, while others had Arabic names. Judah Segal notes that the names ending in "-u" are "undoubtedly Nabatean". The Abgarid dynasts spoke "a form of Aramaic ". It

2088-582: Is obviously a local variant. Its scheme and most of its prayers correspond to those of the Greek St. James; but it has amplifications and omissions such as is found in all local forms of early rites. It seems too that the Syriac Church made some modifications after the schism. This is certainly the case at one point, that of the Trisagion . One Syriac writer is James of Edessa (d. 708), who wrote

2204-461: Is preceded by a preparation, or "Office of the Prothesis", which includes the solemn kneading and baking of the loaves. These were traditionally leavened, the flour being mixed with a little oil and the holy leaven ( malka ), which, according to tradition, "was given and handed down to us by our holy fathers Mar Addai and Mar Mari and Mar Toma", and of which and of the holy oil a very strange story

2320-476: Is related that this latter was deeply versed in Grecian erudition, and was the first to subdue his native tongue to meters and musical laws; these verses he delivered to the choirs" and that Arianism , a more successful heresy, met with opposition there. It was around 200 CE that Abgar IX adopted Christianity, thus enabling Edessa to become the first Christian state in history whose ruler was officially and openly

2436-549: Is said on the chief feasts. The lessons only are in Arabic. It was inevitable that the Syriac Liturgies, coming from miaphysite sources, should be examined at Rome before they are allowed to Syriac Catholics, but the revisers made very few changes. Out of the mass of anaphoras they chose those believed to be the oldest and purest, leaving out the long series of later ones that they regarded as unorthodox, or even invalid. In

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2552-672: Is the Eastern dialect of Syriac , a modern form of which is still spoken by the Assyrian Church of the East , the Ancient Church of the East (which broke away from the Assyrian Church of the East in the 1960s due to a dispute involving changes to the liturgical calendar, but is now in the process of reunification), and the Chaldean Catholic Church. The Chaldean rite originally grew out of the liturgy of

2668-635: Is told. The real leavening, however, is done by means of fermented dough (khmira) from the preparation of the last Eucharistic Liturgy. The Chaldean and Syro-Malabar Catholics now use unleavened bread. The Liturgy itself is introduced by the first verse of the Gloria in Excelsis and the Lord's prayer, with "farcings" (giyura), consisting of a form of the Sanctus. Then follow: There are four or five Lections: (a)

2784-471: Is true God and true man," recognized "each other as sister Churches" and vowed to resolve remaining differences. In 2001, the committee, established from the 1994 dialogue, drew-up guidelines for mutual admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, overcoming all other issues. Versions of the East Syriac Rite are currently used by Churches descended from

2900-405: Is uncertain. While some hold that this essential passage dropped out in times of ignorance, others say it never was there at all, being unnecessary, since the consecration was held to be effected by the subsequent Epiklesis alone. Another theory, evidently of Western origin and not quite consistent with the general Eastern theory of consecration by an Epiklesis following Christ's words, is that, being

3016-516: Is very similar to that of the Byzantine Rite, and to some extent the Jewish rite . The Mystery of Crowning , while not viewed as a sacrament in much of East Syriac Christianity, features several rituals, including the crowning of the couple and, within the Assyrian Church of the East, the consumption of hanānā –a mixture made with the dust of a martyr's tomb–by the betrothed. The orders of

3132-716: The Assyrian , who came to Edessa from Hadiab ( Adiabene ). He made a trip to Rome and returned to Edessa around 172–173. Tatian was the editor of the Diatessaron , which was the primary sacred text of Syriac -speaking Christianity until in the 5th century the bishops Rabbula and Theodoret suppressed it and substituted a revision of the Old Syriac Canonical Gospels (as in the Syriac Sinaiticus and Curetonian Gospels ). Then, Edessa

3248-656: The Chaldean Catholic Church of Iraq and the Syro-Malabar Church of India, which are both now in full communion with the See of Rome . The words of Institution are missing in the original version of the Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari. However, the Eastern Catholic churches have added-in the words of Institution in their version of the liturgy. Although Nestorius was condemned in 431 AD through

3364-823: The Council of Ephesus (resulting in a schism with the Catholic Church), the Assyrian Church Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II signed a common declaration at the Vatican in 1994; the Common Christological Declaration (1994) document asserted that the split that occurred due to the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD was "due in large part to misunderstandings," affirmed for both that "Christ

3480-792: The Ming Dynasty , the large Church of the East structure was all but destroyed- reducing it to a few small communities in Persia, their homeland in Mesopotamia, Cyprus, the Malabar Coast of India, and the Island of Socotra . These remaining communities were later whittled away at in other events. The Church of the East in Cyprus united themselves to Rome in 1445, there was a Schism in 1552 between Mar Shimun and Mar Elia which weakened

