Thomas of Edessa

Thomas of Edessa lived in the early 6th century. He was a pupil at the Nestorian theological school at Nisibis of Mar Aba, subsequently Patriarch. He travelled to Constantinople, as he tells us himself, in order to acquire Greek learning. Thomas' death is mentioned by Cosmas Indicopleustes (II.2) as a recent event in 544 AD. Two works have survived.

A single manuscript (Ms. Seert 82, known as S) from Seert, written in the 16th century and destroyed in the sack of the Chaldaean Patriarchate in Baghdad in 1915 contains a set of 13 Expositions of the Feasts of the Economy by various authors, including Thomas of Edessa and his pupil and successor Cyrus of Edessa. A copy of this (=A) was made by the hieromonk Samuel Jamil in 1885; from this derive the other 7 copies thought to exist today. It is possible that A was destroyed in the troubles following the US occupation of Iraq, when the Chaldaean Cathedral was bombed, but this is not certainly known.

Thomas of Edessa wrote two of these explanations: on why the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany are celebrated (Nos 1 and 3 in the collection). Cyrus indicates that Thomas was commissioned to write on all 8 feasts but died before he could complete the task; Cyrus then wrote the other 6, and further texts have been added since.

The work on Christmas was edited and translated into Latin from a handwritten copy of a copy by S.J.Carr; the work on Epiphany has never been edited, but is to be found in the same manuscript copies listed by Macomber for Cyrus of Edessa.

According to Thomas (De Nat. I, p.5 line 7 of the text; p.14 of the translation), the two explanations were delivered orally by the future patriarch Mar Aba I (540-552). Thomas probably composed them between 538-543.

There is also one or more unpublished hymns in a manuscript at Diarbekir.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts of the Explanations of the Feasts of the Economy

The two works of Thomas of Edessa are transmitted to us in the collection known as the Explanations of the Feasts of the Economy (EFE). The following are the 8 known manuscripts of the complete collection, not all of which now exist.

• A = Alqoš, Notre-Dame des Semences, Syriac Ms. 155 (1886)
• B = Birmingham, Selly Oak Colleges Library, Mingana Syriac Ms. 195 (1928)
• D = St. Petersburg (Russia), Academy of Sciences, Oriental Institute, Diettrich Ms. 7 (1894)
• L = London, British Library, Oriental Ms. 9360A (1894)
• N = Alqoš, Notre-Dame des Semences, Syriac Ms. 156 (1887)
• S = Séert, Chaldean Archiepiscopal Residence, Ms. 82 (16th c.)
• T = Vatican City, Collegio Teutonico, Ms. 44 (1897)
• W = Washington, Catholic University of America, Hyvernat Syriac Ms. 8 (1889)

S is the ancestor of all the mss, and was destroyed when the archiepiscopal collection was burned by the Turks in 1915 during WW1. A was copied from it, but may have been destroyed in the bombing of the Chaldean patriarchate in Baghdad recently. All the others are derived directly or indirectly from A.

Unfortunately it seems impossible to obtain a microfilm of the Mingana mss, since these are available only through a rapacious Dutch company; and my enquiry of the British Library was ignored.

Macomber signals 4 partial copies:

• A copy of the 6 treatises of Cyrus of Edessa from EFE, made by A. A. Vaschalde from W when he was a professor at CUA.
• An undated letter of Rabban Gabriel Jamil of Notre-Dame des Semences to a certain deacon Pawlos (possibly Pawlos Qaša, the last professional scribe at Alqoš, whom Macomber saw still at work in 1966) is present at the start of A. It is stated in this letter that Pawlos intended to copy the 6 treatises of Cyrus, plus the one on Mart. Maryam. The location of this Ms. is unknown. Presumably it is a copy of A.
• Séert, Chaldean Archiepiscopal Residence, 109 (from Mar Ya'qob, 1609 AD) contained the treatise on the Rogation, but is now destroyed.
• Vatican Library, Syriac Ms. 521 (from Alqoš, 1931 A.D.) which contains on ff. 74-79r the third chapter of the treatise on Mart. Maryam.

W was used by Carr for his edition of De nativitate. The colophon of this, copied from A, tells us that the Chaldean Hieromonk, Samuel Jamil, discovered a copy of EFE at the monastery of Mar Ya'qob near Séert. He arranged to have it copied for his own monastery, Notre-Dame des Semences, "on the 26th of the western (Gregorian) month of Tammuz (July) of the year 1885 A.D." (Carr, p.11)

The manuscripts of Mar Ya'qob were transferred to Séert, some time after 1885, and deposited in the Chaldean archiepiscopal residence, as the then Archbishop, Addai Scher, notes in his catalogue of 1905 of the mss. there.

Mingana Ms. 195

From the catalogue. 357x237mm. 184 ff. 28 lines per page. ff.1b-25a contain De Nativitate. ff.44b-64b contain De Epiphania. Written in an East Syrian hand in 1928. The work is called in the catalogue "Book of the causes of the feasts."

Other manuscripts

• Diarbekir (Amida) Ms. 36. Book of Psalms of the blessed David. The psalter is preceded by 5 treatises on the Psalms by Hippolytus, Basil of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Eusebius Pamphilus, St. Athanasius, and Origen. Then Epiphanius, a note on weights and measures. Before each psalm is an introduction written in red by by Eusebius, Athanasius or Theodore of Mopsuestia. The margins are covered with notes indicating differences with the Hebrew and Septuagint. After this, there are some biblical extracts; 125 hymns on festal days by Narsai, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Ephraim, John of Beth Rabban and Yazdin the interpreter; Then hymns for the days of the week composed by Abraham of Beith Rabban, Thomas of Edessa, and many others. Then more hymns, etc. Written in 12th century. 26 quires of 10 folios. 23-27 lines per page.

• Mingana Ms. 507. 327 x 224 mm. 93 ff. 26 lines per page. Section B of this (according to the catalogue) contains "All the tishbhatha of the East Syrian church." On fol. 66a "For the night of Tuesday" is by Thomas of Edessa.

• Mingana Ms. 25. Fol.129a-b contain this same hymn. Ms. written ca. 1550.

Note that this Thomas of Edessa may not necessarily be the same as the author of De Nativitate, etc.

Online stuff

Gregory Kessel wrote:

I'm interested in Syriac exegetical tradition and in the Syriac exegical and theological schools. "On Epiphany" wasn't published but survives in several manuscripts (Seert 82; Notre Dame des Semences 38 (Scher) = Notre Dame des Semences 155 (Voste) = Baghdad, Chaldean Monastery Syr. 486 (Haddad - Isaac); Hyvernat Syr. 7; Diettrich 7 = Saint Petersburg, Oriental Institute 32 (Pigoulevskaya); Mingana Syr. 57; Br.Lib.Or. 9358), presumably all of which depend on the lost ms Seert 82.

I consulted a St.Petersburg ms (I am a post-graduate student in Moscow) and found that it is a very interesting work which deserves to be published. However, it seems that it (as well as "On Nativity) must be studied only in the context of other works combined in the collection "Causes of the feasts". By the way, in 1994 at Symposium Syriacum Theresia Hainthaler presented a paper on Thomas of Edessa in which she collected historical acounts concerning his activity and briefly described his christology.

Steven Ring wrote:

Does the Saint Petersburg, Oriental Institute 32 manuscript contain the entire explanation of the epiphany without any gaps? If it does and you have no plans to study it yourself, would there be any way of obtaining a microfilm of the St Petersburg MS for a fee perhaps?

The British library and the Mingana MSS are readily available in the UK. If you inspected the MS, I'd be interested to know what other works are contained in the St Petersburg MS apart from Thomas' explanation of the Epiphany. This information may be useful to determine if the MSS are all copied from the same source or not.

Roger Pearse wrote:

Just some notes from the CSCO intro:

According to CSCO 355, the St. Petersburg ms (D) is a copy of Alqos, Monastery of Notre Dame des Semences, Syriac ms 155 (A), itself the only direct copy of the 16th century origin of all the other mss. A is in the Chaldaean patriarchate in Baghdad. A bad microfilm of A was used for CSCO; D was not accessible at all for the CSCO.

BL Oriental 9360A (L) was made for Wallis Budge, and is a copy of A. Birmingham Mingana Syriac ms 195 (B) was not copied directly from A, but from N, another copy of A made for the monastery of Notre-Dame des Semences (ms. 156) in the Chaldaean patriarchate.

There is no indication in here of more or less complete copies of On Epiphany. What we need, of course, is good photographs of A.

Does it still exist? Is there any way to communicate with the Chaldaeans and ask?

Gregory replied:

I think that the Saint Petersburg manuscript contains the entire text of "On Epiphany". The contents of the manuscript exactly corresponds to other manuscripts (for instance, it can be easily found in the catalogue of Mingana: A.Mingana, Catalogue of the Mingana Collections of Manuscripts.Vol.1. Cambridge: W.Heffer and Sons, Limited. Col. 424-428).