3596-717: The Nestorian Schism , the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon cut itself off from Western Christianity. In 498 the Catholicos assumed the title of " Patriarch of the East ", and up until the 1400s the Church of the East spread throughout Persia, Tartary, Mongolia, China, and India due to the efforts of Missionaries. However, at the end of the fourteenth century due to the conquests of Tamerlane and his destruction of Christian settlements across Asia, in addition to other factors such as anti-Christian and Buddhist oppression during

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3712-530: The Syriac form suggest that this is derived from Greek. The version must have been made early, evidently before the schism occasioned by the Council of Chalcedon , before the influence of Constantinople had begun. No doubt as soon as Christian communities arose in the rural areas of Roman Syria , the prayers which in the cities (Antioch, Jerusalem, etc.) were said in Greek, were, as a matter of course, translated into

3828-684: The Syriac or Aramaic language. For Aramaic, it especially refers to the form that is found in certain chapters of Daniel. That usage continued until the Latin missionaries at Mosul in the 17th century adopted it to distinguish the Catholics of the East Syriac Rite from those of the West Syriac Rite , which they call "Syrians". It is also used to distinguish from the Assyrian Church of the East , some of whom call themselves Assyrians or Surayi or even only "Christians", but they do not repudiate

3944-809: The West Syriac dialect. It is practised in the Maronite Church , the Syriac Orthodox Church , the Syriac Catholic Church and various Malankara Churches of India (see the section on usage below). It is one of two main liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity , the other being the East Syriac Rite . It originated in the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch . It has more anaphoras than any other rite. Many new texts translated from Greek were accepted among

4060-619: The "Antiphon of the Bema" (Communion) is sung. The Communion is in both species separately, the priest giving the Host and the deacon the Chalice. Then follows a variable antiphon of thanksgiving, a post-communion, and a dismissal. Afterwards the Mkaprana, an unconsecrated portion of the holy loaf, is distributed to the communicants, but not, as in the case of the Greek antidoron, and as the name of

4176-604: The "Kingdom of Edessa " ( Classical Syriac : ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܐܘܪܗܝ / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its capital city (now Şanlıurfa , Turkey ), existed from the 2nd century BC, up to the 3rd century AD, and was ruled by the Abgarid dynasty . Generally allied with the Parthians , the Kingdom of Osroene enjoyed semi-autonomy to complete independence from the years of 132 BC to AD 214. The kingdom's population

4292-741: The 17th and 18th. The books in use are: These last six are excerpts from the Takhsa. Of the above the following have been printed in Syriac: For the Church of the East: For the Chaldean Catholics: Osroene Osroene or Osrhoene ( / ɒ z ˈ r iː n iː / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ὀσροηνή ) was an ancient region and state in Upper Mesopotamia . The Kingdom of Osroene , also known as

4408-414: The Anaphora of Theodore. Then follows the Preface of the usual type ending with the Sanctus . The Post-Sanctus (to use the Hispanico-Gallican term) is an amplification—similar in idea and often in phraseology to those in all liturgies except the Roman —of the idea of the Sanctus into a recital of the work of Redemption, extending to some length and ending, in the Anaphorae of Nestorius and Theodore, with

4524-405: The Apostle and his disciples Saint Addai and Saint Mari brought the faith to ancient Mesopotamia (today’s modern Iraq , eastern Syria , southeastern Turkey , and regions along the Turkish–Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders). According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle is believed to have traveled as far as the Malabar coast of southwestern India. This account is not yet confirmed, as

4640-442: The Apostles, Summer, "Elias and the Cross", "Moses", and the "Dedication" (Qudash idta). "Moses" and the "Dedication" have only four weeks each. The Sundays are generally named after the Shawu'a in which they occur, "Fourth Sunday of Epiphany", "Second Sunday of the Annunciation ", etc., though sometimes the name changes in the middle of a Shawu'a. Most of the "Memorials" (dukhrani), or saints' days, which have special lections, occur on

4756-405: The Byzantines, but in 638 it fell to the Arabs as part of the Muslim conquests . Osroene, or Edessa, was one of several states that acquired independence from the collapsing Seleucid Empire through a dynasty of the nomadic Nabataean Arab tribe from Southern Canaan and North Arabia, the Osrhoeni, from 136 BC. Osroene's name either derives from the name of this tribe, or from Orhay ( Urhay ),

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4872-417: The Catholics — Diaconicum, officebook, and ritual — are edited at Rome, Beirut, and the Patriarchal press Sharfé; they are considerably the most accessible, the best-arranged books in which to study this rite. The Saint Thomas Christian community of India, who originally belonged to the Province of India of the Church of the East and they were following the East Syriac Rite till the sixteenth century, when