One remark, if I may. It seems to me that if someone would like to work on the edition and study of "On Epiphany", one definitely has to search for other manuscripts with "The Causes of Feast" and not to limit oneself with the list of manuscripts supplied by Macomber. Macomber was indeed a great expert in Syriac manuscripts and its locations, but it's been a long time since 1974: some collections became available, some collections were transferd to another places, new catalogues published...

The ms Notre Dame des Semences 155 exists. As I wrote earlier it is in the library of the Chaldean Monastery and has a number 486 (see the catalogue description: B. Haddad, J. Isaac, Makhtutat al-Suryaniyah wa-al-Arabiyah fi Khizanat al-Rahbaniyah al-Kaldaniyah fi Baghdad. Baghdad: al-Majma al-Ilmi al-Iraqi, 1988 (Faharis al-Makhtutat al-Suryaniyah fi al-Iraq, vol.3, pt.1). P. 207-208.

There is a possibility to order a copy, but first write an e-mail to the Manuscript Department of the Oriental Institute: mssdep@....

When I was inspecting the manuscript I copied out titles of the chapters into which the treaty is devided.

Here they are:

Steven Ring translated them:

Here are those eleven Syriac titles in English. A few of them are a little obtuse in Syriac and so, where needed, I have provided little paraphrases and my own explanations to clarify the meanings. I noticed a few typos in the Syriac text and I corrected these in the translation.

• "Chapter one: To him who requested from him that he will make it with letters." (I.E 'to put it in writing')
• "Chapter two: That these are chapters of it's causes." (i.e. 'chapters of their explanations')
• "Chapter three: That why we name this festival 'Denha' " (NB 'Denha' is Syriac for 'he arose' and it is the Syriac word for the festival of the baptism of Yeshu`a Meshiha usually translated 'Epiphany'. Even though in the western churches epiphany is the festival associated with the visit of the Magushe or Magi, in the Syriac churches the epiphany is a celebration of His Baptism.)
• "Chapter four: The reason that thirty years passed from the time of his nativity until our Saviour-Meshiha's baptism." (NB: In the Old Syriac gospel text that Thomas knew it was written in Lk3v23 'and Yeshu`a was thirty years old' not as we have it from the Greek text 'Jesus when he began his ministry was _about_ thirty years old'.)
• "Chapter five: The reason that after twelve days we make the first [day] of this festival, that in it there is also the commencement of sermons about this" (NB: The stray words on the next line are in fact the end of the sixth title! I have already corrected this slip in my translation.)
• "Chapter six: That in this way our Lord was made manifest and by means of one whom we do not verify."
• "Chapter seven: That why he was seeking the baptism of Yohanan." (NB: Yohanan is John's real name, so I have not Anglicised it.)
• "Chapter eight: The way our Lord was baptized."
• "Chapter nine: That [only] from persuasion about baptism that because of this our Lord was baptized.' (A reference to Yohanan's reluctance to baptize Yeshu`a.)
• "Chapter ten: The reason Yohanan baptized our Lord whilst not with his baptism he was baptized." (A reference to Lk3v16 and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.)
• "Chapter eleven: An admonition about good leadership." (NB: Leadership here could also be translated administration or management and so it could refer to the administration of the feast. Only the context would clarify this issue.)

Steven Ring wrote:

Roger, Gregory, the Mingana MS, Nativity is 24.5 folios, (49 sides ) long whereas the is 20 folios, (40

sides) long, so just scale the number of to make an estimate. If the Nativity has 9000 words, then the will have about 7000 words. says that his MS was divided into 11 chapters.

Roger Pearse wrote:

The other mss matter nothing if we get good photos of A. to Macomber, the microfilm of A was NOT really adequate, and the end he had to go and consult the ms itself at various points. the lens wasn't clean, and the first 20 lines of most pages blurry, and this got worse as the microfilm went on.

Portions of De Nativitate

THOMAS OF EDESSA, ON THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD CHRIST

In the power (virtus) of our Lord Jesus Christ, we begin to write a volume of disputations by Mar Thomas of Edessa, master of the religion of God, and Mar Kaiura his helper in the work.

The first [disputation] by Mar Thomas: on the carnal Nativity of our Lord Christ.

1. To the one who asked him to order that the disputation should be written down. 2. Which are the headings of the reasons [causae]? 3. Investigation of the reason why we celebrate this feast. 4. What blessings are given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ? 5. For what reason were these blessings themselves not revealed until now? 6. The work was in mediation of something, through which we were able to receive these blessings from God. 7. For what reasons did God bring forth nothing else at this time for his revelation, except a man from among us? 8. That our Lord Christ was not simply a man. 9. For what reason was our human Lord not brought forth (sumere) from earth, but from a virgin without knowledge of man? 10. For what reason did God ordain that our human Lord should be conceived in the spring time? 11. Exhortation to an upright life.