4988-403: The Chaldean Catholic Rite) which seem as if they were already consecrated. He sets aside a "memorial of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ" (Chaldean; usual Malabar Rite, "Mother of God"; but according to Raulin's Latin of the Malabar Rite, "Mother of God Himself and of the Lord Jesus Christ"), and of the patron of the Church (in the Malabar Rite, "of St.Thomas"). Then follows the proper "Antiphon of

5104-406: The Church in Edessa. The tradition, resting on the legend of Abgar and of his correspondence with Christ, which has been shown to be apocryphal — is to the effect that St. Thomas the Apostle , on his way to India, established Christianity in Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Persia, and left Thaddeus of Edessa (or Addai), "one of the Seventy", and Saint Mari in charge there. The liturgy of the Church of

5220-424: The Church of the East are those of reader ( Qaruya ), subdeacon ( Hiupathiaqna ), deacon ( Mshamshana ), presbyter ( Qashisha ), archdeacon ( Arkidhyaquna ) and bishop ( Apisqupa ). The degree of archdeacon, though has an ordination service of its own, is only counted as a degree of the presbyterate, and is by some held to be the same as that of chorepiscopus (Kurapisqupa), which never involved episcopal ordination in

5336-420: The Church of the East had monasteries (which is no longer the case) seven hours of prayer were the custom in them, and three hulali of the Psalter were recited at each. This would mean a daily recitation of the whole Psalter. The present arrangement provides for seven hulali at each ferial night service, ten on Sundays, three on "Memorials", and the whole Psalter on feasts of Our Lord. At the evening service there

5452-417: The Church of the East. When a priest is engaged in sacerdotal functions, he is called Kahna (i.e., lereus; sacerdos) and a bishop is similarly Rab kahni (Chief of the Priests, archiereus , pontifex ). Quashisha and Apisqupa only denote the degree. Kahnutha, priesthood, is used of the three degrees of deacon, priest, and bishop. The ordination formula is: "N. has been set apart, consecrated, and perfected to

5568-402: The Church, and the Christians of Socotra were Islamized in the 16th century. The Church in India was divided and cut off from their hierarchy due to the Portuguese support for Synod of Diamper in 1599. Due to these events, the diaspora of the Church of the East diminished. The Elia line eventually developed into the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East was turned into

5684-413: The East is attributed to these two, but it is said to have been revised by the Patriarch Yeshuyab III in about 650. Some, however, consider this liturgy to be a development of the Antiochian. After the First Council of Ephesus (431) -- the third Ecumenical Council —the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, which had hitherto been governed by a catholicos , refused to condemn Nestorius . Therefore, as part of

5800-415: The Evangelist, who added to it some of the water which fell from the pierced side. At the Last Supper Jesus gave two loaves to St. John, bidding him keep one for the Holy Leaven. With this St. John mingled some of the Blood from the side of Christ. After Pentecost the Apostles mixed oil with the sacred water , and each took a horn of it, and the loaf they ground to pieces and mixed it with flour and salt to be

5916-412: The Fridays between Christmas and Lent, and are therefore movable feasts, such as Christmas, Ephiphany, the Assumption, and about thirty smaller days without proper lections are on fixed days. There are four shorter fasting periods besides the Great Fast (Lent); these are: The Fast of the Ninevites commemorates the repentance of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonas, and is carefully kept. Those of Mar Zaya and

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6032-404: The Holy Horn and the blessing of the oil take the place of the Offertory. The Anaphora is paralleled by Sursum corda, Preface, and Sanctus, a Nithi Mar, or Epiklesis, upon the oil, a commixture of the new oil with that of the Holy Horn, and the Lord's Prayer. Then the font is blessed and signed with the holy oil, and in the place of the Communion comes the Baptism itself. The children are signed with

6148-419: The Holy Leaven. The Holy Horn is constantly renewed by the addition of oil blessed by a bishop on Maundy Thursday. The baptismal service is modeled on the Eucharistic. The Mass of the Catechumens is almost identical, with of course appropriate Collects, psalms, Litanies, and Lections. After the introductory Gloria, Lord's Prayer, Marmitha (in this case Psalm 88) and its Collect, follow the imposition of hands and

6264-466: The Interpreter . The first is the most popularly and extensively used. The second was traditionally used on the Epiphany and the feasts of St. John the Baptist and of the Greek Doctors , both of which occur in Epiphany-tide on the Wednesday of the Rogation of the Ninevites, and on Maundy Thursday. The third is used (except when the second is ordered) from Advent to Palm Sunday . The same pro-anaphoral part serves for all three. The Eucharistic Liturgy

6380-427: The Law and (b) the Prophecy, from the Old Testament, (c) the Lection from the Acts, (d) the Epistle, always from St. Paul, (e) the Gospel. Some days have all five lections, some four, some only three. All have an Epistle and a Gospel, but, generally, when there is a Lection from Law there is none from the Acts, and vice versa. Sometimes there is none from either Law or Acts. The first three are called Qiryani (Lections),

6496-438: The Malabar Catholic books have inserted the Words of Institution with an Elevation, after the Epiklesis. But the 1901 Mosul edition puts the Words of Institution first. Here follow a Prayer for Peace, a second Lavabo and a censing. The Host is broken in two, and the sign of the Cross is made in the Chalice with one half, after which the other with the half that has been dipped in the chalice. The two halves are then reunited on

6612-400: The Malabar Rite the Karazutha, the Offertory, and the Expulsion of the Unbaptized come before the Lections and the Creed follows immediately on the Gospel, but in the Propaganda edition of 1774 the Offertory follows the Creed, which follows the Gospel. The first Lavabo, followed by a Kushapa ("beseeching", i.e., prayer said in kneeling) and a form of the "Orate fratres", with its response. Then

6728-475: The Mysteries" (Unitha d' razi), answering to the offertory. This is a variant of the Nicene Creed . It is possible that the order or words "and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and was made man, and was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary ", may enshrine a Nestorian idea, but the Chaldean Catholics do not seem to have noticed it, their only alteration being the addition of the Filioque . The Malabar Book has an exact translation of Latin. In Neale's translation of

6844-435: The Parthians in 53 BC, but Roman historians allege that he betrayed Crassus by leading him to deviate from his safe route along the river and instead into an open desert, where the troops suffered from the barrenness and thus were vulnerable to cavalry attack. Abgar is said to have met with Surenas , the Parthian general, and informed him of the Roman movements. The enormous and infamous Battle of Carrhae followed and destroyed

6960-406: The Paten. Then a cleft is made in the Host "qua parte intincta est in Sanguine" (Renaudot's tr.), and a particle is put in the chalice, after some intricate arranging on the paten. The veil is thrown open, the deacon exhorts the communicants to draw near, the priests breaks up the Host for distribution. Then follows the Lord's Prayer , with Introduction and Embolism, and the Sancta Sanctis, and then

7076-415: The Romans, however, which led to the Roman general Lucius Quietus sacking Edessa and putting an end to Osrhoene's independence in 116. In 123, during the reign of Hadrian , the Abgarid dynasty was restored with the installation of Ma'nu VII, and Osroene was established as a client kingdom of the Empire. After the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 under Marcus Aurelius , forts were built and a Roman garrison

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7192-417: The Sasanian emperor, Shapur II , in the 4th century. The independence of the state ended probably in c.  214 ; during Caracalla 's reign the monarchy was abolished by the Roman Empire and Osroene was incorporated it as a province ( colonia ). It was a frontier province, lying close to the Persian empires with which the Romans were repeatedly at war, and was taken and retaken several times. As it

7308-438: The Syriac Church has added a very great number of alternative Anaphoras , many of which have not been published. These Anaphoras are ascribed to all manner of people; they were composed at very different periods. One explanation of their attribution to various saints is that they were originally used on their feasts. Eusèbe Renaudot translated and published 39 of these. After that, the Liturgy of St. James follows (in his work)

7424-443: The Syriac Orthodox of Antioch. Those associated with Tagrit Maphrianate did not accept them. In essence it is the Tagrit tradition that was introduced into Kerala in the 18th and 19th centuries. Versions of the West Syriac Rite are currently used by multiple different ecclesiastical bodies: The oldest known form of the Antiochene Rite is in Greek which is apparently its original language. The many Greek terms that remain in

7540-423: The Syriac and the Byzantine Orthodox Churches have the Jerusalem-Antiochene Liturgy is the chief proof that this had supplanted the older Antiochene use before the schism of the 5th century. The earliest extant Syriac documents come from about the end of the 5th century. They contain valuable information about local forms of the Rite of Antioch-Jerusalem. The Syriac Orthodox Church kept a version of this rite which

7656-432: The Virgins are nearly obsolete. As compared with the Latin and Greek Calendars, that of the Chaldeans, whether Catholic or Assyrian, is very meagre. The Malabar Rite has largely adopted the Roman Calendar, and several Roman days have been added to that of the Chaldean Catholics. The Chaldean Easter coincides with that of the Roman Catholic Church. The other Sacraments in use in the Church of the East are Baptism , with which

7772-436: The West Syriac Rite (the Assemani, Renaudot, etc.) have been Catholic. Their knowledge and Western standards of scholarship in general are advantages from which the Syriac Catholics profit. Of the manifold Syriac Anaphoras, the Catholics use seven only — those of St James, St John, St Peter, St Chrysostom, St Xystus, St Matthew, and St Basil. That of St Xystus is attached to the Ordo communis in their official book; that of St John