CAPUT PRIMUM. Ad illum qui rogavit ut eam [disputationem] scripto mandaret.

Tuum quod unacum fratribus claris coenobii nostri mihi dedisti utile consilium, tuumque iucundum mandatum, O electe Dei, Mar Moyses Lector, diversas cogitationes in me excitarunt, et in varias considerationes me deiecerunt.

(O chosen of God, Mar Moses, Lector; you have given useful advice to me, ..., and your agreeable command, they have stirred up diverse cogitations in me, and led me into various considerations.)

Mihi enim mandastis ut scriptis etiam traderem illam quippe causam Nativitatis gloriosae Domini et Salvatoris nostri Christi, quam dixi post Magistrum nostrum sanctum, Mar Aba Interpretem; quod quidem tremo facere, ne.......; .......facile reputer ab iis qui cum causa et sine causa reprehendere amant; item, mandato non obtemperare timeo, no praecepti violator consiliique transgressor a viris habear qui nihil dicunt nisi intuitu religionis Dei vivi.

Sed dum in his similibusque cogitationibus morabar, adiudicavi conveniens mihi esse, voluntati vestrae satisfacere, aliis quidem relinquens loqui prout velint, ne, dum timeo verba invida quae nullam apud Deum faciunt iniuriam, vobis per voluntatem bonam atque vitam perfectam Christo placentibus, murmurandi in me causam praeberem, eo quod mandato vestro non obtemperaverim.

Rogans itaque auxilium precum vestrarum Christo acceptabilium, ecce incumbo ad voluntatem vestram explendam.

Hoc prae omnibus peto a vobis, et ab illis qui quocumque modo in haec scripta inciderint, ne ullo modo de me falso opinemini, quod nempe accesserim dicere aut scribere, sperans me infirmum posse in hoc tractatu omnia quae sunt magistri nostri sic tradere prout ipse ea dixit.

Imo hanc solam fiduciam habeo in meis sermonibus ---- et hoc ab intima procedit persuasione ---- quod omnia mea ita relate ad magistri nostri dicta se habent, ut quis ab his ad illa ducatur tanquam ab imagine ad prototypum suum, et tanquam ab umbra ad corpus quo iacta est.

Quemadmodum insuper in loco quo sese extendunt radii solis, lucerna parva non est apta ad lucem dandam, sic etiam haec mea deperibunt, cum illa magistri nostri manifestant suarum cogitationum splendores.

Faciam igitur divisionem in capita quibus tota disputatio ad maiorem utilitatem disponitur; et deinde incipiam illa dicere quae postulat ordo singularum rerum in ipsa disputatione.

Sciunt enim sapientia et intellectus vestrum, quod illos, qui ambulaturi sunt per viam quotcumque milliarium quam probe non noscunt, multum adiuvat accipere signa et indicia quae sunt in via, et post hoc ambulare incipient; sic eis evenit, si animum attentum teneant, facile a signo ad signum et ab indicio ad indicium usque ad finem viae sine errore ambulare.

Because, if this is so, it is manifest that it is much more necessary for those who want this oration to place so many of the ideas in their memory to first learn why there are separate chapters in this treatise.

So if this happens, when they are gathered to discuss the oration, even if the written version is not ready to hand, from whence they could recall the whole oration to memory, nevertheless since they previously learned the number and title of every chapter, they will be able to consider the oration easily, even if they omit something of those bits which are in the middle of the chapters.

Chapter 10. Why God ordained that he would be conceived in the spring time.

That God indeed ordained that he should be conceived in the spring, this was because at this time also God made the whole creation: for the sameness of the season taught, that it was the same [one] who created [everything] from the beginning and who now renewed [everything] through this [man] who was conceived and then, in this time was born according to an order of nature which God established then from the beginning.

So we speak from the congruity and similarity of the divine works.

For just as the day at this time, the length of light, wanes and diminishes down to nine hours, but night, the empire of shadows, becomes longer and extends to fifteen hours; and then the day begins, the kingdom of light, to take (hours) from night, the empire of shadows; again (just as) there are no fruits of the cereal crops (?) or the trees today among us, --- for the cereal crops [scarcely] begin to be visible, and all of the trees are losing their leaves --- in a similar way both are seen among men * * * * * * * * * the advent of our Lord, Christ; for this scattered abroad the light of the knowledge of truth from our souls. The shadows of the error of worshipping idols cling onto our thoughts, while we were deprived and naked also from all the fruits of the works of justice.