7888-422: The West, meeting there a north–south road connecting the Armenian Highlands with Antioch. Inevitably, Edessa figured prominently on the international stage. In 64 BC, as Pompey waged war on the Parthian Empire , Abgar II of Osrhoene had sided with the Romans when Lucius Afranius occupied Upper Mesopotamia . The king was initially an ally of the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus in his campaign against

8004-401: The blessing of Jesus and subsequently was converted by the evangelist Addai. There is, however, no factual evidence for Christianity at Edessa before the reign of Abgar the Great, 150 years later. Scholars are generally agreed that the legend has confused the two Abgars. It cannot be proved that Abgar the Great adopted Christianity; but his friend Bardaiṣan was a heterodox Christian, and there was

8120-409: The consecration so as to be invalid. Baumstark (Die Messe im Morgenland, 44–46) thinks the Anaphora of St Ignatius most important, as containing parts of the old pure Antiochene Rite. He considers that many attributions to later miaphysite authors may be correct, that the Liturgy of Ignatius of Antioch (Joseph Ibn Wahib; d. 1304) is the latest. Most of these anaphoras have now fallen into disuse. There

8236-404: The definition or numeration. The only other rite of any interest is the consecration of churches. Oil, but not chrism, plays a considerable part in these rites, being used in Baptism, possibly in Confirmation, in the reconciliation of apostates, etc., in the consecration of churches, and the making of bread for the Eucharist. It is not used in ordination or for the sick. There are two sorts of oil;

8352-504: The dialect of Edessa. The proanaphoral part of this is the Ordo communis to which the other later Anaphoras are joined. This follows the Greek St. James with these differences: In this Syriac Liturgy many Greek forms remain, e.g. Stomen kalos, Kyrie eleison, Sophia, Proschomen . Renaudot gives also a second form of the Ordo communis (II, 12–28) with many variants. To the Ordo communis,

8468-494: The earliest-record for an organised Christian presence in India is from the 6th century account of Alexandrian traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes . The East Syriac rite remains in-use within churches descended from the Church of the East, namely the Assyrian Church of the East of Iraq (including its archdiocese, the Chaldean Syrian Church of India) and the Ancient Church of the East , as well as in two Eastern Catholic churches,

8584-458: The eighth and ninth centuries a controversy concerning the prayer at the Fraction produced much liturgical literature. The chronicle of a Syriac prelate, Patriarch Michael the Great , (d. 1199) discusses the question and supplies valuable contemporary documents. The oldest West Syriac liturgy extant is the one ascribed, as in its Greek form, to Saint James , "the brother of the Lord". It is in

8700-590: The entire Roman army. Just prior to the battle, Abgar made a pretext to ride away. However, modern historians have questioned whether Abgar intended to betray the Romans and instead may have simply been leading them along an old Arab trade route. According to a Syriac source, Abgar died later that year. In the early 2nd century AD, King Abgar VII joined the Emperor Trajan 's campaign into Mesopotamia and entertained him at court. The king later rebelled against

8816-674: The erstwhile Church of the East : Eastern Catholic Churches , in full communion with Rome . The variety of terms used as designations for the rite reflects its complex history and consequent denominational diversity. The common term East Syriac Rite is based on the liturgical use of East Syriac dialect, and other terms reflect particular historical and denominational characteristics. The Syrian and Mesopotamian (Iraqi) Eastern Catholics are now commonly called Chaldeans (or Assyro-Chaldeans ). The term Chaldean , which in Syriac generally meant magician or astrologer, denoted in Latin and other European languages (Greater) Syrian nationality, and

8932-456: The first century AD. Ḥarrān, however, only 40 km south of Edessa, always maintained its independent status as a Roman colonia. Edessa, the capital of the ancient kingdom, was a fortress of considerable strength and a staging post both large and nearest to the Euphrates. It was an important road junction; an ancient highway, along which caravans carried merchandise from China and India to

9048-662: The formula of consecration , it was held too sacred to be written down. It does not seem to be quite certain whether Church of the East priests did or did not insert the Words of Institution in old times, but it seems that many of them do not do so now. The Prayer of the Great Oblation with a second memorial of the Living and the Dead, a Kushapa. The G'hantha of the Epiklesis , or Invocation of Holy Spirit. The Epiklesis itself

9164-756: The interventions of the Portuguese Padroado missionaries led to a schism among them. Following the schism in 1665, one of the two factions that emerged (the Puthenkoor ) made contact with the Syriac Orthodox Church through Archbishop Gregorios Abdal Jaleel . Links with the Syriac Orthodox Church were further strengthened in the course of time, as other Syriac Orthodox prelates continued to work among them and to replace their original liturgical rite. Maphrian Baselios Yaldo and Baselios Shakrallah were prominent among them. In this way

9280-494: The latter implies, to non-communicants. The Chaldean Catholics are communicated with the Host dipped in the Chalice. They reserve what is left of the Holy Gifts, while the Church of the East priests consume all before leaving the church. Properly, and according to their own canons, the Church of the East ought to say Mass on every Sunday and Friday, on every festival, and daily during the first, middle, and last week of Lent and

9396-459: The local vernacular for the people's use. Early sources, such as Peregrinatio Silviae describe the services at Jerusalem as being in Greek; but the lessons, first read in Greek, are then translated into Syriac. As long as all Western Syria was one communion, the country dioceses followed the rite of the patriarch at Antioch, only changing the language. Modifications adopted at Antioch in Greek were copied in Syriac by those who said their prayers in

9512-525: The name, etc." It is not quite clear whether oil should be used with this signing or not. Then any oil that remains over is poured into the Holy Horn, held over the font, and the water in the font is loosed from its former consecration with rather curious ceremonies. The Chaldean Catholics have added the renunciations, profession of faith, and answers of the sponsors from the Roman Ritual, and anoint with chrism. The marriage service ( Burakha , 'Blessing")

9628-459: The names of the authors and call the Anaphorae of Nestorius and Theodore the "Second Hallowing" and "Third Hallowing". Otherwise there are no alterations except the addition of Words of Institution to the first Anaphorae. The recent Catholic edition has made the same alterations and substituted "Mother of God" for "Mother of Christ". In each edition the added Words of Institution follow the form of

9744-456: The national tongue. This point is important because the Syriac Liturgy (in its fundamental form) already contains all the changes brought to Antioch from Jerusalem . It is not the older pure Antiochene Rite, but the later Rite of Jerusalem-Antioch. The Liturgy of St. James , for example, prays first not for the Church of Antioch, but "for the holy Sion, the mother of all churches", that is, Jerusalem. (Brightman, pp. 89–90). The fact that both

9860-404: The octave of Easter. In practice it is only said on Sundays and greater festivals, at the best, and in many churches not so often, a sort of "dry Mass" being used instead. The Chaldean Catholic priests say Mass daily, and where there are many priests there will be many Masses in the same Church in one day, which is contrary to the Church of the East canons. The Anglican editions of the liturgies omit

9976-573: The oil on the breast and then anointed all over, and are dipped thrice in the font. The formula is: "N., be thou baptized in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then follows the post-baptismal thanksgiving. Confirmation follows immediately. There are two prayers of Confirmation and a signing between the eyes with the formula: "N., is baptized and perfected in

10092-521: The older form of Antioch, observed also by the Church of the East , which is the basis of the Byzantine Calendar. Feasts are divided into three classes of dignity. Wednesday and Friday are fast-days. The Divine Office consists of Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Lauds, Terce, Sext, and None, or rather of hours that correspond to these among Latins. Vespers always belongs to the following day. The great part of this consists of long poems composed for

10208-537: The one is ordinary olive oil, blessed or not blessed for the occasion, the other is the oil of the Holy Horn. The last, which, though really only plain oil, represents the chrism (or myron) of other rites, is believed to have been handed down from the Apostles with the Holy Leaven. The legend is that the Baptist caught the water which fell from the body of Christ at His baptism and preserved it. He gave it to St. John

10324-530: The original Aramaic name of Edessa . Arab influence had been strong in the region. Osroene endured for four centuries, with twenty-eight rulers occasionally named "king" on their coins. Most of the kings of Osroene were called Abgar or Manu and settled in urban centers. Osroene was generally allied with the Parthian Empire . After a period under the rule of the Parthian Empire, it

10440-593: The psalms, are those of the feast or day, which are very few, and those of the day of the fortnight. These fortnights consist of weeks called "Before" (Qdham) and "After" (Wathar), according to which of the two choirs begins the service. Hence the book of the Divine Office is called Qdham u wathar, or at full length Kthawa daqdham wadhwathar, the "Book of Before and After". The year is divided into periods of about seven weeks each, called Shawu'i; these are Advent (called Subara, "Annunciation"), Ephiphany, Lent, Easter,

10556-466: The psalms. The rest of the services consist of prayers, antiphons, litanies, and verses (giyura) inserted, like the Greek stichera, but more extensively, between verses of psalms. On Sundays the Gloria in Excelsis and Benedicte are said instead of Ps. cxlvi. Both morning and evening services end with several prayers, a blessing, (Khuthama, "Sealing" ), the kiss of peace, and the Creed. The variables, besides