Moreover our Lord and our Redeemer, Christ, came; and when he saw that we had gone astray in our reason, then he expelled from our the shadows of the worship of idols, and led us into perfect knowledge of the Holy Trinity, Father and Son and holy Spirit; he also gave to us the grace of the Spirit, through whom we were able to be born and to make the fruit of justice, acceptable to God the Creator. (?)

But also the pagans, worshippers of the elements, celebrate a great feast today every year and everywhere, for this purpose, of course, because the sun begins to overcome, and his power to increase itself more. (?)

But it was necessary for them to consider that, if it is appropriate [to celebrate] with rejoicing and celebration that day began to consume [time] from night, by the same logic the same celebrations would be appropriate when later night, the kingdom of shadows, begins to consume [time] from day, the empire of the sun.

For just as while night is prolonged, unless again it were to grow shorter, the normal life (ratio vitae = rule of the life = normal life) of men would perish; similarly also the day when it begins to become longer, unless it again were to grow shorter, there would be no permanence in this world, because without summer and winter, heat and cold, our normal life here could not subsist, because * * * * is impossible without the ascent and descent of the sun, the elongation and dimunition of the night and day, that that season could exist.

So it is useful to us when the sun overcomes, and likewise to us when it in fact wanes.

It would therefore be necessary for the mistaken pagans to celebrate a holiday for both changes or neither; because equal profit comes from both, this is from God, who ordained these things thus.

Chapter 11. Exhortation to upright life.

Therefore the feast that they themselves were celebrating, as I said, of the sun of course who begins at this time to overcome the rule of the shadows, and will wane again.

But holy church celebrates the feast of the nativity of Christ, the sun of justice, who has begun to overcome error and Satan, and will never wane; of whom, instead, extends itself until all things visible and invisible are bound under his rule.

To whom every knee in heaven, earth and of those beneath the earth shall be bent. Just as, [therefore,] our holidays are greater and more powerful than those of the pagans and all religions, ---- for true knowledge is found only among us, ---- so in our manners, which are founded in the worship of God, it is necessary to be more honest and more pure than the rest of men, while we are equally solicitous about both: of the reading of the bible and of their interpretation, and indeed of the doctrine about the holiday and the cause of it; [but] also of the excellent and acceptable life in our Lord Christ.

Let us take care of our companions and our brothers more than ourselves, if we are altogether disciples of the Apostles who were themselves imitators of the Lord.

But see all of them were solicitous for our utility, and also used to labour day and night, in summer and in winter, on sea and land, by all ways and means, that we might be brought to the knowledge of our Lord Christ, and that we might find the good which is prepared in heaven for those who believe rightly and live rightly.

They struggled with every evil, and dying handed themselves over for us, because our life in Christ was dearer to them than their own life in this world.

What do I say, in this world?

When one of them chose to separate himself from future blessings (bonis) for the benefit of all his brothers, that they might be partakers of the blessings of Christ; for he says: "I will pray that I myself may be anathema to Christ on behalf of my brothers and my relatives according to the flesh, who are the children of Israel."

If therefore blessed Paul requested that he himself should be condemned and almost damned for the benefit of the community, how can we not be ashamed and blush, and not fall into great fear and trembling, that we call ourselves disciples of those, when we do not imitate their life and their perfect wishes?

Let us be made like the Apostles [and] doctors in all things, in as much as is possible, so that we may be with them partakers of the heavenly blessings.

For as long as we ponder on their doctrine and confess their faith, if we do not have their morals, we will not arrive at the place where they themselves walk; but we shall be like the blind men whom the rays of the sun strike, but however do not delight in their radiance, because there is lacking in them the organs necessary for that action.

For in fact the upright life is the manifestation of a true faith and confirmation of a perfect discipleship, without * * * * * * * * * * nor our doctrine will be made credible to those who are outside the church, nor we, who are inside, will appear to hand over these, awed by the religion of God. (?)

Let us be solicitous, therefore, in [our] behaviour and in love towards each other; and [let us be careful] lest we be the cause of evil to ourselves, and a scandal to all who see us; but let us prepare ourselves for good works, that we may become worthy [to hear] that good word which says: "Come, blessed of the Father, to me, take possession of the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world," with all the just of Christ; to whom be praise, and upon us his mercy forever. Amen.

The disputation on the Nativity is complete, made by Mar Thomas, doctor of Edessa. This speech may be that which he wrote On sin. Amen.

Bibliography

• S.J.Carr, Thomae Edesseni tractatus de nativitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Rome (1898). Doctoral dissertation lodged at the Catholic University of America; photocopy in the British Library. Syriac text and Latin translation.
  • PDF of complete thesis
  • Syriac text in HTML
  • Latin translation in HTML