10672-436: The purpose, like the Byzantine odes. Baptism is performed by immersion; the priest confirms at once with chrism blessed by the patriarch. Communion is administered under both kinds; the sick are anointed with oil blessed by a priest — the ideal is to have seven priests to administer it. The orders are bishop, priest, deacon, subdeacon, lector, and singer. There are many chorepiscopi, not ordained bishop. It will be seen, then, that

10788-622: The recital of the Institution. In the Anaphora of the Apostles the recital of the Institution is wanting, though it has been supplied in the Anglican edition of the Church of the East book. Hammond (Liturgies Eastern and Western, p. lix) and most other writers hold that the Words of Institution belong to this Liturgy and should be supplied somewhere; Hammond (loc.cit) suggests many arguments for their former presence. The reason of their absence

10904-631: The region". Later, within the Roman Empire, Edessa was the most important center of Syriac Christianity . Under the Nabataean dynasties, Osroëne became increasingly influenced by Syriac Christianity , and was a centre of local reaction against Hellenism. In his writings, Pliny the Elder refers to the natives of Osroene and Commagene as Arabs and the region as Arabia . Abgar II is called "an Arab phylarch " by Plutarch , while Abgar V

11020-537: The relatively small Syriac Church has followed much the same line of development in its rites as its Byzantine neighbours. The Syriac Catholics, that is, those in communion with Rome, use the same rite as the Syriac Orthodox, but perhaps in a more organized manner. There is not much that can be called Romanizing in their books; but they have the advantage of well-arranged, well-edited, and well-printed books. The most prominent early modern and modern students of

11136-503: The remaining territory was incorporated into the Roman province of Osroene. According to legends (without historical justification), by 201 AD or earlier, under King Abgar the Great, Osroene became the first Christian state. It is believed that the Gospel of Thomas emanated from Edessa around 140. Prominent early Christian figures have lived in and emerged from the region such as Tatian

11252-593: The rite of the edition. The prayers of the Mass, like those of the Orthodox Eastern Church, are generally long and diffuse. Frequently they end with a sort of doxology called Qanuna which is said aloud, the rest being recited in a low tone. The Qanuna in form and usage resembles the Greek ekphonesis. The vestments used by the priest at Mass are the Sudhra , a girded alb with three crosses in red or black on

11368-739: The secession of a large number to the Russian Church due to the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia , a Kurdish massacre in 1843, and an attempt to form an Independent Catholic Chaldean Church on the model of the Old Catholics all resulted in more Eastern rite Assyrians separating. There are three Anaphorae ; those of the Holy Apostles (Saints Addai and Mari ), Mar Nestorius , and Mar Theodore

11484-597: The seven kept for Syriac Catholic use what alterations have been made are chiefly the omission of redundant prayers, and the simplication of confused parts in which the Diaconicum and the Euchologion had become mixed together. The only substantive change is the omission of the clause: "Who was crucified for us" in the Trisagion. There is no suspicion of modifying in the direction of the Roman Rite. The other books of

11600-732: The shoulder, the Urara (orarion) or stole worn crossed by priests, but not by bishops (as in the West), and the Ma'apra , a sort of linen cope. The deacon wears the sudhra, with a urara over the left shoulder. The nucleus of this is, as it is usual, the recitation of the Psalter . There are only three regular hours of service (Evening, Midnight, and Morning) with a rarely used compline. In practice only Morning and Evening are commonly used, but these are extremely well attended daily by laity as well as clergy. When

11716-543: The signing with oil, after which follow an Antiphon of the Sanctuary and Ps. xliv, cix, cxxxi, with giyuri, Litanies, and Collects, then the lakhumara, Trisagion, and Lections (Epistle and Gospel ), and the Karazutha, after which the priest says the prayer of the imposition of hands, and the unbaptized are dismissed. An antiphon answering to that "of the mysteries" follows, and then the Creed is said. The bringing forward of

11832-617: The stories did establish Edessa as one of the more important centres for early Christendom." 37°09′30″N 38°47′30″E  /  37.1583°N 38.7917°E  / 37.1583; 38.7917 West Syriac Rite The West Syriac Rite , also called the Syro-Antiochian Rite and the West Syrian Rite , is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James in

11948-533: The theological name " Nestorian ". Modern members of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East distinguish themselves from the rest of Christendom as the " Church of the East " or "Easterns" as opposed to "Westerns" by which they denote Greek Orthodox , Syriac Orthodox or Latin Catholics . In recent times they have been called, chiefly by the Anglicans, the "Assyrian Church",

12064-555: The third Shlikha (Apostle). Before the Epistle and Gospel, hymns called Turgama (interpretation) are, or should be, said; that before the Epistle is invariable, that of the Gospel varies with the day. They answer to the Greek prokeimena. The Turgama of the Epistle is preceded by proper psalm verses called Shuraya (beginning), and that of the Gospel by other proper psalm verses called Zumara (song). The latter includes Alleluia between

12180-517: The variations of the three Anaphora begin. The Kiss of Peace, preceded by a G'hantha, i.e., a prayer said with bowed head. The prayer of Memorial (Dukhrana) of the Living and the Dead, and the Diptychs; the latter is now obsolete in the Church of the East. As in all liturgies this begins with a form of a Sursum corda , but the East Syriac form is more elaborate than any other, especially in

12296-457: The verses. The Deacon's Litany, or Eklene, called Karazutha (proclamation), resembles the "Great Synapte" of the Greeks. During it the proper "Antiphon [Unitha] of the Gospel" is sung by the people. The deacons proclaim the expulsion of the unbaptized, and set the "hearers" to watch the doors. The priest places the bread and wine on the altar, with words (in the Church of the East, but not in

12412-574: The work of the diaconate [or of the presbyterate] to the Levitical and stephanite Office [or for the office of the Aaronic priesthood], in the Name, etc., In the case of a bishop it is : "to the great work of the episcopate of the city of ..." A similar formula is used for archdeacons and metropolitans. The Consecration of churches (Siamidha or Qudash Madhbkha) consists largely of unctions. The altar

12528-425: The world's first Christian monarch and Edessa the first Christian state. More than anything else, a major precedent had been set for the conversion of Rome itself. // The stories of the conversions of both Abgar V and Abgar VIII may not be true, and have been doubted by a number of Western authorities (with more than a hint at unwillingness to relinquish Rome's and St Peter's own primogeniture?). But whether true or not.

12644-415: Was absorbed into the Roman Empire in 114 as a semiautonomous vassal state, and incorporated as a simple Roman province in 214. There is an apocryphal legend that Osroene was the first state to have accepted Christianity as state religion , but there is not enough evidence to support that claim. Though most of Osroene's rulers were from the Abgarid dynasty of Arab origin, the kingdom's population

12760-856: Was again brought under Roman control by Decius and it was made a center of Roman operations against the Sasanian Empire . Amru , possibly a descendant of Abgar, is mentioned as king in the Paikuli inscription , recording the victory of Narseh in the Sassanid civil war of 293. Historians identify that Amru as Amru ibn Adi , the fourth king of the Lakhmids , which was then still based in Harran , not yet moved to al-Hirah in southern Mesopotamia. Many centuries later, Dagalaiphus and Secundinus duke of Osrhoene, accompanied Julian in his war against

12876-509: Was in the region in which the legend of Abgar V originated. The area of the kingdom was perhaps roughly coterminous with that of the Roman province of Osrhoene. The great loop of the Euphrates was a natural frontier to the north and west. In the south Batnae was capital of the semi-autonomous principality of Anthemusias until its annexation by Rome, in AD 115. The eastern boundary is uncertain; it may have extended to Nisibis or even to Adiabene in

12992-414: Was of mixed culture, being Syriac -speaking from the earliest times. The city's cultural setting was fundamentally Syriac , alongside strong Greek and Parthian influences, though some Arab cults were also attested at Edessa. The ruling Abgarid dynasty was deposed by the Romans during the reign of Roman Emperor Caracalla ( r.   211–217), probably in 214 or 216, and Osroene was incorporated as

13108-412: Was of mixed culture, being Syriac -speaking from the earliest times. Though Arab cults were attested at Edessa (the twins Monimos and Azizos ), its cultural setting was fundamentally Syriac , alongside strong Greek and Parthian influences. Thus, according to Maurice Sartre : "It would hence be absurd to regard Edessa as solely an Arab city, for its culture owed very little to the nomadic Arabs of

13224-405: Was on the frontier it had a Roman legion stationed there. Legio III Parthica and its Castrum (homebase) may have been Rhesaina , but that is uncertain. Following Emperor Diocletian 's tetrarchy reform during his reign (284-305), it was part of the diocese of the East , in the praetorian prefecture of the same name . According to the late-4th-century Notitia Dignitatum , it was headed by

13340-467: Was stationed in Nisibis . In 195, following a civil war in which the kingdom had supported his rival Pescennius Niger , Septimius Severus mounted an invasion and annexed the territory as a new province, making Nisibis the capital. However, the emperor did allow the king, Abgar XI, to retain the city of Edessa and a small territory surrounding it. In 213, the reigning king was deposed by Caracalla , and

13456-474: Was the conversion -reported by Bardaisan - of Abgar the Great himself." The conversion is controversial, but whether or not he became a Christian, Abgar had the wisdom to recognise the inherent order and stability in Christianity a century before Constantino did. Ho encouraged it as essential for maintaining Edessa's precarious balance between Rome and Iran. Thus, it is Abgar the Great who lays claim to being

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